January 2: Saint Basil the Great, Doctor of the Church

“The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the money that you keep locked away is the money of the poor; the acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit.”


Today, January 2, we celebrate the feast of Saint Basil the Great (329-379), Bishop of Caesarea, Church Father and Doctor of the Church. Saint Basil is remembered for his reformation of the Liturgy, fight against heresies, and defense of both the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ. Together with Saint Gregory Nazianzen, Saint Basil is referred to as a “Cappadocian Father,” and his monastic rule is still followed today by many Eastern monks, combining prayer, community life, and manual labor. Truly “great,” we look to Saint Gregory’s faith, service, humility, and charity as we begin our new year.

Basil was born into a wealthy Christian family in Cappadocia (modern day Turkey), Asia Minor. While his family was devout, with two brothers becoming bishops, and both his mother (Saint Nona) and his sister (Saint Macrina) honored as saints, Basil was drawn more to academic and worldly pursuits. He achieved great academic success in school, studying law and rhetoric in Constantinople and Athens. During his schooling, Basil began a friendship which would last throughout his lifetime, with future saint, Gregory Nazianzen, a contemplative poet. Basil was quickly elevated to an esteemed teacher and lecturer, and during this time, he experienced a profound spiritual awakening. In a letter, he described this moment in his life:

“I had wasted much time on follies and spent nearly all of my youth in vain labors, and devotion to the teachings of a wisdom that God had made foolish. Suddenly, I awoke as out of a deep sleep. I beheld the wonderful light of the Gospel truth, and I recognized the nothingness of the wisdom of the princes of this world.”

Thus raised above worldly ambition and desire, and encouraged by his pious sister, Basil decided to enter the monastery and commit himself to the Lord. He gave up his inheritance, distributing it to the poor and needy, and traveled throughout the region (Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia), practicing asceticism and giving himself over to the Spirit. Basil settled in the family home in Pontus, where his sister had become Superior of a convent, and later his mother had joined the order. There, opposite the convent, he founded a monastery, establishing the monastic rule of prayer, community, and manual labor. He governed the monastery for four years, establishing other religious houses throughout the region, writing great ascetic manuscripts, and spending his days in prayer and charitable works.

Following these years, Saint Basil retired from his position, leaving it to his brother (Saint Peter of Sebastus), and determined to spend his days in contemplative prayer. However, he was called upon to counter the Arian heresies which were spreading throughout the region, and after being ordained a priest by Eusebius, he (along with Saint Gregory Nazianzen), actively debated the heretics with great success.

On the death of Eusebius, Saint Basil was selected as his successor, and appointed Bishop of Caesarea. A model for all bishops, Basil was both commanding and eloquent, firm and charitable. He embraced and modeled a life of austerity, forgoing the usual appointments that bishops were privileged with. Rather, he demonstrated humility and poverty, giving all that he had to those in need. After founding an immense hospital—referred to as the Basiliad, “a new city”—in Caesarea, Saint Basil could be found there each day, ministering to the sick and dying, feeding the hungry, and providing consolation and spiritual direction. He urged his followers to Give your last loaf to the beggar at your door, and trust in God's goodness.

Despite his active work against the Arian heresies, eventually Emperor Valentius ordered Saint Basil to admit the Arians to Communion. Of course, the saintly bishop refused, and was summoned before the emperor. Continuing to resist, the emperor’s prefect admonished the bishop: “Are you mad, that you resist the will before which the whole world bows? Do you not dread the wrath of the emperor, nor exile, nor death?”

Saint Basil, Bishop of Caesarea answered calmly, “No. He who has nothing to lose need not dread loss of goods; you cannot exile me, for the whole earth is my home; as for death, it would be the greatest kindness you could bestow upon me; torments cannot harm me; one blow would end both my frail life and my sufferings.”

The prefect, speaking for the emperor, answered, “Never has anyone dared to address me thus.”

“Perhaps,” suggested Basil, “you never before measured your strength with a Christian bishop.”

The emperor desisted from his commands. Similarly, through the working of miracles through him, Saint Basil restored the Catholic presence to churches and cathedrals that had been taken by the Arians.

The life of Saint Basil was one of constant work and physical suffering. At times, it appeared that he was the only voice opposing the emperor and heresies, for which he was banished and exiled on numerous occasions. He further suffered from a liver disease, which along with his ascetic practices, likely caused both pain and suffering, and eventually led to his early demise. Despite his suffering, Saint Basil lived a life of love, denouncing sin, but accepting and working among all peoples. Extant letters demonstrate his commitment to those that society had wrongly judged or written off, including criminals, thieves, and prostitutes. Looking to Jesus as his model, Saint Basil preached acceptance, forgiveness, charity, and love. His fervor and zeal for the Lord restored discipline to the clergy and renewed the faithful!

He is remembered for preaching: “Be aware of God's compassion, that it heals with oil and wine. Do not lose hope of salvation. Remember what is written--the one who falls shall rise again, and the one who turns away shall turn again, the wounded is healed, the one caught by wild beasts escapes, the one who confesses is not rejected.


For the Lord does not want the sinner to die, but to return and live.


There is still time for endurance, time for patience, time for healing, time for change. Have you slipped? Rise up. Have you sinned? Cease. Do not stand among sinners, but leap aside. For when you turn away and weep, then you will be saved.”

