Gregory the Great wrote The Pastoral Rule to provide guidance for “spiritual directors” (clergy) on the responsibilities and tasks of pastoring. It is widely considered one of the best works of pastoral theology.

He breaks his work into four parts.

1. He addresses the qualifications of those who would obtain pastoral authority.
2. He provides directions on the proper life and work of the pastor.
3. He offers specific guidance and insight on how to pastor particular types of people given their unique temperaments, struggles, characteristics, and circumstances.
4. He closes with an exhortation to humility in pastoral ministry.

He sets out to write his book, among other reasons, “to express my opinion of the severity of their weight [i.e., the burdens of pastoral care] so that he who is free of these burdens might not recklessly pursue them and he who has already attained them might tremble for having done so.”¹ At the close of his book, he says, “I have tried to show what the qualities of a spiritual director ought to be.”²

The following are some of my favorite quotes from the work, organized loosely by subject matter.³

1. The dangers of the pastoral authority

“No one does more harm in the Church than he who has the title or rank of holiness and acts perversely. … [B]ecause such a sinner is honored by the dignity of his rank, his offenses spread considerably by way of example. And yet everyone who is unworthy would flee from such a great burden of guilt if, with the attentive ear of the heart, he pondered the saying of the Truth: ‘He that scandalizes one of these little ones who believes in me, it would be better for him that a millstone was hung around his neck and that he was cast into the depth of the sea.’ … Whoever, therefore, gives off the appearance of sanctity but destroys another by his words or example, it would be better for him that his earthly acts, demonstrated by worldly habits, would bind him to death than for his sacred office to be a source for the imitation of vice in another. Indeed, his punishment in hell would be less terrible if he fell alone.” (32)

“[Jesus] chose instead the penalty of a shameful death so that his [followers] might also learn to flee the applause of the world, to fear not its terrors, to value adversity for the sake of truth, and to decline prosperity fearfully. This final concern [i.e. prosperity] often corrupts the heart through pride, while adversities purge it through suffering. In the one, the soul becomes conceited; while in the other (even if the soul is occasionally conceited), it humbles itself. In the one, the man forgets who he is; while in the other, he is recalled, even unwillingly, to know what he is. … For commonly in the school of adversity, the heart is subdued by discipline; but if one rises to a position of spiritual authority, the heart is immediately altered by a state of elation that accompanies the experience of glory.” (33)

“Often, when undertaking the care of supervision, the heart is divided through contrary concerns…. It becomes anxious arranging external matters and, ignoring only itself, it knows how to contemplate every thing except itself. … As a result, the mind is such a stranger to self-examination that it does not consider the damage that it suffers and is ignorant of the extent to which it errs.” (34)

“For it is very often the case that the discipline of good works, which was maintained in a time of tranquility, is ruined in the assumption of leadership. For an inexperienced sailor can steer a ship in calm waters, but even an experienced seaman is disordered by a storm. For what, indeed, is a position of spiritual authority but a mental tempest.” (42)

“Let the one who is still tied to worldly concerns beware that he not further anger the strict Judge by delighting in a position of glory and actually becoming the source of ruin for the laity. Accordingly, everyone should gauge himself so that he dare not assume the place of spiritual leadership, while vice that leads to damnation continues to reign in him.” (44)

“But if one fearfully considers the One who presides over all things, that is the internal Judge, then he will not direct his subjects without fear.” (51)

2. Against neglecting the pastorate when suited

“For there are several who possess incredible virtues and who are exalted by great talents for training others; men who are spotless in the pursuit of chastity, stout in the vigor of fasting, satiated in the feasts of doctrine, humble in the long-suffering of patience, erect in the fortitude of authority, tender in the grace of kindness, and strict in the severity of judgment. To be certain, if they refuse to accept a position of spiritual leadership when they are called, they forfeit the majority of their gifts—gifts which they received not for themselves only, but also for others. When these men contemplate their own spiritual advantages and do not consider anyone else, they lose these goods because they desire to keep them for themselves. … If, therefore, the care of feeding is a testament to loving, then he who abounds in virtues but refuses to feed the flock of God is found guilty of having no love for the supreme Shepherd.” (36)

“For indeed, no one is truly humble if he understands by the judgment of the supreme Will that he ought to govern but then refuses.” (38)

“Indeed, no one who has not been cleansed should dare to approach the sacred ministries, just as no one whom supernatural grace has selected should proudly oppose it under the guise of humility.” (39)

3. The need for personal mastery in matters of Christianity

“No one presumes to teach an art that he has not first mastered through study. How foolish it is therefore for the inexperienced to assume pastoral authority when the care of souls is the art of arts.” (29)

“Moreover, there are some who investigate spiritual precepts with great care but trample upon what they analyze by the way in which they live. Hastily they showcase what they have learned, not by practice but by study. And the very words that they preach, they impugn by their habits.” (31)

