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For A Stalk To Grow Or A Flower To Open There Must Be Time That Cannot Be Forced; Nine Months Must Go By For The Birth Of A Human Child; To Write A Book Or Compose Music Often Years Must Be Dedicated To Patient Research ...to Find The Mystery There Must Be Patience, Interior Purification, Silence, Waiting.

-Pope John Paul II

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Pope John Paul II

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For A Stalk To Grow Or A Flower To Open There Must Be Time That Cannot Be Forced; Nine Months Must Go By For The Birth Of A Human Child; To Write A Book Or Compose Music Often Years Must Be Dedicated To Patient Research ...to Find The Mystery There Must Be Patience, Interior Purification, Silence, Waiting.

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The Mystery Of The Holy Night, Which Historically Happened Two Thousand Years Ago, Must Be Lived As A Spiritual Event In The 'today' Of The Liturgy," The Pope Clarified. "the Word Who Found A Dwelling In Mary's Womb Comes To Knock On The Heart Of Every Person With Singular Intensity This Christmas.

Faith And Reason Are Like Two Wings Of The Human Spirit By Which Is Soars To The Truth.

Pray And Learn To Pray! Deepen Your Knowledge Of The Word Of The Living God By Reading And Meditating On The Scriptures.

To Recite The Rosary Is Nothing Other Than To Contemplate The Face Of Christ With Mary.

Faced With The Widespread Destruction Of The Environment, People Everywhere Are Coming To Understand That We Cannot Continue To Use The Goods Of The Earth As We Have In The Past ... [a] New Ecological Awareness Is Beginning To Emerge Which Rather Than Being Downplayed, Ought To Be Encouraged To Develop Into Concrete Programs And Initiatives.

The Priest Is Not And Must Not Be A Civil Servant Of The Church. Above All The Priest Is A Man Who Lives For The Spirit For God. This Being The Case The Seminary Is The Place Where He Learns 'to Be With Him.'

The Ecological Crisis Is A Moral Issue.

Wars Generally Do Not Resolve The Problems For Which They Are Fought And Therefore, In Addition To Causing Horrendous Damage, They Prove Ultimately Futile.

There Is No Need To Be Dismayed If Love Sometimes Follows Torturous Ways. Grace Has The Power To Make Straight The Paths Of Human Love.

The Measure Of Your Success Will Be The Measure Of Your Generosity.

Your Generosity

Rediscover The Rosary In The Light Of Scripture, In Harmony With The Liturgy, And In The Context Of Your Daily Lives.

Real Love Is Demanding. I Would Fail In My Mission If I Did Not Clearly Tell You So. For It Was Jesus - Our Jesus Himself - Who Said: 'you Are My Friends If You Do What I Command You'. Love Demands Effort And A Personal Commitment To The Will Of God. It Means Discipline And Sacrifice, But It Also Means Joy And Human Fulfilment.

On One Hand The Eternal Attraction Of Man Towards Femininity (cf. Gn. 2:23) Frees In Him-or Perhaps It Should Free-a Gamut Of Spiritual-corporal Desires Of An Especially Personal And "sharing" Nature (cf. Analysis Of The "beginning"), To Which A Proportionate Pyramid Of Values Corresponds. On The Other Hand, "lust" Limits This Gamut, Obscuring The Pyramid Of Values That Marks The Perennial Attraction Of Male And Female.

[on His 83rd Birthday] Physical Condition Or Advancing Of Age Are Not Obstacles To A Perfect Life. God Does Not Look At External Things But At The Soul.

See Everything. Ignore A Lot. Improve A Little.

When Sunday Loses Its Fundamental Meaning And Becomes Subordinate To A Secular Concept Of Weekend Dominated By Such Things As Entertainment And Sport, People Stay Locked Within A Horizon So Narrow That They Can No Longer See The Heavens.

This Worship, Given Therefore To The Trinity Of The Father And Of The Son And Of The Holy Spirit, Above All Accompanies And Permeates The Celebration Of The Eucharistic Liturgy. But It Must Fill Our Churches Also Outside The Timetable Of Masses. Indeed, Since The Eucharistic Mystery Was Instituted Out Of Love, And Makes Christ Sacramentally Present, It Is Worthy Of Thanksgiving And Worship. And This Worship Must Be Prominent In All Our Encounters With The Blessed Sacrament, Both When We Visit Our Churches And When The Sacred Species Are Taken To The Sick And Administered To Them

With Supernatural Intuition Blessed Josemaria Untiringly Preached The Universal Call To Holiness And Apostolate. Christ Calls Everyone To Become Holy In The Realities Of Everyday Life. Hence Work Too Is A Means Of Personal Holiness And Apostolate When It Is Done In Union With Jesus Christ

Our Future On This Planet, Exposed As It Is To Nuclear Annihilation, Depends One One Single Factor: Humanity Must Make A Moral About-face.

God Passionately Desires And Ardently Yearns For Our Salvation... Nothing Is Greater Than This: That The Blood Of God Was Poured Out For Us.

The Church Counters The Culture Of Death With The Culture Of Love.

