We pray:

O God, who alone knits all infants in the womb, You chose improbable servants—old  and childless— to conceive and parent the forerunner of Christ and, in so doing, demonstrated again Your strength in weakness. Grant us, who are as unlikely and unworthy as Zecharias and Elizabeth, the opportunity to love and serve You according to Your good and gracious will; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, now ad forever. Amen.

Zechariah (or Zachariah) and Elizabeth were “righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. (Luke 1:6)” The angel Gabriel greeted Zechariah, a priest in the temple in Jerusalem, announcing that Zechariah and Elizabeth would become parents of a son. Initially he didn’t believe Gabriel because of their old age. For this, Zechariah became unable to speak.

After their son was born, Elizabeth named the boy John, which means “Yahweh (the Lord) is gracious.” As friends and relatives sought to change her mind, thinking that he should be named for someone in their family, they asked Zechariah to write down what the boy’s name should be. Suddenly, his voice returned and he confirmed his wife’s choice.

In response to receiving his son and the return of his voice, Zechariah sang the Benedictus. This canticle beautifully summarizes God’s Old Testament promises and predicts John’s work as forerunner to the Messiah, who would be born in three more months (Luke 1:68-79).

We remember the faithful and pious examples of Zechariah and Elizabeth and honor them for raising the last great prophet of the coming Christ, Saint John the Baptist.

Those familiar with older English language Bibles might remember them slightly differently. That’s because the Authorized Version (King James) and some other translations use the Greek form of their names, calling them Zacharias and Elisabeth.

The Benedictus

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Lord God, heavenly Father, through the prophet Moses, You began the prophetic pattern of teaching Your people the true fath and demonstrating through miraclesYour presence in creation to heal it of its brokenness. Grant that Your Church may see in Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the final end-time prophet whose teaching and miracles continue in Your Church through the healing medicine of the Gospel and the Sacrament;through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Moses was born in Egypt several generations after Joseph brought his father Jacob and his brothers there to escape a famine in the land of Canaan. The descendants of Jacob had been enslaved by the Egyptians and were ordered to kill all their male children. When Moses was born his mother put him in a basket and set it afloat in the Nile River. He was found by Pharaoh’s daughter and raised by her as her own son (Exod 2:1–10). At age 40 Moses killed an Egyptian taskmaster and fled to the land of Midian, where he worked as a shepherd for forty years. Then the Lord called him to go back to Egypt and tell Pharaoh, “Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness” (5:1). Eventually Pharaoh gave in and, after the Israelites celebrated the first Passover, Moses led them out. At the Red Sea the Egyptian army was destroyed and the Israelites passed to safety on dry land (Exodus 12-15). At Mount Sinai they were given the Law and erected the Tabernacle (Exodus 19-40). But because of disobedience they had to wander in the wilderness for forty years. Moses himself was not allowed to enter the Promised Land, although God allowed him to view it (Deuteronomy 34). In the New Testament Moses is referred to as lawgiver and prophet. The first five books of the Bible are attributed to him.

For old time’s sake, I took a seat in my office where I served as assistant to The LCMS president from 1992 to 2001, now enhanced and improved with the presence of Rev. Jon Vieker, Senior Assistant to the President of The LCMS.

Here is a photo of President Harrison with Rev. Vieker:

Rev. Dr. Al Collver kindly took this photo, I regret I did not shoot any of him, but…next time. Here I am admiring one of President Harrison’s wonderful rare books. The one I’m looking at is the first volume in the Jena edition of Luther’s Works [German edition]. The Jena edition was the collection of Luther’s Works commissioned by Elector Johann Friederich the Magnanimous.

And here is Rev. President Harrison at his desk. The old book on his desk is a copy of the “Apology of the Book of Concord.” I am encouraging President Harrison to work at translating it, even as Dr. J.A.O. Preus worked at translating the works of Martin Chemnitz during his years in office as Synodical President. Dr. Preus once told me, “I always found Martin Chemnitz to be the most delightful companion at the end of a long day. He and I never had any disagreements.”

Almighty and merciful God, You raised up Gregory of Rome to be a pastor to those who shepherd God’s flock and inspired him to send missionaries to preach the Gospel to the English people. Preserve in Your Church the catholic and apostolic faith that your people may continue to be fruitful in every good work and receive the crown of glory that never fades away; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

One of the great leaders in Europe at the close of the sixth century, Gregory served in both the secular and sacred arenas of his era. As mayor of Rome, he restored economic vitality to his native city, which had been weakened by enemy invasions, pillage, and plague. After he sold his extensive properties and donated the proceeds to help the poor, he entered into full-time service in the Church. On September 3, 590 A.D., Gregory was elected to lead the church in Rome. As Bishop of Rome he oversaw changes and growth in the areas of church music and liturgical development, missionary outreach to northern Europe, and the establishment of a church-year calendar still used by many churches in the western World today. His book on pastoral care became a standard until the 20th century.

Read the extended entry for much more detail about Gregory’s life and work.

