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For Just As Some People Want A Purely Spiritual Christ, Without Flesh And Without The Cross, They Also Want Their Interpersonal Relationships Provided By Sophisticated Equipment, By Screens And Systems Which Can Be Turned On And Off On Command. Meanwhile, The Gospel Tells Us Constantly To Run The Risk Of A Face-to-face Encounter With Others, With Their Physical Presence Which Challenges Us, With Their Pain And Their Pleas, With Their Joy Which Infects Us In Our Close And Continuous Interaction.

-Pope Francis

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For Just As Some

Pope Francis

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For Just As Some People Want A Purely Spiritual Christ, Without Flesh And Without The Cross, They Also Want Their Interpersonal Relationships Provided By Sophisticated Equipment, By Screens And Systems Which Can Be Turned On And Off On Command. Meanwhile, The Gospel Tells Us Constantly To Run The Risk Of A Face-to-face Encounter With Others, With Their Physical Presence Which Challenges Us, With Their Pain And Their Pleas, With Their Joy Which Infects Us In Our Close And Continuous Interaction.

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States Kill When They Apply The Death Penalty, When They Send Their People To War, Or When They Carry Out Extra-judicial Or Summary Executions. They Can Also Kill By Omission, When They Fail To Guarantee To Their People Access To The Bare Essentials For Life.

Let The Risen Jesus Enter Your Life, Welcome Him As A Friend, With Trust: He Is Life! If Up Till Now You Have Kept Him At A Distance, Step Forward. He Will Receive You With Open Arms. If You Have Been Indifferent, Take A Risk: You Won’t Be Disappointed. If Following Him Seems Difficult, Don’t Be Afraid, Trust Him, Be Confident That He Is Close To You, He Is With You And He Will Give You The Peace You Are Looking For And The Strength To Live As He Would Have You Do.

We Cannot Sleep Peacefully While Babies Are Dying Of Hunger And The Elderly Are Without Medical Assistance

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Religious Freedom Certainly Means The Right To Worship God, Individually And In Community, As Our Consciences Dictate. But Religious Liberty, By Its Nature, Transcends Places Of Worship And The Private Sphere Of Individuals And Families.

Embrace With Tender Affection The Whole Of Humanity, Especially The Poorest, The Weakest, The Least Important.

My Brothers, The United States Bishops, Have Reminded Us, All Are Called To Be Vigilant, Precisely As Good Citizens, To Preserve And Defend That Freedom From Everything That Would Threaten Or Compromise It.

The Joy Of The Gospel Fills The Hearts And Lives Of All Who Encounter Jesus.

The Perfect Family Doesn't Exist, Nor Is There A Perfect Husband Or A Perfect Wife, And Let's Not Talk About The Perfect Mother-in-law! It's Just Us Sinners. A Healthy Family Life Requires Frequent Use Of Three Phrases: "may I? Thank You, And I'm Sorry" And "never, Never, Never End The Day Without Making Peace."

How I Wish Everyone Had Decent Work! It Is Essential For Human Dignity.

You Cannot Be In A Position Of Power And Destroy The Life Of Another Person.

Position Of Power

The Corrupt Should Be Tied To A Rock & Thrown Into The Sea

Politics Is The Most Important Of The Civil Activities And Has Its Own Field Of Action, Which Is Not That Of Religion.

Challenges Exist To Be Overcome! Let Us Be Realists, But Without Losing Our Joy, Our Boldness And Our Hope-filled Commitment. Let Us Not Allow Ourselves To Be Robbed Of Missionary Vigour!

Today Children Are Disposed Of Because There Is No Food Or Because They Are Killed Before Being Born – Children Are Discarded. The Elderly Are Disposed Of, Well, Because They Are Useless, They Do Not Produce, Neither Children Nor The Elderly Produce; Then, With More Or Less Sophisticated Systems They Are Slowly Abandoned And Now, As In This Crisis It Is Necessary To Recover Some Equilibrium, We Are Witnessing A Third Very Painful Discarding –the Discarding Of Young People. Millions Of Young People… Are Discarded From Work, Are Unemployed.

