Too Much Too Do

Letter 3,63 - to Narses. August 593

"As for your Beloved asking me in your letters to offer thanks on your behalf to my son, Lord Theodore, chief doctor and ex-prefect, I have done so. Nor have I ceased to commend you as much as I was able to do. But I beg you to pardon me for replying to your letters so briefly, but I am oppressed by such great tribulations, that I am allowed neither to read much nor to say much by means of letters. I say this only to you, briefly, that 'I forget to eat my bread from the voice of my groaning'."

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 284.

The Reason Why

A year or so ago I bought The Letters of Gregory the Great, translated by John R.C. Martyn (PIMS, Toronto, 2004). I know some of them, I have a weakness for Gregory the Great, but I lacked time and courage to start reading the hundreds of letters history has kept.

I just needed a compelling reason to read all his letters. Now I have one... I made it a project.

Every few days I intend to read one of the letters. And to keep me going, I'll blog the most interesting, inspiring, intriguing paragraph, and twitter the most interesting, intriguing, inspiring line to the world - hoping to catch an audience, for Gregory deserves an audience. At least, I think and believe so.

Passages from the letters are quoted with kind permission of the publishers, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto, Canada.