Solidarity Is Not A Feeling Of Vague Compassion Or Shallow Distress At The Misfortunes Of So Many People, Both Near And Far. On The Contrary, It Is A Firm And Persevering Determination To Commit Oneself To The Common Good; That Is To Say To The Good Of All And Of Each Individual, Because We Are All Really Responsible For All

Confidently Open Your Most Intimate Aspirations To The Love Of Christ Who Waits For You In The Eucharist. You Will Receive The Answer To All Your Worries And You Will See With Joy That The Consistency Of Your Life Which He Asks Of You Is The Door To Fulfill The Noblest Dreams Of Your Youth.

God Is Love. We Eventually Have To Ask Ourselves The Question; Why Was Love Nailed To A Cross?

Do You Think That There Can Be Anything Greater Than To Bring Jesus To People And People To Jesus?

The State Of Inequality Between Individuals And Between Nations Not Only Still Exists; It Is Increasing. It Still Happens That Side By Side With Those Who Are Wealthy And Living In Plenty There Exist Those Who Are Living In Want, Suffering Misery And Often Actually Dying Of Hunger; And Their Number Reaches Tens, Even Hundreds Of Millions.

Economic Inequality

...be Holy Men And Women! Do Not Forget That The Fruits Of The Apostolate Depend On The Depth Of The Spiritual Life, On The Intensity Of Prayer, Of Continual Formation And Sincere Adhesion To The Directives Of The Church.

The Goal And Target Of Our Life Is He, The Christ Who Awaits Us -- Each One Singly And Altogether -- To Lead Us Across The Boundaries Of Time To The Eternal Embrace Of The God Who Loves Us.

Mary's Role Is To Make Her Son Shine

Let Us Remember The Past With Gratitude, Live The Present With Enthusiasm, And Look Forward To The Future With Confidence.

To Predispose Our Mind To Welcome The Lord Who, As We Say In The Creed, One Day Will Come To Judge The Living And The Dead, We Must Learn To Recognize Him As Present In The Events Of Daily Life. Therefore, Advent Is, So To Speak, An Intense Training That Directs Us Decisively Toward Him Who Already Came, Who Will Come, And Who Comes Continuously.

Intense Training

We Must Reflect The Light Of Christ Through Lives Of Prayer And Joyful Service To Others.

What We Talked About Will Have To Remain A Secret Between Him And Me. I Spoke To Him As A Brother Whom I Have Pardoned And Who Has My Complete Trust.

The Church Must Persist In The Teaching Transmitted To Her By Christ.

Look, I Can Surely Say By Now That I've Got The Antibodies To Communism Inside Me. But When I Think Of Consumer Society, With All Its Tragedies, I Wonder Which Of The Two Systems Is Better.

The Greatest Deception, And The Deepest Source Of Unhappiness, Is The Illusion Of Finding Life By Excluding God, Of Finding Freedom By Excluding Moral Truths And Personal Responsibility.

I Hurry To Express To You And Your Fellow Citizens My Profound Sorrow And My Closeness In Prayer For The Nation At This Dark And Tragic Moment.

There Is A Growing Threat To The Environment, To The Vegetation, Animals, Water And Air. Sacred Scripture Hands Us The Image Of Cain Who Rejects His Responsibility: 'am I My Brother's Keeper?' The Bible Shows The Human Person As His Brother's Keeper And The Guardian Of Creation Which Has Been Entrusted To Him.

Christ Called As His Apostles Only Men. He Did This In A Totally Free And Sovereign Way.

Modern Society Will Find No Solution To The Ecological Problem Unless It Takes A Serious Look At Its Lifestyle. In Many Parts Of The World Society Is Given To Instant Gratification And Consumerism While Remaining Indifferent To The Damage Which These Attitudes Cause. Simplicity, Moderation And Discipline, As Well As A Spirit Of Sacrifice, Must Become Part Of Everyday Life, Lest All Suffer The Negative Consequences Of The Careless Habits Of A Few.

Deep Within Yourself, Listen To Your Conscience Which Calls You To Be Pure...a Home Is Not Warmed By The Fire Of Pleasure Which Burns Quickly Like A Pile Of Withered Grass. Passing Encounters Are Only A Caricature Of Love; They Injure Hearts And Mock God's Plan.

That Is The Dignity Of America, The Reason She Exists, The Condition Of Her Survival, Yes, The Ultimate Test Of Her Greatness: To Respect Every Human Person, Especially The Weak And Most Defenseless Ones, Those As Yet Unborn.

Yes, The South-becoming Always Poorer-and The North-becoming Always Richer ...richer, Too In The Resources Of Weapons With Which The Superpowers And Blocs Can Mutually Threaten Each Other. In The Light Of Christ's Words (mt. 25), This Poor South Will Judge The Rich North. And The Poor People And Poor Nations-poor In Different Ways, Not Only Lacking Food, But Also Deprived Of Freedom And Other Human Right-will Judge Those People Who Take These Goods Away From Them, Amassing To Themselves The Imperialist Monopoly And Political Supremacy At The Expense Of Others.

Chess Holds Deep Wisdoms Of The People. It Is Truly An Image Of Life, The Reflection Of Human Fate That Has Shown Us The Earthly Way Of Suffering In Darkness And Permanent Shortage Of Time. Like In Chess, We Encounter All Kinds Of Traps, Mistakes, Settlements, Sacrifices, Kings, And Queens, Doubled Pawns, And Extraordinary Moves While We Are On The Board Ourselves.

Stupidity Is Also A Gift Of God, But One Mustn't Misuse It.

