The pastor should always be pure in thought ... no impurity ought to pollute him who has undertaken the office of wiping away the stains in the hearts of others ... for the hand that would cleanse from dirt must be clean, lest, being itself sordid with clinging mire, it soil whatever it touches all the more.
Pope Gregory IIf the intention is unclean, the deed that follows from it will also be evil, even if it seems good.
Pope Gregory IThe proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.
Pope Gregory IObedience is the only virtue that plants the other virtues in the heart and preserves them after they have been planted.
Pope Gregory I