Early Church Father and Doctor of the Church
Pope Saint Gregory
the Great (also known as Gregory I; Gregory Dialogos; Father of the
Fathers) was born in 540 A.D., at Rome, Italy. Saint Gregory is a
Latin Father of the Church, and Doctor of the Church. He is also one
of the four Traditional Doctors of the Latin Church (along with Saint
Ambrose of Milan, Saint Augustine of Hippo, and Saint Jerome).
Gregory was the son of a wealthy Roman senator and
Saint Silvia of Rome. He
also was the nephew of
Saint Emiliana of Rome and
Saint Tarsilla, and the
great-grandson of
Pope Saint Felix III. Gregory was educated by the
finest teachers in Rome. He was prefect of the city of Rome for one
year, then he sold his possessions, turned his home into a
Benedictine monastery, and used his money to build six monasteries in
Sicily and one in Rome, and he entered the Benedictine Order, where
he was a monk. He was appointed cardinal-deacon, and then sent to the
Byzantine court to secure aid against the
Lombards. The result of his
six year sojourn was a conviction that Rome must not rely on the East
for help.
After his return he saw English children being sold in the
Roman Forum, and he wanted to become a missionary to England. The
people of Rome would not allow him to leave. His desire was realized
when he sent Saint Augustine of Canterbury, with a band of
missionaries to England in 590.
Gregory was
elected 64th Pope by unanimous acclamation on September 3,
590, and was the first monk to be chosen as pope. With his election
to the papacy, he published a work on episcopal duties, which was
used for centuries. He enforced the celibacy of the clergy, and
supervised church funds. Although he strengthened the prerogatives of
the papacy by demanding supreme authority over all churches, judging
bishops, and hearing the complaints of prelates, he was always
tactful in dealing with secular authority.
He established the system
of appeals to Rome, and is recognized as an administrator and lawyer.
Gregory collected the melodies and plain chant so associated with him
that they are now known as Gregorian Chant. He also sent
missionaries to France, Spain, and Africa. Gregory wrote some very
influential works on the Mass and Office.
Pope Saint Gregory
the Great died of natural causes on March 12, 604 at Rome, Italy.
Below are a collection of quotations
by Pope Saint Gregory the Great from homilies, writings, and prayers
by him:
When we attend to the
needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More
than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice. –
Pope Saint Gregory the Great
*
* * * * * *
If we knew at what time
we were to depart from this world, we would be able to select a
season for pleasure and another for repentance. But God, who has
promised pardon to every repentant sinner, has not promised us
tomorrow. Therefore we must always dread the final day, which we can
never foresee. This very day is a day of truce, a day for conversion.
And yet we refuse to cry over the evil we have done! Not only do we
not weep for the sins we have committed, we even add to them. -–
Pope Saint Gregory the Great
* * * * * * *
If we are, in fact, now
occupied in good deeds, we should not attribute the strength with
which we are doing them to ourselves. We must not count on ourselves,
because even if we know what kind of person we are today, we do not
know what we will be tomorrow. Nobody must rejoice in the security of
their own good deeds. As long as we are still experiencing the
uncertainties of this life, we do not know what end may follow...we
must not trust in our own virtues. – Pope Saint Gregory the Great
* * * * * * *
As for certain lesser
faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a
purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in
the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain
offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age
to come. – Pope Saint Gregory the Great
* * * * * * *
When Mary Magdalen came
to the tomb and did not find the Lord’s body, she thought it had
been taken away and so informed the disciples. After they came and
saw the tomb, they too believed what Mary had told them. The text
then says: “The disciples went back home,” and it adds: “but
Mary wept and remained standing outside the tomb.” We should
reflect on Mary’s attitude and the great love she felt for Christ;
for though the disciples had left the tomb, she remained. She was
still seeking the one she had not found, and while she sought she
wept; burning with the fire of love, she longed for him who she
thought had been taken away. And so it happened that the woman who
stayed behind to seek Christ was the only one to see him. For
perseverance is essential to any good deed, as the voice of truth
tell us: “Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved.” -- Pope
Saint Gregory the Great from a homily
* * * * * * *
It is only right, with
all the powers of our heart and mind, to praise You Father and Your
Only-Begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Dear Father, by Your
wondrous condescension of Loving-Kindness toward us, Your servants,
You gave up Your Son. Dear Jesus You paid the debt of Adam for us to
the Eternal Father by Your Blood poured forth in Loving-Kindness. You
cleared away the darkness of sin by Your magnificent and radiant
Resurrection. You broke the bonds of death and rose from the grave as
a Conqueror. You reconciled Heaven and earth. Our life had no hope of
Eternal Happiness before You redeemed us. Your Resurrection has
washed away our sins, restored our innocence and brought us joy. How
inestimable is the tenderness of Your Love!