The following information is from the Catholic Encyclopedia, and obviously will reflect Roman understandings of the office of ministry, but nonetheless, is a valuable summary of the life and work of Gregory the Great.

Gregory’s father was Gordianus, a wealthy patrician, probably of the famous gens Amicia, who owned large estates in Sicily and a mansion on the Caelian Hill in Rome, the ruins of which, apparently in a wonderful state of preservation, still await excavation beneath the Church of St. Andrew and St. Gregory. His mother Silvia appears also to have been of good family, but very little is known of her life. She is honoured as a saint, her feast being kept on 3 November. Portraits of Gordianus and Silvia were painted by Gregory’s order, in the atrium of St. Andrew’s monastery, and a pleasing description of these may be found in John the Deacon (Vita, IV, lxxxiii).

Besides his mother, two of Gregory’s aunts have been canonised, Gordianus’s two sisters, Tarsilla and Æmiliana, so that John the Deacon speaks of his education as being that of a saint among saints.

Of his early years we know nothing beyond what the history of the period tells us. Between the years 546 and 552 Rome was first captured by the Goths under Totila, and then abandoned by them; next it was garrisoned by Belisarius, and besieged in vain by the Goths, who took it again, however, after the recall of Belisarius, only to lose it once more to Narses. Gregory’s mind and memory were both exceptionally receptive, and it is to the effect produced on him by these disasters that we must attribute the tinge of sadness which pervades his writings and especially his clear expectation of a speedy end to the world.

Of his education, we have no details. Gregory of Tours tells us that in grammar, rhetoric and dialectic he was so skilful as to be thought second to none in all Rome, and it seems certain also that he must have gone through a course of legal studies. Not least among the educating influences was the religious atmosphere of his home. He loved to meditate on the Scriptures and to listen attentively to the conversations of his elders, so that he was “devoted to God from his youth up”.

His rank and prospects pointed him out naturally for a public career, and he doubtless held some of the subordinate offices wherein a young patrician embarked on public life. That he acquitted himself well in these appears certain, since we find him about the year 573, when little more than thirty years old, filling the important office of prefect of the city of Rome. At that date the brilliant post was shorn of much of its old magnificence, and its responsibilities were reduced; still it remained the highest civil dignity in the city, and it was only after long prayer and inward struggle that Gregory decided to abandon everything and become a monk. This event took place most probably in 574.

His decision once taken, he devoted himself to the work and austerities of his new life with all the natural energy of his character. His Sicilian estates were given up to found six monasteries there, and his home on the Caelian Hill was converted into another under the patronage of St. Andrew. Here he himself took the cowl, so that “he who had been wont to go about the city clad in the trabea and aglow with silk and jewels, now clad in a worthless garment served the altar of the Lord” (Gregory of Tours, X, i).

As monk and abbot (c. 574-590)

There has been much discussion as to whether Gregory and his fellow-monks at St. Andrew’s followed the Rule of St. Benedict. Baronius and others on his authority have denied this, while it has been asserted as strongly by Mabillon and the Bollandists, who, in the preface to the life of St. Augustine (26 May), retract the opinion expressed earlier in the preface to St. Gregory’s life (12 March). The controversy is important only in view of the question as to the form of monasticism introduced by St. Augustine into England, and it may be said that Baronius’s view is now practically abandoned.

For about three years Gregory lived in retirement in the monastery of St. Andrew, a period to which he often refers as the happiest portion of his life. His great austerities during this time are recorded by the biographers, and probably caused the weak health from which he constantly suffered in later life.

However, he was soon drawn out of his seclusion, when, in 578, the pope ordained him, much against his will, as one of the seven deacons (regionarii) of Rome. The period was one of acute crisis. The Lombards were advancing rapidly towards the city, and the only chance of safety seemed to be in obtaining help from the Emperor Tiberius at Byzantium. Pope Pelagius II accordingly dispatched a special embassy to Tiberius, and sent Gregory along with it as his apocrisiarius, or permanent ambassador to the Court of Byzantium. The date of this new appointment seems to have been the spring of 579, and it lasted apparently for about six years.

Nothing could have been more uncongenial to Gregory than the worldly atmosphere of the brilliant Byzantine Court, and to counteract its dangerous influence he followed the monastic life so far as circumstances permitted. This was made easier by the fact that several of his brethren from St. Andrew’s accompanied him to Constantinople. With them he prayed and studied the Scriptures, one result of which remains in his “Morals”, or series of lectures on the Book of Job, composed during this period at the request of St. Leander of Seville, whose acquaintance Gregory made during his stay in Constantinople.

Much attention was attracted to Gregory by his controversy with Eutychius, Patriarch of Constantinople, concerning the Resurrection. Eutychius had published a treatise on the subject maintaining that the risen bodies of the elect would be “impalpable, more light than air”. To this view Gregory objected the palpability of Christ’s risen body. The dispute became prolonged and bitter, till at length the emperor intervened, both combatants being summoned to a private audience, where they stated their views. The emperor decided that Gregory was in the right, and ordered Eutychius’s book to the burned. The strain of the struggle had been so great that both fell ill. Gregory recovered, but the patriarch succumbed, recanting his error on his death bed.

