Saint Gregory the Great

The seminary of Autun possesses a manuscript copy of the Dialogues of Saint Gregory the Great, so ancient that it is one of the proofs that critics like to cite when attributing this work to the holy Pope.

The feast of Saint Gregory had special importance in the church of Saint-Pierre-le-Moutier, and the ancient missal of the Saint-Symphorien church indicates the particular cult of Saint Gregory at Saint-Martin d'Autun.

Saint Gregory is the patron saint of Charnay-lès-Châlon.

Here is the list of Saint Gregory's works: 1° The book of the Duty of Pastors or the Pastoral Rule. In it, he marvelously develops the dangers and obligations of a person charged with the guidance of souls; a guidance which he calls, after Sa int Gregory of Nazianzus, saint Grégoire de Nazianze Pope contemporary to Saint Psalmodius. the art of arts and the science of sciences. This work had such a reputation from its inception that Emperor Maurice sent for a copy in Rome, and Anastasius, Patriarch of Antioch, translated it into Greek. It has since received the highest praise from councils and popes, who strongly recommended its reading to the pastors of souls, so that they might consider themselves in it as in a mirror. The holy bishops of England always made it the rule of their conduct; and King Alfred provided a transl ation of it i le roi Alfred King of England who invited Grimbald to restore science and religion. nto the Saxon language.

2° The Sacramentary Le Sacramentaire Reform of the missal and ritual of the Roman Church. , that is to say the missal and the ritual of the Roman Church, which our Saint reformed. The letters of Popes Saint Innocent I, Saint Celestine I, and Saint Leo speak of an ordinary of the Mass as it was said in Rome. This ordinary does not differ in substance from the one used today; the changes made to certain prayers are purely accidental and do not touch upon the substance. Pope Gelasius revised the liturgy in 490; and his true sacramentary was published in Rome by Tommasi in 1680. It speaks of the adoration of the cross on Good Friday, the solemn blessing of the holy oils, the ceremonies of baptism, the invocation of saints and the veneration of their relics, holy water, votive masses for travelers, the sick, and the dead; and those said on the feasts of the saints, etc. The sacramentary of Saint Gregory differs from that of Pope Gelasius only in a few collects or prayers. It is through this work of our Saint, as well as through his Antiphonary and his Responsorial, that one sees the conformity that exists between the ecclesiastical office of today and that of the earliest times. The same ceremonies and the same blessings are found in the Apostolic Constitutions and in the most ancient liturgies. It is from these sources that Grabe, Riches, etc., drew the material to form their new liturgies, which are quite close to the one currently followed in the Roman Church. Dom Ménard published the sacramentary of Saint Gregory in 1642, with learned and curious notes.

3° The Moralia on Job, Les Moralia sur Job A moral and theological commentary on the Book of Job, composed in Constantinople. which were composed in Constantinople around the year 582. We have made this work known in the life of the Saint, as well as the Pastoral Rule and the Homilies on the prophet Ezekiel and on the Gospels. The Pastoral Rule is divided into four parts, the first of which deals with the dispositions required in a man called to the episcopate; the second, with the duties of a pastor; the third, with the instruction he owes his flock; the fourth, with the necessity for him to watch over his own heart.

4° Four books of Dialogues between Quatre livres de Dialogues Spiritual writings in the form of dialogues. the Saint and one of his disciples, named Peter. Saint Gregory reports therein, based on the testimony of trustworthy persons, several miracles that occurred in his time. His style there is less elevated than in his other writings.

5° A large number of Letters, divided into fourteen books, not to mention an appendix to the same letters. They form a very interesting collection.

6° An excellent Exposition of the Song of Songs. It is surely by the holy doctor. It does not appear certain that Saint Gregory is the author of the commentary on the seven penitential psalms.

7° There exist, under the name of Saint Gregory, various compilations extracted from his works by Claude, Abbot of Classe, his disciple; by Paterius, a notary; and by a monk of Tournai who lived in the 12th century.

Christian churches have always held the writings of Saint Gregory in singular esteem. One finds in them the means to confound many heretics and a very beautiful exposition of the truths and maxims of the Gospel. One sometimes encounters allegories that are too far-fetched; but that was the taste of the century. The Saint concerned himself little with the graces of discourse; this is why his style is not always pure and correct.

Dom Denys de Sainte-Marthe produced a good edition of the works of Saint Gregory in Paris in 1703, in 4 folio volumes. It was followed in the Verona edition and in the one that appeared in Augsburg in 1758. The latter was augmented by a very useful anonymous work entitled: De Formis prælatorum.

All these works are found in the Patrology of M. Migne, in 5 quarto volumes.

Jo hn the Deacon Le diacre Jean Host of Simeon at Emesa and the saint's first biographer. composed the life of Saint Gregory the Great in the 9th century, by order of Pope John VIII: it is from this primitive source that all biographers have drawn.