A Change of Heart

Quote from Letter 8.11 to Sabinian, bishop of Zara. December 597

I exhort you, therefore, my most beloved brother, that you earnestly show pastoral concern for the Lord's flock, and pay diligent attention to making a profit from the sheep entrusted to you, so that you may abound with the full retribution of a copious reward, and be offered plentiful fruits of your labors, when the eternal Judge arrives.
And so, be keen to rescue those who have lapsed in sin, be keen to show the path of redemption to those in error, and be keen to recall to the beneficent grace of communion those who have been deprived of it. Let the change of heart of your Charity be the duty of saving the rest, let it be an example of salvation, so that, while your Solicitude's care directs the wandering steps of the sheep of the folds of the supreme shepherd, they may not be left exposed to the teeth of wolves, and the compensation of a well-deserved reward may await you in eternal life, that must be sought above all else.

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 508

Law on Miitary Service

Quote from Letter 8.10 to Eusebius of Thessaloniki, Urbicus of Dyrrachium, Constantius of Milan, Andrew of Nicopolis, John of Corinth, John of Prima Justiana, John of Crete, John of Scutari, John of Larissa, Marinianus of Ravenna, Januarius of Cagliari in Sardinia and all the bishops of Sicily. November 597


I have taken care to send over to your Fraternities the law that our most pious emperor gave me, stating that those who are perhaps under the obligation to military service or to public accounts, should not be put on ecclesiastical habit or become monks in monasteries, while they are escaping from the danger of law cases of their own.
I exhort you most of all that such men are as implicated in secular actions, should not be accepted hastily into the clergy of the Church. For while they live in ecclesiastical clothing, they live in the same way as they lived before, and they are in no way keen to escape from a worldly state, but simply want to change their relationship to it.

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 508

Reprimande

Quote from Letter 8.8 to Vitalian, bishop of Siponto. November 597

If you knew how to be a guardian of religious clothing, or to be a bishop, the daughter of Tullianus, a general of glorious memory, would not have been allowed to throw away het religious vestments and revert to secular dress, with you in charge there, nor would you have allowed her to send such a perverse letter to us. 
But because you are overcome by excessive idleness and inactivity, the illegal act has been committed without being punished yet, to your disgrace.

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 506

Reward

Quote from Letter 8.7 to Leo, bishop of Catana. November 597

And we wish, therefore, that whatever happends tp be paid to your church from revenue or any other item, you ought to segregate a fourth part from it, without any reduction, and divide it with discretion and the fear of God among the priests, deacons and clerics, as you see fit.
But do so, of course, in such a way that you have a free license to reward any person, if his hard work deserves it, so that both these who are deserving may feel they are consoled by temporal goods also, and others, with the help of our Lord, may strive to become better by imitating them.

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 506

Missionay Activities

Quote from Letter 8.4 to Brunhilde, queen of the Franks. September 597

We also exhort yout equally to restrain the rest of your subjects also, beneath a moderating discipline, so that they might not offer sacrifices to idols, or continue to worship trees or to make sacrilegious offerings over the heads of animals. 
For we have learnt that many of the Christians flock to the churches, but, terrible to relate, theu do not give up the worship of demons. But since these things are thoroughly displeasing to our God, and because he does not own minds that are divided, ensure that they should be banned profitably from these unlawful practives, in case (Heaven forbid!) the sacrament of holy baptism might not sae them, but punish them.
(...) And so it is necessary that we should hasten with all endeavor and with continuous prayers to be converted to the compassion of our Redeemer, where there is a place for all, really safe and secure. For there, neither dangeer wears down nor fear disturbs anyone who persists firmly.

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 501

Salutations and Prayer

Quote from Letter 8.2 to Anastasius, bishop of Antioch. September 597

But your most charming Holiness indicates to me that, if it were possible you whould have liked to speak with me without paper and pen, and you lament because a distance lies between us almost from East to West. But what I say is what I think is true, and on your paper your mind speaks to me without any paper, because love alone sounds in the words of your Holiness, and we are not divided by places, for we are one with the bond of love, as a gift of our almighty Lord.
Why, then, do you seek to obtain the wings of a dove, plated with silver [Ps 66:13 & Ps 55:5], when you already have them? For indeed your wings are the love of God and of your neighbour. For with them, the Holy Church flies up with them, it transcends all earthly things, and if your Holiness did not have them, you would not have come to me in your letters with such great love.
I ask you to pray for the infirmity of my heart more earnestly, so that almighty God might defend my mind from all evils due to your intercession, and snatch me away from so many storms of this calamitous time, and bring me to the shore of eternal peace.

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 498