QUOTATION: Possessions

Be not anxious about what you have, but about what you are.

--Pope St. Gregory the Great

QUOTATION: The Truth Must Out

It is better that scandals arise than truth be suppressed.

--Pope St. Gregory the Great

QUOTATION: God's Presence

God by a common mode is in all things by His presence, power and substance; still He is said to be present more familiarly in some by grace.

--Pope St. Gregory I, Homily 8 on Ezechiel

QUOTATION: Unrepented Sin

A sin not quickly repented of is both a sin and a cause of sin.

--Pope St. Gregory I

QUOTATION: Penance

The sin which is not lightened by penance, soon, by its very weight, drags us to further sin.

--Pope St. Gregory the Great

QUOTATION: Angels

It must be realized that "Angel" is the name of their office, not of their nature. For the holy spirits of the heavenly homeland are always spirits, but they cannot always be called Angels; they are Angels only when they are announcing something. And so the Psalmist says, "He who makes spirits His Angels," as if he said plainly that, when He wills, He uses as Messengers those spirits who are always His. Those who announce less important things are called Angels, and those who announce the highest things are called Archangels.

--Pope St. Gregory the Great

QUOTATION: Purgatory

As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.

-- Pope St. Gregory the Great

QUOTATION: Obedience

Obedience, is rightly placed before all other sacrifices, for in offering a victim as sacrifice, one offers a life that is not one’s own; but when one obeys one is immolating one’s own will.

--Pope St. Gregory the Great

QUOTATION: Anger

There are two methods to subdue anger. First, that before a person undertakes to act, he places before his mind the contumelies and sufferings which he will likely encounter, and, by reflecting on the shame borne by our Saviour, prepares himself to bear them patiently. Secondly, that when we behold the excesses of others, we direct our thoughts to our own excesses, by which we offend others. This consideration of our own faults will lead us to excuse those of others. For a person who piously considers that he also has something which others must bear patiently in him will be easily disposed to bear patiently injuries he receives from others.

--Pope St. Gregory the Great

QUOTATION: Sin

They who voluntarily commit sin show a contempt for life eternal, since they willingly risk the loss of their soul.

--Pope St. Gregory the Great

QUOTATION: Priests

There are few workers to reap such a great harvest. We should feel a deep sorrow, for although many wish to hear the good news, few are willing to preach it to them.

--Pope St. Gregory I Homiliae in Evangelia

QUOTATION: Proof of Love

The proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.

--Pope St. Gregory the Great

QUOTATION: Evangelical Zeal

No sacrifice is more acceptable to God than zeal for souls.

--Pope St. Gregory I

QUOTATION: The Contemplative Life

The contemplative life has its most desirable sweetness which uplifts the soul above itself, opens the way to heavenly things, and makes spiritual things plain to the eyes of the soul.

--Pope St. Gregory I, Morals, 6:38

QUOTATION: Sin, Mercy, Judgement

Before sinning, let man fear God's justice, but after sinning, let him presume on his mercy. And let him not so fear His justice as not to be strengthened by the consolation of hope; nor so confident of His mercy as to neglect to apply to his wounds the medicine of adequate penance.

-- Pope St. Gregory I, Morals 33:23.