Preparing for the feast of St Gregory the Great

Extase-de-StGrégoire-Rubens-Grenoble
Peter Paul Rubens. The Ecstasy of St Gregory the Great. Museum of Grenoble
The saints in heaven all pray for us, but the Church encourages us to have particular patrons such as the saint we were named after at Baptism or Confirmation, or the patron of our country. In Margate we have St Gregory the Great as one of the principal patrons of our parish, someone whom we might consider a “friend in heaven.”

St Gregory was a noble Roman who showed outstanding courage and administrative ability as Prefect when the City was in ruins. Although he retired to live a monastic life, the people of Rome, aware of his holiness and abilities, eagerly called for him to be the Pope in 590.

He exercised a powerful and benign influence on international affairs, and much to our benefit, he had a special concern for the evangelisation of England. In his younger days, he started out for our country himself but was called back by the people of Rome. So he later sent St Austin and his companions from his own monastery in Rome, to bring the gospel to the shores of Kent.

Loyalty and love for our own country is a proper part of Christian charity, and our primary concern should be for the salvation of the people among whom we live. It was such a love that spurred St Austin to make his home here and to preach the gospel fearlessly under the banner of the cross of Christ.

Any effort at evangelisation must begin with the reform of our own lives. Let us ask the prayers of St Gregory for a deeper love of Christ, especially in the celebration of the sacred Liturgy of the Church.