--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The pastor should always be pure in…" description: "\"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 ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/pope-gregory-i-14606_clean_the-pastor-should-always-be-pure-in-thou_2743714.jpg" --- # The pastor should always be pure in thought ... no… ![“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…” quote by Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/pope-gregory-i-14606_clean_the-pastor-should-always-be-pure-in-thou_2743714.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/pope-gregory-i-14606_clean_the-pastor-should-always-be-pure-in-thou_2743714.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/pope-gregory-i-14606_clean_the-pastor-should-always-be-pure-in-thou_2743714.jpg) > “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 I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A pastor must remain spiritually pure; any impurity contaminates his ability to cleanse others’ hearts. **In simple terms:** Clarity requires personal purity. Key Takeaway Guard your own integrity. Themes morality leadership spiritual purity Mood reflective serious Type theological ethical When to use this quote - counseling - church leadership - personal mentorship Key Concepts ethics cleanliness responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain personal purity? - What safeguards protect your role? A Different Perspective Human frailty may cause slip-ups. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirt/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Impurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impurity/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Pastor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pastor/) ## Related quotes > [Love is precious keep it, Life is empty fill it, World is full of dirt, Clean it to stay in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stankyrich/love-is-precious-keep-it-life-is-empty-fill-it-world-is-full-of-dirt/) Stankyrich > [Unless we realize our sins enough to call them by name, it is hardly worth while to say anything about them at all. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maltbie-davenport-babcock/unless-we-realize-our-sins-enough-to-call-them-by-name-it-is-hardly/) [Maltbie Davenport Babcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maltbie-davenport-babcock/) > [Regardless of your chosen faith, at the end of your life's journey, your heart will be measured in two ways. One, the weight of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/regardless-of-your-chosen-faith-at-the-end-of-your-life-s-journey/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [Purity of soul and impurity of body can go together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/purity-of-soul-and-impurity-of-body-can-go-together/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [There is no room for the impurities of literature in an essay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/there-is-no-room-for-the-impurities-of-literature-in-an-essay/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Over time, our inescapable, systemic, fundamentally human impurity gives us the capacity to do what has not been done before: to make creative leaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/over-time-our-inescapable-systemic-fundamentally-human-impurity-gives/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [If your breath is very deep in the lungs, it will give you a good red blood. Good red blood, with the oxygen, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/if-your-breath-is-very-deep-in-the-lungs-it-will-give-you-a-good-red/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [In a pure society, the subject of marriage would not be so often avoided,--from shame and not from reverence, winked out of sight,and hinted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-a-pure-society-the-subject-of-marriage-would-not-be-so-often/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Khadi has been conceived as the foundation and the image of ahimsa. A real khadi-wearer will not utter an untruth. A real khadi-wearer will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/khadi-has-been-conceived-as-the-foundation-and-the-image-of-ahimsa-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Psychoanalysis is a technique we practice at our cost; psychoanalysis degrades our risks, our dangers, our depths; it strips us of our impurities, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/psychoanalysis-is-a-technique-we-practice-at-our-cost-psychoanalysis/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [Blessed art Thou, Lord, who giveth suffering As a divine remedy for our impurities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/blessed-art-thou-lord-who-giveth-suffering-as-a-divine-remedy-for-our/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [Purity or impurity depends on oneself, no one can purify another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/purity-or-impurity-depends-on-oneself-no-one-can-purify-another/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ego is impurity. Be selfless. Consecrate and dedicate your life to perfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/ego-is-impurity-be-selfless-consecrate-and-dedicate-your-life-to/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Any test that turns on what is offensive to the community's standards is too loose, too capricious, too destructive of freedom of expression to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/any-test-that-turns-on-what-is-offensive-to-the-community-s-standards/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [Lust indulged became habit, and habit unresisted became necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/lust-indulged-became-habit-and-habit-unresisted-became-necessity/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## More by Pope Gregory I > [He who is required by the necessity of his position to speak the highest things is compelled by the same necessity to exemplify the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/he-who-is-required-by-the-necessity-of-his-position-to-speak-the/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [I despise the proper constructions and cases, because I think it very unfitting that the words of the celestial oracle should be restricted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/i-despise-the-proper-constructions-and-cases-because-i-think-it-very/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [The universe is not rich enough to buy the vote of an honest man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/the-universe-is-not-rich-enough-to-buy-the-vote-of-an-honest-man/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [If we are, in fact, now occupied in good deeds, we should not attribute the strength with which we are doing them to ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/if-we-are-in-fact-now-occupied-in-good-deeds-we-should-not-attribute/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [Now if the wearing of fine and precious robes were not a fault, word of God would never have so carefully expressed this. