(Optional) Memorial
of St. Gregory VII, pope
(Acts 19:1-8; John 16:29-33)
Today the Church celebrates various saints. Among them is Pope St. Gregory the Great, an
eleventh century Church reformer.
Gregory is famous for excommunicating the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. The
emperor refused to allow the Church to invest in office the bishops it
chose. In order to have the sentence lifted,
Henry stood in the snow outside Gregory’s quarters as a kind of penance. But once pardoned, Henry turned on Gregory
and forced him into exile where he died.
No doubt Gregory felt some of the abandonment that Jesus speaks of in
today’s gospel.
In the Gospel of John Jesus is prescient of all that is
taking place. He knows that he will be
crucified and that his disciples will abandon him. Yet he stands firm in his resolve to complete
the mission of his Father. He also knows
that the Father will stand by him. He
further encourages his disciples to trust in him as he does in the Father. Doing so, they will experience peace when are
persecuted for proclaiming Jesus .
Jesus offers the same peace to us. We may feel especially anxious because of the
virus. It really does threaten our safety
and also our livelihood. Praying for
help, we will receive Jesus’ support. He
will enable us to make prudent decisions regarding when to act and when to wait. He will also assure us that even if
our decisions turn out mistaken, we will not perish.
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