St. Basil the Great (June 14) — From Dom Guéranger’s Liturgical Year

A meditation for Feast of Saint Basil the Great of Caesarea, from Dom Guéranger’s “The Liturgical Year”, Volume III of the Time after Pentecost.Please note that Servant of God Dom Prosper Guéranger went to his eternal reward in 1875; at this point, Volumes I-IX (Advent to Pentecost Saturday) had been completed, but Volumes X-XV (Trinity Sunday to Advent) had not yet been completed. Thus, the remaining readings of the Liturgical Year, from Trinity Sunday until Advent, were not directly authored by Dom Prosper, but were the work of his disciple Dom Lucien Fromage. Saint Basil the Great (c. AD 330–379) was one of the greatest Fathers of the Eastern Church, a bishop, theologian, monk, and defender of Nicene orthodoxy during the Arian crisis. Born into a distinguished Christian family in Cappadocia, he received an excellent classical education before embracing the ascetic life and helping to establish Eastern monasticism through rules that continue to influence religious communities today. As Bishop of Caesarea, he tirelessly preached, cared for the poor, founded charitable institutions, and opposed both heresy and imperial interference in Church affairs. His theological writings, especially on the Holy Trinity and the divinity of the Holy Ghost, were instrumental in shaping orthodox Christian doctrine and preparing the way for the triumph of Nicene Christianity at the First Council of Constantinople. Revered as a Doctor of the Church, Basil is remembered for uniting profound learning, personal holiness, pastoral charity, and unwavering defense of the Catholic faith.Dom Prosper Guéranger's The Liturgical Year, a monumental fifteen-volume work, offers a comprehensive exploration of the Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar, guiding readers through the spiritual and historical richness of the Church’s worship. Written in the 19th century, the series provides daily meditations, historical context, and liturgical texts for the Mass and Divine Office, covering the entire cycle of seasons—Advent, Christmas, Lent, Passiontide, Easter, and the Time after Pentecost—as well as feast days of saints. Guéranger’s work, rooted in a deep contemplative spirit, aims to immerse the faithful in the Church’s prayerful life, emphasizing the unity of faith through the axiom lex orandi, lex credendi ("the law of prayer is the law of belief"), and remains a cherished resource for Catholics seeking to deepen their spiritual lives. Link to the Dom Guéranger's Liturgical Year playlist (updated daily): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZKdyYnV_bkh7rH6piW0ShgsdcefFoOvJPlease support this channel!  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/InprincipioPodcast PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=U5EZ9X2CE2V7W Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/InPrincipioPodcast Zelle: [email protected]; or search for Zelle tag “inprincipiopodcast”  Checks may be written out to ‘InPrincipio Podcast’ and mailed to: P.O. Box 117 Cedar Ridge, CA 95924Sincere thanks to all who are able to contribute, by your prayers, your patronage, or otherwise. Your support sustains this work and helps make these readings available to others.Artwork: ‘The Mass of Saint Basil’ by Pierre Subleyras (1746)Music: Ave Maria (Gregorian chant)From Vesperae de Confessore non Pontifice in honor of Saint Vincent PallottiPerformed by Schola Gregoriana, Pallottine Seminary (Ołtarzew, Poland)Conductor: Fr. Dariusz SmolarekLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/Changes: noneExcept where otherwise noted, original content © InPrincipio Podcast.Chant audio used under CC BY-SA 3.0.