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I Think In Particular Of Our Need To Speak To The Hearts Of Young People, Who, Despite Their Constant Exposure To Messages Contrary To The Gospel, Continue To Thirst For Authenticity, Goodness And Truth. Much Remains To Be Done, Particularly On The Level Of Preaching And Catechesis In Parishes And Schools, If The New Evangelization Is To Bear Fruit For The Renewal Of Ecclesial Life In America.

-Pope Benedict XVI

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I Think In Particular

Pope Benedict XVI

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I Think In Particular Of Our Need To Speak To The Hearts Of Young People, Who, Despite Their Constant Exposure To Messages Contrary To The Gospel, Continue To Thirst For Authenticity, Goodness And Truth. Much Remains To Be Done, Particularly On The Level Of Preaching And Catechesis In Parishes And Schools, If The New Evangelization Is To Bear Fruit For The Renewal Of Ecclesial Life In America.

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Everything Is A Gift From God: It Is Only By Recognizing This Crucial Dependence On The Creator That We Will Find Freedom And Peace.

Friends, Do Not Be Afraid Of Silence Or Stillness. Listen To God. Adore Him In The Eucharist.

Without Fear We Must Set Sail On The Digital Sea.

Mission Is A Workshop Where There Is Room For All.

The Experience Of [the African] Bishops Is That Evangelization Itself Should Be Foremost, That The God Of Jesus Christ Must Be Known, Believed In And Loved, And That Hearts Must Be Converted If Progress Is To Be Made On Social Issues And Reconciliation Is To Begin, And If - For Example - Aids Is To Be Combated By Realistically Facing Its Deeper Causes And The Sick Are To Be Given The Loving Care They Need. Social Issues And The Gospel Are Inseparable.

The Real 'action' In The Liturgy In Which We Are All Supposed To Participate Is The Action Of God Himself. This Is What Is New And Distinctive About The Christian Liturgy: God Himself Acts And Does What Is Essential.

Holiness Never Goes Out Of Fashion.

The Eucharistic Sacrifice Of The Body And Blood Of Christ Embraces In Turn The Mystery Of Our Lord's Continuing Passion In The Members Of His Mystical Body, The Church In Every Age.

The Fields Are Still Ripe For Harvesting (cf. Jn 4:35); God Continues To Give The Growth (cf. 1 Cor 3:6). We Can And Must Believe, With The Late Pope John Paul Ii, That God Is Preparing A New Springtime For Christianity (cf. Redemptoris Missio, 86). What Is Needed Above All, At This Time In The History Of The Church In America, Is A Renewal Of That Apostolic Zeal Which Inspires Her Shepherds Actively To Seek Out The Lost, To Bind Up Those Who Have Been Wounded, And To Bring Strength To Those Who Are Languishing (cf. Ez 34:16).

Men And Women Were Created For Something Great, For Infinity. Nothing Else Will Ever Be Enough.

The Abuse Of Faith Has To Be Resisted Precisely.

In The Face Of Horror ... There Is No Other Answer Than The Cross Of Christ: Love That Descends To The Abyss Of Evil.

The "name" Of The Most Holy Trinity Is In A Certain Way Impressed Upon Everything That Exists, Because Everything That Exists, Down To The Least Particle, Is A Being In Relation, And Thus God-relation Shines Forth, Ultimately Creative Love Shines Forth. All Comes From Love, Tends Toward Love, And Is Moved By Love, Naturally, According To Different Grades Of Consciousness And Freedom... The Strongest Proof That We Are Made In The Image Of The Trinity Is This: Only Love Makes Us Happy, Because We Live In Relation, And We Live To Love And Be Loved.

Mary's Greatness Consists In The Fact That She Wants To Magnify God, Not Herself.

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The Church's Mission Is To Spread Hope "contagiously" Among All Peoples... It Is Only In This Mission That The True Journey Of Humanity Is Understood And Attested.

The Need To Proclaim Christ Boldly And Courageously Is A Continuing Priority For The Church; Indeed It Is A Solemn Duty Laid Upon Her By Christ Who Enjoined The Apostles To 'go Out To The Whole World, Proclaim The Good News To All Creation.'

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Young People In Particular, I Appeal To You: Bear Witness To Your Faith Through The Digital World!....employ These New Technologies To Make The Gospel Known, So That The Good News Of God's Infinite Love For All People, Will Resound In New Ways Across Our Increasingly Technological World!

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Richard Dawkins's The Selfish Gene Is A Classic Example Of Science Fiction.