Mention should be made of the curious fact that, although Gregory’s sojourn at Constantinople lasted for six years, he seems never to have mastered even the rudiments of Greek. Possibly he found that the use of an interpreter had its advantages, but he often complains of the incapacity of those employed for this purpose. It must be owned that, so far as obtaining help for Rome was concerned, Gregory’s stay at Constantinople was a failure. However, his period as ambassador taught him very plainly a lesson which was to bear great fruit later on when he ruled in Rome as pope. This was the important fact that no help was any longer to be looked for from Byzantium, with the corollary that, if Rome and Italy were to be saved at all, it could only be by vigorous independent action of the powers on the spot. Humanly speaking, it is to the fact that Gregory had acquired this conviction that his later line of action with all its momentous consequences is due.

In the year 586, or possibly 585, he was recalled to Rome, and with the greatest joy returned to St. Andrew’s, of which he became abbot soon afterwards. The monastery grew famous under his energetic rule, producing many monks who won renown later, and many vivid pictures of this period may be found in the “Dialogues”.

Gregory gave much of his time to lecturing on the Holy Scripture and is recorded to have expounded to his monks the Heptateuch, Books of Kings, the Prophets, the Book of Proverbs, and the Canticle of Canticles. Notes of these lectures were taken at the time by a young student named Claudius, but when transcribed were found by Gregory to contain so many errors that he insisted on their being given to him for correction and revision. Apparently this was never done, for the existing fragments of such works attributed to Gregory are almost certainly spurious.

At this period, however, one important literary enterprise was certainly completed. This was the revision and publication of the “Magna Moralia”, or lectures on the Book of Job, undertaken in Constantinople at the request of St. Leander. In one of his letters (Epistle 5.53) Gregory gives an interesting account of the origin of this work.

To this period most probably should be assigned the famous incident of Gregory’s meeting with the English youths in the Forum. The first mention of the event is in the Whitby life (c, ix), and the whole story seems to be an English tradition. It is worth notice, therefore, that in the St. Gall manuscript the Angles do not appear as slave boys exposed for sale, but as men visiting Rome of their own free will, whom Gregory expressed a desire to see. It is Venerable Bede (Hist. Eccl., II, i) who first makes them slaves.

In consequence of this meeting Gregory was so fixed with desire to convert the Angles that he obtained permission from Pelagius II to go in person to Britain with some of his fellow-monks as missionaries. The Romans, however, were greatly incensed at the pope’s act. With angry words they demanded Gregory’s recall, and messengers were at once dispatched to bring him back to Rome, if necessary by force. These men caught up with the little band of missionaries on the third day after their departure, and at once returned with them, Gregory offering no opposition, since he had received what appeared to him as a sign from heaven that his enterprise should be abandoned.

The strong feeling of the Roman populace that Gregory must not be allowed to leave Rome is a sufficient proof of the position he now held there. He was in fact the chief adviser and assistant of Pelagius II, towards whom he seems to have acted very much in the capacity of secretary (see the letter of the Bishop of Ravenna to Gregory, Epistle 3.66, “Sedem apostolicam, quam antae moribus nunc etiam honore debito gubernatis”). In this capacity, probably in 586, Gregory wrote his important letter to the schismatical bishops of Istria who had separated from communion with the Church on the question of the Three Chapters (Epp., Appendix, III, iii). This document, which is almost a treatise in length, is an admirable example of Gregory’s skill, but it failed to produce any more effort than Pelagius’s two previous letters had, and the schism continued. canonical rights of the other patriarchs and bishops. With the other Oriental patriarchs his relations were most cordial, as appears from his letters to the patriarchs of Antioch and Alexandria.

Relations with the Lombards and the Franks

Gregory’s consecration as pope preceded by a few days only the death of Authari, King of the Lombards, whose queen, the famous Theodelinde, then married Agilulf, Duke of Turin, a warlike and energetic prince. With Agilulf and the Dukes Ariulf of Spoleto and Arichis of Benevento, Gregory soon had to deal, as, when difficulties arose, Romanus, the exarch, or representative, of the emperor, preferred to remain in sulky inactivity at Ravenna.

It soon became clear that, if any successful resistance was to be made against the Lombards, it must be by the pope’s own exertions. How keenly he felt the difficulty and danger of his position appears in some of the earliest letters (Epistles 1.3, 1.8, 1.30); but no actual hostilities began till the summer of 592, when the pope received a threatening letter from Ariulf of Spoleto, which was followed almost immediately by the appearance of that chief before the walls of Rome. At the same time Arichis of Benevento advanced on Naples, which happened at the moment to have no bishop nor any officer of high rank in command of the garrison. Gregory at once took the surprising step of appointing a tribune on his own authority to take command of the city (Epistle 2.34), and, when no notice of this strong action was taken by the imperial authorities, the pope conceived the idea of himself arranging a separate peace with the Lombards (Epistle 2.45). No details of this peace have come down to us, but it seems certain that it was actually concluded (Epistle 5.36). Dr. Hodgkin (Italy and her Invaders, v, 366) pronounces Gregory’s action herein to have been wise and statesmanlike, but, at the same time, undoubtedly ultra vires, being quite beyond any legal competency then possessed by the pope, who thus “made a memorable stride towards complete independence”.