Even Today We Raise Our Hand Against Our Brother... We Have Perfected Our Weapons, Our Conscience Has Fallen Asleep, And We Have Sharpened Our Ideas To Justify Ourselves As If It Were Normal We Continue To Sow Destruction, Pain, Death. Violence And War Lead Only To Death.

The World Tells Us To Seek Success, Power And Money; God Tells Us To Seek Humility, Service And Love.

Whenever We Take A Step Towards Jesus, We Come To Realize That He Is Already There, Waiting For Us With Open Arms.

To Be Friends With God Means To Pray With Simplicity, Like Children Talking To Their Parents.

I Want To Remind Priests That The Confessional Must Not Be A Torture Chamber But Rather An Encounter With The Lord’s Mercy Which Spurs Us On To Do Our Best. A Small Step, In The Midst Of Great Human Limitations, Can Be More Pleasing To God Than A Life Which Appears Outwardly In Order But Moves Through The Day Without Confronting Great Difficulties. Everyone Needs To Be Touched By The Comfort And Attraction Of God’s Saving Love, Which Is Mysteriously At Work In Each Person, Above And Beyond Their Faults And Failings.

We All Need To Improve, To Change For The Better. Lent Helps Us Fight Against Our Faults.

I Believe That In Pretty Much Every Religion There Is Always A Small Group Of Fundamentalists.

Evangelization Does Not Consist In Proselytizing, For Proselytizing Is A Caricature Of Evangelization, But Rather Evangelizing Entails Attracting By Our Witness Those Who Are Far Off, It Means Humbly Drawing Near To Those Who Feel Distant From God In The Church, Drawing Near To Those Who Feel Judged And Condemned Outright By Those Who Consider Themselves To Be Perfect And Pure.

To All People Of Good Will Who Are Working For Social Justice: Never Tire Of Working For A More Just World, Marked By Greater Solidarity!

We Cannot Be Christians Part-time. If Christ Is At The Center Of Our Lives, He Is Present In All That We Do.

The Church Is Called To Draw Near To Every Person, Beginning With The Poorest And Those Who Suffer.

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Created Half To Rise, And Half To Fall; Great Lord Of All Things, Yet A Prey To All; Sole Judge Of Truth, In Endless Error Hurled; The Glory, Jest, And Riddle Of The World!

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An Authentic Faith Always Implies A Deep Desire To Change The World.

Changing The World

The Cross Is The Price Of True Love. Lord, Give Us The Strength To Accept And Carry Our Crosses!

The Son Of God Became Incarnate In The Souls Of Men To Instill The Feeling Of Brotherhood. All Are Brothers And All Children Of God.

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Gay Marriage Will Destroy The Family

How Beautiful It Is To See That Young People Are 'street Preachers,' Joyfully Bringing Jesus To Every Street, Every Town Square And Every Corner Of The Earth!

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If Someone Is Gay And Seeks The Lord With Good Will, Who Am I To Judge?

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Sometimes Tears Are The Glasses That We Need To See Jesus.

Despite The Slowness, The Infidelity, The Errors And Sins It Committed And Might Still Commit Against Its Members, The Church, Trust Me, Has No Other Meaning And Goal But To Live And Witness Jesus.

I Tell Priests To Flee From Clericalism Because Clericalism Distances People. May They Flee From Clericalism And I Add: It's A Plague In The Church.

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I Believe In The Old Warrior's Credo That "to The Victor Go The Spoils."

A Christian Who Withdraws Into Himself, Hiding All That The Lord Has Given Him, Is Not A Christian! I Would Ask The Many Young People Present To Be Generous With Their God-given Talents For The Good Of Others, The Church And Our World.

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One Cannot Offend, Make War, Kill In The Name Of One's Own Religion, That Is, In The Name Of God.

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Resolve Not To Be Overcome By Evil, But To Combat Evil With Good.

I Love Tango, And I Used To Dance When I Was Young.

Our Mission As Christians Is To Conform Ourselves Evermore To Jesus As The Model Of Our Lives.

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It Also Happens To Me That When I Meet A Clericalist, I Suddenly Become Anti-clerical. Clericalism Should Not Have Anything To Do With Christianity. St. Paul, Who Was The First To Speak To The Gentiles, The Pagans, To Believers In Other Religions, Was The First To Teach Us That.

