Readings & Reflections: Memorial of Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory Nazianzen, January 2,2020
Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen are linked in this feast day, as they were in life; they were schoolmates, co-defenders of the orthodox teaching on the Trinity, and dear friends. Both served as bishops and suffered hostility from the politically powerful Arians. As a bishop, Basil the Great fed the poor, addressed the destitute and the marginalized, and created a hospital for the sick; he was “truly one of the Fathers of the Church’s social doctrine” (Pope Benedict XVI). Gregory Nazianzen, a lover of solitude and philosophical contemplation, delivered majestic oration on the Trinity that earned him the title “The Theologian.” Both men developed and solidified the Trinitarian formulations of the Church in the face of Arian heresy. The Church’s theological reflection on the Trinity is unthinkable without their contribution. In 379 A.D. Gregory preached at Basil’s funeral: “Do you, Basil, there also welcome me in your dwelling, when I have departed this life, that we may live together and gaze more directly and perfectly at the Holy and Blessed Trinity. Thus we shall attain the fruition of our desire, and receive the reward of the battles we have fought, and the attacks we have resisted.” Basil died in 379 A.D. and Gregory in 390 A.D. For more reflection the Blessed Trinity by Archbishop Fulton Sheen click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2014/05/17/the-blessed-trinity-by-archbishop-fulton-sheen/