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A Thirst For The Infinite Is Indelibly Present In Human Beings. Man Was Created To Have A Relationship With God; We Need Him.

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I Think In Particular Of Our Need To Speak To The Hearts Of Young People, Who, Despite Their Constant Exposure To Messages Contrary To The Gospel, Continue To Thirst For Authenticity, Goodness And Truth. Much Remains To Be Done, Particularly On The Level Of Preaching And Catechesis In Parishes And Schools, If The New Evangelization Is To Bear Fruit For The Renewal Of Ecclesial Life In America.

Love Alone Makes Us Happy, Because We Live In Relation, And We Live To Love And To Be Loved.

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All The Saints Of God Are There To Protect Me, To Sustain Me And To Carry Me. And Your Prayers, My Dear Friends, Your Indulgence, Your Love, Your Faith And Your Hope Accompany Me.

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We Are Still Awaiting Easter; We Are Not Yet Standing In The Full Light But Walking Toward It Full Of Trust.

Dialogue Is The Fundamental Unfolding Of A Gift Of Oneself To Another.

The Freedom To Kill Is Not A True Freedom, But A Tyranny That Reduces Human Beings To Slavery.

The Aim Of All Christian Education, Moreover, Is To Train The Believer In An Adult Faith That Can Make Him A "new Creation", Capable Of Bearing Witness In His Surroundings To The Christian Hope That Inspires Him.

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In The Pierced Heart Of The Crucified, God's Own Heart Is Opened Up - Here We See Who God Is And What He Is Like. Heaven Is No Longer Locked Up. God Has Stepped Out Of His Hiddenness.

Today We Bury His Remains In The Earth As A Seed Of Immortality. Our Hearts Are Full Of Sadness, Yet At The Same Time Of Joyful Hope And Profound Gratitude.

Almsgiving, According To The Gospel, Is Not Mere Philanthropy; Rather It Is A Concrete Expression Of Charity, A Theological Virtue That Demands Interior Conversion To Love Of God And Neighbor, In Imitation Of Jesus Christ, Who, Dying On The Cross, Gave His Entire Self For Us.

Too Often, Attention Is Diverted From The Needs Of Populations, Insufficient Emphasis Is Placed On Work In The Fields, And The Goods Of The Earth Are Not Given Adequate Protection. As A Result, Economic Imbalance Is Produced, And The Inalienable Rights And Dignity Of Every Human Person Are Ignored.

Since Politics Fundamentally Should Be A Moral Enterprise, The Church In This Sense Has Something To Say About Politics.

We Live Our Lives By Philosophies, Amid Worldly Affairs And Occupations That Totally Absorb Us And Are A Great Distance From The Manger. In All Kinds Of Ways, God Has To Prod Us And Reach Out To Us Again And Again, So That We Can Manage To Escape From The Muddle Of Our Thoughts And Activities And Discover The Way That Leads To Him. But A Path Exists For All Of Us. The Lord Provides Everyone With Tailor-made Signals.

The More Ardent The Love For The Eucharist In The Hearts Of The Christian People, The More Clearly Will They Recognize The Goal Of All Mission: To Bring Christ To Others. Not Just A Theory Or A Way Of Life Inspired By Christ, But The Gift Of His Very Person. Anyone Who Has Not Shared The Truth Of Love With His Brothers And Sisters Has Not Yet Given Enough.

Being A Christian Means Having Love. That Is Unbelievably Difficult And, At The Same Time, Incredibly Simple.

Music Has No Borders, No Race Or Color, No Limits Of Country, No Ethnicity. Music Makes The People Come Together. Dance It,dance All.

It Is The Beautiful Task Of Advent To Awaken In All Of Us Memories Of Goodness And Thus To Open Doors Of Hope.

Art Means: Revealing God In Everything That Exists.

Only In Truth Does Charity Shine Forth, Only In Truth Can Charity Be Authentically Lived. Truth Is The Light That Gives Meaning And Value To Charity. That Light Is Both The Light Of Reason And The Light Of Faith, Through Which The Intellect Attains To The Natural And Supernatural Truth Of Charity: It Grasps Its Meaning As Gift, Acceptance, And Communion. Without Truth, Charity Degenerates Into Sentimentality. Love Becomes An Empty Shell, To Be Filled In An Arbitrary Way.

Let Us Allow Ourselves To Be 'infected' By St. Joseph's Silence! We Need It Greatly, In A World That Is Often Too Noisy, That Does Not Favor Meditation Or Listening To The Voice Of God.

The Highest Things, The Things That Really Matter, We Cannot Achieve On Our Own; We Have To Accept Them As Gifts And Enter In To The Dynamic Of The Gift, So To Speak.

