Grégoire le Grand
vers 540-604 6th century Feast day: September 3
Holding together overflowing action and the desire for contemplation, sacrificing neither to the other.
Who was Grégoire le Grand?
Prefect of Rome turned monk, then pope against his will in 590, he governed a starving, flooded city while calling himself "servant of the servants of God." A tireless preacher, he sent monks to evangelize England and left works (the Morals on Job, the Pastoral Rule, the Homilies) that would nourish the whole Middle Ages. To the end he held together the contemplation he longed for and the action that consumed him.
In their own words
Scripture grows with those who read it.
The proof of love is the deed.
The art of arts is the guidance of souls.