To Anastasius, Bishop of Antioch, on His Return to His See

Gregory to Anastasius, bishop of Antioch. [a]

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will,” because that great river which once had left the rocks of Antioch dry has at last returned to its proper channel, and waters the valleys that lie near and below it, so that they bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and some a hundredfold. For now there is no doubt that many flowers of souls are growing up in its valleys, and that through the streams of your tongue they will come even to ripe fruit. So with the voice of heart and mouth, from our inmost soul, we give due praise to Almighty God, and we rejoice in your blessedness, not with you only, but with all who are under you. I have received the letters of your holiness, most sweet and pleasant to me, while we ourselves, if I may say so, are sweating under the same toil as you. And indeed I know how heavy the burden of outward cares must be to you after those heights of rest in which, with the hand of the heart, you were touching heavenly secrets. But remember that you rule an Apostolic See, and that you ease sorrow the more readily by being made all things to all men. In the Books of Kings, as your learned Holiness knows, a certain man is described who used either hand as a right hand. And with regard to this I have no doubt about the lord Anastasius, long ago my most sweet and most holy patron, that, while he draws earthly works to heavenly profit, he turns the left hand to the use of the right. So his heavenly attention may do its work, so to speak, with the right hand; and also, when his care of temporal things leads him toward the interests of justice, the left hand may gain the strength of the right.

And indeed these things cannot be done without heavy labor and trouble. But let us remember the labors of those who went before us, and what we endure will not be hard. For “we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” And, “We were pressed beyond measure, beyond our strength, so that we were weary even of life. But we ourselves also had the sentence of death in ourselves, so that we should not trust in ourselves.” And yet “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that will be revealed in us.” How, then, can we who are weak sheep pass without labor through the heat of this world, in which we know that even the rams have suffered under heavy toil? [d]

Further, I cannot express with pen or tongue what tribulations I suffer in this land from the swords of the Lombards, from the wrongdoing of judges, from the press of business, from the care of those under me, and also from bodily illness. Even though I might say something about these things briefly, I hesitate, for fear that, while your most holy love is afflicted by your own tribulations, I should add mine as well. But may Almighty God, in the abundance of his loving-kindness, fill the mind of your most holy blessedness with all comfort, and at some time, through your intercession, grant unworthy me rest from these evils that I suffer. Amen. Grace. These words, as you see, I have taken from what you had written and put into my letters, so that your blessedness may see, with regard to Saint Ignatius, that he is not only yours but also ours. For as we have his master, the prince of the apostles, in common, so none of us ought to keep to himself alone the disciple of this same Prince. Moreover, we have received your blessing, which is of sweet smell and good savor, with the feelings it deserved. And we give thanks to Almighty God that what you do, what you say, and what you give is fragrant and full of savor. So for your life let us say together, let us all say, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.” [e]