Sacred Scripture Wishes Simply To Declare That The World Was Created By God, And In Order To Teach This Truth It Expressed Itself In Terms Of The Cosmology In Use At The Time Of The Writer. Any Other Teaching About The Origin And Makeup Of The Universe Is So Alien To The Intentions Of The Bible, Which Does Not Wish To Teach How Heaven Was Made But How One Goes To Heaven.

Peace Is Not Just The Absence Of War. Like A Cathedral, Peace Must Be Constructed Patiently And With Unshakable Faith.

The Only Really Effective Means Of Enabling States To Deal With The Grave Problem Of Poverty Is To Provide Them With The Necessary Resources Through Foreign Financial Aid - Public And Private - Granted Under Reasonable Conditions, Within The Framework Of International Commercial Relations Regulated With Fairness.

In The Depths Of The Human Soul... The Desire To Give Meaning To One's Own Life Is Joined By The Fleeting Vision Of Beauty And Of The Mysterious Unity Of Things.

The Obligation To Earn One's Bread By The Sweat Of One's Brow Also Presumes The Right To Do So. A Society In Which This Right Is Systematically Denied, In Which Economic Policies Do Not Allow Workers To Reach Satisfactory Levels Of Employment, Cannot Be Justified From An Ethical Point Of View, Nor Can That Society Attain Social Peace.

Only Faith In Christ Gives Rise To A Culture Contrary To Egotism And Death.

Original Sin Is Not Only The Violation Of A Positive Command … But … Attempts … To Abolish Fatherhood, Destroying Its Rays Which Permeate The Created World, Placing In Doubt The Truth About God Who Is Love And Leaving Man With Only A Sense Of The Master-slave Relationship.

Sensitivity To The Immense Needs Of Humanity Brings With It A Spontaneous Rejection Of The Arms Race, Which Is Incompatible With The All Out Struggle Against Hunger, Sickness, Under-development And Illiteracy.

Like So Many Pilgrims Before Us, We Kneel In Wonder And Adoration Before The Ineffable Mystery Which. Was Accomplished Here... In This Child - The Son Who Is Given To Us - We Find Rest For Our Souls And The True Bread That Never Fails - The Eucharistic Bread Foreshadowed Even In The Name Of This Town: Bethlehem, The House Of Bread. God Lies Hidden In The Child; Divinity Lies Hidden In The Bread Of Life

Economic Activity, Especially The Activity Of A Market Economy, Cannot Be Conducted In An Institutional, Juridical Or Political Vacuum. On The Contrary, It Presupposes Sure Guarantees Of Individual Freedom And Private Property, As Well As A Stable Currency And Efficient Public Services.

A Person's Rightful Due Is To Be Treated As An Object Of Love, Not As An Object For Use.

I Have A Sweet Tooth For Song And Music. This Is My Polish Sin.

And Christ, Through His Own Salvific Suffering, Is Very Much Present In Every Human Suffering, And Can Act From Within That Suffering By The Powers Of His Spirit Of Truth, His Consoling Spirit.

A Nation That Kills Its Own Children Has No Future.

It Is Pleasant To Spend Time With Him, To Lie Close To His Breast Like The Beloved Disciple And To Feel The Infinite Love Present In His Heart....how Can We Not Feel A Renewed Need To Spend Time In Spiritual Converse, In Silent Adoration, In Heartfelt Love Before Christ Present In The Most Holy Sacrament?

We Emphasize The Transcendent Worth Of The Human Person. We Insist That The Human Person Must Never Be Treated As An Object; He Must Always Be Considered The Subject. That Is The Basis For Our Teaching, The Absolute Standard.

I Sense That The Moment Has Come To Commit All Of The Church's Energies To A New Evangelization... No Believer In Christ, No Institution Of The Church Can Avoid This Supreme Duty: To Proclaim Christ To All Peoples.

The Earth Will Not Continue To Offer Its Harvest, Except With Faithful Stewardship. We Cannot Say We Love The Land And Then Take Steps To Destroy It For Use By Future Generations.

Those In Society Who Are In Charge Of Schools Must Never Forget That The Parents Have Been Appointed By God Himself As The First And Principal Educators Of Their Children And That Their Right Is Completely Inalienable.

The Vow Of Celibacy Is A Matter Of Keeping One's Word To Christ And The Church. A Duty And A Proof Of The Priest's Inner Maturity; It Is The Expression Of His Personal Dignity.

The Eucharist Is The Full Realization Of The Worship Which Humanity Owes To God, And It Cannot Be Compared To Any Other Religious Experience.... The Risen Lord ... Calls The Faithful Together To Give Them The Light Of His Word And The Nourishment Of His Body As The Perennial Sacramental Wellspring Of Redemption. The Grace Flowing From This Wellspring Renews Mankind, Life, And History.

To Maintain A Joyful Family Requires Much From Both The Parents And The Children. Each Member Of The Family Has To Become, In A Special Way, The Servant Of The Others.

Euthanasia Is A Grave Violation Of The Law Of God, Since It Is The Deliberate And Morally Unacceptable Killing Of A Human Person.

The Person Who Does Not Decide To Love Forever Will Find It Very Difficult To Really Love For Even One Day.

Everybody That Is Just Is Called To Form Part Of The Kingdom Of Heaven-whether They Be Buddhas, Jews, Or Atheists-as Long As They Are Good.