“If one recalls how he acted as a layperson, he suddenly knows if he will be able, as a leader, to do well. For no one is able to acquire humility while in a position of authority if he did not refrain from pride when in a position of subjection. He does not know to flee from praise when it abounds if he yearned for it when it was absent.” (42)

“He should also consider that as the elected leader, he approaches the needs of the people as a physician approaches the sick. If, therefore, the passions are still at work within him, how presumptuous is he that hurries to heal the sick, when his own ailments are right there on his face?” (43)

“[H]ow could anyone possibly assume the role of intercessor before God on behalf of the laity if he does not know himself to be in the intimacy of his grace because of the merits of his life?” (44)

4. The importance of impartial discernment and temperate care

“He should not seek anything for himself, but reckon his neighbor’s well-being as his own advantage.” (50)

“[He must] not add an element of human reasoning as he dispenses his judgments on behalf of God. Otherwise, personal afflictions might get in the way of zealous correction. And when he shows himself to be zealous against the vices of others, let him prosecute his own, so that hidden envy does not defile the tranquility of judgment, nor headlong anger disturb it.” (51)

“[T]he spiritual director should be discerning in his silence and profitable in his speech, otherwise he might say something that should have been suppressed or suppress something that should have been said. For just as reckless speaking leads someone into error, so indiscreet silence leaves in error those who might have been instructed. For often, reckless directors, who fear to lose human favor, are afraid to speak freely about what is right. And, according to the voice of the Truth, they fail to attend to the care of their flock as shepherds and act instead as mercenaries. … For if a shepherd fears to say what is right, what else is it but to turn his back in silence? … When they fear to correct sin, they vainly flatter the evildoers by promising them immunity.” (54–55)

“But when the spiritual director prepares himself to speak, he must beware to speak cautiously, otherwise if he rushes hastily into speaking without the proper preparation, the hearts of his audience may be struck with the wound of error.” (56)

“When superiors correct the delinquents among the laity, it is necessary for them to be careful that when they attack sin through due discipline, they should still acknowledge themselves, as an exercise of humility, to be the equals of those they correct. And it is fitting that in our silent thoughts, we even prefer those whom we correct to ourselves.” (65)

“Often a wound is made worse by unskilled mending, so that the cut is felt more grievously because it is bound improperly by the bandages. And so it is necessary that when the wound of sin in a layperson is mitigated by correction, even the restraint should be carefully moderated so that the exercise of just discipline should not come at the expense of loving-kindness. … And in every case, care should be provided in such a way that discipline is never rigid, nor kindness lax. … Instead, spiritual directors should have compassion for the laity that is justly considerate and discipline that is affectionately severe.” (67)

“[I]t is important that the spiritual director be vigilant that he is not assailed by a desire to please others, or else … he seeks the love of the laity more than he seeks the Truth. … For he is the enemy of the Redeemer, who through the good works that he performs desires to be loved by members of the Church rather than by him. For indeed, a servant is guilty of adulterous thoughts if he desires to please the eyes of the bride when he is sent by the groom to offer gifts.” (74)

“[G]ood spiritual directors desire to please others, but this is … not because they desire to be loved, but instead because they use affection for themselves as a sort of road to introduce the hearts of their audience to the love of the Creator.” (76)

“[I]n some cases, what is openly known should be judiciously tolerated because the circumstances do not offer an opportunity for proper correction. For wounds are made worse by untimely surgery, and if a medicine is not suited to a certain situation, it would not be profitable to use it.” (78)

“Every spiritual director, then, should learn from his own experience the extent to which he should show mercy on the weakness of others. For if he is too quick to voice his rebuke against the weakness of his neighbor, it would be as though he did not see his own.” (80)

“[W]hen the mind of the teacher is engaged with the correction of subordinates, it is very difficult for him to keep in those things that he should not say. And it often happens that when one corrects the sin of the laity with excessive invective, the teacher is drawn into using an excess of words. And when this reproof burns immoderately, the heart of the sinner sinks into despair. … [H]e must always recognize his fault and repent … even though it was through his zeal that he sinned.” (82)

5. Instructions for preaching

“The spiritual director should be the first in service so that by his way of life he might show the laity how to live, and so that the flock (which follows the voice and behavior of its shepherd) may advance all the better by his example than by his words alone. For indeed, the one who is compelled by his position to speak of the highest things is also compelled, by necessity, to show the highest things by his example. For his voice more easily penetrates his listeners’ hearts when his way of life commends what he says. Thus, what he enjoins by speaking he helps by showing how it is to be done. … He will more easily draw his subjects to better things if, by the merit of his life, he proclaims them from on high.” (51)

“Doctrine does not penetrate the mind of the needy if the hand of compassion does not commend it to the soul. But the seed of the Word does grow well, when the kindness of the preacher waters it in the heart of his audience.” (72)

