Pope
Benedict I called him out of the monastery to become
one of the seven deacons of Rome, and his successor,
Pope Pelagius II, made him his ambassador to the
Emperor in Constantinople. Six years later, he returned
to Rome to become abbot of St Andrew's. Rome was
hit by several plagues at that time, one of them
in 590, which killed the Pope. Gregory was elected
in his place.
He regretted having to
leave the peace of his monastery, but he began a
papacy of intense activity. In Rome he was effectively
responsible for the government of the city. He immediately
faced a series of crises: floods, famine, plague,
as well as the invasion of Italy by Lombard barbarians.
But
his main work was the pastoral care of the Church.
This included the need to convert the barbarians
who had invaded Italy. It also included his sending
missionaries to the Saxon kingdoms of England.
Legend
has it that he wanted to lead a group of missionaries
to England himself, which originated when he saw
a group of fair-haired young men being sold as slaves
in the Roman market. He asked where they came from,
and being told that they were Angles, he replied, "Not Angles, but Angels".
When
the opportunity came, he had to entrust it to others.
He chose the men himself, and sent Augustine (later
of Canterbury) from his own monastery of St Andrew
in Rome to lead a group of monks to the Britain in
597. Because of this Gregory has been given the title "Apostle of the English".
That is why the first monks of our community looked
to him as the patron of their efforts to serve the
Church in England and Wales.
Gregory is a good role
model too. He was a devoted monk to the end of his
life. He always believed in the primacy of prayer,
but he also believed that contemplation was a necessary
basis for Christian action, in whatever sphere a
person may be called to serve Christ.
Gregory was
also a scholar and prolific writer, writing commentaries
on biblical books, especially the commentary on Job
and the Homilies on Ezekiel, a series of sermons
on prayer. He composed the life of St Benedict (the
centre-piece of an account of saints in Italy at
that time) and also a manual for the use of bishops
entitled On Pastoral Care. He is associated with
the composition of plainchant, also known as Gregorian
chant. Legend has it that the Holy Spirit dictated
the words and music for the introit for the first
Sunday of Advent into his ear. In paintings he is
generally illustrated with a dove whispering into
his ear!
He died in 604. May he
continue to pray for us!
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