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In The Month Of October, The Universal Church Highlights Her Missionary Vocation. Guided By The Holy Spirit She Knows She Is Called To Pursue The Work Of Jesus Himself, Proclaiming The Gospel Of The Kingdom Of God Which Is "righteousness And Peace And Joy In The Holy Spirit"
-Pope Benedict XVI
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In The Month Of

Pope Benedict XVI
In The Month Of October, The Universal Church Highlights Her Missionary Vocation. Guided By The Holy Spirit She Knows She Is Called To Pursue The Work Of Jesus Himself, Proclaiming The Gospel Of The Kingdom Of God Which Is "righteousness And Peace And Joy In The Holy Spirit"
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With The Rosary, We Allow Ourselves To Be Guided By Mary, Model Of Faith, In Meditating On The Mysteries Of Christ, And Day After Day We Are Helped To Assimilate The Gospel, So That It Shapes All Our Lives.
Rosary
Shapes
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If We Allow The Love Of Christ To Change Our Heart, Then We Can Change The World. This Is The Secret Of Authentic Happiness.
Heart
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God Seeks Us Where We Are, Not So That We Stay There, But So That We May Come To Be Where He Is, So That We May Get Beyond Ourselves.
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We Are Not Some Casual And Meaningless Product Of Evolution. Each Of Us Is The Result Of A Thought Of God.
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Christ Had A Specific Evangelizing Goal In Mind When He Prayed At The Last Supper That All His Disciples 'be One...'the Church's Evangelizing Mission, Therefore, Moves Along The Path Of Ecumenism, The Path Of Unity Of Faith, Of Evangelical Witness And Authentic Fraternity.
Moving
Goal
Unity
Today, Having A Clear Faith Based On The Creed Of The Church Is Often Labeled Today As Fundamentalism. Whereas Relativism, That Is, Letting Oneself Be "tossed Here And There, Carried About By Every Wind Of Doctrine," Seems The Only Attitude That Can Cope With Modern Times.
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We Can Learn From Him That Suffering And The Gift Of Himself Is An Essential Gift We Need In Our Time.
Aquariums
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Essentials
Each Of Us Has A Mission . . . Each Of Us Is Called To Change The World, To Work For A Culture Of Life, A Culture Forged By Love And Respect For The Dignity Of Each Human Person.
Culture
World
Dignity
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.
People
Wish
Today
I Am Simply A Pilgrim Beginning The Last Leg Of His Pilgrimage On This Earth.
Earth
Legs
Lasts
The Answer To Our Cry Which God Gave In Jesus Infinitely Transcends Our Expectations, Achieving A Solidarity Which Cannot Be Human Alone, But Divine. Only The God Who Is Love, And The Love Which Is God, Could Choose To Save Us In This Way, Which Is Certainly The Lengthiest Way, Yet The Way Which Respects The Truth About Him And About Us: The Way Of Reconciliation, Dialogue And Cooperation.
Jesus
Expectations
Answers
The Destruction Of The Environment, Its Improper Or Selfish Use, And The Violent Hoarding Of The Earth's Resources Cause Grievances, Conflicts And Wars, Precisely Because They Are The Consequences Of An Inhumane Concept Of Development.
Selfish
War
Environmental
Prayer Itself, Born In Catholic Families, Nurtured By Programs Of Christian Formation, Strengthened By The Grace Of The Sacraments, Is The First Means By Which We Come To Know The Lord’s Will For Our Lives. To The Extent That We Teach Young People To Pray, And To Pray Well, We Will Be Cooperating With God’s Call. Programs, Plans And Projects Have Their Place; But 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.
Christian
Prayer
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We Cannot But Recognize That, In Practical Terms, Defending Human Life Has Become More Difficult Today, Because A Mentality Has Been Created That Progressively Devalues Human Life And Entrusts It To The Judgement Of Individuals. A Consequence Deriving Therefrom Is Lessened Respect For The Human Person, A Value That Lies At The Foundation Of Any Form Of Civil Coexistence, Over And Above The Faith A Person May Profess.
