Almighty and merciful God, who didst raise up Gregory of Rome to be a servant of the servants of God, and didst inspire him to send missionaries to preach the Gospel to the English people: Preserve in thy Church the catholic and apostolic faith they taught, that thy people, being fruitful in every good work, may receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gregory was born in 540 to an influential family and in 573 he became Prefect of Rome; but shortly afterwards he resigned his office and began to live as a monk. In 579 he was made a representative of the Pope to the Patriarch of Constantinople. Shortly after his return home the Pope died of the plague and in 590 Gregory was elected Pope.
He became a practical governor of central Italy, because the job needed to be done and there was no one else to do it. When the Lombards invaded, he organized the defense of Rome against them and the eventual signing of a treaty with them. When there was a shortage of food it was he that organized the import and distribution of grain from Sicily.
Gregory's influence on worship throughout Western Europe was enormous. He founded a school for the training of church musicians and Gregorian chant is named for him. The schedule of Scripture readings for Sundays of the year and the accompanying prayers throughout most of Western Christendom for the next thirteen centuries are due to his liturgical passion. His treatise On Pastoral Care while not a work of imagination is illustrative of his dedication to duty and understanding of what is required of a minister entrusted to a Christian congregation. His sermons are still readable today and it is not without reason that he is accounted as one of the Four Latin Doctors of the ancient Church.
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