Concerning a Legacy

Quote from Letter 9.75 to Fantinus, defender. November-December 598

You Experience should know that our notary, Primigenius, has passed from this world, for his sins. He is known to have left as his heirs the holy Roman Church, which we serve with God's authority, and his wife, who afterwards commended herself to the protection of the Church, and also the son of his brother, as an equal heir, accounting for every last cent. For that reason, so that you receive this order at once, before anyone discovers that he has died and permits some fraud over his fortune, you will take care to travel without delay to the place in which his property has been stored. And there, with all concern and diligence, let it be your aim to act with solemnity and precision, in the presence of the boy, Consentius, who is nominated as the guardian of the property, and summon witnesses. 

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 589

God's Grace

Quote from Letter  9.74 to Azimarchus, secretary. November-December 598

As much as learning of your disastrous shipwreck saddened us, even so you subsequent letter has relieved us, as we have learnt that your Greatness has reached Sicily safely. And we have thanked our Creator, who protected you with his accustomed piety, and freed you from the danger of the see.
Therefore, it is necessary that you should always have before your eyes in all your activities the compassion of God, which you see so often conferred on you, so that His grace may be increased in you and save you from internal dangers just as he saved you from external ones.

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 588 

Pious Donation

Quote from Letter 9.72 to Passivus, bishop of Fermo. November-December 598

Anio, the count of the castle of Teramo, had informed us in a petition of recommendation, included as an appendix, that he has founded an oratory in the castle mentioned above, at his own expense, to show his devotion, and he wants it to be consecrated in honor of Saint Peter, the prince of the apostles.
And so, my dearest brother, if the construction mentioned above is situated in the jurisdiction of your diocese, in which you fulfill the office of visitor, and it is certain that no human body has been buried there, after first receiving the donation as set by law, you will solemnly consecrate the aforesaid oratory

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 587

Prayer and Diplomacy

Quote from Letter 9.68 to Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards. November-December 598

Therefore, we offer thanks to almighty God, who so rules your heart with his own piety that, as he has bestowed true faith on you, so too he grants that you should always work on things pleasing to him. For, most excellent daughter, you should believe that you have acquire d no small reward for the blood that had to be poured from each side. On this matter, we offer thanks to your willingness, and we pray to the compassion of our God that here and in the future he will compensate you in body and soul in return for your good deeds.
Furthermore, greeting your with paternal love, we exhort you to do what is necessary before your most excellent husband, to prevent him from rejecting the delightfulness of the Christian state.

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 585

Religious Zeal

Quote from Letter 9.67 to Domitius, priest and abbot. November-December 598

Just as it is a serious matter and thoroughly blameworthy if a controversy over secular matters should arise between persons serving our almighty Lord and last for a long time, even so it is praiseworthy and well suited to religious zeal, to prefer a peace welcome to God to material gains, and from transitory things, to reap the everlasting profits of love.

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 584

War and Peace

Quote from Letter 9.66 to Agilulf, king of the Lombards. November-December 598

We offer thanks to your Excellency, since you listened to our petition and drew up a peace that would be beneficial for both parties, as we were confident you would. For this reason, we have greatly applauded the prudence and goodness of your Excellency, as you show that you love peace through your love of God, who is the author of peace itself. For if peace had not been made (Heaven forbid!), what else was left for Him to do, other that let the blood of wretched country dwellers, whose labor benefits both sides, be poured out, due to the dangerous sinfulness of both parties?

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 583

Restoring Friendship

Quote from Letter 9.65 to Maurentius, general. November-December 598

And because we have heard that he [the administrator Comitaticius] is not with you now, as he was before, we ask your Glory that if there is any way in which he perhaps rightly offended your feelings, you should tell us what it is, but then show him the extent of your graciousness and receive him with that friendship which he had long shared with your, and devote your goodwill to him, as being truly your friend, as is reasonable, wherever the occasion requires it. 

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 583