Quote from Letter 7,37 to Eulogius, bishop of Alexandria. July 597
I declare that I exult with great joy, because I have learnt that your are working tirelessly against the howls of the heretics, and I pray our almighty Lord to assist your Beatitude with his protection, so that through your tongue, he may tear out every root of bitterness from the bossom of the Holy Church, in case it sprouts again, and obstructs many, and through it many are totally infected.
For indeed, when you have accepted your talent, you think about what has been ordered: ' Engage in trade, until I come' (Lk. 19:13). And so, although I myself am unable to engage in any trade, yet I rejoice with you in the profits of your trade, knowing this, of course.
Although bo activity makes me a participant yet your love makes me a participant in your work. For, in my opinion, the good deed of a neighbour becomes communal even for someone doing nothing, as he knows how to rejoice in common over the action of the other person.
For indeed, when you have accepted your talent, you think about what has been ordered: ' Engage in trade, until I come' (Lk. 19:13). And so, although I myself am unable to engage in any trade, yet I rejoice with you in the profits of your trade, knowing this, of course.
Although bo activity makes me a participant yet your love makes me a participant in your work. For, in my opinion, the good deed of a neighbour becomes communal even for someone doing nothing, as he knows how to rejoice in common over the action of the other person.
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 493
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