2 Jan – Memorial for Sts. Basil the Great & Gregory Nazianzen, bishops
St. Basil the Great (329-379) was a noble by birth. His parents and four of his nine siblings were canonized, including St. Gregory of Nyssa. He was the grandson of St. Marcina the Elder. As a youth, he was noted for organizing famine relief, and for working in the kitchens himself; quite unusual for a young noble.
He studied in Constantinople and Athens with his friend St. Gregory Nazianzen. He ran a school of oratory and law in Caesarea. He was so successful and sought after as a speaker that he was tempted by pride. Fearful that it would overtake his piety, he sold all that he had, gave away the money, and became a priest and monk.
He founded monasteries and drew up rules for monks living in the desert. He is considered as key to the founding of eastern monasticism as Benedict was to the west. He was the bishop and archbishop of Caesarea. He conducted Mass and preached to the crowds twice daily. He fought Arianism, is a Greek Doctor of the Church, and a Father of the Church.
St. Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390) was the son of St. Gregory of Nazianzen the Elder and St. Nonna, brother of St. Caesar Nazianzen, and St. Gorgonius. He spent an itinerant youth in search of learning. He was a friend and fellow student with St. Basil the Great, and a monk at Basil’s desert monastery.
He was a reluctant priest, feeling himself unworthy, and fearing that the responsibility would test his faith. He assisted his bishop father to prevent an Arian schism in the diocese. He opposed Arianism and brought its heretical followers back to the fold. He became Bishop of Caesarea in 370, which put him in conflict with the Arian emperor Valens. The disputes led his friend Basil the Great, then archbishop, to reassign him to a small, out of the way posting at the edge of the archbishopric.
Following the death of Valens, he was appointed Bishop of Constantinople from 381-390. He hated the city, despised the violence and slander involved in these disputes, and feared being drawn into politics and corruption. But he worked to bring the Arians back to the faith. For his trouble, he was slandered, insulted, beaten up, and a rival ‘bishop’ tried to take over his diocese.
He was a noted preacher on the Trinity. When it seemed that the faith had been restored in the city, Gregory retired to live the rest of his days as a hermit. He wrote theological discourses and poetry, some of it religious, some of it autobiographical. He was a Father of the Church, and a Doctor of the Church.
- Patron Saint Index
Eph 4:1-7,11-13
Mt 23:8-12
“Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will exalted.“
The second day of the New Year is upon us and we celebrate the feast days of Sts Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen. These two Saints may seem foreign to each of us, but they actually show us the way in which we can live the rest of the New Year.
There is a quote attributed to St Basil which goes as follows: It is not he who begins well who is perfect. It is he who ends well who is approved in God’s sight.
The many resolutions we make for this New Year are commendable, but we need to remember that it is the finishing which is just as important. The process in which we get to the end is just as important. As Christians, we should spend time in prayer to ask God for clarity of what he desires in us. This process takes time, and we will need to continually pray for the strength to discern if the goal we set for ourselves is truly what Jesus desires of us.
St Gregory reminds us of the gift of generosity in the following quote attributed to him: Give something, however small, to the one in need. For it is not small to one who has nothing. Neither is it small to God, if we have given what we could.
The year of 2025 is an opportunity for us to bring the face of Jesus to all around us. We can do that through our actions and words. We are not called to do great things, but to be there for the people around us. In today’s time-starved world, the gift of time is what is needed for our neighbour. Stopping to listen is important, because it allows us to focus on the person before us. As we behold the person before us with care and love, we become the face of Jesus whom they may need at that very moment.
May we continue to start the new year with our actions of love to the people around us with the help of these two great saints.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Nicholas Chia)
Prayer: Sts Basil and Gregory, pray for us.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks for all who guide us to the faith of Christ.
OXYGEN 
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