The Sacraments Infuse Holiness Into The Terrain Of Man's Humanity: They Penetrate The Soul And Body, The Femininity And Masculinity Of The Personal Subject, With The Power Of Holiness.

The Lust Of The Flesh Directs These Desires [of Personal Union], However, To Satisfaction Of The Body, Often At The Cost Of A Real And Full Communion Of Persons.

The Most Profound And Serious Indication Of The Moral Implications Underlying The Ecological Problem Is The Lack Of Respect For Life Evident In Many Of The Patterns Of Environmental Pollution.

A Man, Even If Seriously Sick Or Prevented In The Exercise Of Its Higher Functions, Is And Will Be Always A Man ... [he] Will Never Become A 'vegetable' Or An 'animal,'" The Pope Said. "the Intrinsic Value And Personal Dignity Of Every Human Being Does Not Change Depending On Their Circumstances.

I Hope To Have Communion With The People, That Is The Most Important Thing.

Only Through The Eucharist Is It Possible To Live The Heroic Virtues Of Christianity: Charity, To The Point Of Forgiving One's Enemies; Love For Those Who Make Us Suffer; Chastity In Every Age And Situation Of Life; Patience In Suffering And When One Is Shocked By The Silence Of God In The Tragedies Of History Or Of One's Own Personal Existence. You Must Always Be Eucharistic Souls In Order To Be Authentic Christians

God Has, In Fact, Thought Of Us From Eternity And Has Loved Us As Unique Individuals. He Has Called Every One Of Us By Name, As The Good Shepherd 'calls His Sheep By Name.'

The Distinctive Mark Of The Christian, Today More Than Ever, Must Be Love For The Poor, The Weak, The Suffering.

From The Eucharist Comes Strength To Live The Christian Life And Zeal To Share That Life With Others

It Is Jesus Who Stirs In You The Desire To Do Something Great With Your Lives, The Will To Follow An Ideal, The Refusal To Allow Yourselves To Be Ground Down By Mediocrity, The Courage To Commit Yourselves Humbly And Patiently To Improving Yourselves And Society, Making The World More Human And More Fraternal.

It Is Manifestly Unjust That A Privileged Few Should Continue To Accumulate Excess Goods, Squandering Available Resources, While Masses Of People Are Living In Conditions Of Misery At The Very Lowest Level Of Subsistence.

There Is No True Peace Without Fairness, Truth, Justice And Solidarity.

The Eucharist Is The Secret Of My Day. It Gives Strength And Meaning To All My Activities Of Service To The Church And To The Whole World. . . . Let Jesus In The Blessed Sacrament Speak To Your Hearts. It Is He Who Is The True Answer Of Life That You Seek. He Stays Here With Us: He Is God With Us. Seek Him Without Tiring, Welcome Him Without Reserve, Love Him Without Interruption: Today, Tomorrow, Forever.

All Are Called To Holiness, And Holy People Alone Can Renew Humanity.

Laws Which Legitimize The Direct Killing Of Innocent Human Beings Through Abortion Or Euthanasia Are In Complete Opposition To The Inviolable Right To Life Proper To Every Individual; They Thus Deny The Equality Of Everyone Before The Law.

Apart From The Mercy Of God, There Is No Other Source Of Hope For Mankind.

The Battle Against The Devil, Which Is The Principal Task Of Saint Michael The Archangel, Is Still Being Fought Today, Because The Devil Is Still Alive And Active In The World.

In The Sacrifice Which Jesus Christ Makes Of Himself On The Cross For His Bride, The Church... There Is Entirely Revealed That Plan Which God Has Imprinted On The Humanity Of Man And Woman Since Their Creation.

Farmers Everywhere Provide Bread For All Humanity, But It Is Christ Alone Who Is The Bread Of Life...even If All The Physical Hunger Of The World Were Satisfied, Even If Everyone Who Is Hungry Were Fed By His Or Her Own Labor Or By The Generosity Of Others, The Deepest Hunger Of Man Would Still Exist...therefore, I Say, Come, All Of You, To Christ. He Is The Bread Of Life. Come To Christ And You Will Never Be Hungry Again.

The New Evangelization Calls For Followers Of Christ Who Are Unconditionally Pro-life Who Will Proclaim, Celebrate, And Serve The Gospel Of Life In Every Situation. A Sign Of Hope Is The Increasing Recognition That The Dignity Of Human Life Must Never Be Taken Away, Even In The Case Of Someone Who Has Done Great Evil. I Renew The Appeal I Made ... For A Consensus To End The Death Penalty, Which Is Both Cruel And Unnecessary.

Interdependence Must Be Transformed Into Solidarity Based Upon The Principle That The Goods Of Creation Are Meant For All. That Which Human Industry Produces Through The Processing Of Raw Materials With The Contribution Of Work Must Serve Equally For The Good Of All.

In The Mass And In Eucharistic Adoration We Meet The Merciful Love Of God That Passes Through The Heart Of Jesus Christ.

The Human Person Is A Unique Composite - A Unity Of Spirit And Matter, Soul And Body, Fashioned In The Image Of God And Destined To Live Forever. Every Human Life Is Sacred, Because Every Human Person Is Sacred.

A Nation That Destroys Its Own People Is A Nation Without Hope.

Through Mary, We Come To Her Son More Easily.

The Animals Possess A Soul And Men Must Love And Feel Solidarity With Our Smaller Brethren. All Animals Are Fruit Of The Creative Action Of The Holy Spirit And Merit Respect And They Are As Near To God As Men Are.