Gregory’s independent action had the effect of rousing up Romanus the exarch. Wholly ignoring the papal peace, he gathered all his troops, attacked and regained Perugia, and then marched to Rome, where he was received with imperial honours. The next spring, however, he quitted the city and took away its garrison with him, so that both pope and citizens were now more exasperated against him than before. Moreover, the exarch’s campaign had roused the Northern Lombards, and King Agilulf marched on Rome, arriving there probably some time in June, 593. The terror aroused by his advance is still mirrored for us in Gregory’s homilies on the Prophet Ezechiel, which were delivered at this time. The siege of the city was soon abandoned, however, and Agilulf retired. The continuator of Prosper (Mon. Germ. SS. Antiq., IX, 339) relates that Agilulf met the pope in person on the steps of the Basilica of St. Peter, which was then outside the city walls, and “being melted by Gregory’s prayers and greatly moved by the wisdom and religious gravity of this great man, he broke up the siege of the city”; but, in view of the silence both of Gregory himself and of Paul the Deacon on the point, the story seems scarcely probable. In Epistle 5.39, Gregory refers to himself as “the paymaster of the Lombards”, and most likely a large payment from the papal treasury was the chief inducement to raise the siege.

The pope’s great desire now was to secure a lasting peace with the Lombards, which could only be achieved by a proper arrangement between the imperial authorities and the Lombard chiefs. On Queen Theodelinde, a Catholic and a personal friend, Gregory placed all his hopes. The exarch, however, looked at the whole affair in another light, and, when a whole year was passed in fruitless negotiations, Gregory began once again to mediate a private treaty. Accordingly, in May, 595, the pope wrote to a friend at Ravenna a letter (Epistle 5.34) threatening to make peace with Agilulf even without the consent of the Exarch Romanus. This threat was speedily reported to Constantinople, where the exarch was in high favour, and the Emperor Maurice at once sent off to Gregory a violent letter, now lost, accusing him of being both a traitor and a fool. This letter Gregory received in June, 595. Luckily, the pope’s answer has been preserved to us (Epistle 5.36). It must be read in its entirety to be appreciated fully; probably very few emperors, if any, have ever received such a letter from a subject. Still, in spite of his scathing reply, Gregory seems to have realized that independent action could not secure what he wished, and we hear no more about a separate peace.

Gregory’s relations with the Exarch Romanus became continually more and more strained until the latter’s death in the year 596 or early in 597. The new exarch, Callinicus, was a man of far greater ability and well disposed towards the pope, whose hopes now revived. The official peace negotiations were pushed on, and, in spite of delays, the articles were at length signed in 599, to Gregory’s great joy. This peace lasted two years, but in 601 the war broke out again through an aggressive act on the part of Callinicus, who was recalled two years later, when his successor, Smaragdus, again made a peace with the Lombards which endured until after Gregory’s death.

Two points stand out for special notice in Gregory’s dealings with the Lombards: first, his determination that, in spite of the apathy of the imperial authorities, Rome should not pass into the hands of some half-civilized Lombard duke and so sink into insignificance and decay; second, his independent action in appointing governors to cities, providing munitions of war, giving instructions to generals, sending ambassadors to the Lombard king, and even negotiating a peace without the exarch’s aid. Whatever the theory may have been, there is no doubt about the fact that, besides his spiritual jurisdiction, Gregory actually exercised no small amount of temporal power.

Of Gregory’s relations with the Franks there is no need to write at length, as the intercourse he established with the Frankish kings practically lapsed at his death, and was not renewed for about a hundred years. On the other hand he exercised a great influence on Frankish monasticism, which he did much to strengthen and reshape, so that the work done by the monasteries in civilizing the wild Franks may be attributed ultimately to the first monk-pope.

Relations with the Imperial Government

The reign of Gregory the Great marks an epoch in papal history, and this is specially the case in respect to his attitude towards the imperial Government centered at Constantinople. Gregory seems to have looked upon Church and State as co-operating to form a united whole, which acted in two distinct spheres, ecclesiastical and secular. Over this commonwealth were the pope and the emperor, each supreme in his own department, care being taken to keep these as far as possible distinct and independent.