They Are Our Future, And We Must Have A Dialogue. This Dialogue Between The Past And The Future Is Important. Because Of This I Underline So Much The Relationship Between The Youth And Grandparents. They Must Speak With.

Today, This Selfish Attitude Of Indifference Has Taken On Global Proportions, To The Extent That We Can Speak Of A Globalization Of Indifference. It Is A Problem Which We, As Christians, Need To Confront.

Human Trafficking Is A Crime Against Humanity. We Must Unite Our Efforts To Free The Victims And Stop This Increasingly Aggressive Crime Which Threatens Not Only Individuals But The Basic Values Of Society.

Human Trafficking

China Is A Great Nation That Offers The World A Great Culture, So Many Good Things. I Love The Chinese People And I Hope There Is The Possibility Of Having Good Relations. We're In Contact, We Talk, We Are Moving Forward But For Me, To Have As A Friend A Great Country Like China, Which Has So Much Culture And Has So Much Opportunity To Do Good, Would Be A Joy.

It Makes Me Sad When I Find Sisters Who Aren't Joyful. They Might Smile, But With Just A Smile They Could Be Flight Attendants!

Creation Is Not A Property, Which We Can Rule Over At Will; Or, Even Less, Is The Property Of Only A Few: Creation Is A Gift, It Is A Wonderful Gift That God Has Given Us, So That We Care For It And We Use It For The Benefit Of All, Always With Great Respect And Gratitude.

We Must Recover The Whole Sense Of Gift, Of Gratuitousness, Of Solidarity. Rampant Capitalism Has Taught The Logic Of Profit At All Costs, Of Giving To Get, Of Exploitation Without Looking At The Person... And We See The Results In The Crisis We Are Experiencing! This Home Is A Place That Teaches Charity, A "school" Of Charity, Which Instructs Me To Go Encounter Every Person, Not For Profit, But For Love.

Yet Only When We Come To Understand, In The Light Of The Cross, The Evil We Are Capable Of, And Have Even Been A Part Of, Can We Experience True Remorse And True Repentance.

Integrating In The Church Doesn't Mean Receiving Communion.

Jesus Tells Us What The 'protocol' Is, On Which We Will Be Judged. It Is The One We Read In Chapter 25 Of Matthew's Gospel: I Was Hungry, I Was Thirsty, I Was In Prison, I Was Sick, I Was Naked And You Helped Me, Clothed Me, Visited Me, Took Care Of Me. Whenever We Do This To One Of Our Brothers, We Do This To Jesus. Caring For Our Neighbor; For Those Who Are Poor, Who Suffer In Body And In Soul, For Those Who Are In Need. This Is The Touchstone.

The Pope Is A Man. The Pope Needs The Input Of Women, Too. And The Pope, Too, Has A Heart That Can Have A Healthy, Holy Friendship With A Woman.

And There Is This Fact Of The Twelve Baskets: Why Twelve? What Does It Mean? Twelve Is The Number Of The Tribes Of Israel, Symbolically It Represents All The People. And This Tells Us That When Food Is Shared Equally, With Solidarity, Nobody Is Devoid Of The Necessary, Each Community Can Meet The Needs Of The Poorest. Human Ecology And Environmental Ecology Go Hand In Hand.

The Only War That We Must All Fight Is The One Against Evil.

Certain Realities In Life Are Only Seen Through Eyes That Are Cleansed Through Our Tears. Let Us Learn How To Weep

I Try To Lead A Life Where I Don't Have To Ask God For Forgiveness.

Say No To An Ephemeral, Superficial And Throwaway Culture, A Culture That Assumes That You Are Incapable Of Taking On Responsibility And Facing The Great Challenges Of Life!

Those Called To The Service Of Governance In The Church Need To Have A Strong Sense Of Justice, So That Any Form Of Injustice Becomes Unacceptable.

Do Not Be Afraid To Dream Great Things!

God Never Closes Off Horizons; He Is Never Unconcerned About The Lives And Sufferings Of His Children. God Never Allows Himself To Be Outdone In Generosity.

In Europe First And Now In America, Elected Men Have Taken It Upon Themselves To Indebt Their People To Create An Atmosphere Of Dependency. And Why? For Their Own Selfish Need To Increase Their Own Personal Power.