I Cannot Fail To Note Once Again That The Poor Constitute The Modern Challenge, Especially For The Well-off Of Our Planet, Where Millions Of People Live In Inhuman Conditions And Many Are Literally Dying Of Hunger. It Is Not Possible To Announce God The Father To These Brothers And Sisters Without Taking On The Responsibility Of Building A More Just Society In The Name Of Christ.

Let Us Not Accept Violence As The Way Of Peace. Let Us Instead Begin By Respecting True Freedom: The Resulting Peace Will Be Able To Satisfy The World's Expectations, For It Will Be A Peace Built On Justice, A Peace Founded On The Incomparable Dignity Of The Free Human Being.

Eucharistic Worship Is Not So Much Worship Of The Inaccessible Transcendence As Worship Of The Divine Condescension, And It Is Also The Merciful And Redeeming Transformation Of The World In The Human Heart

Condescension And

The Greater The Feeling Of Responsibility For The Person The More True Love There Is.

The Most Urgent Task Is That Of The Biblical And Liturgical Formation Of The People Of God.

War Is A Defeat For Humanity.

The Man Who Wishes To Understand Himself Thoroughly Must With His Unrest, Uncertainty, And Even His Weakness And Sinfulness, With His Life And Death, Draw Near To Christ.

And So, Like Moses (cf Ex 3, 5), In Spirit We Remove The Shoes From Our Feet, On The Threshold Of The Inner Sanctuary That Each Of Us Must Become As We Meet The Lord.

The Church Imposes Nothing; She Only Proposes, She Proposes Like A Lover To The Beloved.

Artistic Talent Is A Gift From God And Whoever Discovers It In Himself Has A Certain Obligation: To Know That He Cannot Waste This Talent, But Must Develop It.

You, Too, Be Courageous! The World Needs Convinced And Fearless Witnesses. It Is Not Enough To Discuss, It Is Necessary To Act!

We Face A Fundamental Question Which Can Be Described As Both Ethical And Ecological. How Can Accelerated Development Be Prevented From Turning Against Man? How Can One Prevent Disasters That Destroy The Environment And Threaten All Forms Of Life, And How Can The Negative Consequences That Have Already Occurred Be Remedied?

Do Not Forget That True Love Sets No Conditions; It Does Not Calculate Or Complain, But Simply Loves.

Today, The Scale And Horror Of Modern Warfare - Whether Nuclear Or Not - Makes It Totally Unacceptable As A Means Of Settling Differences Between Nations. War Should Belong To The Tragic Past, To History; It Should Find No Place On Humanity's Agenda For The Future.

Christian Holiness Does Not Being Sinless, But Rather It Means Struggling Not To Give In And Always Getting Up After Every Fall.

It Is The Duty Of Every Man To Uphold The Dignity Of Every Woman.

Know What You Are Talking About.

Truth Can Prevail Only In Virtue Of Truth Itself.

Laws Which Authorize And Promote Abortion And Euthanasia Are Therefore Radically Opposed Not Only To The Good Of The Individual But Also To The Common Good; As Such They Are Completely Lacking In Authentic Juridical Validity. Disregard For The Right To Life, Precisely Because It Leads To The Killing Of The Person Whom Society Exists To Serve, Is What Most Directly Conflicts With The Possibility Of Achieving The Common Good. Consequently, A Civil Law Authorizing Abortion Or Euthanasia Ceases By That Very Fact To Be A True, Morally Binding Civil Law.

Man Always Travels Along Precipices... His Truest Obligation Is To Keep His Balance.

Thus To Share In The Sufferings Of Christ Is, At The Same Time, To Suffer For The Kingdom Of God. In The Eyes Of The Just God, Before His Judgment. Those Who Share In The Sufferings Of Christ Become Worthy Of This Kingdom.

Human Progress Planned As Alternatives (to God's Plan) Introduce In Justice, Evil And Violence Rising Against The Divine Plan Of Justice And Salvation. And Despite Transitory And Apparent Successes, They Are Reduced To Simple Machinations Destined To Dissolution And Failure.

Man's Life Comes From God: It Is His Image And Imprint, As Sharing In His Breath Of Life. God Therefore Is The Sole Lord Of This Life: Man Cannot Do With It As He Wills.

The Future Is In Your Hearts And In Your Hands. God Is Entrusting To You The Task, At Once Difficult And Uplifting, Of Working With Him In The Building Of The Civilization Of Love.

Science Can Purify Religion From Error And Superstition. Religion Can Purify Science From Idolatry And False Absolutes.

Not All Are Called To Be Artists In The Specific Sense Of The Term. Yet, As Genesis Has It, All Men And Women Are Entrusted With The Task Of Crafting Their Own Life: In A Certain Sense, They Are To Make Of It A Work Of Art, A Masterpiece.

Those Who Perceive In Themselves... The Artistic Vocation As Poet, Writer, Sculptor, Painter, Musician, And Actor Feel At The Same Time An Obligation Not To Waste This Talent But To Develop It, In Order To Put It To Service Of Their Neighbour And The Humanity As A Whole.