We pray You, Lord, to
preserve Your servants in the peaceful enjoyment of this Easter
happiness. We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord, Who lives and
reigns with God The Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever
and ever. Amen. -- Pope Saint Gregory the Great from an Easter Prayer
by him
* * * * * * *
Our fatherland is
paradise, heaven. We have departed from it by pride, disobedience,
abuse of the senses, therefore it is needed that we return to it by
obedience, contempt of the world, and by taming the desires of the
flesh; thus we return to our own country by another road. By
forbidden pleasures we have forfeited the joys of paradise, by
penance we must regain them. -- Pope Saint Gregory the Great
* * * * * * *
Don't be anxious about
what you have, but about what you are! -- Pope Saint Gregory the
Great
* * * * * * *
You should be aware that
the word “angel” denotes a function rather than a nature. Those
holy spirits of heaven have indeed always been spirits. They can only
be called angels when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who
deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels; and those
who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called archangels.
And so it was that not
merely an angel but the archangel Gabriel was sent to the Virgin
Mary. It was only fitting that the highest angel should come to
announce the greatest of all messages.
Some angels are given
proper names to denote the service they are empowered to perform. In
that holy city, where perfect knowledge flows from the vision of
almighty God, those who have no names may easily be known. But
personal names are assigned to some, not because they could not be
known without them, but rather to denote their ministry when they
came among us. Thus, Michael means “Who is like God”; Gabriel is
“The Strength of God”; and Raphael is “God’s Remedy.”
Whenever some act of
wondrous power must be performed, Michael is sent, so that his action
and his name may make it clear that no one can do what God does by
his superior power. So also our ancient foe desired in his pride to
be like God, saying: I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my
throne above the stars of heaven; I will be like the Most High. He
will be allowed to remain in power until the end of the world when he
will be destroyed in the final punishment. Then, he will fight with
the archangel Michael, as we are told by John: A battle was fought
with Michael the archangel.
So too Gabriel, who is
called God’s strength, was sent to Mary. He came to announce the
One who appeared as a humble man to quell the cosmic powers. Thus
God’s strength announced the coming of the Lord of the heavenly
powers, mighty in battle.
Raphael means, as I have
said, God’s remedy, for when he touched Tobit’s eyes in order to
cure him, he banished the darkness of his blindness. Thus, since he
is to heal, he is rightly called God’s remedy. -- Pope Saint
Gregory the Great from a homily
* * * * * * *
Perhaps it is not after
all so difficult for a man to part with his possessions, but it is
certainly most difficult for him to part with himself. To renounce
what one has is a minor thing; but to renounce what one is, that is
asking a lot. -- Pope Saint Gregory the Great
* * * * * * *
Thomas, one of the
twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. He was
the only disciple absent; on his return he heard what had happened
but refused to believe it. The Lord came a second time; he offered
his side for the disbelieving disciple to touch, held out his hands,
and showing the scars of his wounds, healed the wound of his
disbelief.
Dearly beloved, what do
you see in these events? Do you really believe that it was by chance
that this chosen disciple was absent, then came and heard, heard and
doubted, doubted and touched, touched and believed? It was not by
chance but in God’s providence. In a marvellous way God’s mercy
arranged that the disbelieving disciple, in touching the wounds of
his master’s body, should heal our wounds of disbelief. The
disbelief of Thomas has done more for our faith than the faith of the
other disciples. As he touches Christ and is won over to belief,
every doubt is cast aside and our faith is strengthened. So the
disciple who doubted, then felt Christ’s wounds, becomes a witness
to the reality of the resurrection. -- Pope Saint Gregory the Great
From a HomilyOn Saint Thomas the Apostle
* * * * * * *
The proof of love is in
the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it
ceases to act, it ceases to exist. -- Pope Saint Gregory the Great
* * * * * * *
He who would climb to a
lofty height must go by steps, not leaps. -- Pope Saint Gregory the
Great
* * * * * * *
There are in truth three
states of the converted: the beginning, the middle, and the
perfection. In the beginning they experience the charms of sweetness;
in the middle the contests of temptation; and in the end the fullness
of perfection. -- Pope Saint Gregory the Great
* * * * * * *
Blessed are those who
have not seen and have believed. There is here a particular reference
to ourselves; we hold in our hearts one we have not seen in the
flesh. We are included in these words, but only if we follow up our
faith with good works. The true believer practices what he believes.
But of those who pay only lip service to faith, Paul has this to say:
They profess to know God, but they deny him in their works. Therefore
James says: Faith without works is dead. -- Pope Saint Gregory the
Great
* * * * * * *
The Holy Bible is like a
mirror before our mind's eye. In it we see our inner face. From the
Scriptures we can learn our spiritual deformities and beauties. And
there too we discover the progress we are making and how far we are
from perfection. -- Pope Saint Gregory the Great
* * * * * * *
The Emperor of heaven,
the Lord of men and of angels, has sent you His epistles for your
life’s advantage—and yet you neglect to read them eagerly. Study
them, I beg you, and meditate daily on the words of your Creator.
Learn the heart of God in the words of God, that you may sigh more
eagerly for things eternal, that your soul may be kindled with
greater longings for heavenly joy. -- Pope Saint Gregory the Great
