Liturgical Calendar

Saint of the day

Saint Gregory III (d.741)

Saint Gregory III was not intending on taking over the papacy when Saint Gregory II passed away. He was part of the crowd that was mourning the loss of the pope during his funeral procession, when someone recognized him as a renowned holy man. Suddenly, Gregory was whisked away by the crowd and declared the next pope! After he was pronounced Pope Gregory III, he was faced with his first problem. Emperor Leo III condemned the adoration of holy images because he believed it to be idolatry. Gregory III promptly sent a letter to Leo III, but it went undelivered because his messenger was frightened to deliver it. Since his letter was not effective, Gregory III called a synod instead that imposed harsh consequences on anyone who tried to destroy images of Jesus, Mary, or the saints. Leo III countered this decree by sending ships to kidnap Gregory III. However, God had other ideas. A severe storm destroyed Leo's ships, foiling his plans. Pope Saint Gregory III lived out his vocation as pope from 731-741.

Reflection

Sometimes the Lord surprises us with the plans that he has for us. Saint Gregory III must have been very surprised with God's plan for him when he was swept up by the crowd and made the next pope. Even though this appointment was not expected, and he faced problems right from the start, Saint Gregory III lived out his vocation with determination and faith. Spend some quiet time with the Lord. Ask him to give you the faith and courage needed to live out what he is calling you to do.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, empower me to respond to the things you challenge me to do in my life. Give me courage to be a sign of your presence. (Taken from “Take Ten: Daily Bible Reflections for Teens.”)

Meditations

Meditation for Gospel

We can see through his healing miracles that Jesus is like a Divine Physician. He can heal lepers, restore hearing and sight to the blind and deaf, and give strength to paralytics. However, in every account of healing, Jesus does not just heal the body - He heals the soul, too. Just as the body has ailments, diseases, injuries and defects, so too does the soul. The soul's sickness is sin: the sin of pride, anger, lust, greed, and so on. In today's Gospel, the paralytic man is brought to Jesus by his friends, and Jesus does not heal his physical infirmity - He forgives his sins. This demonstrates that the healing of the soul takes priority over the healing of the body. For the sake of those who did not believe that He had the power to forgive sins - a power that only God has (priests do no forgive sins - they are vessels through which the forgiveness of God is offered) - He also heals the man's body. Jesus uses an outward sign of healing to point to a deeper, internal sign of the healing of the man's soul. An outward sign of an invisible reality is something with which we are very familiar - every sacrament is an external sign of an internal grace. Remember this story, and Jesus' healing miracles, whenever you receive any sacraments!