Saint Gregory the Great, pope, 3 September 2013

St Gregory the Great
Carlo Saraceni (c. 1580-1620)

iBreviary

Tuesday, 3 September 2013

Tuesday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time

SECOND READING   

From a homily on Ezekiel by Saint Gregory the Great, pope
(Lib. 1, 11, 4-6: CCL 142, 170-172)

For Christ's love I do not spare myself in speaking of him

Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Note that a man whom the Lord sends forth as a preacher is called a watchman. A watchman always stands on a height so that he can see from afar what is coming. Anyone appointed to be a watchman for the people must stand on a height for all his life to help them by his foresight.

How hard it is for me to say this, for by these very words I denounce myself. I cannot preach with any competence, and yet insofar as I do succeed, still I myself do not live my life according to my own preaching.

I do not deny my responsibility; I recognize that I am slothful and negligent, but perhaps the acknowledgment of my fault will win me pardon from my just judge. Indeed when I was in the monastery I could curb my idle talk and usually be absorbed in my prayers. Since I assumed the burden of pastoral care, my mind can no longer be collected; it is concerned with so many matters.

I am forced to consider the affairs of the Church and of the monasteries. I must weigh the lives and acts of individuals. I am responsible for the concerns of our citizens. I must worry about the invasions of roving bands of barbarians, and beware of the wolves who lie in wait for my flock. I must become an administrator lest the religious go in want. I must put up with certain robbers without losing patience and at times I must deal with them in all charity.

With my mind divided and torn to pieces by so many problems, how can I meditate or preach wholeheartedly without neglecting the ministry of proclaiming the Gospel? Moreover, in my position I must often communicate with worldly men. At times I let my tongue run, for if I am always severe in my judgments, the worldly will avoid me, and I can never attack them as I would. As a result I often listen patiently to chatter. And because I too am weak, I find myself drawn little by little into idle conversation, and I begin to talk freely about matters which once I would have avoided. What once I found tedious I now enjoy.

So who am I to be a watchman, for I do not stand on the mountain of action but lie down in the valley of weakness? Truly the all-powerful Creator and Redeemer of mankind can give me in spite of my weaknesses a higher life and effective speech; because I love him, I do not spare myself in speaking of him.

 

Gregory might well be writing the words,
"The preacher must dip his pen into the blood
of his heart; then he can also reach
the ear of his neighbour."
(E. Lev)

   

RESPONSORY

He drew his moral and mystical teaching from the source of holy Scripture;
through him the life-giving streams of the Gospel flowed out to all nations.
– Though he is dead he still speaks to us today.

As a soaring eagle sees all on the earth below,
so he cares for both the great and small with his all-embracing charity.
– Though he is dead he still speaks to us today.