Lenten thoughts on holiness (part 5) Pope Gregory I (the Great): a saint for our time

 

     Certain words frequently heard in the media these days serve to strike fear into the hearts of many individuals as well as many a nation – Ukraine, NATO, Gaza, Iran, Syria, China, etc.  Many countries are re-arming and increasing their defense spending in anticipation of imminent war.  As the subtitle of a book about the Russia—Ukraine war has it, we are currently witnessing “the return of history”.  If you’re wondering what it looks like to be a Christian leader in a time of violent upheaval and traumatic change, there is a 6^th-century figure which may have some relevant wisdom to offer.  Gregory “the Great” was appointed Bishop of Rome in the year 590, at the age of fifty, and fulfilled his role as “servant of the servants of God” until his death in 604.

     Sixth-century Rome was a city (often literally) besieged with troubles.  The traditional date given for the fall of the Western Roman Empire is AD 476, though the city of Rome had been sacked before this date (e.g. 410) and would be overrun again and again during Gregory’s childhood.  Imperial forces under the command of Emperor Justinian I (based in Constantinople) eventually managed to drive the Goths out of Italy, but it wasn’t long before another barbarian tribe – the Lombards – would invade in the year 568.  Emperor Constantine I had moved the imperial capital to his “new Rome” (i.e. Byzantium, re-baptised “Constantinople”) in 330.  Once the barbarian invasions began in earnest in the 5^th century, Rome’s situation was ever precarious.  By the 6^th century, those western territories remaining under imperial control were limited to parts of Italy, Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the parts of North Africa around Carthage (retaken by Justinian).  The rest of Western Europe was under the sway of various Germanic tribes.  Besides the constant warfare, there was also the horror of infectious disease – Europe’s first experience of “the plague” occurred around the time of Gregory’s birth (AD 542).  In the areas of the empire afflicted by this pandemic, around a third of the population was wiped out.  Not only was Rome often a battleground between imperial and Gothic/Lombard forces, in between outbreaks of plague, but the city also suffered from a lack of civil administration.  Infrastructure and public services, such as sanitation, were left to collapse from neglect.

     This was the state of affairs when Gregory was selected to become Bishop of Rome.  This modest monk and spiritual writer who was most at home in the calm seclusion of the cloister, reluctantly accepted the burden of the pontificate.  As it turned out, Gregory was a gifted administrator, not only of ecclesial affairs, but also of Rome’s civic matters.  One of the new Bishop’s many practical concerns were how to feed Rome’s population.  To (literally) feed his flock, Gregory oversaw the management of wheat farms, many of which were located in Sicily.  Gregory wore many hats – pastor of the Western Church, scholar, preacher, and “administrator” of the city of Rome.

     In Gregory, we have an instructive example of a deeply spiritual Christian who managed to apply the holiness that he had developed over many years of monastic life accompanied by meditation upon, preaching and writing about Scripture to the harried, public life of an ecclesial and civic ruler.  Gregory strove to exemplify that humility which he considered to be essential for the one who would preach the Word of God and hold a prominent position.  Ever the good monastic, Gregory was always on the watch against the poison of pride.  Sensitive to the nuances of the human condition, Gregory – in e.g. his Pastoral Rule – firmly believed that a “spiritual director” (i.e. preacher, cleric) must always take into consideration the life-situation of the person he was ministering to.

     Far from adopting a cautious approach to his many roles and responsibilities at a turbulent time, Gregory threw himself into the work of the administration of Rome as well as the mission of the church.  He famously sent a mission to Britain, under the direction of Augustine (of Canterbury), a pivotal move towards the further Christianization of this region on the northern fringes of Europe.  For Gregory, the appropriate response to a time of crisis was humble prayer and meditation upon Scripture, bold evangelization of “wild lands” as well as strong and wise leadership of the people in his immediate jurisdiction.  May it be so for us as well.  Saint Gregory the Great, ora pro nobis.