Memorial of
Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory Nazianzen,
bishops and doctors of the Church
(I John 2:22-28; John 1: 19-28)
Today the Church recognizes two theologians, Basil (called
“the Great”) and Gregory Nazianzen. It
honors them together not just because they were contemporaries but, more
importantly, because they were close friends.
It seems as if the Church wants us to begin the New Year with a
reflection on friendship.
Gregory Nazianzen once preached about his friendship with
Basil. He said that both came to Athens as students where
they competed with one another to learn as much as possible. But, he went on, their rivalry never resulted
in envy over each other’s achievements; rather, out of love, each gladly
yielded highest honors to the other.
Aristotle sees various levels of friendship. We like some people because they are useful
for business purposes. We enjoy others
for their good humor or interesting viewpoints.
But we reserve our deepest love for virtuous people in whom we see
reflections of ourselves. They possess
the goodness that we wish to attain. More
than that, they help us achieve virtue by their honesty and care.
At the end of the Gospel According to John, Jesus tells his
disciples that they are his friends. He
loves them deeply and wants them to share in the unity which he enjoys with
God. One worthwhile resolution for the
New Year is to strive to better friends to our acquaintances and to seek a
closer friendship with Jesus.
