Pope Saint Gregory the Great

Pope Saint Gregory the Great was an important Doctor of the Church. He was born in 540 A.D. in Rome and died on March 12 604 A.D. He was instrumental in clarifying Church doctrine and organizing the Catholic Church. He helped establish many of the principles of Catholicism still practiced today.

St. Gregory is attributed with many writings, letters, and prayers. The following St. Gregory prayer is still recited in veneration of Jesus Christ and His suffering and sacrifice. Many Roman Catholics wear a St. Gregory medal as a reminder to venerate Jesus Christ with this prayer each day. Wearing a St. Gregory pendant or a St. Gregory necklace also honors this great Church father who helped keep Catholicism alive through such difficult times in Catholic Church history.

Prayer of St. Gregory the Great

Acclaim to the Suffering of Christ

O Lord, You received affronts
without number from Your blasphemers,
yet each day You free captive souls
from the grip of the ancient enemy.

You did not avert Your face
from the spittle of perfidy,
yet You wash souls in saving waters.

You accepted Your scourging without murmur,
yet through your meditation
You deliver us from endless chastisements.

You endured ill-treatment of all kinds,
yet You want to give us a share
in the choirs of angels in glory everlasting.

You did not refuse to be crowned with thorns,
yet You save us from the wounds of sin.

In your thirst You accepted the bitterness of gall,
yet You prepare Yourself to fill us with eternal delights.

You kept silence under the derisive homage
rendered You by Your executioners,
yet You petition the Father for us
although You are his equal in Divinity.

You came to taste death,
yet You were the Life
and had come to bring it to the dead.

Amen.