Letter 11061: Among so many cares and anxieties which you sustain for the government of the peoples under your sway, it is to your exceeding praise and great reward that you are helpers of those who labour in the cause of God. And, since you have shown yourselves by the good things you have already done to be such that we may presume still better things of yo...

Gregory to Clotaire, King of the Franks. Among the many cares and anxieties you bear for governing the peoples under your rule, it is greatly to your praise and reward that you support those who labor in the cause of God. Since you have already shown yourselves, through the good you have done, to be people from whom I may expect even better things, I am moved gladly to ask what will serve your own reward. Certain monks who had traveled with our most reverend brother and fellow bishop Augustine to the nation of the Angli have returned and told me how generously your Excellency received our brother, how you refreshed him when he was with you, and how you supported him when he departed. Since God accepts the works of those who do not stop doing good once they have begun, I ask you, with fatherly warmth, to hold as specially commended to you the monks carrying this letter, whom I am sending to our brother together with our most beloved sons, the priest Laurentius and the abbot Mellitus. Whatever kindness you showed Augustine before, show it to these men as well -- for the richer increase of your praise. When your provision enables them to complete their journey without delay, Almighty God will repay your good deeds and be both your guardian in prosperity and your helper in adversity. There is one more matter: it has come to my ears that in your territories, sacred orders are being sold for money. We are deeply distressed that the gifts of God are obtained not by merit but by bribes. Since this simoniacal heresy was condemned by the apostles at the very beginning of the Church, I ask you for your own reward to call a synod and have this evil formally condemned and eradicated.

Book XI, Letter 61 To Clotaire, King of the Franks . Gregory to Clotaire, etc. Among so many cares and anxieties which you sustain for the government of the peoples under your sway, it is to your exceeding praise and great reward that you are helpers of those who labour in the cause of God. And, since you have shown yourselves by the good things you have already done to be such that we may presume still better things of you, we are moved most gladly to request of you what will be to your own reward. Now certain monks, who had proceeded with our most reverend brother and fellow bishop Augustine to the nation of the Angli, have returned and told us with what great charity your Excellence refreshed this our brother when he was present with you, and with what supports you aided him on his departure. But, since the works of those who do not recede from the good they have begun are acceptable to our God, we beg of you, greeting you with fatherly affection, to hold as peculiarly commended to you the monks, bearers of these presents, whom we have sent to our aforesaid brother together with our most beloved sons, the presbyter Laurentius and the abbot Mellitus. And whatever kindness you before showed to him bestow ye on them also to the richer increase of your praise, to the end that, when through your provision they shall have accomplished without delay the journey they have begun, Almighty God may be the recompenser of your good deeds, and both your guardian in prosperity and your helper in adversity. Furthermore, it has come to our ears that in your parts sacred orders are conferred with payment of money. And we are exceedingly distressed if the gifts of God are not attained by merit, but pounced upon by bribes. And, because this simoniacal heresy, which was the first to arise in the Church, was condemned by the authority of the apostles, we beg of you for your own reward to cause a synod to be assembled; to the end that, having been put down and eradicated by the definition of all the priests, it may in future find no power in your parts to endanger souls, nor be allowed henceforth to arise under any pretext whatever, that so our Almighty God may exalt you against your adversaries in proportion as He sees that you have zeal in fulfilling His commands, and as you take thought for the salvation of souls which had been in danger of perishing by the sword of this atrocity. About this page Source. Translated by James Barmby. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 13. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1898.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/360211061.htm>. Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.