Lying
Judgement
May
The Cross Reminds Us That There Is No True Love Without Suffering, There Is No Gift Of Life Without Pain.
Pain
Suffering
Crosses
We Become New If We Let Ourselves Be Grasped And Shaped By The New Man, Jesus Christ. He Is The New Man Par Excellence. In Him The New Human Existence Became Reality And We Can Truly Become New If We Deliver Ourselves Into His Hands And Let Ourselves Be Moulded By Him.
Jesus
Reality
Men
Can We Disregard The Growing Phenomenon Of "environmental Refugees", People Who Are Forced By The Degradation Of Their Natural Habitat To Forsake It - And Often Their Possessions As Well - In Order To Face The Dangers And Uncertainties Of Forced Displacement? Can We Remain Impassive In The Face Of Actual And Potential Conflicts Involving Access To Natural Resources? All These Are Issues With A Profound Impact On The Exercise Of Human Rights, Such As The Right To Life, Food, Health And Development.
Exercise
Order
Issues
How Much Filth There Is In The Church, Even Among Those Who, In The Priesthood, Should Belong Entirely To Him. How Much Pride, How Much Self-sufficiency.
Pride
Self
Church
Music Has No Borders, No Race Or Color, No Limits Of Country, No Ethnicity. Music Makes The People Come Together. Dance It,dance All.
Country
Race
Ethnicity
A Good School Provides A Rounded Education For The Whole Person. And A Good Catholic School, Over And Above This, Should Help All Its Students To Become Saints.
School
Catholic
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If A Pope Clearly Realizes That He Is No Longer Physically, Psychologically, And Spiritually Capable Of Handling The Duties Of His Office, Then He Has A Right And, Under Some Circumstances, Also An Obligation To Resign.
Office
Realizing
Pope
Respecting The Environment Does Not Mean Considering Material Or Animal Nature More Important Than Man. Rather, It Means Not Selfishly Considering Nature To Be At The Complete Disposal Of Our Own Interests, For Future Generations Also Have The Right To Reap Its Benefits And To Exhibit Towards Nature The Same Responsible Freedom That We Claim For Ourselves. Nor Must We Overlook The Poor, Who Are Excluded In Many Cases From The Goods Of Creation Destined For All.
Mean
Men
Animal
In A World Wounded By Conflicts, Where Violence Is Justified In God's Name, It's Important To Repeat That Religion Can Never Become A Vehicle Of Hatred, It Can Never Be Used In God's Name To Justify Violence.
Names
Hatred
Religion
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.
Land
People
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Believing Is Nothing Other Than, In The Darkness Of The World, Touching The Hand Of God, And In This Way, In Silence, Hearing The Word, Seeing Love.
Faith
Believe
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The Evangelization Of The Person And Of Human Communities Depends Totally On This Encounter With Jesus Christ.
Jesus
Community
Encounters
Purity Of Heart Is What Enables Us To See.
Heart
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Joy Is The True Gift Of Christmas, And We Can Communicate This Joy Simply: With A Smile, A Kind Gesture, A Little Help, Forgiveness. And The Joy We Give Will Certainly Come Back To Us.
Giving
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Do You Want To Know Yourself Better? Then Discover Silence.
Silence
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Art And The Saints Are The Greatest Apologetics For Our Faith.
Art
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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.
Taken
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Responsibility
The Blessing Hands Of Christ Are Like A Roof That Protects Us. But At The Same Time, They Are A Gesture Of Opening Up, Tearing The World Open So That Heaven My Enter In, May Become "present" Within It.
Blessing
Hands
Opening Up
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.
Self
Perfect
Catholic
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.
Essence
Reform
Matter
Music, Great Music, Distends The Spirit, Arouses Profound Emotions And Almost Naturally Invites Us To Raise Our Minds And Hearts To God In All Situations Of Human Existence, The Joyful And The Sad. Music Can Become Prayer.