Believers Are Increasingly Aware That, Unless The Good News Is Made Known Also In The Digital World, It May Be Absent In The Experience Of Many People For Whom This Existential Space Is Important.

God's Love For His People Is So Great That It Turns God Against Himself, His Love Against His Justice.

The Wrath Of God Is A Way Of Saying That I Have Been Living In A Way That Is Contrary To The Love That Is God. Anyone Who Begins To Live And Grow Away From God, Who Lives Away From What Is Good, Is Turning His Life Toward Wrath.

The Human Being Of All Times Prays Because He Cannot Fail To Wonder About The Meaning Of His Life, Which Remains Obscure And Discomforting Of It Is Not Put In Relations To The Mystery Of God And If His Plan For The World.

No Law Made By Man Can Overturn That Of The Creator Without Dramatically Affecting Society In Its Very Foundation.

Evil Draws Its Power From Indecision And Concern For What Other People Think.

To Desire The Common Good And Strive Towards It Is A Requirement Of Justice And Charity.

How Many People Also In Our Time Are In Search Of God, In Search Of Jesus And Of His Church, In Search Of Divine Mercy, And Are Waiting For A "sign" That Will Touch Their Minds And Their Hearts! Today, As Then, The Evangelist Reminds Us That The Only "sign" Is Jesus Raised On The Cross: Jesus Who Died And Rose Is The Absolutely Sufficient Sign. Through Him We Can Understand The Truth About Life And Obtain Salvation.

Saint Paul Asks His Disciple Timothy To "aim At Faith" (2 Tim 2:22) With The Same Constancy As When He Was A Boy (cf. 2 Tim 3:15). This Invitation Is Directed To Each Of Us, That None Of Us Grow Lazy In The Faith. It Is The Lifelong Companion That Makes It Possible To Perceive, Ever Anew, The Marvels That God Works For Us.

The Only Really Effective Apologia For Christianity Comes Down To Two Arguments, Namely, The Saints The Church Has Produced, And The Art Which Has Grown In Her Womb.

Sometimes We Are Looked Upon As People Who Speak Only Of Prohibitions. Nothing Could Be Further From The Truth!

The Discernment Of A Vocation Is Above All The Fruit Of An Intimate Dialogue Between The Lord And His Disciples. Young People, If They Know How To Pray, Can Be Trusted To Know What To Do With God's Call.

It Was Easy To Know The Doctrine. It's Much Harder To Help A Billion People Live It.

Love Has A Particular Trait: Far From Being Indulgent Or Fickle, It Has A Task Or Purpose To Fulfil: To Abide. By Its Nature Love Is Enduring. Again, Dear Friends, We Catch A Further Glimpse Of How Much The Holy Spirit Offers Our World: Love Which Dispels Uncertainty; Love Which Overcomes The Fear Of Betrayal; Love Which Carries Eternity Within; The True Love Which Draws Us Into A Unity That Abides!

Today, I, Too, Wish To Reaffirm That I Intend To Continue On The Path Toward Improved Relations And Friendship With The Jewish People, Following The Decisive Lead Given By John Paul Ii.

Dear Young People, The Church Depends On You! She Needs Your Lively Faith, Your Creative Charity And The Energy Of Your Hope. Your Presence Renews, Rejuvenates And Gives New Energy To The Church.

Dear Young People, The Happiness You Are Seeking, The Happiness You Have A Right To Enjoy Has A Name And A Face: It Is Jesus Of Nazareth, Hidden In The Eucharist. Only He Gives The Fullness Of Life To Humanity! With Mary, Say Your Own "yes" To God, For He Wishes To Give Himself To You.

Fullness Of Life

Faith In The Resurrection Of Jesus Says That There Is A Future For Every Human Being; The Cry For Unending Life Which Is A Part Of The Person Is Indeed Answered... God Exists: That Is The Real Message Of Easter. Anyone Who Even Begins To Grasp What This Means Also Knows What It Means To Be Redeemed.

Before His Gaze All Falsehood Melts Away. This Encounter With Him, As It Burns Us, Transforms And Frees Us, Allowing Us To Become Truly Ourselves... His Gaze, The Touch Of His Heart Heals Us Through An Undeniably Painful Transformation "as Through Fire". But It Is A Blessed Pain, In Which The Holy Power Of His Love Sears Through Us Like A Flame, Enabling Us To Become Totally Ourselves And Thus Totally Of God.