The latter point was the difficulty. Gregory definitely held that it was a duty of the secular ruler to protect the Church and preserve the “peace of the faith” (Mor., XXXI, viii), and so he is often found to call in the aid of the secular arm, not merely to suppress schism, heresy, or idolatry, but even to enforce discipline among monks and clergy (Epistles 1.72; 2.29; 3.59; 4.7; 4.32; 5.32; 8.4; 11.12; 11.37; 13.36). If the emperor interfered in church matters the pope’s policy was to acquiesce if possible, unless obedience was sinful, according to the principle laid down in Epistle 11.29; “Quod ipse [se imperator] fecerit, si canonicum est, sequimur; si vero canonicum non est, in quantum sine peccato nostro, portamus.” In taking this line Gregory was undoubtedly influenced by his deep reverence for the emperor, whom he regarded as the representative of God in all things secular, and must still be treated with all possible respect, even when he encroached on the borders of the papal authority.

On his side, although he certainly regarded himself as “superior in place and rank” to the exarch (Epistle 2.14), Gregory objected strongly to the interference of ecclesiastical authorities in matters secular. As supreme guardian of Christian justice, the pope was always ready to intercede for, or protect anyone who suffered unjust treatment (Epistles 1.35; 1.36; 1.47; 1.59; 3.5; 5.38; 9.4; 9.46; 9.55; 9.113; 9.182; 11.4), but at the same time he used the utmost tact in approaching the imperial officials. In Epistle 1.39, xxxix a, he explains for the benefit of his Sicilian agent the precise attitude to be adopted in such matters.

Still, in conjunction with all this deference, Gregory retained a spirit of independence which enabled him, when he considered it necessary, to address even the emperor in terms of startling directness. Space makes it impossible to do more than refer to the famous letters to the Emperor Phocas on his usurpation and the allusions in them to the murdered Emperor Maurice (Epistles 13.34, 13.41, 13.42). Every kind of judgement has been passed upon Gregory for writing these letters, but the question remains a difficult one. Probably the pope’s conduct herein was due to two things: first, his ignorance of the way in which Phocus had reached the throne; and second, his view that the emperor was God’s representative on earth, and therefore deserving of all possible respect in his official capacity, his personal character not coming into the question at all. It should be noted, also, that he avoids any direct flattery towards the new emperor, merely using the exaggerated phrases of respect then customary, and expressing the high hopes he entertains of the new regime. Moreover, his allusions to Maurice refer to the sufferings of the people under his government, and do not reflect on the dead emperor himself.

Had the empire been sound instead of in a hopelessly rotten state when Gregory became pope, it is hard to say how his views might have worked out in practice. As it was, his line of strong independence, his efficiency, and his courage carried all before them, and when he died there was no longer any question as to who was the first power in Italy.

Missionary work

Gregory’s zeal for the conversion of the heathen, and in particular of the Angles, has been mentioned already, and there is no need to dwell at length on the latter subject, as it has been fully treated under SAINT AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY. In justice to the great pope, however, it must be added that he lost no opportunity for the exercise of his missionary zeal, making every effort to root out paganism in Gaul, Donatism in Africa, and the Schism of the Three Chapters in North Italy and Istria.

In his treatment of heretics, schismatics, and pagans his method was to try every means — persuasions, exhortations, threats — before resorting to force; but, if gentler treatment failed, he had no hesitation in accordance with the ideas of his age, in resorting to compulsion, and invoking the aid of the secular arm therein. It is curious, therefore, to find him acting as a champion and protector of the Jews. In Epistle 1.14, he expressly deprecates the compulsory baptism of Jews, and many instances appear in which he insists on their right to liberty of action, so far as the law permitted, both in civil affairs and in the worship of the synagogue (Epistles 1.34; 2.6; 8.25; 9.38; 9.195; 13.15). He was equally strong, however, in preventing the Jews from exceeding the rights granted to them by the imperial law, especially with regard to the ownership by them of Christian slaves (Epistles 2.6; 3.37; 4.9; 4.21; 6.29; 7.21; 8.21; 9.104; 9.213; 9.215). We shall probably be right, therefore, in attributing Gregory’s protection of the Jews to his respect for law and justice, rather than to any ideas of toleration differing from those current at the time.

Gregory and monasticism

Although the first monk to become pope, Gregory was in no sense an original contributor to monastic ideals or practice. He took monasticism as he found it established by St. Benedict, and his efforts and influence were given to strengthening and enforcing the prescriptions of that greatest of monastic legislators. His position did indeed tend to modify St. Benedict’s work by drawing it into a closer connection with the organization of the Church, and with the papacy in particular, but this was not deliberately aimed at by Gregory. Rather he was himself convinced that the monastic system had a very special value for the Church, and so he did everything in his power to diffuse and propagate it. His own property was consecrated to this end, he urged many wealthy people to establish or support monasteries, and he used the revenues of the patrimony for the same purpose.

He was relentless in correcting abuses and enforcing discipline, the letters on such matters being far too numerous for mention here, and the points on which he insists most are precisely those, such as stability and poverty, on which St. Benedict’s recent legislation had laid special stress. Twice only do we find anything like direct legislation by the pope. The first point is that of the age at which a nun might be made abbess, which he fixes at “not less than sixty years” (Epistle 4.11). The second is his lengthening of the period of novitiate. St. Benedict had prescribed at least one year (Reg. Ben., lviii); Gregory (Epistle 10.9) orders two years, with special precautions in the case of slaves who wished to become monks.

