Confession and Self-Examination: Gregory the Great on Pastoral Self-Examination

Gregory the Great's "Pastoral Rule" (c. 590) begins with an extended discussion of the leader's obligation to examine themselves before presuming to lead others. He wrote: "No one presumes to teach an art until he has first, with intent meditation, learned it. What rashness is it, then, for the unskillful to assume pastoral authority, since the government of souls is the art of arts!" Gregory believed that self-examination was especially urgent for those in positions of spiritual influence.

Gregory taught that every virtue, if unexamined, can become a vice: generosity can become people-pleasing, courage can become recklessness, humility can become passivity. Only regular, honest self-examination can detect these subtle distortions.

Practical application: Identify your strongest virtue and ask: "How might this strength become a weakness?" If you are naturally compassionate, examine whether you sometimes avoid necessary confrontation. If you are naturally decisive, examine whether you sometimes override others' input. Gregory teaches that our greatest strengths are precisely where our greatest blind spots hide.