Holiness Does Not Consist In Not Making Mistakes Or Never Sinning. Holiness Grows With Capacity For Conversion, Repentance, Willingness To Begin Again, And Above All With The Capacity For Reconciliation And Forgiveness.

Perhaps Reluctantly We Come To Acknowledge That There Are Also Scars Which Mark The Surface Of Our Earth: Erosion, Deforestation, The Squandering Of The World’s Mineral And Ocean Resources In Order To Fuel An Insatiable Consumption.

Monsters, Among Other Brutes, Are The Ones Without Guilt Feelings. Perhaps Hitler Did Not Have Any, Or Himmler, Or Stalin. Maybe Mafia Bosses Do Not Have Any Guilt Feelings Either, Or Maybe Their Remains Are Just Well Hidden In The Cellar. Even Aborted Guilt Feelings...all Men Need Guilt Feelings.

When Human Affairs Are So Ordered That There Is No Recognition Of God, There Is A Belittling Of Man. That Is Why, In The Final Analysis, Worship And Law Cannot Be Completely Separated From Each Other. God Has A Right To A Response From Man, To Man Himself, And Where That Right Of God Totally Disappears, The Order Of Law Among Men Is Dissolved, Because There Is No Cornerstone To Keep The Whole Structure Together.

In Latin America In General, It's Very Important That Christianity Not Be Simply A Thing Of Reason, But Also Of The Heart.

...the Baptized In Their Sense Of Mission, Through Prayer, The Witness Of Life And Christian Commitment In All Its Forms, So That All The Faithful May Become Missionaries In The Places Where They Live And That Vocations Will Come Forth To Proclaim The Gospel To Men Who Do Not Yet Know It.

God Is Not Solitude, But Perfect Communion. For This Reason The Human Person, The Image Of God, Realizes Himself Or Herself In Love, Which Is A Sincere Gift Of Self.

Only If There Is Love, If Hearts Are Opened, Can One Person Truly Know The Other.

Which Direction Do We Take? The One Prompted By The Passions Or The One Indicated By The Star Which Shines In Your Conscience? The Magi Heard The Answer: "in Bethlehem Of Judea; For So It Is Written By The Prophet" (mt 2: 5), And, Enlightened By These Words, They Chose To Press Forward To The Very End.

Many Of Our Brothers And Sisters Are 'baptized, But Insufficiently Evangelized.' In A Number Of Cases, Nations Once Rich In Faith And In Vocations Are Losing Their Identity Under The Influence Of A Secularized Culture. The Need For A New Evangelization, So Deeply Felt By My Venerable Predecessor, Must Be Valiantly Reaffirmed, In The Certainty That God's Word Is Effective.

The Evangelization Of The Person And Of Human Communities Depends Totally On This Encounter With Jesus Christ.

Society As A Whole Must Defend The Conceived Child's Right To Life And The True Good Of The Woman Who Can Never, In Any Circumstances, Find Fulfilment In The Decision To Abort.

Their Example Testifies That Baptism Commits Christians To Participating Courageously In The Spreading Of The Kingdom Of God, If Need Be Cooperating With The Sacrifice Of Life Itself... This Martyrdom Of Ordinary Life Constitutes A Particularly Important Witness In The Secularized Society Of Our Time. It Is The Peaceful Battle Of Love Which Every Christian, Like Paul, Must Fight Without Flagging: The Race To Spread The Gospel That Involves Us Until Our Death. May The Virgin Mary, Queen Of Martyrs And Star Of Evangelization, Help Us In Our Daily Witness.

I Leave From Where The Apostle Arrived.

Material Possessions, In Themselves, Are Good. We Would Not Survive For Long Without Money, Clothing And Shelter. We Must Eat In Order To Stay Alive. Yet If We Are Greedy, If We Refuse To Share What We Have With The Hungry And The Poor, Then We Make Our Possessions Into A False God. How Many Voices In Our Materialist Society Tell Us That Happiness Is To Be Found By Acquiring As Many Possessions And Luxuries As We Can! But This Is To Make Possessions Into A False God. Instead Of Bringing Life, They Bring Death.

Authentic Love Is Obviously Something Good... When We Love, We Become Most Fully Ourselves, Most Fully Human... People Often Think They Are Being Loving When Actually They Are Being Possessive Or Manipulative. People Sometimes Treat Others As Objects To Satisfy Their Own Needs... How Easy It Is To Be Deceived By The Many Voices In Our Society That Advocate A Permissive Approach To Sexuality, Without Regard For Modesty, Self-respect Or The Moral Values That Bring Quality To Human Relationships! This Is Worship Of A False God. Instead Of Bringing Life, It Brings Death.

