Homily – St Gregory the Great (3 September)

Today we celebrate Gregory the Great — monk, pastor, teacher, missionary pope, Doctor of the Church.
He lived 1,400 years ago, but his voice still carries today.

Why? Because Gregory understood the Gospel. He lived it. He preached it. He shepherded with it.

In the Gospel, Jesus asks the disciples:
“Who do you say I am?”

Simon speaks:
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

And Jesus replies:
“You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church. The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

This is the foundation.
The Church is not built on opinion.
Not built on personality.
Not built on shifting sand.
But on Christ confessed and Peter chosen.

The strength of the Church is not in her followers but in her foundation.

Gregory became pope in 590, when Rome was in chaos.
Famine, plague, floods, invasions.
The world looked broken.

And Gregory — who only wanted to be a monk — was dragged out of the monastery and placed on Peter’s chair.

He called himself the “Servant of the servants of God.”
That was not a slogan. It was his life.

He fed the poor.
He negotiated peace with invading armies.
He sent missionaries to England.
He reformed the liturgy.
He wrote books of teaching and prayer.

Gregory took Peter’s task seriously: to feed the flock, to strengthen the brethren, to guard the Gospel.

A true shepherd does not run from the wolves. He stands and fights with love.

And St Paul’s words in the first reading could be Gregory’s own.
“We were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children.
So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God but our very selves.”

That is the heart of a shepherd.
Not a manager.
Not a politician.
A father who gives his life for the flock.

Preaching the Gospel is not handing out information — it is handing over your life.

Gregory did that. He poured himself out.
So much so, that he died worn out from work.

Put the two readings together.
Matthew shows us authority: Peter is the rock, given the keys.
1 Thessalonians shows us service: a shepherd shares his life, gentle and generous.

Both belong together.
Authority without service is tyranny.
Service without authority is sentiment.
But authority lived as service — that is the Gospel.

Gregory shows us how.
He ruled with the keys.
But he lived as a servant.

The papal tiara is heavy because it is meant to be a crown of thorns.

What does Gregory say to us now?

First: trust the rock.
Yes, the Church is storm-tossed. Yes, scandals wound us. Yes, divisions confuse us.
But the foundation is sure. Peter still confesses Christ. The gates of hell will not prevail.

Second: be gentle shepherds, each of us.
Priests, parents, catechists, leaders — all are called to Gregory’s pattern: not just to preach words, but to give our lives.

Third: never separate truth from love.
Gregory was clear in doctrine, firm in teaching, but always pastoral, always merciful, always fatherly.

Truth without love crushes; love without truth deceives. Put together, they save.

Here in our parishes, as we begin a new chapter, Gregory’s voice matters.
If we want renewal, it will not come from gimmicks.
It will come when we preach the truth clearly, serve the poor humbly, worship God reverently, and live our faith joyfully.

Gregory did not chase popularity.
He carried the Cross.
And by carrying it, he renewed the Church.

So must we.

Gregory once wrote: “The proof of love is found in the work of love.”

Not feelings. Not words. Work. Action. Sacrifice.

Imagine a candle. Its proof is not in its shape, but in its burning.
A shepherd’s proof is not in his title, but in his care.

Gregory’s papacy burned itself out in love. That is why he is “the Great.”

So today we honour Gregory, Pope and Doctor, servant and shepherd.

Let us take his example:

to confess Christ with Peter,

to shepherd with Paul,

to serve with Gregory.

And let us remember:
The Church does not stand because we hold her up. She stands because Christ built her on rock. And the gates of hell shall not prevail.