"Monk to Magnus"

This is from yesterday's Zenit, from always fascinating columnist Elizabeth Lev.

Last Saturday was the feast of Pope St. Gregory the Great. Rome reacted with little fanfare. A few pilgrims found their way to the churched dedicated to him on the Caelian Hill while others noted the lit candles on the altar above his relics in St. Peter's Basilica.

Perhaps this saint of almost 1,500 years ago seems a little too far away from us. He was from a wealthy Roman patrician family and didn't die the glorious and gruesome death of a martyr, so what is there to capture the imagination of the 21st century?

Plenty. The 14-year pontificate of Gregory the Great has many resounding messages for the Catholic world today.

"Magnus, magnus" we all heard during the funeral of John Paul II and many wondered at its meaning. The term "magnus" (the great) has not been used in a very long time, not since Pope Nicholas I died in 867. It is a popular acclamation, not a granted title, something that people use and it sticks. Johannus Paulus Magnus certainly sounds as if it will stand the test of time.

What earns this title is a pontificate of great theological and intellectual advances, brilliant navigation of the Church through dark times and troubled waters, and the genuine love of the flock.

When Gregory was unanimously elected Pope, he was living as monk in Rome. He had transformed his family palace on the Caelian Hill into a monastic community. Although often sent by his predecessor, Pope Pelagius II, on delicate and complicated diplomatic missions, Gregory's first and true love was the contemplative life. Upon election to the papacy, like John Paul II, Gregory had balance his mystical side with his active responsibilities as Pope.

Responsibilities that Pope Gregory took very seriously. He was the first Pope to refer to himself as "Servus servorum Dei," or Servant of the servants of God, a title that John Paul II used frequently of himself. He fortified Rome against the Lombards, gave his own lands to feed the starving population and sent out missionaries to evangelize new lands, especially England.

As our John Paul II was actor and poet, so Pope Gregory left a lasting artistic gift to the Church, Gregorian chant.

Pope Gregory's last years were spent in constant illness and physical pain, but according to biographer Paul the Deacon, "he never rested" and continued his ministry until he died a peaceful and happy death in 604. His ceaseless work and prayer for the souls in his care served as an example for all those who witnessed it.

Another significant link between St. Gregory and our present times can be found in St. Benedict. Although St. Benedict died in 547 when Gregory was still a child, the Pope admired the monastic founder and furthered Benedictine monasticism with every means at his disposal. In these days of renewed interest in Benedict and his teachings, Pope Gregory seems to have planted the seeds that we are reaping now.

The legacy of Pope Gregory the Great earned him the title of Father of the medieval Church. Maybe John Paul II will be known as the Father of the Church of the third millennium.