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Office Of Readings | Week 31, Friday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Addresses Of Saint Gregory Nazianzen | It Is A Holy Thought To Pray For The Dead
‘It is a holy thought to pray for the dead.’
Saint Gregory Nazianzen reflects on the mystery of human existence and the continuity between life, death, and resurrection. His meditation joins theological insight with pastoral realism: to live as a creature of God is to occupy a space between mortality and immortality, frailty and glory.
Gregory begins with astonishment at the human condition: ‘What is man that you are mindful of him?’ Humanity, he says, is both ‘small and great’. both ‘lowly and exalted’. This tension defines the human state as both finite and yet destined for participation in divine life. By becoming man, Christ transforms what is mortal, enabling human beings to share in what is divine. Gregory summarises the purpose of the Incarnation as the restoration of the divine image, the re-creation of humanity in Christ. Through union with him, the distinctions that divide humanity — male and female, slave and free, ethnic and cultural differences — lose their ultimate significance. The believer bears instead the ‘seal of God’, a mark of belonging that transcends social and physical boundaries.
The unity Gregory envisions is not merely symbolic but ontological: believers are to be ‘moulded by him’ and conformed to his likeness. The transformation is moral, spiritual, and cosmic, achieved through grace and realised in the body of Christ. The passage anticipates later theological discussions of deification (theosis), in which human nature participates in divine life without ceasing to be human.
Gregory then turns to the practice of perseverance and gratitude. The Christian life involves endurance in hope and acceptance of suffering as part of divine providence. Trials are not random but serve the work of salvation. Within this framework, the exhortation to pray for the dead takes its place. To commend to God those who have gone before is to affirm that life and death are held within one divine economy. Death does not erase communion; it re-defines it in relation to God’s timeless care.
The closing prayer gathers the meditation into direct address. Gregory speaks to God as creator and ruler of all, the one who governs life and death with wisdom and purpose. He asks for the peaceful reception of the departed and for his own readiness at the appointed time. The prayer distinguishes between fear of God and fear of death: the former is the reverent awareness of divine majesty; the latter the anxiety of those still attached to earthly life. The goal is to depart ‘not troubled’ but with confidence toward ‘that everlasting and blessed life which is Christ Jesus our Lord’.
Gregory’s sermon thus connects anthropology, Christology, and eschatology. Humanity’s dignity arises from divine creation; its hope from Christ’s resurrection; its continuity from the communion of saints, in which prayer unites the living and the dead within the one body of Christ.
A Reading From The Addresses Of Saint Gregory Nazianzen | It Is A Holy Thought To Pray For The Dead
What is man that you are mindful of him? What is this new mystery surrounding me? I am both small and great, both lowly and exalted, mortal and immortal, earthly and heavenly. I am to be buried with Christ and to rise again with him, to become a coheir with him, a son of God, and indeed God himself.
This is what the great mystery means for us; this is why God became man and became poor for our sake: it was to raise up our flesh, to recover the divine image, to re-create mankind, so that all of us might become one in Christ who perfectly became in us everything that he is himself. So we are no longer to be male and female, barbarian and Scythian, slave and free – distinctions deriving from the flesh – but are to bear within ourselves only the seal of God, by whom and for whom we were created. We are to be so formed and molded by him that we are recognized as belonging to his one family.
If only we could be what we hope to be, by the great kindness of our generous God! He asks so little and gives so much, in this life and in the next, to those who love him sincerely. In a spirit of hope and out of love for him, let us then bear and endure all things and give thanks for everything that befalls us, since even reason can often recognize these things as weapons to win salvation. And meanwhile let us comment to God our own souls and the souls of those who, being more ready for it, have reached the place of rest before us although they walked the same road as we do.
Lord and Creator of all, and especially of your creature man, you are the God and Father and ruler of your children; you are the Lord of life and death, you are the guardian and benefactor of our souls. You fashion and transform all things in their due season through your creative Word, as you know to be best in your deep wisdom and providence. Receive now those who have gone ahead of us in our journey from this life.
And receive us too at the proper time, when you have guided us in our bodily life as long as may be for our profit. Receive us prepared indeed by fear of you, but not troubled, not shrinking back on that day of death or uprooted by force like those who are lovers of the world and the flesh. Instead, may we set out eagerly for that everlasting and blessed life which is Christ Jesus our Lord. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Christian Prayer With Jesus
Lord of life and death,
source of all being and end of all our ways,
receive into your peace those who have gone before us in faith.
Grant them rest in the light of your presence,
where all divisions are healed and all longing fulfilled.
Prepare us also for the hour of our own departure;
make us ready, not fearful,
trusting in your mercy and upheld by your promise.
May we, with all your saints,
enter the joy that has no end,
through Christ Jesus our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Glossary Of Christian Terms
Incarnation: The act by which the Son of God took human nature in Jesus Christ for the salvation of humankind.
Deification (Theosis): The participation of human beings in the divine life through grace; a central theme in Eastern Christian theology.
Providence: The divine governance of the world, in which all things are directed toward God’s purpose.
Communion of Saints: The spiritual solidarity between the faithful on earth, the souls in purgation, and the blessed in heaven.
Eschatology: The study or doctrine of the last things — death, judgment, resurrection, and the life to come.
Anthropology (Theological): The study of human nature in relation to God, creation, and redemption.
Seal of God: A biblical and theological image denoting belonging to God and participation in his covenant.
Fear of God: Reverence for the divine majesty that leads to humility and obedience, distinct from servile fear.
