[Salvation]

Doctors of the Catholic Church

Saint Gregory Nazianzus is the Doctor of Theologians. His profound words are: God accepts our desires as though they were a great value. God longs ardently for us to desire and love the Supreme Being who is always our Father, Brother and Lover.

Gregory's message is for everyone, especially for justices in all courts of law: social, civil, criminal, corporate, canon. etc. He wrote about God's justice and explained it. No one can adequately explain God or divine attributes without expressing and discovering justice.

In Constantinople, St Gregory was the leader of a group that was pitifully small and poor. Moreover, persecution from the Arians was intense, putting Gregory in mortal danger. But his holiness of life, his burning eloquence and brilliant explanation of doctrine especially regarding the divinity of Christ gradually won followers and great numbers of converts. Jerome, scholarly, eloquent and renowned, came to admire and to listen to him. St. Gregory’s clear-cut exposition of truth dealt a crippling blow to Arianism. He was the stylist who could sum up the writings of St. Athanasius, St. Hilary and St. Basil. He was the accomplished orator who could make true doctrine live in the minds of his audience. For this reason he has received the title, “The Christian Demosthenes,” after the famous Greek orator – Taken from the book: The 33 Doctors of the Church by Fr. Christopher Rengers, O.F.M.Cap.

Like many other doctors, Gregory suffered slander, insults and even personal violence. He is famous for his writings and sermons on the Trinity. "The Theologian" is buried in St Peter's Cathedral where fittingly all sacred Theology should proceed and from sacred scripture, the Word of God. However, in a magnanimous gesture of goodwill, his relics were returned to the Eastern church in 2004-2005 by the late Pope John Paul II before he died in 2005.

St Gregory Nazianzus, 330-390. Doctor of Theologians. Feast Jan 2nd.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: John 1:19-28

 Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church

Who are you… . What do you have to say for yourself? (John 1:22)

Who am I?

Sometimes our answer varies depending on who is asking the question. In an alumni group, I readily claim my alma mater. In a moms’ group, my children make me the voice of experience. At a political rally, I may identify myself as a partisan—or an independent. Yet none of these identities gets to the core of who I am. They may have to do with important activities, relationships, or ideas, but they only scratch the surface of my core identity. Sometimes disclaimers can help: I’m not a fanatic, a social climber, or a recluse. But even these “negative” statements don’t unveil my inner life.

John was quick to tell his questioners who he was not: not the long-awaited Messiah, not Elijah rising from the legendary past, not even a prophet claiming to speak for God. So who was he? By his answer, he made his message much more important than himself. They might discount his dress or lifestyle, his background or credentials, but they dare not disregard his ringing call to “make straight the way of the Lord” (John 1:23).

In a similar way, the true gauge of my identity lies not in how I look or what I’ve accomplished. It lies in how I point to the One who is coming, the One who provides the only answer to every human longing. Sometimes I will point to Jesus by my life, sometimes with words. In either case, the message is clearest when it arises straight out of who God says I am. 

Who are you? Take some time in prayer today to ponder this question. Let the Lord show you: you are a child of the King. You are a sinner saved by grace. You are a believer begging for help with your unbelief. You are the Lord’s beloved, whom he has redeemed and given a new song to sing.

Let the Spirit write these truths on your heart. Recall them during the rough times of the day, and celebrate them during the good times. Then you won’t be able to help smiling as you point to the Savior of the world.

“Father, thank you for setting your love upon me. I want my life to give clear witness to you.”

1 John 2:22-28; Psalm 98:1-4