The Church's Challenge Is Staying Close To The People, Close To The People Of The United States, Not Being A Detached Church From The People But Close To Them, Close, Close, And This Is Something That The Church In The United States Has Understood And Understood Well.

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Whoever Does Not Pray To God, Prays To The Devil.

Dear Young People, Jesus Wants To Be Your Friend, And Wants You To Spread The Joy Of This Friendship Everywhere.

The Goods Of The Earth Are Meant For Everyone.

You Tell Me: Can You Live Crushed Under The Weight Of The Present? Without A Memory Of The Past And Without The Desire To Look Ahead To The Future By Building Something, A Future, A Family? Can You Go On Like This? This, To Me, Is The Most Urgent Problem That The Church Is Facing.

Now, At The End Of My Visit To The Philippines, I Commend You To Him, To Jesus Who Came Among Us As A Child. May He Enable All The Beloved People Of This Country To Work Together, Protecting One Another, Beginning With Your Families And Communities, In Building A World Of Justice, Integrity And Peace.

Let Us Pray For The Many Christians In The World Who Still Suffer Persecution And Violence. May God Grant Them The Courage Of Fidelity.

Let Us Be Protectors Of All Of Gods Creatures

When We Are Generous In Welcoming People And Sharing Something With Them-some Food, A Place In Our Homes, Our Time-not Only Do We No Longer Remain Poor: We Are Enriched.

Jesus Wanted To Show Us His Heart As The Heart That Loved So Deeply. For This Reason We Have This Commemoration Today, Especially Of God's Love. God Loved Us, He Loved Us With Such Great Love. I Am Thinking Of What St Ignatius Told Us.... He Pointed Out Two Criteria On Love. The First: Love Is Expressed More Clearly In Actions Than In Words. The Second: There Is Greater Love In Giving Than In Receiving.

All Catholics Must Ask Themselves What They Personally Have Done Lately To Build Up The Holiness Of The Church And Ensure People Feel Welcomed And Loved In It.

The Measure Of The Greatness Of A Society Is Found In The Way It Treats Those Most In Need, Those Who Have Nothing Apart From Their Poverty!

The Political Struggle Against Marriage Equality Is War

You Can't Have Christ Without The Church.

It Does Not Render Justice To The Victims, But Rather Fosters Vengeance.

Holiness Doesn't Mean Doing Extraordinary Things, But Doing Ordinary Things With Love And Faith.

I Don't Like To Speak Of Islamic Violence, Because Every Day, When I Browse The Newspapers, I See Violence, Here In Italy... This One Who Has Murdered His Girlfriend, Another Who Has Murdered The Mother-in-law... And These Are Baptized Catholics! There Are Violent Catholics!

The Holy Spirit Transforms And Renews Us, Creates Harmony And Unity, And Gives Us Courage And Joy For Mission.

God Loves The Lowly. When We Live Humbly, He Takes Our Small Efforts And Creates Great Things.

A Person Once Asked Me, In A Provocative Manner, If I Approved Of Homosexuality. I Replied With Another Question: 'tell Me: When God Looks At A Gay Person, Does He Endorse The Existence Of This Person With Love, Or Reject And Condemn This Person?' We Must Always Consider The Person.

The Rosary Is Spiritual Medicine.

Miracles Happen. But Prayer Is Needed! Prayer That Is Courageous, Struggling And Persevering, Not Prayer That Is A Mere Formality.

Let Us Open The Doors To The Spirit, Let Ourselves Be Guided By Him, And Allow God's Constant Help To Make Us New Men And Women, Inspired By The Love Of God Which The Holy Spirit Bestows On Us! How Beautiful It Would Be If Each Of You, Every Evening, Could Say: Today At School, At Home, At Work, Guided By God, I Showed A Sign Of Love Towards One Of My Friends, My Parents, An Older Person! How Beautiful!

Many People Who Are Forced Into Emigration Suffer And Often Die Tragically; Many Of Their Rights Are Violated, They Are Obliged To Separate From Their Families And, Unfortunately, Continue To Be Subjected To Racist Attitudes And Xenophobia.

