FEAST OF ST. GREGORY THE GREAT, CONFESSOR, POPE AND DOCTOR - MASS PROPERS

   SAINT GREGORY THE GREAT

          540 – 12 March 604

Among all the Pastors, whom our Lord Jesus Christ has placed, as his Vicegerents, over the universal Church, there is not one whose merits and renown have surpassed those of the holy Pope, whose feast we keep today. His name is Gregory, which signifies watchfulness; his surname is the Great, and he was in possession of that title when God sent the Seventh Gregory, the glorious Hildebrand, to govern his Church. In recounting the glories of this illustrious Pontiff, it is but natural we should begin with his zeal for the Services of the Church. The Roman Liturgy, which owes to him some of its finest Hymns, may be considered as his work, at least in this sense, that it was he who collected together and classified the prayers and rites drawn up by his predecessors, and reduced them to the form, in which we now have them. He collected also the ancient chants of the Church, and arranged them in accordance with the rules and requirements of the Divine Service.

The Ascended Virgin with Ss. Gregory the Great and Benedict

Hence it is, that our sacred music is called the Gregorian Chant, which gives such solemnity to the Liturgy, and inspires the soul with respect and devotion during the celebration of the great Mysteries of our Faith. He is, then, the Apostle of the Liturgy, and this alone would have immortalized his name; but we must look for far greater things from such a Pontiff as Gregory. His name was added to the three, who had hitherto been honored as the great Doctors of the Latin Church. These three were Ambrose, Augustine, and Jerome; who else could be the fourth but Gregory? The Church found in his Writings such evidence of his having been guided by the Holy Ghost, — such a knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures, such a clear appreciation of the Mysteries of Faith, and such unction and authority in his teachings, that she gladly welcomed him as a new guide for her children. 

Such was the respect, wherewith everything he wrote was treated, that his very Letters were preserved as so many precious treasures. This immense Correspondence shows us, that there was not a country, scarcely even a city, of the Christian world, on which the Pontiff had not his watchful eye steadily fixed; that there was not a question, however local or personal, which, if it interested religion, did not excite his zeal and arbitration, as the Bishop of the universal Church. If certain writers of modern times had but taken the pains to glance at these Letters, written by a Pope of the 6th century, they would never have asserted, as they have done, that the prerogatives of the Roman Pontiff are based on documents, fabricated, as they say, two hundred years after the death of Gregory. Throned on the Apostolic See, our Saint proved himself to be a rightful heir of the Apostles, not only as the representative and depository of their authority, but as a fellow-sharer in their mission of calling nations to the True Faith.

The Liturgical Year – Ven. Dom Guéranger O.S.B.

         Eucharistic Miracle of Rome

                Italy, 6th-7th Century        

Among the most important works in which this Eucharistic Miracle, which occurred in Rome in the year 595, is mentioned is The Life of Blessed Pope Gregory, written by a deacon named Paul in 787.

It was the custom in those days that the bread used for the Eucharistic Celebration was prepared by the faithful themselves.  Pope St. Gregory the Great was a direct witness of this Miracle.  One Sunday, while he was celebrating Holy Mass in the ancient church dedicated to St. Peter, at the time for distributing Holy Communion, he noticed that among the faithful standing in line there was also present one of the women who had prepared the bread for the Consecration.  She was laughing out loud.  The Pope, visibly disturbed, asked her what was the reason for her behavior.  The woman defended herself by saying she could not bring herself to believe how it was possible that the bread which she herself had prepared with her hands, thanks to the words of consecration, had become the Body and Blood of Christ.  At that point, St. Gregory prohibited her from going to Communion and implored God to enlighten her.  Just when he finished praying, he saw the very portion of bread prepared by that woman change into flesh and blood.  The woman, repentant, knelt down to the ground and began to weep.  Even today, part of the Relic of the Miracle is preserved at Andechs in Germany, at the local Benedictine Monastery.

St. Gregory the Great set the classic order churches for the Lenten station days in the sixth century. (The Procession of Saint Gregory to the Castle Sant'Angelo, c. 1465.)

Gregory was Pope from 3 September 590 to his death in 604. Gregory is well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors as pope. He is also known as St. Gregory the Dialogist in Eastern Christianity because of his Dialogues. For this reason, English translations of Eastern texts will sometimes list him as Gregory "Dialogos" or the Latinized equivalent "Dialogus".

A senator's son and himself the Prefect of Rome at 30, Gregory tried the monastery but soon returned to active public life, ending his life and the century as pope. Although he was the first pope from a monastic background, his prior political experiences may have helped him to be a talented administrator, who successfully established papal supremacy. He was stronger than the emperors of declining Rome, and challenged the power of the Patriarch of Constantinople in the battle between East and West. Gregory regained papal authority in Spain and France, and sent missionaries to England. The realignment of barbarian allegiance to Rome from their Arian Christian alliances shaped medieval Europe. Gregory saw Franks, Lombards, and Visigoths align with Rome in religion.

Throughout the Middle Ages he was known as "the Father of Christian Worship" because of his exceptional efforts in revising the Roman worship of his day. His contributions to the development of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, still in use in the Byzantine Rite, were so significant that he is generally recognized as its de facto author.