More important was his line of action in the difficult question of the relation between monks and their bishop. There is plenty of evidence to show that many bishops took advantage of their position to oppress and burden the monasteries in their diocese, with the result that the monks appealed to the pope for protection. Gregory, while always upholding the spiritual jurisdiction of the bishop, was firm in support of the monks against any illegal aggression. All attempts on the part of a bishop to assume new powers over the monks in his diocese were condemned, while at times the pope issued documents, called Privilegia, in which he definitely set forth certain points on which the monks were exempt from episcopal control (Epistles 5.49; 7.12; 8.17; 12.11; 12.12; 12.13). This action on Gregory’s part undoubtedly began the long progress by which the monastic bodies have come to be under the direct control of the Holy See.

It should be mentioned that in Gregory’s day the current view was that ecclesiastical work, such as the cure of souls, preaching, administering the sacraments, etc., was not compatible with the monastic state, and in this view the pope concurred. On the other hand a passage in Epistle 12.4, where he directs that a certain layman “should be tonsured either as a monk or a subdeacon”, would suggest that the pope held the monastic state as in some way equivalent to the ecclesiastical; for his ultimate intention in this case was to promote the layman in question to the episcopate.

Death, canonization, relics, emblem

The last years of Gregory’s life were filled with every kind of suffering. His mind, naturally serious, was filled with despondent forebodings, and his continued bodily pains were increased and intensified. His “sole consolation was the hope that death would come quickly” (Epistle 13.26). The end came on 12 March, 604, and on the same day his body was laid to rest in front of the sacristy in the portico of St. Peter’s Basilica. Since then the relics have been moved several times, the most recent translation being that by Paul V in 1606, when they were placed in the chapel of Clement V near the entrance of the modern sacristy. There is some evidence that the body was taken to Soissons in France in the year 826, but probably only some large relic is meant.

Venerable Bede (Hist. Eccl., II, i) gives the epitaph placed on his tomb which contains the famous phrase referring to Gregory as consul Dei. His canonization by popular acclamation followed at once on his death, and survived a reaction against his memory which seems to have occurred soon afterwards.

In art the great pope is usually shown in full pontifical robes with the tiara and double cross. A dove is his special emblem, in allusion to the well-known story recorded by Peter the Deacon (Vita, xxviii), who tells that when the pope was dictating his homilies on Ezechiel a veil was drawn between his secretary and himself. As, however, the pope remained silent for long periods at a time, the servant made a hole in the curtain and, looking through, beheld a dove seated upon Gregory’s head with its beak between his lips. When the dove withdrew its beak the holy pontiff spoke and the secretary took down his words; but when he became silent the servant again applied his eye to the hole and saw the dove had replaced its beak between his lips. The miracles attributed to Gregory are very many, but space forbids even the barest catalogue of them.

Conclusion

It is beyond the scope of this notice to attempt any elaborate estimate of the work, influence, and character of Pope Gregory the Great, but some short focusing of the features given above is only just.

First of all, perhaps, it will be best to clear the ground by admitting frankly what Gregory was not. He was not a man of profound learning, not a philosopher, not a conversationalist, hardly even a theologian in the constructive sense of the term. He was a trained Roman lawyer and administrator, a monk, a missionary, a preacher, above all a physician of souls and a leader of men. His great claim to remembrance lies in the fact that he is the real father of the medieval papacy (Milman).

With regard to things spiritual, he impressed upon men’s minds to a degree unprecedented the fact that the See of Peter was the one supreme, decisive authority in the Catholic Church. During his pontificate, he established close relations between the Church of Rome and those of Spain, Gaul, Africa, and Illyricum, while his influence in Britain was such that he is justly called the Apostle of the English. In the Eastern Churches, too, the papal authority was exercised with a frequency unusual before his time, and we find no less an authority than the Patriarch of Alexandria submitting himself humbly to the pope’s “commands”. The system of appeals to Rome was firmly established, and the pope is found to veto or confirm the decrees of synods, to annul the decisions of patriarchs, and inflict punishment on ecclesiastical dignitaries precisely as he thinks right.

Nor is his work less noteworthy in its effect on the temporal position of the papacy. Seizing the opportunity which circumstances offered, he made himself in Italy a power stronger than emperor or exarch, and established a political influence which dominated the peninsula for centuries. From this time forth the varied populations of Italy looked to the pope for guidance, and Rome as the papal capital continued to be the centre of the Christian world.

Gregory’s work as a theologian and Doctor of the Church is less notable. In the history of dogmatic development he is important as summing up the teaching of the earlier Fathers and consolidating it into a harmonious whole, rather than as introducing new developments, new methods, new solutions of difficult questions. It was precisely because of this that his writings became to a great extent the compendium theologiae or textbook of the Middle Ages, a position for which his work in popularizing his great predecessors fitted him well. Achievements so varied have won for Gregory the title of “the Great”, but perhaps, among our English-speaking races, he is honoured most of all as the pope who loved the bright-faced Angles, and taught them first to sing the Angels’ song.