Let Us Pause Before The Child Of Bethlehem. Let Us Allow Our Hearts To Be Touched, Let Us Allow Ourselves To Be Warmed By The Tenderness Of God; We Need His Caress. God Is Full Of Love: To Him Be Praise And Glory Forever! God Is Peace: Let Us Ask Him To Help Us To Be Peacemakers Each Day, In Our Life, In Our Families, In Our Cities And Nations, In The Whole World. Let Us Allow Ourselves To Be Moved By God's Goodness.

I Like This Idea Of The Re-foundation Of The European Union, Maybe It Can Be Done, Because Europe - I Do Not Say Is Unique, But It Has A Force, A Culture, A History That Cannot Be Wasted, And We Must Do Everything So That The European Union Has The Strength And Also The Inspiration To Make It Go Forward.

How Does St. Joseph Exercise His Role As Protector? Discreetly, Humbly And Silently, But With An Unfailing Presence And Utter Fidelity, Even When He Finds It Hard To Understand.

God Always Has Patience.

Having Patience

Abortion Is Not The Lesser Of Two Evils. It Is A Crime. It Is To Throw Someone Out In Order To Save Another.

The Church Is The Home That Accepts Everyone And Refuses No One ... The Greater The Sin, The Greater The Love That The Church Should Show Towards Those Who Convert.

Why Are Deadly Weapons Being Sold To Those Who Plan To Inflict Untold Suffering On Individuals And Society? Sadly, The Answer, As We All Know, Is Simply For Money: Money That Is Drenched In Blood, Often Innocent Blood. In The Face Of This Shameful And Culpable Silence, It Is Our Duty To Confront The Problem And To Stop The Arms Trade.

Let Us Always Pray For One Another.

Do Good: We Will Meet One Another There.

I Make A Forceful And Urgent Call To The Entire Catholic Church, And Also To Every Christian Of Other Confessions, As Well As To Followers Of Every Religion And To Those Brothers And Sisters Who Do Not Believe: Peace Is A Good Which Overcomes Every Barrier, Because It Belongs To All Of Humanity!

Holy Week Challenges Us To Step Outside Ourselves So As To Attend To The Needs Of Others: Those Who Long For A Sympathetic Ear, Those In Need Of Comfort Or Help. We Should Not Simply Remain In Our Own Secure World, That Of The Ninety-nine Sheep Who Never Strayed From The Fold, But We Should Go Out, With Christ, In Search Of The One Lost Sheep, However Far It May Have Wandered.

Missionaries Never Give Up On Their Dream Of Peace, Even When They Experience Difficulties And Persecution, Which Makes Their Presence Strongly Felt Today.

When Christians Forget About Hope And Tenderness They Become A Cold Church, That Loses Its Sense Of Direction And Is Held Back By Ideologies And Worldly Attitudes, Whereas God’s Simplicity Tells You: Go Forward, I Am A Father Who Caresses You.

May The Deepest Spiritual Values Of The Filipino People Continue To Find Expression In Your Efforts To Provide Your Fellow Citizens With An Integral Human Development. In This Way, Each Person Will Be Able To Fulfill His Or Her Potential, And Thus Contribute Wisely And Well To The Future Of This Country.

Charity, Patience And Tenderness Are Very Beautiful Gifts. If You Have Them, You Want To Share Them With Others.

Today Is My Anniversary Of Ordination To The Priesthood. Please Pray For Me And All Priests.

Whenever I Have A Problem, I Ask The Saint (thérèse Of Lisieux) Not To Solve It, But To Take It Into Her Hands And To Help Me Accept It And I Almost Always Receive A White Rose As A Sign.

When A Family Loses Its Ability To Dream, Children Don't Grow, Love Doesn't Grow And Life Loses Strength, Eventually It Shuts Off.

Today Is The World Day Of Prayer For The Care Of Creation. Let Us Work And Pray.

Dear Parents, Teach Your Children To Pray. Pray With Them.

It Is Also Painful To See That The Struggle Against Hunger And Malnutrition Is Hindered By Market Priorities, The Primacy Of Profit, Which Have Reduced Foodstuffs To A Commodity Like Any Other, Subject To Speculation, Also Of A Financial Nature, The Hungry Remain, At The Street Corner, And Ask To Be Recognized As Citizens, To Receive A Healthy Diet. We Ask For Dignity, Not For Charity.

