Questions for Reflection/Discussion by Catholic Men
1. What are the benefits of Christian relationships with other men, like that of St. Basil and St. Gregory, that would drive you to seek a similar relationship?
2. How did St. Basil and St. Gregory benefit from their close friendship? Do you experience these same kinds of benefits from your friendship with other men? If not, what steps can you take to experience these benefits?
3. What is different about close secular friendships and a friendship based on being brothers in Christ? What stops men from developing close Christian friendships? What stops you?
4. Is it necessary to acknowledge to each other the friendship you share, as was the case with St. Basil and St. Gregory? Why or why not?
[Editor's Note: This article is the third in a series on the theme, “Being Brothers in Christ — A Special Gift of God.” Click here to find the first article and second article.]
St. Gregory of Nazianzen speaks of his friendship with St. Basil the Great:
Basil and I were both in Athens. We had come, like streams of a river, from the same source in our native land, had separated from each other in pursuit of learning, and were now united again as if by plan, for God so arranged it.
I was not alone at that time in my regard for my friend, the great Basil. I knew his irreproachable conduct, and the maturity and wisdom of his conversation. I sought to persuade others, to whom he was less well known, to have the same regard for him. Many fell immediately under his spell, for they had already heard of him by reputation and hearsay.
What was the outcome? Almost alone of those who had come to Athens to study, he was exempted from the customary ceremonies of initiation, for he was held in higher honor than his status as a first-year student seemed to warrant.
Such was the prelude to our friendship, the kindling of that flame that was to bind us together. In this way we began to feel affection for each other. When, in the course of time, we acknowledged our friendship and recognized that our ambition was a life of Christian perfection, we became everything to each other: We shared the same lodging, the same table, the same desires, the same goal. Our love for each other grew daily warmer and deeper.
Our single object and ambition was virtue, and a life of hope in the blessings that are to come; we wanted to withdraw from this world before we departed from it. With this end in view we ordered our lives and all our actions. We followed the guidance of God’s law and spurred each other on to virtue. If it is not too boastful to say, we found in each other a standard and rule for discerning right from wrong.
“We Wanted to Be Christians Together,” Gregory of Nazianzen: Oration 43: In Praise of Basil the Great. Excerpted from The Liturgy of the Hours, ©1974, The International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
(This article by Maurice Blumberg was part of the Catholic Men’s E-zine, “Being Brothers in Christ — A Special Gift of God,” (Advnt 2001 issue) which is available on the NFCM website. You may e-mail them at info@nfcmusa.org.)
Reflection Questions on Page 2