I, Retired In Prayer, Will Always Be With You, And Together We Will Move Ahead With The Lord In Certainty. The Lord Is Victorious.

In An Ever More Open World, Building Peace Through Dialogue Is No Longer A Choice But A Necessity!

Although The Constellations In Which I Have Found Myself - And Naturally Also The Periods Of Life And Their Different Influences - Have Led To Changes And Development In The Accents Of My Thought, My Basic Impulse, Precisely During The Council, Was Always To Free Up The Authentic Kernel Of The Faith From Encrustations And To Give This Kernel Strength And Dynamism. This Impulse Is The Constant Of My Life ... What's Important To Me Is That I Have Never Deviated From This Constant, Which From My Childhood Has Molded My Life, And That I Have Remained True To It As The Basic Direction Of My Life.

We Cannot Keep To Ourselves The Words Of Eternal Life Given To Us In Our Encounter With Jesus Christ: They Are Meant For Everyone, For Every Man And Woman. ... It Is Our Responsibility To Pass On What, By God's Grace, We Ourselves Have Received.

In A Nuclear War There Would Be No Victors, Only Victims. The Truth Of Peace Requires That All ... Strive For A Progressive And Concerted Nuclear Disarmament.

Nuclear Disarmament

What Is Capable Of Restoring Enthusiasm And Confidence, What Can Encourage The Human Spirit To Rediscover Its Path, To Raise Its Eyes To The Horizon, To Dream Of A Life Worthy Of Its Vocation - If Not Beauty?

Each Generation, As It Seeks To Advance The Common Good, Must Ask Anew: 'what Are The Requirements That Governments May Reasonably Impose Upon Citizens, And How Far Do They Extend? By Appeal To What Authority Can Moral Dilemmas Be Resolved?'

If You Follow The Will Of God, You Know That In Spite Of All The Terrible Things That Happen To You, You Will Never Lose A Final Refuge. You Know That The Foundation Of The World Is Love, So That Even When No Human Being Can Or Will Help You, You May Go On, Trusting In The One That Loves You.

Preservation Of The Environment, Promotion Of Sustainable Development And Particular Attention To Climate Change Are Matters Of Grave Concern For The Entire Human Family.

Do Not Be Afraid Of Christ. He Takes Nothing Away And He Gives You Everything.

The First Priority Will Consist In Restoring A Sense Of The Acceptance Of Life As A Gift From God. According To Both Sacred Scripture And The Wisest Traditions Of Your Continent, The Arrival Of A Child Is Always A Gift, A Blessing From God. Today It Is High Time To Place Greater Emphasis On This: Every Human Being, Every Tiny Human Person, However Weak, Is Created 'in The Image And Likeness Of God' (gen 1:27)

God Does Not Have A Fixed Plan That He Must Carry Out; On The Contrary, He Has Many Different Ways Of Finding Man And Even Of Turning His Wrong Ways Into Right Ways...the Feast Of Christ The King Is Therefore Not A Feast Of Those Who Are Subjugated, But A Feast Of Those Who Know That They Are In The Hands Of The One Who Writes Straight On Crooked Lines.

The Earth Is Indeed A Precious Gift Of The Creator Who, In Designing Its Intrinsic Order, Has Given Us Bearings That Guide Us As Stewards Of His Creation. Precisely From Within This Framework, The Church Considers Matters Concerning The Environment And Its Protection Intimately Linked To The Theme Of Integral Human Development.

Prudence Does Not Mean Failing To Accept Responsibilities And Postponing Decisions; It Means Being Committed To Making Joint Decisions After Pondering Responsibly The Road To Be Taken, Decisions Aimed At Strengthening That Covenant Between Human Beings And The Environment, Which Should Mirror The Creative Love Of God, From Whom We Came And Towards Whom We Are Journeying.

The Faith Does Not Mean An Alienation From Any Culture For Any People Because All Cultures Await Christ And Are Not Destroyed By The Lord. In Fact, They Reach Their Maturity.

The Environment Is God's Gift To Everyone, And In Our Use Of It We Have A Responsibility Towards The Poor, Towards Future Generations, And Towards Humanity As A Whole.

There Is An Urgent Need For The Emergence Of A New Generation Of Apostles Anchored Firmly In The Word Of Christ, Capable Of Responding To The Challenges Of Our Times And Prepared To Spread The Gospel Far And Wide.

In This Regard, I Reiterate That The Prohibition Against Torture Cannot Be Contravened Under Any Circumstances.

Do You Want To Know Yourself Better? Then Discover Silence.

