Let the peoples recount the wisdom of
the Saints, and let the Church
proclaim their praise. Their names will live on and
on. - Cf. Sir 44:15, 14
(Entrance Antiphon, Today's
Liturgy)
"Eternal Son of the living God, whom I acknowledge here as truly
present, I adore You with all the powers of my soul!
Prostrate with the angels in the most profound reverence, I love You, O my
Savior; whom I now behold on Your throne of love. O dread Majesty, O
infinite Mercy, save me! Forgive me! Grant that I may
never more be separated from You!"
St Basil
the Great
Doctor
of the Church
Father
of Eastern Monasticism
His single greatest contribution was his insistence
on the divinity and consubstantiality
of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the
Son
329-379
AD
FEAST
DAY - January 2
"We should not accept in silence the benefactions of God,
but return thanks for
them." - St Basil the Great
"Why was St. Basil given
the name "Great"? Only a few people in the world were ever given the magnificent
title, "Great"! Alexander
the Great was so-called because he conquered the world, but St. Basil was called "Great" because he conquered the hearts and
souls of men for Jesus Christ. His whole life was dedicated to Jesus and
the message of Christianity. He had the humility of Moses, the zeal of Elijah,
the piety of Peter, the eloquence of John the Theologian, and the dedication of
Paul." ~ Fr. George Poulos
“Let us remain in
adoration: and to Him, who,
in order to save us, humbled Himself to such a degree of poverty as to receive
our body, let us offer
not only incense,
gold and myrrh, the first as God, the second as king, and the third as one who
sought death for our sake, but also spiritual gifts
more sublime than those which can be seen with the
eyes”
(Oratorio).
St
Gregory Nazienzen
Doctor
of the Church
Father
of Eastern Monasticism
Esteemed
writer and orator
especially on theme of
Trinity
aka "the
Theologian"
328 -389
AD
FEAST
DAY - January 2
“God
accepts our desires as though they were a great value. He longs ardently for us
to desire and love Him. He accepts our petitions for benefits as though we were
doing Him a favor. His joy in giving is greater than ours in receiving. So let us not be apathetic in our asking, nor set too narrow bounds
to our requests; nor ask for frivolous things unworthy of God’s
greatness.” - St Gregory of Nazienzen
Sts Basil and Gregory, pray for
us!
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. In 379 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." ~ Magnificat - Vol 15, No 11,
January 2014
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