Utilitarianism Is A Civilization Of Production And Of Use, A Civilization Of "things" And Not Of "persons," A Civilization In Which Persons Are Used In The Same Way As Things Are Used. In The Context Of A Civilization Of Use, Woman Can Become An Object For Man, Children A Hindrance To Parents, The Family An Institution Obstructing The Freedom Of Its Members.

Confession Is An Act Of Honesty And Courage - An Act Of Entrusting Ourselves, Beyond Sin, To The Mercy Of A Loving And Forgiving God.

The Primordial Model Of The Family Is To Be Sought In God Himself, In The Trinitarian Mystery Of His Life. The Divine "we" Is The Eternal Pattern Of The Human "we", Especially Of That "we" Formed By The Man And The Woman Created In The Divine Image And Likeness... Man Is Created "from The Very Beginning" As Male And Female: The Life Of All Humanity - Whether Of Small Communities Or Of Society As A Whole - Is Marked By This Primordial Duality.

Do Not Abandon Yourselves To Despair. We Are The Easter People And Hallelujah Is Our Song.

The Saints Have Always Been The Source And Origin Of Renewal In The Most Difficult Moments In The Church's History.

Hands Are The Heart's Landscape.

In Christ And Through Christ Man Has Acquired Full Awareness Of His Dignity, Of The Heights To Which He Is Raised, Of The Surpassing Worth Of His Own Humanity, And Of The Meaning Of His Existence.

We Began By Imagining That We Are Giving To The; We End By Realizing That They Have Enriched Us.

Certain Elements Of Today's Ecological Crisis Reveal Its Moral Character. First Among These Is The Indiscriminate Application Of Advances In Science And Technology. Many Recent Discoveries Have Brought Undeniable Benefits To Humanity. Indeed, They Demonstrate The Nobility Of The Human Vocation To Participate Responsibly In God's Creative Action In The World. Unfortunately, It Is Now Clear That The Application Of These Discoveries In The Fields Of Industry And Agriculture Have Produced Harmful Long-term Effects.

There Is No Peace Without Justice, And No Justice Without Forgiveness.

Side By Side With The Miseries Of Underdevelopment...we Find Ourselves Up Against A Form Of Superdevelopment, Equally Inadmissable. This Superdevelopment Consists In An Excessive Availability Of Material Goods For The Benefit Of Certain Social Groups And Makes People Slaves Of "possession" And Immediate Gratification, With No Other Horizon Than The Multiplication Or Continual Replacement Of The Things Already Owned With Others Still Better. This Is The Civilization Of Consumption, Or "consumerism," Which Involves So Much Throwing Away And Waste.

Truth Can Never Be Confined To Time And Culture; In History It Is Known, But It Also Reaches Beyond History.

Humanity Should Question Itself, Once More, About The Absurd And Always Unfair Phenomenon Of War, On Whose Stage Of Death And Pain Only Remain Standing The Negotiating Table That Could And Should Have Prevented It.

The Most Generous Choices, Especially The Persevering, Are The Fruit Of Profound And Prolonged Union With God In Prayerful Silence.

Love Is Never Defeated, And I Could Add, The History Of Ireland Proves It.

Violence And Arms Can Never Resolve The Problems Of Men.

The Conviction Which We Must Share And Spread Is That The Call To Holiness Is Directed To All Christians. This Is Not A Question Of Privilege Or Of Spiritual Elitism. It Is A Question Of A Grace Offered To All The Baptized.

There Are People And Nations, Mother, That I Would Like To Say To You By Name. I Entrust Them To You In Silence, I Entrust Them To You In The Way That You Know Best.

Treating A Person As A Means To An End, And An End Moreover Which In This Case Is Pleasure, The Maximization Of Pleasure, Will Always Stand In The Way Of Love.

We Need To Make Our Own The Ancient Pastoral Wisdom Which... Encouraged Pastors To Listen More Widely To The Entire People Of God. Significant Is Saint Benedict's Reminder To The Abbot Of A Monastery, Inviting Him To Consult Even The Youngest Members Of The Community: "by The Lord's Inspiration, It Is Often A Younger Person Who Knows What Is Best".

The World Designed By God Cannot Be A World In Which Some Hoard Immoderate Wealth In Their Hands, While Others Suffer From Destitution And Poverty, And Die Of Hunger. Love Must Inspire Justice And The Struggle For Justice

Another Name For Peace Is Development.

We Must Open Our Eyes To Admire God Who Hides And At The Same Time Reveals Himself In Things And Introduces Us Into The Realms Of Mystery... We Must Be Pure And Simple Like Children, Capable Of Admiring, Being Astonished, Of Marveling, And Being Enchanted By The Divine Gestures Of Love And Closeness We Witness.

The Eucharist Is The Heart Of The Church. Where Eucharistic Life Flourishes, There The Life Of The Church Will Blossom.

The Enemy Of The Human Race...invented A Means Never Before Heard Of, By Which He Might Hinder The Preaching Of God's Word Of Salvation To The People.

Modern Society Will Find No Solution To The Ecological Problem Unless It Takes A Serious Look At Its Lifestyle.

An Important Day In A Young Person's Life Is The Day On Which He Becomes Convinced That Christ Is The Only Friend Who Will Not Disappoint Him, On Which He Can Always Count.

Man Matures Through Work Which Inspires Him To Difficult Good.

Your Faith Will Help You Realize That It Is Jesus Himself Who Is Present In The Blessed Sacrament, Waiting For You And Calling You To Spend One Special Specific Hour With Him Each Week.

