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Pope Benedict XVI- Angelus |
Angelus Message
Gregory the Great as Model
"The Life of the Pastor Must Be a Balanced Synthesis"
H.H. Benedict XVI
September 3, 2006
www.zenit.org
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today, 3 September, the Roman calendar commemorates St Gregory the
Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (c. 540-604).
His exceptional, I would say, almost unique figure is an example to
hold up both to pastors of the Church and to public administrators:
indeed, he was first Prefect and then Bishop of Rome. As an imperial
official, he was so distinguished for his administrative talents and
moral integrity that he served in the highest civil office,
Praefectus Urbis, when he was only 30 years old.
Within him, however, the vocation to the monastic life was maturing;
he embraced it in 574, upon his father's death. The Benedictine Rule
then became the backbone of his existence. Even when the Pope sent
him as his Representative to the Emperor of the East in
Constantinople, he maintained a simple and poor monastic lifestyle.
Called back to Rome, Gregory, although living in a monastery, was a
close collaborator of Pope Pelagius II, and when the Pope died, the
victim of a plague epidemic, Gregory was acclaimed by all as his
Successor.
He sought in every way to escape this appointment but in the end was
obliged to yield. He left the cloister reluctantly and dedicated
himself to the community, aware of doing his duty and being a simple
and poor "servant of the servants of God".
"He is not really humble," he wrote, "who understands that he must
be a leader of others by decree of the divine will and yet disdains
this pre-eminence. If, on the contrary, he submits to divine
dispositions, and does not have the vice of obstinacy, and is
prepared to benefit others with those gifts when the highest dignity
of governing souls is imposed on him, he must flee from it with his
heart, but against his will, he must obey" (Pastoral Rule, I, 6). It
is like a dialogue that the Pope has with himself at that time. With
prophetic foresight, Gregory intuited that a new civilization was
being born from the encounter of the Roman legacy with so-called
"barbarian" peoples, thanks to the cohesive power and moral
elevation of Christianity. Monasticism was proving to be a treasure
not only for the Church but for the whole of society.
With delicate health but strong moral character St Gregory the Great
carried out intense pastoral and civil action. He left a vast
collection of letters, wonderful homilies, a famous commentary on
the Book of Job and writings on the life of St Benedict, as well as
numerous liturgical texts, famous for the reform of song that was
called "Gregorian", after him.
However, his most famous work is certainly the Pastoral Rule, which
had the same importance for the clergy as the Rule of St Benedict
had for monks in the Middle Ages.
The life of a pastor of souls must be a balanced synthesis of
contemplation and action, inspired by the love "that rises
wonderfully to high things when it is compassionately drawn to the
low things of neighbors; and the more kindly it descends to the weak
things of this world, the more vigorously it recurs to the things on
high" (II, 5).
In this ever timely teaching, the Fathers of the Second Vatican
Council found inspiration to outline the image of today's Pastor.
Let us pray to the Virgin Mary that the example and teaching of St
Gregory the Great may be followed by pastors of the Church and also
by those in charge of civil institutions.
After the Angelus:
Thank you for these good wishes for my Trip. Next Saturday, I will
depart for Germany, and I will return the following Thursday. We are
always united in prayer. On this day when the Châteauneuf-du-Pape
and Castel Gandolfo meet, I wish you a good day and a good Sunday! I
heard that you presented a beautiful performance on St Francis. Best
wishes to you all! Have a nice Sunday and a good week!
I offer a warm welcome to all the English-speaking visitors gathered
for this Angelus prayer, including the pilgrims from the Diocese of
London in Canada, accompanied by their Bishop. In today's Gospel,
Jesus invites us to purity of heart and sincere obedience to God's
law. May your visit to Rome strengthen you in the love of the Lord
and in joyful fidelity to his holy Word. God bless you all!
I wish you all a good Sunday!
© Copyright 2006 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary
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