His writings

Genuine, doubtful, spurious

Of the writings commonly attributed to Gregory the following are now admitted as genuine on all hands: “Moralium Libri XXXV”; “Regulae Pastoralis Liber”; “Dialogorum Libri IV”; “Homiliarum in Ezechielem Prophetam Libri II”; “Homiliarum in Evangelia Libri II”; “Epistolarum Libri XIV”. The following are almost certainly spurious: “In Librum Primum Regum Variarum Expositionum Libri VI”; “expositio super Cantica Canticorum”; “Expositio in VII Psalmos Poenitentiales”; “Concordia Quorundam Testimoniorum S. Scripturae”. Besides the above there are attributed to Gregory certain liturgical hymns, the Gregorian Sacramentary, and the Antiphonary. (See ANTIPHONARY; SACRAMENTARY.)

Works of Gregory; complete or partial editions; translations, recensions, etc.

“Opera S. Gregorii Magni” (Editio princeps, Paris, 1518); ed. P. Tossianensis (6 vols., Rome, 1588-03); ed. P. Goussainville (3 vols., Paris, 1675); ed. Cong. S. Mauri (Sainte-Marthe) (4 vols., Paris, 1705); the last-named re-edited with additions by J. B. Gallicioli (17 vols., Venice, 1768-76) and reprinted in Migne, P.L., LXXV-LXXIX. “Epistolae”, ed. P. Ewald and L. M. Hartmann in “Mon. Germ. Hist.: Epist.”, I, II (Berlin, 1891-99); this is the authoritative edition of the text of the Epistles (all references given above are to this edition); Jaffe, “Regesta Pontif,” (2nd ed., Rome, 1885), I, 143-219; II, 738; Turchi, “S. Greg. M. Epp. Selectae” (Rome, 1907); P. Ewald, “Studien zur Ausgabe des Registers Gregors I.” in “Neues Archiv”, III, 433-625; L.M. Hartmann in “Neues Archiv”, XV, 411, 529; XVII, 493; Th. Mommsen in “Neues Archiv”, XVII, 189; English translation: J. Barmby, “Selected Epistles” in “Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers”, 2nd Series, XII, XIII (Oxford and New York, 1895, 1898), “Regula Pastoralis Curae”, ed. E. W. Westhoff (Munster, 1860); ed. H. Hurter, S.J., in “SS. Patr. Opuse. Select.”, XX; ed. A.M. Micheletti (Tournai, 1904); ed. B. Sauter (Freiburg, 1904); English translations: “King Alfred’s West Saxon Version of Gregory’s Pastoral Care”, ed. H. Sweet (London, 1871); “The Book of Pastoral Care” (tr. J. Barmby) in “Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers”, 2nd Series, XII (Oxford and New York, 1895). “Dialogorum Libri IV”: very many editions of the whole work have appeared, and also of Bk. II, “Of the Life and Miracles of St. Benedict”, separately; an old English translation has been reprinted by H. Coleridge, S.J., (London, 1874); L. Wiese, “Die Sprache der Dialoge” (Halle, 1900); H. Delehaye, “S. Gregoirele Grand dans Phagiographie Grecque” in “Analecta Bolland.” (1904), 449-54; B. Sauter, “Der heilige Vater Benediktus nach St. Gregor dem Grossen” (Freiburg, 1904). “Hom. XL in Evangelia”, ed. H. Hurter in “SS. Patrum Opusc. Select.”, series II, Tom. VI (Innsbruck, 1892). G. Pfeilschifter Gregors der Gr.” (Munich, 1900). “Magna Moralia”, Eng. tr. in “Library of the Fathers” (4 vols., Oxford, 1844); Prunner, “Gnade und Sunde nach Gregors expositio in Job” (Eichstätt, 1855).

We pray:

God the Father Almighty, maker of all things. You looked on the affliction of Your barren servant Hannah and did not forget her but answered her prayers with the gift of a son. So hear our supplications and petitions and fill our emptiness, granting us trust in Your provision, so that we, like Hannah, might render unto You all thankfulness and praise, and delight in the miraculous birth of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hannah was the favored wife of Elkanah the Ephraimite. For many years she remained barren, suffering the insults of Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah — even though he said what he could to try comforting Hannah.

Finally the Lord relieved her of her bitterness (1 Samuel 1:6-8). After she poured herself out in prayer before the Tabernacle, the priest Eli sent her on the way with the promise that the Lord would hear and answer her prayer.

While Scripture gives no indication that Eli even knew the specifics of her petitions, his promise to the distraught woman came to pass and she bore a son, whom she named Samuel (“Heard by God”), “for she said, ‘I have asked for him from the Lord.’ (vv. 9-21)”

After weaning him, Hannah expressed gratitude by returning Samuel for a life of service in the House of the Lord with Elkanah’s consent and blessing (1:24-28). Her prayer of thanksgiving (2:1-10) foreshadows the Magnificat, the Song of Mary which would be sung centuries later during her Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth (Luke 1:46-55).

