Born in Caesarea, Cappadocia (Turkey) in 329, St. Basil followed the monastic way of life. He vigorously fought the Asian heresy. A powerful preacher, he declared: “We possess nothing and we can be robbed of nothing. Exile will be impossible, since everywhere on God’s earth, I am at home. Torments cannot afflict me, for I have no body. And death is welcome, for it will bring me more quickly to God. To a great extent I am already dead; for a long time I have been hastening to the grave.” Basil became Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia and died in 379 at the early age of 45.

Born in the same year (329), St. Gregory of Nazianzen was a friend of Basil, and also followed the monastic way of life for many years. He became Patriarch of Constantinople and was a great theologian, defending the Catholic faith against the Asian heresy. He died in 389.

These two saints, bishops, outstanding theologians and doctors of the Church, prepare the way for the coming of the Lord in our hearts. They recognized his coming and even today exhort us to make our paths straight, to believe in the Good News, that the Lord comes really to rescue us, to redeem us from our poverty, our frustrations and our situations of death.