Resurrection: The rising of Christ from the dead and, by participation, the future rising of all the faithful.
Intercession for the Dead: The practice of praying for those who have died, expressing belief in ongoing communion and divine mercy.
Saint Augustine reflects on the nature and purpose of prayer. He rejects the idea that prayer is about informing God of our needs or persuading God by lengthy speech. God, who knows all things before they are uttered, asks us to pray not for His sake but for ours. Prayer enlarges the capacity of the human heart to receive what God already wills to give [ … ]
Psalm 44 is an expression of tension between faith and adversity. It wrestles with the question of why suffering exists despite unwavering devotion to God. It is a poignant reminder that faith does not exempt individuals from trials and tribulations but rather serves as an anchor during these challenging times, keeping hope alive in the midst of uncertainty [ … ]
The Carrefour will be open, where I can buy nuts for the red squirrel, who lives in Campo Grande. The red squirrel is Valladolid’s best bit. Even as a child, I had never seen one before, apart from in picture books. It was last term’s discovery. The most beautiful encounter. I didn’t know it was there – in the park. A complete surprise. The tiny little thing bobbled and hopped, as it received in its little hands a nut from the man’s hands. Each surprising instant – it was childlike. I whispered: ‘Oh my wow.’ I walk toward the El Cortes Ingles. There is, for now, that settled feel of friends in bookshops. Though a null-affect, neutral day – it won’t glean, it is not to be scratched at. The queues are long in the Carrefour. Though, as it might be, on relatively modest incomes, many people live centrally. Their behaviours neither pinched nor stark. Yet the shop so busy while the street so empty… An error in the simulation, a glitch in the code. I potter about the aisles, which are pleasant enough, then at the tills I flinch at how expensive a little bag of up-sold nuts can be. Nonetheless, I queue for a packet of almonds. Two English men queue directly ahead of me. They are stocky, and have gay voices, their wheelie-bucket piled with soft drinks and party food, while they bitch to one another about the obviously terrible party they’re going to. The air heaves relief as I wander up the way to the broad plaza fringing Campo Grande. This is a place to see – a piece of Spain. There is a tourist information office, though unopened. At these fountains, three girls take selfies. Pompous-looking buildings, the military offices aside, line the park’s nearest vicinities. Hotel-bars have their patches. Liveried doormen idle time, for there are no paying customers, in and out the doorways’ shadows. A mixed group of kids play at the hoops on the pedestrian boulevard, and two boys practise on skateboards, working the thing out. I pass by them, touched by the thought, and happy that they are there. Wistful, I smile at the odds of the ball spilling over to me, and play in mind the agreeable scene of a fleeting connection. Then I am through the park gates. An air now – of humanity become self-selecting. Modestly understated. Understatedly modest. Campo Grande is nice but it isn’t grande… I walk slowly, and very soon hear for a second time English voices. Not them – it is an English family, just a little way ahead, a Dad and a Mum and a younger boy and an older girl, and theirs are Midlands accents. Dad seems to have been here and to know the place. He gestures panoramically. Mum wants her lunch. The girl at a difficult age. She carries a balloon-on-a-stick. Though she is sprouting – yet wears a loud dress. Then leggings, trainers. Her hair is nice… Maybe she is being okay about it. And not horrific. It’s okay once they get into it, but those months… Yet then, they mostly blossom, if they come from a good home, and become rounded personalities, entering into their womanhood. It was that… when yet they weren’t… I shudder to think of it. They walk toward the pond, and I trail, and would follow had I not been going that way. I wish I could say something so they might hear I am English too. (Fake a phone call?) How my voice might sound – there’d be all college hurling around in such matter I… a demented thing, ludicrous blurt – of Henry, Geoff, and all of them – not to mention the personal predicament. Maybe they’re a nice family. She is letting him explain what he needs to explain. And it would blow his fire, me being English. Mum and Dad. You’d probably see them all having their lunch in a little while. All sat round the table. With napkins and the menus out. Dad looks safe. I look into the pond. Terrapins live in there. But not today. I walk toward the join in the paths where the squirrel lives. There, I crumple the packet of almonds, making noise. I peer and I squat and crouch – chewing a mouthful. All the peacocks have perched right up in the trees’ branches. That never looks like something they should be doing. It’s disappointing that the squirrel isn’t here – but then the not-knowing-if is a part of it. Now, next, my visit to the National Sculpture Museum is an obligation. Canon Peter stood literally aghast when I hadn’t heard of it. Mortified, I made resolute promises. Though a few weeks have passed, it isn’t just any old something I could do on the hoof. A great commitment – it must command a known and prepared and anticipated not-just-any-old-time. But, rather, the sort you must wait for – and listen for. [ … ] Beyond Plaza Mayor, there would be a brief series of old-town alleyways. The National Sculpture Museum would be – just up there, this archway, this next…They are bleached and forgotten-looking walls, and the smoothed paving could be medieval. Not that it is making Tomàs anxious – I follow the map. A kind of place – uneasy credit-cards, and modern vaccinations, and a phone, might not help much. I fancy I feel the back-wall of a church, and that – fancifully – pressure-release drawn out of me. Only I am playing games in a nice way – making play-scared on the uncertainty – with only myself to see. The National Museum is there, modestly signed on stencilled plexiglass stuck to the stone wall. A uniformed lady sits just a little way inside the doorway. She reassures me there is no money required, and directs me over the courtyard into the planned route, showing me where I can pick up a free map. I get my […]