Saint Basil the Great died peacefully in 379 at the age of fifty-one, and is venerated as a Doctor of the Church. His writings, though not recognized greatly in his lifetime, rightly place him among the great teachers of the Church. The most famous of his writings, “On the Holy Spirit,” defends the divinity of the Spirit. Seventy-two years after his death, the Council of Chalcedon described him as “the great Basil, minister of grace who has expounded the truth to the whole earth.”

Selected Quotations of Saint Basil the Great:
“The love of God is not taught. No one has taught us to enjoy the light or to be attached to life more than anything else. And no one has taught us to love the two people who brought us into the world and educated us. Which is all the more reason to believe that we did not learn to love God as a result of outside instruction. In the very nature of every human being has been sown the seed of the ability to love. You and I ought to welcome this seed, cultivate it carefully, nourish it attentively and foster its growth by going to the school of God's commandments with help of His grace.”

“Let us raise ourselves from our fall and not give up hope as long as we are free from sin. Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. ‘Come, let us adore and prostrate ourselves and weep before him’ (Psalm 95:6). The Word calls us to repentance, crying out: ‘Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened and I will refresh you’ (Matthew 11:28). There is, then, a way to salvation if we are willing to follow it”

“He who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.”

“Troubles are usually brooms and shovels that smooth the road to the good man's fortune; and many a man curses the rain that falls upon his head, and knows not that it brings abundance to drive away hunger.”

“Do not measure your loss by itself; if you do, it will seem intolerable; but if you will take all human affairs into account you will find that some comfort is to be derived from them.”

“It is God who is active within us, giving us both the will and the achievement, in accordance with his good purpose. Through his Spirit, God also reveals his wisdom in the plan he has preordained for our glory.


God gives power and strength in our labours. I have toiled harder than all the others, Paul says, but it is not I but the grace of God, which is with me.


God rescues us from dangers beyond all human expectation. We felt within ourselves that we had received the sentence of death, so that we might not trust ourselves but in God, who raises the dead; from so great a danger did he deliver us, and does deliver us; we hope in him, for he will deliver us again.”

“O sinner, be not discouraged, but have recourse to Mary in all you necessities. Call her to your assistance, for such is the divine Will that she should help in every kind of necessity.”

“By the command of your only-begotten Son we communicate with the memory of your saints…by whose prayers and supplications have mercy upon us all, and deliver us for the sake of your holy name.”

“Envy is a gnawing pain which springs from the success and prosperity of another; and this is the reason why the envious are never exempt from trouble and vexation. If an abundant harvest fills the granaries of a neighbor, if success crowns his efforts, the envious man is chagrined and sad. If one man can boast of prudence, talent, and eloquence; if another is rich, and is very liberal to the poor, if good works are praised by all around, the envious man is shocked and grieved. The envious, however, dare not speak; although envy makes them counterfeit gladness, their hearts are sore within. If you ask him what vexes him, he dare not tell the reason. It is not really the happiness of his friend that annoys him, neither is it his gaiety that makes him sad, nor is he sorry to see his friend prosper; but it is that he is persuaded that the prosperity of others is the cause of his misery. This is what the envious would be forced to acknowledge, if they spoke the truth sincerely; but because they dare not confess so shameful a sin, they, in secret, feed a sore which tortures them and eats away their rest. As the shadow ever accompanies the pedestrian when walking in the sun, so envy throws its shadow on those who are successful in the world.”

Prayer of Saint Basil the Great

O God and Lord of the Powers, and Maker of all creation, Who, because of Thy clemency and incomparable mercy, didst send Thine Only-Begotten Son and our Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind, and with His venerable Cross didst tear asunder the record of our sins, and thereby didst conquer the rulers and powers of darkness; receive from us sinful people, O merciful Master, these prayers of gratitude and supplication, and deliver us from every destructive and gloomy transgression, and from all visible and invisible enemies who seek to injure us. Nail down our flesh with fear of Thee, and let not our hearts be inclined to words or thoughts of evil, but pierce our souls with Thy love, that ever contemplating Thee, being enlightened by Thee, and discerning Thee, the unapproachable and everlasting Light, we may unceasingly render confession and gratitude to Thee: The eternal Father, with Thine Only-Begotten Son, and with Thine All-Holy, Gracious, and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.




Year 2: Day 2 of 365
Prayer Intentions: Lives of acceptance, forgiveness, charity, and love; Healing within the Church; An end to judgment and division.
Requested Intentions: For family intentions (I); Reconciliation of a marriage (S); For blessings upon a family (R); Permanent employment (N); Successful employment (M); Successful completion of nursing exam (M); For a daughter in an abusive relationships (J); For the consecration of a granddaughter to Our Blessed Mother (A); For a successful marriage (S); Restoration of a teaching job (L); Health and spirituality of family members (R); For a return to health for a friend (C); Healing from cancer of a brother-in-law (C); Healthy relationship; Joy in everyday life (J); Successful employment and financial assistance for education (M); For the return home of father and husband suffering from mental illness (C); Successful passing of examination; Employment for Son (J); Healing of a family and son (S); Successful marriage (G); End to husband’s addictions; Son’s employment (M); Freedom from financial burdens (M); Healing after a miscarriage (E); For healing of friend; successful resolution of legal matter (A); Complete healing of a friend with pancreatic cancer (J); Healing of a father following stroke (S).