The grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift: some as Apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers…for building up the body of Christ. The Church honors today the memory of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen who were both bishops of the Church in the 4th century AD. St. Basil was a brilliant student born of a Christian family in Caesarea, Cappadocia (present day Turkey). For some years, he followed the Monastic way of life. He vigorously fought the Arian heresy. He became the Archbishop of Caesarea in 370. He wrote a rule on monastic life which is still followed today by monks of the Eastern Church. He is the source of Eucharistic Prayer IV. St. Gregory Nazanzien was also from Cappadocia. A friend of Basil, he too followed the monastic way of life for some years. In the year 381, he became the Archbishop of Constantinople. He is noted for his knowledge of Sacred Scripture. He was referred to as theologus (the ‘Theologian’) for his outstanding teaching abilities and eloquence. Along with Saints Basil the Great, Athanasius, and John Chrysostom, they make the four great doctors of the Eastern Church. The Gospel passage for today’s memorial is part of Jesus’ address to the crowd following a couple of attempts by the Sadducees and the Pharisees to entrap him in speech. Even though he did successfully answer the questions posed to him as a test, Jesus appears to have been angered by their motive. As a response to the unflattering means to discredit him to which the religious leaders had resorted, Jesus cautions against referring to others as teachers just for the sake of massaging their ego. A teacher is, and must be, someone upon whom others can can rely in season and out of season to lead them to the feet of the one teacher, Jesus Christ. Apparently, some of those who wanted to be referred to as teachers were doing the exact opposite of what they were supposed to do. In the First Reading, St. Paul reminds the Ephesian community that the several gifts that the Spirit has given them must be used as God had intended them: for the upbuilding of the Body of Christ, the Church. For a community that was still in its inception phase, the responsibility of teachers was indispensable since all the other gifts would not benefit the community if the members were not standing on true doctrine. It was the responsibility of the teachers to direct the community towards the source of true doctrine: Jesus Christ himself. Saints Basil and Gregory were gifted by the Spirit to be teachers of the faith. While it cannot be denied that their works were insightful and results of sublime minds, we are celebrating them as Doctors of the Church because their works reflected the teachings of the one, true teacher, Jesus Christ. Like Saints Basil and Gregory, may we focus all our energies in leading others to the one true teacher, Jesus Christ.