Intentional Discipleship, Renewed Daily
Christians are called to be intentional disciples who make a conscious decision ...
Christians are called to be intentional disciples who make a conscious decision ...
Dr. Italy, in this 14 minute podcast, discusses the central and constant role pi...
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12 February, 2016Gregory the Great coaches pastors, teachers and business leaders how to avoid pride & arrogance. Teaching with authority does not mean belittling and dominating one’s students or subordinates, but modeling in one’s life and actions the principles being preached. The apostles Paul and Peter both modeled this sort of humility and sound teaching. From Gregory’s Moral reflections on Job.
Now, Job, listen to my words, and attend to all I have to say.
It is characteristic of the way that arrogant people teach, that they do not know how to convey their knowledge humbly and cannot express straightforward truths straightforwardly. When they teach, it is clear from their words that they are placing themselves on a pinnacle and looking down on their pupils somewhere in the depths – pupils unworthy to be informed and scarcely even worth the bother of dominating.
The Lord rightly admonished such people through the mouth of the prophet Ezekiel, saying You have ruled your flock cruelly and with violence [Ezek 34:4]. For they rule with cruelty and violence when they do not try to correct those under them with rational arguments but try to dominate them and crush them.
On the other hand, sound teaching is eager to avoid this sin of pride manifested in thought: just as eager as it is to attack with words the teacher of pride himself. Sound teaching does not promote him by imitating his arrogance but uses pious words to attack him in its hearers’ hearts.
Instead it promotes humility, the mother and teacher of all virtues. It preaches humility in words and manifests humility in its actions. It commends humility to its pupils more by conduct than by speech.
This is why Paul seems to have forgotten his exalted status as an apostle when writing to the Thessalonians: We were babes among you. So also Peter: Always have your answer ready for people who ask the reason for the hope you all have, adding, to emphasize that the teaching must be presented in the proper way, But give it with respect and with a clear conscience [1 Peter 3:15].
When Paul says to Timothy Command these things and teach them with all authority [1 Tim 4:11], he is not calling for a domination born of power but an authority that comes from a way of life. “Teaching with authority” here means living something first before preaching it; for when speech is impeded by conscience, the hearer will find it harder to trust what is being taught.
So Paul is not commending the power of proud and exalted words, but the trustworthiness that comes from good behavior. This, indeed, is why it is said of the Lord, Unlike the scribes and pharisees, he taught them with authority [Matt 7:29]. He alone spoke with unique authority because he had never, through weakness, done evil. What he had from the power of his divinity, he taught to us through the innocence of his humanity.
For more on pride and humility, read Dr Italy’s post HUMILITY OPENS DOORS.
For more from St Gregory the Great’s Moral Reflection on Job, see THE MANIFOLD LAW OF THE LORD IS SUMMED UP IN LOVE.
This excerpt explains how sound teaching shuns pride and promotes humility It is an excerpt from Saint Gregory the Great’s Moral Reflections on Job (Moralia in Job Lib. 23, 23-24: PL 76, 265-266). It appears in Roman Office of Readings on Wednesday in the 9th week in ordinary time, together with Job 32:1-6 and 33:1-22.
Pope Saint Gregory I, commonly known as St. Gregory the Great, was one of the most fascinating of early Church Fathers. Son of a Roman Senator, Saint Gregory was born in Rome around 540AD and, following his dad’s footsteps, embarked upon a political career. He rose through the ranks of civil service and eventually became Prefect (mayor) of the city of Rome. At that point, Gregory discerned a call to deeper life with God so promptly gave away his wealth to the poor and entered the monastery of St. Andrew (ca. 574) where he ultimately became abbot (585). The Pope, recognizing his talent, named him as one of the seven deacons of Rome and then sent him on a diplomatic mission as papal legate to the imperial city of Constantinople where he remained for five years. Upon the death of the pope in 590, St. Gregory was elected to succeed him, the first monk ever elected as the Successor of Peter. This man who wanted nothing else but to be a simple monk had to undergo a profound interior struggle before accepting this election as the will of God. Immediately he set to work putting in order the affairs of a Church and society in chaos. Like his predecessor Pope Leo the Great, he negotiated a “separate peace” with the invading barbarians, in this case the Lombards (592-3). In light of the powerlessness of the Byzantine emperor in the West, he took over civic as well as spiritual leadership of Italy, appointing governors of the various Italian cities. He, who had spent his own wealth to relieve the suffering of the poor, did much the same with the resources of the church. He insisted on Papal primacy, and took the initiative in evangelization, sending monks from his former monastery led by Augustine to convert the Angles of Britain. His abundant writings are more practical and spiritual than doctrinal or theoretical. His Liber Regulae Pastoralis (592 ca) sets the standard of what a bishop should be. His Dialogues recounts the life of his master, St. Benedict, and other saints of the period. His Moralia in Job is a commentary on the book of Job according to the literal, moral, and spiritual senses of Scripture. Very devoted to the liturgy, Gregory promoted sacred music and to this day the plainsong that comes down to us from this era is known as “Gregorian Chant.” Gregory, who died in 604 AD, is known as one of the four greatest Latin-speaking Fathers and Doctors of the Church. He is one of the few men in the history of the Church whose name is customarily followed by “the Great.” His liturgical memorial is on September 3, the anniversary of his consecration as bishop of Rome and successor of St. Peter. His favorite title for this exalted office was “servant of the servants of God.” For more on the life and impact of St. Gregory the Great, see chapter 25 of Marcellino D’Ambrosio’s book When the Church Was Young: Voices of the Early Fathers. Biography by Dr. Italy
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