Dear Young People, Do Not Be Mediocre; The Christian Life Challenges Us With Great Ideals!

The Search For God Means Having The Courage To Set Out On A Risky Path, It Means Following Our Restless Hearts.

Wherever There Are Men And Women Who Have Consecrated Their Lives To God, There You Find Joy.

There Is So Much Indifference In The Face Of Suffering. May We Overcome Indifference With Concrete Acts Of Charity.

I Extend My Appreciation To The Associations, Movements And All Those Who Defend Human Life.

We Need To Avoid The Spiritual Sickness Of A Church That Is Wrapped Up In Its Own World: When A Church Becomes Like This, It Grows Sick.

I Think Of The Difficulties Which, In Various Countries, Today Afflicts The World Of Work And Business; I Think Of How Many, And Not Just Young People, Are Unemployed, Many Times Due To A Purely Economic Conception Of Society, Which Seeks Selfish Profit, Beyond The Parameters Of Social Justice.

Jesus Washes The Feet Of The Apostles. Are We Ready To Serve Others Like This.

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Do I Guard Myself, My Heart, My Feelings, My Thoughts? Do I Guard The Treasure Of Grace? Do I Guard The Presence Of The Holy Spirit In Me? Or Do I Let Go, Feeling Secure, Believing That All Is Going Well?

We Need To Reflect With Great Seriousness About Why Many Young People Don't Feel Like Getting Married... For Fear Of Failure, Many Do Not Want To Even Think About It... Many People Believe The Change That Has Taken Place In Recent Decades Was Set In Motion By The Emancipation Of Women. But This Argument Is Not Valid, It Is An Insult, A Form Of Misogyny.

No One Can Remain Insensitive To The Inequalities That Persist In The World ... The Brazilian People, Particularly The Humblest Among You, Can Offer The World A Valuable Lesson In Solidarity, A Word That Is Too Often Forgotten Or Silenced Because It Is Uncomfortable ... I Would Like To Make An Appeal To Those In Possession Of Greater Resources, To Public Authorities And To All People Of Good Will Who Are Working For Social Justice: Never Tire Of Working For A More Just World, Marked By Greater Solidarity

Every Economic...acti On Must Set About Providing Each Inhabitant Of The Planet With The Minimum Wherewithal To Live In Dignity And Freedom, With The Possibility Of Supporting A Family, Educating Children, Praising God And Developing One's Own Human Potential.

We Must Avoid The Spiritual Disease Of The Church That Can Become Self-referential: When This Happens, The Church Itself Becomes Sick. It’s True That Accidents Can Happen When You Go Out Into The Street, As Can Happen To Any Man Or Woman. But If The Church Remains Closed Onto Itself, Self-referential, It Grows Old. Between A Church That Goes Into The Street And Gets Into An Accident And A Church That Is Sick With Self-referentiality, I Have No Doubts In Preferring The First.

Seeking Happiness In Material Things Is A Sure Way Of Being Unhappy.

Seeking Happiness

Faith Transforms The Whole Person Precisely To The Extent That He Or She Becomes Open To Love.

Human Trafficking Is A Scourge, A Crime Against The Whole Of Humanity. It Is Time To Join Forces And Work Together To Free Its Victims And To Eradicate This Crime That Affects All Of Us, From Individual Families To The Worldwide Community.

Working Together

No Act Of Virtue Can Be Great If It Is Not Followed By Advantage For Others. So, No Matter How Much Time You Spend Fasting, No Matter How Much You Sleep On A Hard Floor And Eat Ashes And Sigh Continually, If You Do No Good To Others, You Do Nothing Great.

This Visit Is Meant To Express My Closeness To Our Brothers And Sisters Who Endured The Suffering, Loss And Devastation Caused By Typhoon Yolanda. Together With Many People Throughout The World, I Have Admired The Heroic Strength, Faith And Resilience Demonstrated By So Many Filipinos In The Face Of This Natural Disaster, And So Many Others.

The Christian Who Does Not Feel That The Virgin Mary Is His Or Her Mother Is An Orphan.

