Randsom and Debt

Quote from Letter 7,35 to Donus, bishop of Messina. July 597

The statutes of both sacred canons and of the law permit utensils of the Church to be sold, for the ransoming of captives. And so, there is proof that Faustinus, the bearer of this letter, contracted a debt of a hundred and thirty gold coins, so that he could free his daughters from the yoke of captivity, and it is certain that, after paying off thirty gold coins, he cannot manage the repayment of the remaining amount.

We exhort your Fraternity, therefore, with these words, that you should anyway give him fifteen pounds, in return for his receipt, from the silver of the church of Myrie, which is in your possession. He is known to be a soldier of that church.

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 491

Welcome to a New Convert

Quote from Letter 7,34 to Dominica, John's wife. July 597

(For) you should have considered, glorious daughter, how great a multitude of the faithful exists in the bossom of mother Church, and with what great virtues the priests shine who have died in that faith, and for how many bodies they make their miracles, and you ought not to have judged them. but you should have trusted such great men and priests more than yourself.
For all that, we give thanks to almighty God, as He has poured the light of His truth into your heart, so that, driving away the darkness of  sin, He may show you the path of righteousness, which you should follow and stick to.

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 491

Knock on the Door

Quote from Letter 7,33 to Dynamius and Aurelia, in Gaul. June 597

(For) Truth itself informs us that divine grace does not desert a desire of this sort [the joys of our heavenly Father], as He says: 'For everyone who seeks, finds, and he who asks, receives, and to the one who knocks, it shall be opened'. And so, supported by this certitude, we ought to have no uncertainty about the compassion of the same Redeemer of ours, but should be confident with hope, free of doubt.
For he who agrees to want it, will not be frustrated by the size of his gift, but certainly needs the strength to uphold it. For seeking this itself now with desire, is a gift (...).  Therefoe, let us ask by praying, let us seek by reading, let us knock by doing good deeds. 

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 490

A Point of Orthodoxy

Quote from Letter 7,31 to Eulogius, bishop of Alexandria, and Anastasius, bishop of Antioch, equally. June 597

(And certainly) Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, and yet they lived in their flesh afterwards for more than nine hundred years. And so, it is clear that he did not die in the flesh. If, therefore, he did not die in his soul, which is wrong to suggest, then God gave him a false sentence, as he said that he would die on the day that he ate. 
But let the true faith be free of this error, let it be free. For we say that the first man died in the soul on the day he sinned, and through him the whole human race died in the soul on the day of this penalty of death and corruption. But through the second man, we trust that we can be freed both now from death of the soul, and afterwards from all corruption of the flesh in eternal resurrection. And just as we said to the aforesaid emissaries, we say that the soul of Adam died in sin, not from the substance of living, but from the quality of his life. For because ssubstance is one  thing and quality is another, his soul did not die so that he did not exist, but it died so that he was not blessed. Yet this Adam returned afterwards to lofe, through penitence.

And we know that our brother and fellow-bishop, Cyriacus, is orthodox, yet because of others, we ought to be cautious, so that the seeds of error are crushed before they appear in public. 

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 487

Frivolous and Ruin

Quote from Letter 7,30 to Maurice, augustus. June 597

(But) I beg your imperial Piety to realize that some frivolous matters are quite harmless, but others are extremely harmful. When Antichrist comes and says he is God, surely it will be extremely frivolous, but yet all to pernicious? If we consider the amout of letters, there are just two syllables, but if we consider their weight of wickedness, there is universal ruin. But I say confidently  that, whoever calls himself a 'universal' priest, and desires to be called so, anticipates Antichrist in his pride. For he puts himself above all others by being arrogant, and he is not being led into error by a different sort of pride. For just as that perverse man wants to appear as God above all human beings, even so, the man, whoever he is, who seeks to be called the only priest, wants to appear above all other priests. 
But since Truth says 'Whosoever exalts himself shall be humbled', I know that the more fully any pride is inflated, the more quickly it bursts.

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 486

Neighbour of God

Quote from Letter 7,29 to Anastasius, a priest. June 597

(And) because you love almighty God greatly, you ought to have great confidence in your neighbour. For it is not a position or a rank that make us neighbours of our Creator, but it is our good qualities that join us to him as surely as our bad qualities separate us from him.
Therefore, since it remains uncertain what sort of person anyone is internally, why did you not dare to write, not knowing who is superior between you and me? And indeed, I know that you live a good life, and I know that I am burdened with many sins. But although you are a sinner yourself, yet you are much better than I am, since you just bear your own sins, while I also bear the sins of those entrusted to me. 
For this reason, I look on you as being lofty and great, because in your great and lofty position, you have not put yourself forward before human eyes. It often happens, when honor is given by all externally, the mind sinks into the depths, because it is burdened with disctracting cares. But for you, almighty God, according to what is written 'arranged the ascents in his heart, in an enclosed valley of tears' (Psalm 84(84):6).

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 484