Letter 3,58 - to Fortunatus, bishop of Naples. August 593
"It is right to fulfill religious desires when it is not difficult. And this is so in the case of the Abbess Gratiosa, who has joined her community in presenting a petition, which is contained in her appendix. In it she has claimed that Rustica, recorded as a patrician, is known to have built a convent for nuns, through her final decision of her will, in the city of Naples. It is her own home, in the region of Herculaneum, in a village called Lampas. Here she has arranged that the aforesaid Gratiosa should be abbess in charge. She has also built an oratory, and, to carry her vow, Gratiosa has suggested that she withdraw a third of her whole fortune, and she want it to be consecrated in honor of the blessed Mary, ever virgin and mother of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And for that reason, my very dear brother, we thought that your Beloved should be encouraged with the present injunction to inspect the final will first of al and, if it remains lawful, to make certain that the same third has in all truth spent on the same convent."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 278.
Showing posts with label abbess. Show all posts
Showing posts with label abbess. Show all posts
Monday, 29 August 2011
Sunday, 1 May 2011
Means To A Goal
Letter 3,17 - to Sub-deacon Gratiosus. January 593
"For those choosing a religious vocation we should take care, with suitable consideration, that the occurrence of some hardship neither makes them inactive, nor undermines the strength (Heaven forbid!) of their holy way of life. For this reason we order with the present authority that you should hand over the following property to the Abbess Flora, with the right of possession for her indubitable ownership. The house is located in this city in the fourth region, next to a place called the 'White Hens', the property of the Holy Church of Rome, over which we preside with God's authority, and in which a patrician lady, Campana, is known to have once lived. Hand it over with the garden also and the lodgings, which a doorway encloses within the same house.
Thus with Christ's help, the abbess can construct a convent in this house, where she can live with her community (..)."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 247.
"For those choosing a religious vocation we should take care, with suitable consideration, that the occurrence of some hardship neither makes them inactive, nor undermines the strength (Heaven forbid!) of their holy way of life. For this reason we order with the present authority that you should hand over the following property to the Abbess Flora, with the right of possession for her indubitable ownership. The house is located in this city in the fourth region, next to a place called the 'White Hens', the property of the Holy Church of Rome, over which we preside with God's authority, and in which a patrician lady, Campana, is known to have once lived. Hand it over with the garden also and the lodgings, which a doorway encloses within the same house.
Thus with Christ's help, the abbess can construct a convent in this house, where she can live with her community (..)."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 247.
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