St. Gregory the Great

For to despise the present age,

not to love transitory things,

unreservedly to stretch out the mind in humility to God and our neighbor,

to preserve patience against offered insults and,

with patience guarded,

to repel the pain of malice from the heart,

to give one’s property to the poor,

not to covet that of others,

to esteem the friend in God,

on God’s account to love even those who are hostile,

to mourn at the affliction of a neighbor,

not to exult in the death of one who is an enemy,

this is the new creature whom the Master of the nations seeks with watchful eye
amid the other disciples, saying: “If, then, any be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away. Behold all things are made new”

Comments

One response to “St. Gregory the Great”

  1. Given Avatar

    This strikes me as kind of anti-desert fathers–they seemed rather focused on not eating, on not feeding, on learning from starving.

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