3 September 2018
Memorial of St. Gregory, Pope and Doctor of the Church
Paul wants the faith of the Corinthians to rest “not on human wisdom but on the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:5). Paul saw how human wisdom will only do so much, while God’s power endures. Pope Gregory the Great knew something of this contrast from his own life. Gregory came of age in the ashes of the Roman Empire, surely one of the greatest products of human wisdom. Yet he lived to see disease and war overtake and shatter what was left of the Empire. Gregory saw this as a way of God reminding him what will endure.
With so much upheaval in the world today, we may likewise feel like Gregory—that everything around us is falling apart, and nothing is to be trusted. Yet, as Gregory points out, “God’s love has found a way through our obstinacy.” As stubborn as we are, God’s love is more stubborn still. We may think that what we have created is something that will truly endure, God’s love is even more enduring. Whatever falls apart, with faith that rests on the power of God, we can rest in something that will truly last.