September 3: Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor—Memorial

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September 3: Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor—Memorial

c. 540–604
Patron Saint of choir boys, educators, masons, musicians, popes, students, and singers
Invoked against gout and the plague
Pre-Congregation canonization
Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Boniface VIII in 1295
Liturgical Color: White

Quote:
No one presumes to teach an art till he has first, with intent meditation, learned it. What rashness is it, then, for the unskilful to assume pastoral authority, since the government of souls is the art of arts!…And yet how often do men who have no knowledge whatever of spiritual precepts fearlessly profess themselves physicians of the heart, though those who are ignorant of the effect of drugs blush to appear as physicians of the flesh! But because, through the ordering of God, all the highest in rank of this present age are inclined to reverence religion, there are some who, through the outward show of rule within the holy Church, affect the glory of distinction. They desire to appear as teachers, they covet superiority to others, and, as the Truth attests, they seek the first salutations in the market-place, the first rooms at feasts, the first seats in assemblies Matthew 23:6–7, being all the less able to administer worthily the office they have undertaken of pastoral care, as they have reached the magisterial position of humility out of elation only. ~Saint Gregory the Great, Pastoral Rule, Book I

Prayer:
Saint Gregory the Great, your first desire was to love God, to come to know Him through prayer and study, and to serve Him with all your heart. God took what you gave and transformed it into a solid foundation upon which He would continue to grow His Church. Please pray for me, that my life will always be grounded upon a solid faith so that God can use me in any way He chooses for His glory and the salvation of souls. Saint Gregory the Great, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

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