We Also Try To Reach Out To People Who Are Far Away, Via Digital Means, The Web And Brief Messaging.

I Want To See The Church Get Closer To The People. I Want To Get Rid Of Clericalism, The Mundane, This Closing Ourselves Off Within Ourselves, In Our Parishes, Schools Or Structures. Because These Need To Get Out!

The Worship Of The Golden Calf Of Old (cf. Ex 32:15-34) Has Found A New And Heartless Image In The Cult Of Money And The Dictatorship Of An Economy Which Is Faceless And Lacking Any Truly Humane Goal.

A Simple Lifestyle Is Good For Us, Helping Us To Better Share With Those In Need.

Work Is Fundamental To The Dignity Of A Person. . . . It Gives One The Ability To Maintain Oneself, One's Family, To Contribute To The Growth Of One's Own Nation.

A Friendship With A Woman Is Not A Sin. (it's) A Friendship. A Romantic Relationship With A Woman Who Is Not Your Wife, That Is A Sin.

Romantic Relationship

Division Within A Christian Community Is A Very Grave Sin; It Is The Work Of The Devil.

It Is God Who Gives Life. Let Us Respect And Love Human Life, Especially Vulnerable Life In A Mother's Womb.

All Too Often, As We Know From Experience, People Do Not Choose Life; They Do Not Accept The Gospel Of Life, But Let Themselves Be Led By Ideologies And Ways Of Thinking That Block Life, That Do Not Respect Life, Because They Are Dictated By Selfishness, Self-interest, Profit, Power And Pleasure And Not By Love. ... As A Result, The Living God Is Replaced By Fleeting Human Idols, Which Offer The Intoxication Of A Flash Of Freedom, But In The End Bring New Forms Of Slavery And Death.

I Would Like A More Missionary Church,not So Much A Tranquil Church, But A Beautiful Church That Goes Forward.

I Don't Know How Things Stand In The Thinking Of The Italian Parliament. The Pope Doesn't Get Mixed Up In Italian Politics.

Just As We Need The Courage To Be Happy, We Also Need The Courage To Live Simply.

If There Is No Humility, Love Remains Blocked.

Are Our Lives Truly Filled With The Presence Of God? How Many Things Take The Place Of God In My Life Each Day?

Presence Of God

With Christ As The Center Of Your Life, You Will Never Be Disappointed.

Please Do Not Lose The Ability To Dream

Every Threat To The Family Is A Threat To Society Itself. So Protect Your Families! See In Them Your Country’s Greatest Treasure And Nourish Them Always By Prayer And The Grace Of The Sacraments.

Greatest Treasure

Let Us Never Forget This, He Is Pure Mercy, Let Us Go To Jesus!

A Second Key Area Where You Are Called To Make A Contribution Is In Showing Concern For The Environment. This Is Not Only Because This Country, More Than Many Others, Is Likely To Be Seriously Affected By Climate Change. You Are Called To Care For Creation Not Only As Responsible Citizens, But Also As Followers Of Christ!

Living Holy Week Following Jesus Means Learning How To Come Out Of Ourselves To Reach Out To Others, To Go To The Outskirts Of Existence, To Be The First To Move Towards Our Brothers And Sisters, Especially Those Who Are Most Distant, Those Who Are Forgotten, Those Who Are Most In Need Of Understanding, Consolation And Help. There Is So Much Need To Bring The Living Presence Of Jesus, Merciful And Full Of Love!

Forgiveness, Dialogue, Reconciliation - These Are The Words Of Peace, In Beloved Syria, In The Middle East, In All The World.

Jesus Teaches Us To Put The Needs Of The Poor Ahead Of Our Own, Our Needs, Even If Legitimate, Will Never Be So Urgent As Those Of The Poor, Who Lack The Necessities Of Life.

Sin, Also For Those Who Don't Have Faith, Exists When One Goes Against One's Conscience. To Listen To And Obey It Means, In Fact, To Decide In Face Of What Is Perceived As Good Or Evil. And On This Decision Pivots The Goodness Or Malice Of Our Action.

Let Us Pray For Peace: Peace In The World And In Each Of Our Hearts.

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Robert Downey, Jr.

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