Saint Basil the Great

Today is the feast of the eminent Church Father and Doctor, St. Basil, according to the Extraordinary Calendar of the Latin/Western rite. He is only one of four saints given the designation of Great and the only one that was not a pope!

A great saint such as he has been well profiled and the sources about him are myriad. There is no need to "reinvent the wheel" here and give an underserving, poor summary of this great man of God. To learn more about him, start at the online Catholic Encyclopedia or the Patron Saints Index.

Prayer of St. Basil After Communion

We give Thee thanks, O Lord our God, for the Communion of Thy holy, pure, deathless and heavenly Mysteries, which thou hast given for the good, the hallowing, and the healing of our souls and bodies. Do Thou, O Sovereign of the world, cause this Communion in the Holy Body and blood of Thy Christ to nourish us in unashamed faith, sincere charity, ripe wisdom, health of soul and body, separation from all ills, observance of Thy Law, and justification before His awful Judgment Seat. O Christ our God, the Mystery of Thy Providence has been accomplished according to our ability. We have been reminded of Thy Death and we have seen a figure of Thy Resurrection; we have been filled with Thine Infinite Life, and we have tasted Thine inexhaustible joy; and we pray Thee to make us worthy of these things in the life to come, through the grace of Thine Eternal Father and of Thy holy, good, and life-giving Spirit, now and forever, eternally: amen.

Mass of St. Basil by Pierre Subleyras

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. --St. Basil the Great

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. --from a letter of St. Basil's