Through Adoration, The Christian Mysteriously Contributes To The Radical Transformation Of The World And To The Sowing Of The Gospel. Anyone Who Prays To The Savior Draws The Whole World With Him And Raises It To God. Those Who Stand Before The Lord Are Therefore Fulfilling An Eminent Service. They Are Presenting To Christ All Those Who Do Not Know Him Or Are Far From Him: They Keep Watch In His Presence On Their Behalf.

Faced With The Sacredness Of Life And Of The Human Person, And Before The Marvels Of The Universe, Wonder Is The Only Appropriate Attitude.

Truth Must Be The Foundation Stone, The Cement To Solidify The Entire Social Edifice.

Holiness Is Not Reserved For A Small Number Of Exceptional Persons. It Is For Everyone. It Is The Lord Who Brings Us To Holiness When We Are Willing To Collaborate In The Salvation Of The World For The Glory Of God, Despite Our Sin And Our Sometimes Rebellious Temperament.

We Are The People Of Life, Because God, In His Unconditional Love, Has Given Us The Gospel Of Life, And We Are Called To Act Accordingly.

Unconditional Love

It Is A Mistake To Apply American Democratic Procedures To The Faith And The Truth. You Cannot Take A Vote On The Truth. The Value Of Democracy Stands Or Falls With The Values Which It Embodies And Promotes.

Although I Have Lived Through Much Darkness, I Have Seen Enough Evidence To Be Unshakably Convinced That No Difficulty, No Fear Is So Great That It Can Completely Suffocate The Hope That Springs Eternal In The Hearts Of The Young... Do Not Let That Hope Die! Stake Your Lives On It! We Are Not The Sum Of Our Weaknesses And Failures; We Are The Sum Of The Father's Love For Us And Our Real Capacity To Become The Image Of His Son.

What Will You Do With Your Life? What Are Your Plans? Have You Ever Thought Of Committing Your Existence Totally To Christ? Do You Think That There Can Be Anything Greater Than To Bring Jesus To People And People To Jesus?

The Frenetic Pace Of Modern Life Can Lead To An Obscuring Or Even A Loss Of What Is Truly Human... Perhaps More Than In Other Periods Of History, Our Time Is In Need Of That Genius Which Belongs To Women, And Which Can Ensure Sensitivity For Human Beings In Every Circumstance.

Before Our Eyes We Have The Results Of Ideologies Such As Marxism, Nazism And Fascism, And Also Of Myths Like Racial Superiority, Nationalism And Ethnic Exclusivism. No Less Pernicious, Though Not Always As Obvious, Are The Effects Of Materialistic Consumerism, In Which The Exaltation Of The Individual And The Selfish Satisfaction Of Personal Aspirations Become The Ultimate Goal Of Life. In This Outlook, The Negative Effects On Others Are Considered Completely Irrelevant.

Man Must Reconcile Himself To His Natural Greatness.... He Must Not Forget That He Is A Person.

In The Context Of The "great Mystery" Of Christ And Of The Church, All Are Called To Respond - As A Bride - With The Gift Of Their Lives To The Inexpressible Gift Of The Love Of Christ, Who Alone, As The Redeemer Of The World, Is The Church's Bridegroom.

The Sickness Of A Family Member, Friend Or Neighbor Is A Call To Christians To Demonstrate True Compassion, That Gentle And Persevering Sharing In Another's Pain.

A Man Shows Himself A True Disciple Of Christ By Carrying The Cross In His Turn Every Day In The Activity That He Is Called To Perform.

The Body In Its Masculinity And Femininity Has Been Called "from The Beginning" To Become The Manifestation Of The Spirit. The Body, In Fact, And Only The Body, Is Capable Of Making Visible What Is Invisible: The Spiritual And The Divine.

Take Away From Love The Fullness Of Self Surrender, The Completeness Of Personal Commitment, And What Remains Will Be A Total Denial And Negation Of It.

The Essential Commitment And, Above All, The Visible Grace And Source Of Supernatural Strength For The Church As The People Of God Is To Persevere And Advance Constantly In Eucharistic Life And Eucharistic Piety And To Develop Spiritually In The Climate Of The Eucharist.

Believers Know That The Presence Of Evil Is Always Accompanied By The Presence Of Good, By Grace... Where Evil Grows, There The Hope For Good Also Grows... In The Love That Pours Forth From The Heart Of Christ, We Find Hope For The Future Of The World. Christ Has Redeemed The World: "by His Wounds We Are Healed." (isaiah 53:5)

May Mary, Who In The Freedom Of Her 'fiat' And Her Presence At The Foot Of The Cross, Offered To The World, Jesus, The Liberator, Help Us To Find Him In The Sacrament Of The Altar

Only In Christ Can Men And Women Find Answers To The Ultimate Questions That Trouble Them. Only In Christ Can They Fully Understand Their Dignity As Persons Created And Loved By God.

How Beautiful Is The Family That Recites The Rosary Every Evening.

Once The Truth Is Denied To Human Beings, It Is Pure Illusion To Try To Set Them Free. Truth And Freedom Either Go Together Hand In Hand Or Together They Perish In Misery.

The Rosary Mystically Transports Us To Mary's Side As She Is Busy Watching Over The Human Growth Of Christ In The Home Of Nazareth. This Enables Her To Train Us And To Mold Us With The Same Care, Until Christ Is ''fully Formed'' In Us... Why Should We Not Once More Have Recourse To The Rosary, With The Same Faith As Those Who Have Gone Before Us?