I Send Them My Warmest Encouragement To Persevere In The Patience And Charity Of Christ.

God Is Always Faithful To His Promises, But He Often Surprises Us In The Way He Fulfills Them.

The Fundamental Task Of The Evangelization Of Culture Is The Challenge To Make God Visible In The Human Face Of Jesus.

I'm Not A Man Who Constantly Thinks Up Jokes.

Each Of You Has A Personal Vocation Which He Has Given You For Your Own Joy And Sanctity. When A Person Is Conquered By The Fire Of His Gaze, No Sacrifice Seems Too Great To Follow Him And Give Him The Best Of Ourselves. This Is What The Saints Have Always Done, Spreading The Light Of The Lord ... And Transforming The World Into A Welcoming Home For Everyone.

Mission Is A Duty About Which One Must Say 'woe To Me If I Do Not Evangelize' (1 Corinthians 9:16)...redemption And Mission Are Acts Of Love [because] Those Who Proclaim The Gospel Participate In The Charity Of Christ.

The Glory Of God Is The Living Man, But The Life Of Man Is The Vision Of God', Says St. Irenaeus, Getting To The Heart Of What Happens When Man Meets God On The Mountain In The Wilderness. Ultimately, It Is The Very Life Of Man, Man Himself As Living Righteously, That Is The True Worship Of God, But Life Only Becomes Real Life When It Receives Its Form From Looking Toward God.

That The Different Christian Confessions, Aware Of The Need For A New Evangelisation In This Period Of Profound Transformations, May Be Committed To Announcing The Good News And Moving Towards The Full Unity Of All Christians In Order To Offer A More Credible Testimony Of The Gospel.

For In This World, Marked By Sin, The Gravitational Pull Of Our Lives Is Weighted By The Chains Of The "i" And The "self." These Chains Must Be Broken To Free Us For A New Love That Places Us In Another Gravitational Field Where We Can Enter New Life.

Everyone Should Educate Themselves In More Wise And Responsible Consumption; Promote Personal Responsibility, Along With The Social Dimension Of Rural Activities, Which Are Based On Perennial Values, Such As Hospitality, Solidarity, And The Sharing Of The Toil Of Labor.

The Human Person Finds His Perfection "in Seeking And Loving What Is True And Good.

Violence Against Even One Human Being Is Violence Against All.

An Authentic Updating Of Sacred Music Can Take Place Only In The Lineage Of The Great Tradition Of The Past, Of Gregorian Chant And Of Sacred Polyphony.

Both Strength Of Mind And Body Are Necessary, Strengths Which In The Last Few Months Have Deteriorated In Me To The Extent That I Have Had To Recognize My Incapacity To Adequately Fulfill The Ministry Entrusted To Me.

Thank You From The Heart To All Those Who In Various Ways Are Near Me Or Follow Me Spiritually With Affection And Prayers From Afar. To Each One Of You, I Ask You To Continue To Support Me By Praying To God To Let Me Be His Gentle And Firm Pastor Of His Church.

Help Each Other To Live And To Grow In The Christian Faith So As To Be Valiant Witnesses Of The Lord. Be United, But Not Closed. Be Humble, But Not Fearful. Be Simple, But Not Naive. Be Thoughtful, But Not Complicated. Enter Into Dialogue With Others, But Be Yourselves.

Indeed, Beauty Is One Of Mankind's Greatest Needs; It Is The Root From Which The Branches Of Our Peace And The Fruits Of Our Hope Come Forth. Beauty Also Reveals God Because, Like Him, A Work Of Beauty Is Pure Gratuity; It Calls Us To Freedom And Draws Us Away From Selfishness.

Go Forth! Carry The Good Tidings To The Poor, Bind The Wounds Of The Brokenhearted, Proclaim Freedom To Slaves, Open The Doors Of Prisons To Those Within, Promulgate The Year Of The Lord's Mercy... Bring Into The World The Hope Of God, Which Is Christ The Lord Who Rose From The Dead And Lives And Reigns Forever.

By Itself, The Question Of The Liturgy's Essence And The Standards Of The Reform Has Brought Us Back To The Question Of Music And Its Position In The Liturgy. And As A Matter Of Fact One Cannot Speak About Worship At All Without Also Speaking Of The Music Of Worship.

A New Generation Of Christians Is Being Called To Help Build A World In Which God's Gift Of Life Is Welcomed, Respected And Cherished-not Rejected, Feared As A Threat And Destroyed. A New Age In Which Love Is Not Greedy Or Self-seeking, But Pure, Faithful And Genuinely Free, Open To Others, Respectful Of Their Dignity, Seeking Their Good, Radiating Joy And Beauty. A New Age In Which Hope Liberates Us From The Shallowness, Apathy And Self-absorption That Deaden Our Souls And Poison Our Relationships.