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/now-if-the-wearing-of-fine-and-precious-robes-were-not-a-fault-word/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [“He must, therefore, be the model for everyone. He must be devoted entirely to the example of good living. He must be dead to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/he-must-therefore-be-the-model-for-everyone-he-must-be-devoted/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [“Necessity demands that one should carefully examine who it is that comes to the position of spiritual authority; and coming solemnly to this point,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/necessity-demands-that-one-should-carefully-examine-who-it-is-that/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [“Pope Gregory believed that successful pastoral leadership required a balance between the contemplation of the isolated ascetic and the action of the well-trained administrator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/pope-gregory-believed-that-successful-pastoral-leadership-required-a/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [What do they not see, who see Him Who sees all things?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/what-do-they-not-see-who-see-him-who-sees-all-things/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [There are in truth three states of the converted: the beginning, the middle, and the perfection. In the beginning they experience the charms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/there-are-in-truth-three-states-of-the-converted-the-beginning-the/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [“For it is no doubt impossible to eradicate everything at once from their obstinate minds, because he who endeavours to reach the highest place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/for-it-is-no-doubt-impossible-to-eradicate-everything-at-once-from/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [“The spiritual director should not reduce his attention to the internal life because of external occupations, nor should he relinquish his care for external…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/the-spiritual-director-should-not-reduce-his-attention-to-the/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [The bliss of the elect in heaven would not be perfect unless they were able to look across the abyss and enjoy the agonies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/the-bliss-of-the-elect-in-heaven-would-not-be-perfect-unless-they/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [Whatsoever one would understand what he hears must hasten to put into practice what he has heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/whatsoever-one-would-understand-what-he-hears-must-hasten-to-put-into/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [Ignorance is a dangerous and spiritual poison, which all men ought warily to shun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/ignorance-is-a-dangerous-and-spiritual-poison-which-all-men-ought/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) [Explore all 46 Pope Gregory I quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) ## More Clean quotes > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [We cannot go back in time and change the past, but we can repent. The Savior can wipe away our tears of regret and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/we-cannot-go-back-in-time-and-change-the-past-but-we-can-repent-the/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [ I walked all around it \[the Guggenheim Bilbao\] and couldn't find one clear, clean shot. To make things worse, the weather was lousy. Nothing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-polidori/i-walked-all-around-it-the-guggenheim-bilbao-and-couldn-t-find-one/) [Robert Polidori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-polidori/) > [There's nothing harder than making a mellow, clean record. It's really scary. I can see why people would never want to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-segall/there-s-nothing-harder-than-making-a-mellow-clean-record-it-s-really/) [Ty Segall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-segall/) > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [There is one, and only one solution, and we have almost no time to try it. We must turn all our resources to repairing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/there-is-one-and-only-one-solution-and-we-have-almost-no-time-to-try/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [The sugar maple is remarkable for its clean ankle. The groves of these trees looked like vast forest sheds, their branches stoppingshort at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-sugar-maple-is-remarkable-for-its-clean-ankle-the-groves-of-these/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [America should be leading the world in green and clean solutions, and human rights. We shouldn't be leading the world in wars and incarceration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/america-should-be-leading-the-world-in-green-and-clean-solutions-and/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [At 62, I remain clean and sober and my ponytail remains erect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/at-62-i-remain-clean-and-sober-and-my-ponytail-remains-erect/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [Water is a cure-all. Water is everything. You can't get better without drinking lots of water, and you can't drink water unless it's clean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/water-is-a-cure-all-water-is-everything-you-can-t-get-better-without/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [The worthiness of any cause is not measured by its clean record, but by its readiness to see the blots when they are pointed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/the-worthiness-of-any-cause-is-not-measured-by-its-clean-record-but/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [I like to always wash the slate clean, and reinvigorate my spirit to be connected to the characters that I am doing. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giancarlo-esposito/i-like-to-always-wash-the-slate-clean-and-reinvigorate-my-spirit-to/) [Giancarlo Esposito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giancarlo-esposito/) > [There's a whole journalistic-industrial complex dedicated to keeping newsprint, TV screens and radio waves clean of destabilizing scoops damaging to corporations or the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/there-s-a-whole-journalistic-industrial-complex-dedicated-to-keeping/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) > [Night fell clean and cold in Dublin, and wind moaned beyond my room as if a million pipes played the air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-cornwell/night-fell-clean-and-cold-in-dublin-and-wind-moaned-beyond-my-room-as/) [Patricia Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-cornwell/) Browse all 2,503 Clean quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pope Gregory I" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/the-pastor-should-always-be-pure-in-thought-no-impurity-ought-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clean" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/the-pastor-should-always-be-pure-in-thought-no-impurity-ought-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/pope-gregory-i-14606_clean_the-pastor-should-always-be-pure-in-thou_2743714.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/pope-gregory-i-14606_clean_the-pastor-should-always-be-pure-in-thou_2743714.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/pope-gregory-i-14606_clean_the-pastor-should-always-be-pure-in-thou_2743714.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The pastor should always be pure in thought ... no impurity ought to pollute him who has undertaken the…” — Pope Gregory I", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Pope Gregory I", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The pastor should always be pure...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/the-pastor-should-always-be-pure-in-thought-no-impurity-ought-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/the-pastor-should-always-be-pure-in-thought-no-impurity-ought-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```