It seems to some that Gregory was not always forgiving, or pleasant for that matter, even in his monastic years. For example, a monk lying on his death bed confessed to stealing three gold pieces. Gregory forced the monk to die friendless and alone, then threw his body and coins on a manure heap to rot with a curse, "Take your money with you to perdition". Gregory believed that punishment of sins can begin, even on one's deathbed. However, at the monk's death Gregory offered 30 Masses in his remembrance to assist his soul before the final judgment. Eventually, Pope Pelagius II ordained Gregory a deacon and solicited his help in trying to heal the schism of the Three Chapters in northern Italy. However, this schism was not healed until well after Gregory was gone.

For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation: for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts. – Malachi  1:11

St. Gregory the Great – Confessor, Pope and Doctor  

STATION AT ST. NICHOLAS IN CARCERE

Saturday in the Fourth Week of Lent

Commemoration of the Feria in Lent

       Double  - White Vestments      

           Missa ‘Si díligis me’ 

INTROIT – John 21:15-17

Si díligis me, Simon Petre, pasce agnos meos, pasce oves meas.

Ps.Exaltábo te, Dómine, quóniam suscepísti me, nec delectásti inimícos meos super me. Gloria Patri.

If thou lovest Me, Simon Peter, feed My lambs; feed My sheep.

Ps. I will extol Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast upheld me: and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me. Glory be to the Father.

COLLECT

O God, Who didst give to the soul of Thy servant Gregory the reward of everlasting bliss: mercifully grant, that we who are oppressed by the burden of our sins, may be raised up by his intercession with Thee. Through Jesus Christ thy Son…

COLLECT – FERIA IN LENT

Make fruitful, we beseech You, O Lord, the zeal of our fervent devotion; for only if it pleases You shall the fasting we have undertaken be of benefit to us. Through our Lord.

EPISTLE – I Peter 5: 1-4, 10-11

Dearly beloved, the ancients therefore that are among you, I beseech , who am myself also am ancient, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as also a partaker of that glory which is to be revealed in time to come feed the flock of God which is among you, taking care of it, not by constraint, but willingly, according to God: not for filthy lucre’s sake, but voluntarily: neither as lording it over the clergy, but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart. And when the prince of pastors shall appear, you shall receive a never fading crown of glory. But the God of all grace, Who hath called us unto His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little, will himself perfect you, and confirm you, and establish you. To Him be glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.

GRADUAL: Psalm 106: 32, 31

Let them exalt him in the Church of the people: and praise him in the chair of the ancients. Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him, and the wonderful works to the children of men.

TRACT – Psalm 39:10-11

I have declared Thy justice in a great church, lo, I will not restrain my lips: O Lord, Thou knowest it. I have not hid Thy justice within my heart: I have declared Thy truth and Thy salvation. I have not concealed Thy mercy and Thy truth from a great council.

  GOSPEL: Matthew 16: 13-19

At that time, Jesus came into the quarters of Cæsarea Philippi, and He asked His disciples, saying,“Whom do men say that the Son of man is?” But they said, Some, John the Baptist, and other some, Elias, and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. Jesus saith to them, “But whom do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering, said to him, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but My Father Who is in Heaven: and I say to thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; and to thee I will give the keys of the kingdom of Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in Heaven; and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in Heaven.”

OFFERTORY – Jeremiah 1: 9-10

Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth:  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

Pope Gregory the Great leading a procession to end plague

SECRET

Vouchsafe, O Lord, we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of blessed Gregory, we may profit by this oblation of the Sacrifice which wrought for the whole world remission of sin. Through Jesus Christ

SECRET - FERIA IN LENT

Graciously accept our offerings, O Lord, we beseech You, and mercifully direct our still rebellious wills to You. Through our Lord.

PREFACE – OF LENT

It is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty and everlasting God. Who by the fasting of the body dost curb our vices, elevate our minds and bestow virtue and reward; through Christ our Lord. Through whom the angels praise Thy majesty, the dominions worship it, and the powers stand in awe. The heavens and the heavenly hosts, with the blessed seraphim join together in celebrating their joy. With these we pray Thee join our voices also, while we say with lowly praise:

Miraculous Mass of St. Gregory the Great

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dóminus Deus Sábaoth. Pleni sunt cæli et terra glória tua. Hosánna in excélsis. Benedíctus  qui venit in nómine Dómini. Hosánna in excélsis.

COMMUNION – Matthew 16: 18

Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church.

POSTCOMMUNION

O God, Who didst make the blessed Pontiff Gregory rank in merit with Thy Saints: mercifully grant that we who celebrate this festival in his memory, may also follow the example of his life. Through Jesus Christ.

POSTCOMMUNION – FERIA IN LENT

May Your holy sacrament cleanse us, we beseech You, O Lord, and may its power make us pleasing to You. Through our Lord.

LAST GOSPEL - John 8:12-20

At that time, Jesus spoke to the multitudes of the Jews, saying, I am the light of the world. He who follows Me does not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life. The Pharisees therefore said to Him, You bear witness to Yourself. Your witness is not true. Jesus answered and said to them, Even if I bear witness to Myself, My witness is true, because I know where I came from and where I go. But you do not know where I came from or where I go. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And even if I do judge, My judgment is true, because I am not alone, but with Me is He Who sent Me, the Father. And in your Law it is written that the witness of two persons is true. It is I Who bear witness to Myself, and He Who sent Me, the Father, bears witness to Me. They therefore said to Him, Where is your Father? Jesus answered, You know neither Me nor My Father. If you knew Me, you would then know My Father also. Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, while teaching in the temple. And no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come. R. Thanks be to God.

    Sancte Gregorius Magnus ora pro nobis!