“[T]he discourse of the teacher should be adapted to the character of his audience so that it can address the specific needs of each individual and yet never shrink from the art of communal edification. … And so every teacher, in order to edify all by the single virtue of charity, ought to touch the hearts of his audience with the same common doctrine but by distinct exhortations.” (87–88)

“Indeed, because of this, a sermon must be prepared with such skill that the audience, which suffers from diverse vices, can receive a single message that is without contradiction. In a single pass, it must cover each of the passions, but like a two-edged sword, it must remove the cancer of carnal thoughts on both sides.” (202)

 “The preacher should realize that he should not draw the souls of his listeners beyond their strength, otherwise the cord of the mind, so to speak, will be stretched too tightly and will break.” (205)

“[E]very preacher should be ‘heard’ more by his deeds than by his words. Moreover, the footprint of his good living should be that path that others follow rather than the sound of his voice showing them where to go. … For it is certainly necessary that those who offer the words of holy preaching must first be vigilant in the zeal of good works. Otherwise, if they are sluggish in performing them, they will have only words to entice others. Let them first perform lofty deeds and then convince others to live well. Let them first strike themselves with the wings of their thoughts. Let them carefully examine whether there is anything about themselves that is sluggish and, if so, correct it with strict observance. Only then should they tell others how to live their lives. Let them first correct their own sins through tears and then denounce what is punishable in others. But before they offer any words of exhortation, they should proclaim by their actions everything that they wish to say.” (206–207)

6. A call for humility and the threat of pride

“[A] consideration of one’s weakness should subdue his every achievement so that the swell of pride not abolish his good works before the eyes of the secret Judge.” (27)

“For often, while many resources are present and much can be done that will impress the laity, the soul exalts itself in thought and wholly provokes the wrath of the Judge even though no sins were committed openly. Obviously, he who judges is within and what is within is judged. Therefore, when we are delinquent in the heart, others are not able to know what we are doing, but we sin in the presence of the Judge.” (35)

“[H]e who seeks not the good work of the ministry, but only the glory of honor, testifies against himself that he does not desire the office of a bishop. For a man does not love the sacred office, nor does he even understand it, if by craving a position of spiritual leadership he is nourished by the thought of subordinating others, rejoices at being praised, elates his heart by honor, or exalts in the abundance of his affluence. Truly, it is worldly gain that masks itself under that type of honor, when in fact, worldly gain should be destroyed. And when the mind thinks to appropriate the pinnacle of humility for its own benefit, it inwardly changes what it outwardly desires.” (41)

“[T]hose who preside over others should consider not their rank, but the equality of their condition. Moreover, they should revel not in ruling over others but in helping them.” (62)

“Often, however, a spiritual director swells with pride by virtue of being placed in a position of authority over others. Because … the laity praise him for the things he does well but have no authority to critique what goes wrong, and because they often praise what should really be rebuked, the mind of the priest is often seduced by the approval of those below him, and as a consequence, he is exalted inordinately. And while he is outwardly encircled with immense favor, internally he loses his sense of truth. Forgetful of who he is, he scatters himself among the voices of others and believes what he hears them say about him rather than what he should discern about himself from within. … And those whom he surpasses by the accident of power, he believes himself to have transcended by the merits of his life. He estimates that he is wiser than those whom he sees himself to have surpassed in rank. Indeed, he constructs his own elated sense of self, and though he shares the same natural condition as others, he disdains to regard others as his equal.” (62–63)

“For the human mind is subject to pride even when it is not propped up by a position of authority. How much more, then, does it exalt itself when it is combined with temporal power?” (64)

“Since it is often the case that when a sermon is delivered in accordance with a high standard, the soul of the speaker is inflated by the hidden joys of self-display, therefore it is necessary that great care be taken so that he might feel the sting of a fearful conscience. Otherwise, the one who is able to return others to health will ignore himself and develop the swelling of pride. Let him not abandon himself by helping others or stumble as he enables others to rise. … And so it comes to pass that, to the eyes of the just Judge, the dwelling of the mind upon its own virtue can become its pitfall, because by recalling what it has done, the mind becomes inflated in itself and, therefore, falls short before the Author of humility.” (209–210)

“[W]hen the mind disregards the supernal Ruler, it seeks praise on its own merits and begins to confer on itself every good that it has received for the purpose of being a herald for the real Giver.” (210)

“Thus, it is necessary that when we are flattered by a wealth of virtues, we must turn the eye of our mind to our infirmity and allow it to humble itself. It should look not at the good things that it has done, but at those things that it has neglected, so that when the heart reflects upon its infirmity, it will be all the more strongly established before the Author of humility.” (211)

Notes

1. Gregory the Great, The Book of Pastoral Rule, ed. John Behr, trans. George E. Demacopoulos, vol. 34, Popular Patristics Series (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2007), 27. ↩︎
2. Ibid., 212. ↩︎
3. All of the subsequent quotations come from the St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2007 edition. However, to cut down on footnotes, I will just provide the page numbers in parenthesis next to each quotations. ↩︎