If You Want Peace, Work For Justice. If You Want Justice, Defend Life. If You Want Life, Embrace Truth.

Faith Intervenese Not To Abolish Reason's Autonomy Nor To Reduce Its Scope For Action, But Solely To Bring The Human Being To Understand That In These Events It Is The God Of Israel Who Acts.

Love Consists Of A Commitment Which Limits One's Freedom - It Is A Giving Of The Self, And To Give Oneself Means Just That: To Limit One's Freedom On Behalf Of Another.

If You Wish To Be Brothers, Drop Your Weapons.

Every Mass Is A Memorial Of That One Sacrifice And That Passover Which Restored Life To The World. Every Mass Puts Us Into Intimate Communion With Her, The Mother, Whose Sacrifice 'becomes Present' Just As The Sacrifice Of Her Son 'becomes Present' At The Words Of Consecration..... At The Root Of The Eucharist Is The Virginal And Maternal Life Of Mary

We Can Pray Perfectly When We Are Out In The Mountains Or On A Lake And We Feel At One With Nature. Nature Speaks For Us Or Rather Speaks To Us. We Pray Perfectly.

Precisely In An Age When The Inviolable Rights Of The Person Are Solemnly Proclaimed And The Value Of Life Is Publicly Affirmed, The Very Right To Life Is Being Denied Or Trampled Upon, Especially At The More Significant Moments Of Existence: The Moment Of Birth And The Moment Of Death.

None Are So Poor That They Have Nothing To Give...and None Are So Rich That They Have Nothing To Receive.

The Most Faithful Disciples Of Christ Have Been Builders Of Peace, To The Point Of Forgiving Their Enemies, Sometimes Even To The Point Of Giving Their Lives For Them.

If Development Is The New Name For Peace, War And Preparations For War Are The Major Enemy Of The Healthy Development Of Peoples. If We Take The Common Good Of All Humanity As Our Norm, Instead Of Individual Greed, Peace Would Be Possible.

It's Better To Cry Than Be Angry, Because Anger Hurts Others While Tears Flow Silently Through The Soul And Cleans The Heart.

The Heart Is Our Hidden Center, Beyond The Grasp Of Our Reason And Of Others; Only The Spirit Of God Can Fathom The Human Heart And Know It Fully. The Heart Is The Place Of Decision, Deeper Than Our Psychic Drives. It Is The Place Of Truth, Where We Choose Life Or Death. It Is The Place Of Encounter.

What Have I Done With My Baptism And Confirmation? Is Christ Really At The Center Of My Life? Do I Have Time For Prayer In My Life? Do I Live My Life As A Vocation And Mission?

St. Joseph Was A Just Man, A Tireless Worker, The Upright Guardian Of Those Entrusted To His Care. May He Always Guard, Protect And Enlighten Families.

Young People Are Threatened... By The Evil Use Of Advertising Techniques That Stimulate The Natural Inclination To Avoid Hard Work By Promising The Immediate Satisfaction Of Every Desire.

In The Newborn Child Is Realized The Common Good Of The Family.

Work Bears A Particular Mark Of Man And Of Humanity, The Mark Of A Person Operating Within A Community Of Persons

Condemning Class Struggle Does Not Mean Condemning Every Possible Form Of Social Conflict. Such Conflicts Inevitably Arise And Christians Must Often Take A Position In The "struggle For Social Justice." What Is Condemned Is "total War," Which Has No Respect For The Dignity Of Others (and Consequently Of Oneself). It Excludes Reasonable Compromise, Does Not Pursue The Common Good But The Good Of A Group, And Sets Out To Destroy Whatever Stands In Its Way.

The Great Danger For Family Life, In The Midst Of Any Society Whose Idols Are Pleasure, Comfort And Independence, Lies In The Fact That People Close Their Hearts And Become Selfish.

Catholic Education Aims Not Only To Communicate Facts But Also To Transmit A Coherent, Comprehensive Vision Of Life, In The Conviction That The Truths Contained In That Vision Liberate Students In The Most Profound Meaning Of Human Freedom.

War Should Belong To The Tragic Past, To History: It Should Find No Place On Humanity's Agenda For The Future.

Bless, O Lord Of The Centuries And The Millennia, The Daily Work By Which Men And Women Provide Bread For Themselves And Their Loved Ones. We Also Offer To Your Fatherly Hands The Toil And Sacrifices Associated With Work, In Union With Your Son Jesus Christ, Who Redeemed Human Work From The Yoke Of Sin And Restored It To Its Original Dignity.

The Dramatic Threat Of Ecological Breakdown Is Teaching Us The Extent To Which Greed And Selfishness Are Contrary To The Order Of Creation. ...a Given Culture Reveals Its Understanding Of Life Through The Choices It Makes In Production And Consumption... A Great Deal Of Educational And Cultural Work Is Urgently Needed, Including The Education Of Consumers In The Responsible Use Of Their Power Of Choice.

The Path Of Goodness Had A Name It Is Called Love In It We Find The Key To Every Hope And Has It's Root In God Himself

It Is Not Enough To Long For A Person As A Good For Oneself, One Must Also, And Above All, Long For That Person's Good.

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Miranda Cosgrove

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