Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great

Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great,
Pope and Doctor of the Church

Alternate Proper for the Memorial of St. Gregory the Great

Readings for Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary:[3]

Reading 1: Colossians 1:9-14

Brothers and sisters:
From the day we heard about you, we do not cease praying for you
and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will
through all spiritual wisdom and understanding
to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,
so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit
and growing in the knowledge of God,
strengthened with every power, in accord with his glorious might,
for all endurance and patience,
with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share
in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.
He delivered us from the power of darkness
and transferred us to the Kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
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Commentary on Col 1:9-14

St. Paul continues his introductory remarks to the Colossians. In these verses he shares his prayer for them and acknowledges their shared adoption in Christ which has a reference to their baptism (e.g. “…delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of his beloved Son”).

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 98:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

R. (2) The Lord has made known his salvation.

The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.

Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
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Commentary on Ps 98:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

The psalm rejoices in God’s salvation. The Lord has revealed his compassion toward the people and they sing his praises in response.

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Gospel: Luke 5:1-11

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God,
he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.
He saw two boats there alongside the lake;
the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.
Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,
he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.
Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,
“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”
Simon said in reply,
“Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,
but at your command I will lower the nets.”
When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish
and their nets were tearing.
They signaled to their partners in the other boat
to come to help them.
They came and filled both boats
so that the boats were in danger of sinking.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him
and all those with him,
and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
who were partners of Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men.”
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him.
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Commentary on Lk 5:1-11

St. Luke’s Gospel story continues with the call of St. Peter, St. James and St. John to discipleship. The Lord has demonstrated his authority through his teaching and then through the miraculous catch of fish. We note the similarity of this incident with the post-resurrection incident recounted in St. John’s Gospel (John 21:1-11).. At Jesus summons, Simon and the two sons of Zebedee leave all they have and follow Jesus.

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Reflection:

We reflect today on the call of Christ and our response. In St. Luke’s Gospel we hear how the Lord attracts his first disciples. After he has journeyed through Galilee, curing the sick and teaching he comes to Capernaum and meets Simon. He cures Simon’s mother-in-law and then continues to preach to the people about the Kingdom of God. The people are so taken by his words and person that they crowd in upon him to a point were he must get into a boat in order to be heard by more than just a few of those closest to him.

Was it coincidental that it was Simon’s boat? We are told he had been fishing all night with his partners, Zebedee’s two sons, James and John. They were on the beach, cleaning up. Perhaps the Lord recognized Simon from the day before and asked him to take him out from the shore and Simon, probably tired and ready for some sleep, did not hesitate. When the Lord had concluded his discourse (we wonder what those words were) he told Simon to lower the nets (the ones he had just finished washing and mending). Is it any wonder he resisted the idea? They had fished all night and had caught nothing. It was silly to put out the nets at this time of day. Simon did the Lord’s bidding again, for a second time.

To everyone’s amazement, especially Simon’s the nets caught so many fish he could not get them in alone. They were in danger of breaking. He asked his partners to come and share his labor and his reward. James and John responded. Between them they brought the improbable catch to shore. It must have amazed everyone there.

We see in this event the epiphany of Simon. He falls to the ground at the Lord’s knees and said “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” (Lord I am not worthy, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.)

The Lord, seeing all their faults and trepidation, called Simon a third time “Do not be afraid, from now on you will be catching men.” The response was immediate. Simon, James and John, without another word, left all they had known and followed the Lord. They became the first to hear the call to discipleship and the first to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As we reflect upon this call to discipleship, we recall all those other stories of call and response throughout the history of the faith especially that of St. Gregory the Great whose feast we celebrate. All of the great saints heard that call. Some had to be dragged against their wills to the faith, like St. Augustine. Others seemed born to it. like Our Blessed Mother, Mary. Call and response, what does God ask of us? That is the question we ask each day, because each day the call is renewed and each day we must respond. Our prayer today is that we hear the call of the Lord clearly and respond as St. Peter did, with unconditional love that does not hold back the smallest part of our hearts.

Pax

[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is Wonderful Catch of Fish by Anton Losenko, 1762
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.