The name Hannah comes from the Hebrew word for “grace” or “favor,” the same root as the name John. We remember Hannah for joyfully keeping the vow she made before her son’s birth. We also praise our God who lavished His favor upon a childless woman and upon the Children of Israel — both through the gift of Samuel.

Concordia Publishing House Sells One Millionth Hymnal
Concordia Publishing House Aims to Put a Hymnal into the Hands of Every Lutheran

09.01.2010 – Saint Louis, MO—When you hear about a publishing company selling over a million copies in record time, you almost expect the book to have Harry Potter or Twilight in its title. However, Concordia Publishing House (CPH) is proud to announce that this time that is not the case. In fact, after just four years, Lutheran Service Book (LSB) has sold one million copies.

“People need a way to give voice to their faith. There are three core books that can do that: the Bible, the hymnal, and the catechism,” said Rev. Paul McCain, Concordia’s publisher. “The hymnal is the book that helps put our faith in a form that we can easily remember. That is a powerful influence in a Christian’s life.”

In fact, it is so powerful an influence, that even before its release, the hymnal saw great success. Its first print run of 250,000 copies sold out in preorders, and over the next four years, around 80% of the churches in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod adopted LSB.

“We are absolutely thrilled to celebrate the overwhelming reception that Lutheran Service Book has had in our churches,” said President and CEO, Dr. Bruce G. Kintz. “At CPH, it is our mission to serve the church by providing resources for today’s ministry, and the hymnal’s success shows us that our mission is being fulfilled.”

Although the majority of the first million hymnals went to churches across the country, last month Pastor Gary Benedix made an uncommon purchase and bought a single hymnal. His church, Hope Lutheran in Jackpot, Nevada, was not a part of that 80%. When Pastor Benedix ordered LSB on the Web, he hoped to use it for two things: first, to use as a launching pad for introducing the hymnal to his congregation, and second, as a gift for his one and only confirmation student.

What came next was a bit more unexpected.

“I got a phone call from Dr. Kintz, and he told me that I had purchased the millionth hymnal,” said Pastor Benedix. “I was confused; I thought they were calling everyone to tell them the news, but he explained that I had actually, physically purchased the millionth hymnal. I couldn’t believe it!”

This retired pastor from Jackpot, Nevada, had indeed hit the jackpot. He had purchased one very special copy of Lutheran Service Book for his tiny church, whose attendance ranged from four to 25 on any given week.

With such a small attendance, the church had not been able to adopt LSB when it was released; but Pastor Benedix was not about to let that stand in his way.

“The liturgical aspect of worship is so important to me,” he said. “The beauty of the service, especially in LSB, adds depth and spirituality to each person that uses it.”

In fact, Pastor Benedix was so interested in getting LSB for his congregation that he hoped they would each purchase their own copies to use during worship and at home. As a surprise and special gift to Pastor Benedix, his congregation did not have to be without LSB for long. Because he purchased the millionth hymnal, CPH gave his congregation 30 hymnals as a way of saying thank you.

“We are so excited to get started with Lutheran Service Book and to continue this liturgical tradition with Word and Sacrament in Jackpot,” Pastor Benedix said.

Even though Pastor Benedix’s congregation can now use LSB at church, their pastor is still excited to utilize the hymnal outside of worship. Not only does he plan to start a few small Bible studies, but he also plans on using that one special hymnal to teach his only confirmation student, McKenzie Heileman.

“I’ll expect her to use it at home to read through the devotional services, the responsive prayer, and the chief parts,” said Pastor Benedix. “It’s difficult to get kids to memorize, but her memory work will be the prayers in the hymnal, which are marvelous.”

Pastor Benedix’s expectation for McKenzie to use the hymnal at home aligns perfectly with Concordia Publishing House’s hopes for the hymnal’s future, according to Peter Reske, managing editor of music and worship resources.

“If you only use the hymnal on Sunday, you will miss all the little things in there that are so important,” Reske said. “Many things often go overlooked.”

In order to help members of the LCMS realize what they have been overlooking over the last four years, CPH has introduced the Hymnal in Every Home campaign, that Pastor McCain hopes will show people just how the hymnal can be used at home.

“It gives great continuity between Sunday morning and home life, because it is basically your one-stop-shop. There are suggested daily Bible readings, hymns, prayers, psalms, and more,” he said. “Why only worship the Lord on Sunday? His word is our sustenance. Can you survive by eating only one day a week? Probably. But God’s buffet is open 24/7 and he invites us to enjoy richly.”

And so, as a way to promote the purchase of hymnals for every home, CPH has lowered their prices significantly—offering the Pew Edition for only $20 and the Gift Edition for $30.

“From the beginning this has been your hymnal,” said Reske, “and we want to make sure you have every opportunity to get your hands on it.”

To order or find out more about the Hymnal in Every Home campaign, visit cph.org/hymnal where you can find hymnal tips, videos, and more.