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Saint Basil the Great
329 - 379
Also known as:
Father of Eastern Monasticism
Profile
Nobility by birth. His mother, father, and four of his nine siblings were
canonized, including Saint Gregory of Nyssa. Grandson of Saint Macrina the
Elder. As a youth he was noted for organizing famine relief, and for
working in the kitchens himself, quite unusual for a young noble.
Studied in Constantinople and Athens with his friend Saint Gregory
Nazianus. Ran a school of oratory and law in Caesarea. He was so
successful, so sought after as a speaker, he was tempted by pride. Fearful
that it would overtake his piety, he sold all that he had, gave away the
money, and became a priest and monk.
Founded monasteries and drew up rules for monks living in the desert; he
is considered as key to the founding of eastern monasticism as Benedict
was to the west. Bishop and Archbishop of Caesarea. Conducted Mass and
preached to the crowds twice each day. Fought Arianism. Greek Doctor of
the Church. Father of the Church.
Born: 329 at Caesarea, Asia Minor (modern Turkey)
Died: 14 June 379 of natural causes
Name Meaning: kingly
Patronage: hospital administrators, reformers, Russia
Readings
O sinner, be not discouraged, but have recourse to Mary in all you
necessities. Call her to your assistance, for such is the divine Will that
she should help in every kind of necessity.
Saint Basil the Great
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By the command of your only-begotten Son we communicate with the memory of
your saints...by whose prayers and supplications have mercy upon us all,
and deliver us for the sake of your holy name.
Basil: Liturgy of Saint Basil, 373AD
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The bread which you use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in
your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes you do not
wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the acts of charity that
you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit.
Saint Basil
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Let us raise ourselves from our fall and not give up hope as long as we
are free from sin. Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners.
'Come, let us adore and prostrate ourselves and weep before him' (Psalm
95:6). The Word calls us to repentance, crying out: 'Come to me, all you
who labor and are heavily burdened and I will refresh you' (Matthew
11:28). There is, then, a way to salvation if we are willing to follow it"
from a letter of Saint Basil the Great
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Envy is a gnawing pain which springs from the success and prosperity of
another; and this is the reason why the envious are never exempt from
trouble and vexation. If an abundant harvest fills the granaries of a
neighbor, if success crowns his efforts, the envious man is chagrined and
sad. If one man can boast of prudence, talent, and eloquence; if another
is rich, and is very liberal to the poor, if good works are praised by all
around, the envious man is shocked and grieved.
The envious, however, dare not speak; although envy makes them counterfeit
gladness, their hearts are sore within. If you ask him what vexes him, he
dare not tell the reason. It is not really the happiness of his friend
that annoys him, neither is it his gaiety that makes him sad, nor is he
sorry to see his friend prosper; but it is that he is persuaded that the
prosperity of others is the cause of his misery.
This is what the envious would be forced to acknowledge, if they spoke the
truth sincerely; but because they dare not confess so shameful a sin,
they, in secret, feed a sore which tortures them and eats away their rest.
As the shadow ever accompanies the pedestrian when walking in the sun, so
envy throws its shadow on those who are successful in the world.
Saint Basil, from "De Individia"
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Thy fame has gone forth into all the earth, which has received thy word.
Thereby thou hast taught the Faith; thou hast revealed the nature of
created things; thou hast made a royal priesthood of the ordered life of
men./ Righteous Father Basil intercede with Christ our God that our souls
may be saved.
troparion of Saint Basil the Great
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Thou wast an unshaken foundation of the Church and didst give to all
mortals an inviolate lordship which thou didst seal with thy doctrine, O
righteous Basil, revealer of the mysteries of heaven.
kontakion of Saint Basil the Great
source:
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintb05.htm
Saint Gregory of Nazianzen
330 - 390
Also known as: the Christian Demosthenes; the Theologian
Profile
Son of Saint Gregory of Nazianzen the Elder and Saint Nonna. Brother of
Saint Caesar Nazianzen, and Saint Gorgonius. Spent an itinerant youth in
search of learning. Friend of and fellow student with Saint Basil the
Great. Monk at Basil's desert monastery.
Reluctant priest, feeling himself unworthy, and fearing that the
responsibility would test his faith. Assisted his bishop father to prevent
an Arian schism in the diocese. He opposed Arianism, and brought its
heretical followers back to the fold. Bishop of Caesarea in c.370, which
put him in conflict with the Arian emperor Valens. The disputes led his
friend Basil the Great, then archbishop, to reassign him to a small, out
of the way posting at the edge of the archbishopric.
Bishop of Constantinople 381-390 following the death of Valens. He hated
the city, despised the violence and slander involved in these disputes,
and feared being drawn into politics and corruption, but he worked to
bring the Arians back to the faith; for his trouble he was slandered,
insulted, beaten up, and a rival "bishop" tried to take over his diocese.
Noted preacher on the Trinity. When it seemed that the faith had been
restored in the city, Gregory retired to live the rest of his days as a
hermit. Wrote theological discourses and poetry, some of it religious,
some of it autobiographical. Father of the Church. Doctor of the Church.
Born: 330 at Arianzus, Cappadocia, Asia Minor
Died: 25 January 390
Reading
God accepts our desires as though they were of great value. He longs
ardently for us to desire and love him. He accepts our petitions for
benefits as though we were doing him a favor. His joy in giving is greater
than ours in receiving. So let us not be apathetic in our asking, nor set
too narrow bounds to our requests; nor ask for frivolous things unworthy
of God's greatness.
Saint Gregory Nazianzen
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Let us not esteem worldly prosperity or adversity as things real or of any
moment, but let us live elsewhere, and raise all our attention to Heaven;
esteeming sin as the only true evil, and nothing truly good, but virtue
which unites us to God.
Saint Gregory Nazianzen
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Basil and I were both in Athens. We had come, like streams of a river,
from the same source in our native land, had separated from each other in
pursuit of learning, and were now united again as if by plan, for God so
arranged it.
When, in the course of time, we acknowledged our friendship and recognized
that our ambition was a life of true wisdom, we became everything to each
other; we shared the same lodging, the same table, the same desires, the
same goal. Our love for each other grew daily warmer and deeper.
The same hope inspired us: the pursuit of learning. We seemed to be two
bodies with a single spirit. Our single object and ambition was virtue,
and a life of hope int he blessings that are to come.
We followed the guidance of God's law and spurred each other on to virtue.
If it is not too boastful to say, we found in each other a standard and
rule for discerning right from wrong.
Different men have different names, which they owe to their parents or to
themselves, that is, to their own pursuits and achievements. But our great
pursuit, the great name we wanted, was to be Christians, to be called
Christians.
from a sermon by Saint Gregory Nazianzen
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Today let us do honor to Christ's baptism and celebrate this feast in
holiness. Be cleansed entirely and continue to be cleansed. Nothing gives
such pleasure to God as the conversion and salvation of men, for whom his
every word and every revelation exist. He wants you to become a living
force for all mankind, lights shining in the world. You are to be radiant
lights as you stand beside Christ, the great light, bathed in the glory of
him who is the light of heaven. You are to enjoy more and more the pure
and dazzling light of the Trinity, as now you have received - though not
in its fullness - a ray of its splendor, proceeding from the one God, in
Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
from a sermon by Saint Gregory Nazianzen on the Feast of the Baptism of
the Lord
source:
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintg07.htm |