The Proclamation And Witness Of The Gospel Are The First Service That Christians Can Offer Every Person And The Whole Human Race, As They Are Called To Communicate To All The Love Of God, Who Manifested Himself Fully In The Only Redeemer Of The World, Jesus Christ.

A Dictatorship Of Relativism Is Being Built That Recognizes Nothing As Definite, And Which Leaves As The Ultimate Measure Only One's Ego And Desires ... Having A Clear Faith, According To The Credo Of The Church, Is Often Labeled As Fundamentalism. Yet Relativism, That Is, Letting Oneself Being Carried 'here And There By Any Wind Of Doctrine,' Appears As The Sole Attitude Good Enough For Modern Times.

Jesus, The Word Incarnate, Is Always The Center Of Our Announcement, The Point Of Reference For Our Evangelizing Mission And For Its Methodology, Because He Is The Human Face Of God, Who Wishes To Meet All Men And Women So As To Bring Them Into Communion With Him, In His Love.

Truth Is Not Determined By A Majority Vote.

The Jesus Who Makes Everything Okay For Everyone Is A Phantom, A Dream, Not A Real Figure.

One Of The Most Serious [challenges] Is Increased Military Spending And The Cost Of Maintaining And Developing Nuclear Arsenals. Enormous Resources Are Being Consumed For These Purposes, When They Could Be Spent On The Development Of Peoples, Especially Those Who Are Poorest. For This Reason I Firmly Hope That, During The Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference To Be Held This May In New York, Concrete Decisions Will Be Made Towards Progressive Disarmament, With A View To Freeing Our Planet From Nuclear Arms

It Is True That The Muslim World Is Not Totally Mistaken When It Reproaches The West Of Christian Tradition Of Moral Decadence And The Manipulation Of Human Life. ... Islam Has Also Had Moments Of Great Splendor And Decadence In The Course Of Its History.

Can Man, The Finite And Sinful One, Cooperate With God, The Infinite And Holy One? Yes, He Can, Precisely Because God Himself Has Become Man, Become Body, And Here (in The Liturgy), Again And Again, He Comes Through His Body To Us Who Live In The Body.

I Thank Missio, (pontifical Mission Societies), The Primary Instruments For Cooperation In The Universal Church's Universal Mission In The World. Through Their Action, The Proclamation Of The Gospel Bears Witness To Christ And Is Lived Out In Service Of Our Neighbour Through Justice For The Poorest, Education In Isolated Villages, Medical Care In Remote Areas, Freedom From Poverty, The Reintegration Of The Marginalised, Support For The Development Of Peoples, The Breaking Down Of Ethnic Divisions And Respect For Life In All Its Stages.

We Are Not Some Casual And Meaningless Product Of Evolution. Each Of Us Is The Result Of A Thought Of God.

To Some Extent, This Urge To Break Out Of The Ordinary Is Present In Every Generation. Part Of Being Young Is Desiring Something Beyond Everyday Life And A Secure Job, A Yearning For Something Really Truly Greater. Is This Simply An Empty Dream That Fades Away As We Become Older? No! Men And Women Were Created For Something Great, For Infinity. Nothing Else Will Ever Be Enough.

Dear Brothers And Sisters...the Lord Is Calling Me To "climb The Mountain", To Devote Myself Even More To Prayer And Meditation. But This Does Not Mean Abandoning The Church, Indeed, If God Is Asking Me To Do This, It Is So I Can Continue To Serve The Church With The Same Dedication And The Same Love With Which I Have Done Thus Far, But In A Way That Is Better Suited To My Age And My Strength

To Make A Concrete Response To The Appeal Of Our Brothers And Sisters In Humanity, We Must Come To Grips With The First Of These Challenges: Solidarity Among Generations, Solidarity Between Countries And Entire Continents, So That All Human Beings May Share More Equitably In The Riches Of Our Planet. This Is One Of The Essential Services That People Of Good Will Must Render To Humanity. The Earth, In Fact, Can Produce Enough To Nourish All Its Inhabitants, On The Condition That The Rich Countries Do Not Keep For Themselves What Belongs To All.

Make Sure That Every Person, Of Whatever Background, Can Find In You A Welcoming Heart.

The Ways Of The Lord Are Not Easy, But We Were Not Created For An Easy Life, But For Great Things, For Goodness.

