Gregory the Great, on Ezek 2:8

“But thou, O son of man, hear all that I say to thee: and do not thou provoke me, as that house provoketh me: open thy mouth, and eat what I give thee.”

“"Open your mouth and eat whatever I give you." We open our mouth when we speak rightly; and we eat what we receive from God, because the food of life is both granted and increased in our understanding when we begin to preach. Hence another prophet says: I opened my mouth and drew in the spirit. For he would not have drawn in the spirit unless he had opened his mouth, because unless he had devoted himself to preaching to his neighbors, the grace of spiritual teaching would not have grown in him.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.