What Does Sunday, The Day Of The Lord, Mean For Us? It Is A Day For Rest And For Family, But First Of All A Day For Him.

Dear Brothers And Sisters, After The Great Pope John Paul Ii, The Cardinals Have Elected Me - A Simple, Humble Worker In The Vineyard Of The Lord.

It Is Imperative That The Entire Christian Community In The United States Come To Realize The Grave Threats To The Church's Public Moral Witness Presented By A Militant Atheism Which Finds Increasing Expression In The Political And Cultural Spheres. The Seriousness Of These Threats Needs To Be Clearly Appreciated At Every Level Of Ecclesial Life.

Many People Perceive Christianity As Something Institutional - Rather Than As An Encounter With Christ - Which Explains Why They Don't See It As A Source Of Joy.

Ultimately, In The Battle Against Lies And Violence, Truth And Love Have No Other Weapon Than The Witness Of Suffering.

Young People In Particular, I Appeal To You: Bear Witness To Your Faith Through The Digital World.

How Much We Need, In The Church And In Society, Witnesses Of The Beauty Of Holiness, Witnesses Of The Splendour Of Truth, Witnesses Of The Joy And Freedom Born Of A Living Relationship With Christ!

Without The Eucharist, The Church Simply Does Not Exist.

We Celebrate [easter] Because Now, Thanks To The Risen Lord, It Is Definitively Established That Reason Is Stronger Than Unreason, Truth Stronger Than Lies, Love Stronger Than Death.

I Am Consoled By The Fact That The Lord Knows How To Work And How To Act, Even With Insufficient Tools.

The Horizon Of Love Is Truly Boundless: It Is The Whole World!

The Catholic Community Must Offer Support To Those Women Who May Find It Difficult To Accept A Child, Above All When They Are Isolated From Their Family And Friends. Likewise, The Community Should Be Open To Welcome Back All Who Repent Of Having Participated In The Grave Sin Of Abortion, And Should Guide Them With Pastoral Charity To Accept The Grace Of Forgiveness, The Need For Penance, And The Joy Of Entering Once More Into The New Life Of Christ.

Too Often [the Church] Is Weighted Down And Burdened With The Sins And Failings Of Her Children; Too Often She Appears Disfigured And Discouraged.

It Is When We Attempt To Avoid Suffering By Withdrawing From Anything That Might Involve Hurt, When We Try To Spare Ourselves The Effort And Pain Of Pursuing Truth, Love, And Goodness, That We Drift Into A Life Of Emptiness, In Which There May Be Almost No Pain, But The Dark Sensation Of Meaninglessness And Abandonment Is All The Greater.

The Examination Of Conscience Has An Important Educational Value. It Teaches Us To Look Sincerely At Our Own Lives, To Compare Them With The Truth Of The Gospel And To Evaluate Them With Parameters That Are Not Only Human But Drawn From Divine Revelation. Comparison With The Commandments, With The Beatitudes, And Above All With The Precept To Love, Represents The First Great 'school Of Penance

Rock Music Is A Vehicle Of Anti-religion

Making The Sign Of The Cross - As We Will Do During The Blessing - Means Saying A Visible And Public "yes" To The One Who Died And Rose For Us, To God Who In The Humility And Weakness Of His Love Is The Almighty, Stronger Than All The Power And Intelligence Of The World.

May We Be Enlightened By A Ray Of The Light That Comes From Bethlehem, The Light Of He Who Is 'the Greatest' And Made Himself Small.

God Loves Us Despite Our Shortcomings And Sins, And His Love Gives Meaning To Our Lives And To The Life Of The World.

In The Desert We Rediscover The Value Of What Is Essential For Living; Thus In Today's World There Are Innumerable Signs, Often Expressed Implicitly Or Negatively, Of The Thirst For God, For The Ultimate Meaning Of Life. And In The Desert People Of Faith Are Needed Who, By The Example Of Their Own Lives, Point Out The Way To The Promised Land And Keep Hope Alive.

Peace, However, Is Not Merely A Gift To Be Received: It Is Also A Task To Be Undertaken. In Order To Be True Peacemakers, We Must Educate Ourselves In Compassion, Solidarity, Working Together, Fraternity, In Being Active Within The Community And Concerned To Raise Awareness About National And International Issues And The Importance Of Seeking Adequate Mechanisms For The Redistribution Of Wealth, The Promotion Of Growth, Cooperation For Development And Conflict Resolution. 'blessed Are The Peacemakers, For They Shall Be Called Sons Of God', As Jesus Says In The Sermon On The Mount

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