Faith
Prayer
Inspiration
People From The World's Richest Countries Should Be Prepared To Accept The Burden Of Debt Reduction For Heavily Indebted Poor Countries, And Should Urge Their Leaders To Fulfill The Pledges Made To Reduce World Poverty, Especially In Africa, By The Year 2015.
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Years
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Grant That We May Be One Flock And One Shepherd! Do Not Allow Your Net To Be Torn, Help Us To Be Servants Of Unity!
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Unity
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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.
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The Truth Comes To Rule, Not Through Violence, But Rather Through Its Own Power; [this Is The Central Theme Of John's Gospel:] When Brought Before Pilate, Jesus Professes That He Himself Is The Truth And The Witness To The Truth. He Does Not Defend The Truth With Legions But Rather Makes It Visible Through His Passion And Thereby Also Implements It.
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The New Evangelization ... Begins In The Confessional.
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I Leave From Where The Apostle Arrived.
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It Is Important Always To Know That The First Word, The True Initiative, The True Activity Comes From God And Only By Inserting Ourselves Into The Divine Initiative, Only Begging For This Divine Initiative, Shall We Too Be Able To Become - With Him And In Him - Evangelizers.
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I Thank You, Dear Brothers, For Preaching The Love Of Christ And Exhorting Your People To Tolerance, Respect And Love Of Their Brothers And Sisters And Of All Persons. In This Way You Exercise The Prophetic Ministry That The Lord Has Entrusted To The Church, And In Particular To The Successors Of The Apostles (cf. Pastores Gregis, 26).
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Exercise
Cfs
Eternity Is Not An Unending Succession Of Days In The Calendar, But Something More Like The Supreme Moment Of Satisfaction, In Which Totality Embraces Us And We Embrace Totality.
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Inspiration
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In The Month Of October, The Universal Church Highlights Her Missionary Vocation. Guided By The Holy Spirit She Knows She Is Called To Pursue The Work Of Jesus Himself, Proclaiming The Gospel Of The Kingdom Of God Which Is "righteousness And Peace And Joy In The Holy Spirit"
Jesus
Joy
Church
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.
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Inspiration
Matter
In This Regard, I Reiterate That The Prohibition Against Torture Cannot Be Contravened Under Any Circumstances.
Prohibition
Torture
Circumstances
Nature Expresses A Design Of Love And Truth.
Life
Design
Truth And Love
In The Current Economic Situation, The Temptation For The More Dynamic Economies Is That Of Chasing After Advantageous Alliances That, Nevertheless, Can Have Harmful Effects For Poorer States, Prolonging Situations Of Extreme Mass Poverty Of Men And Women And Using Up The Earth's Natural Resources, Entrusted To Man By God The Creator-as Genesis Says-that He Might Cultivate And Protect It.
Men
Temptation
Might
The Sharing Of Goods And Resources, From Which Authentic Development Proceeds, Is Not Guaranteed By Merely Technical Progress And Relationships Of Utility, But By The Potential Of Love That Overcomes Evil With Good.
Evil
Environmental
Progress
Lifting One's Gaze To The Living God, The Guarantor Of Our Freedom And Of Truth, Is A Premise For Arriving At A New Humanity. Nowadays, In A Special Way, The World Needs People Capable Of Proclaiming And Bearing Witness To God Who Is Love, And Consequently The One Light Which In The End, Illumines The Darkness Of The World And Gives Us Strength To Live And Work
Light
Giving
People
That The Entire People Of God, To Whom Christ Entrusted The Mandate To Go And Preach The Gospel To Every Creature, May Eagerly Assume Their Own Missionary Responsibility And Consider It The Highest Service They Can Offer Humanity.
Responsibility
People
Humanity
The Celebration Of Lent, In The Context Of The Year Of Faith, Offers Us A Valuable Opportunity To Meditate On The Relationship Between Faith And Charity: Between Believing In God - The God Of Jesus Christ - And Love, Which Is The Fruit Of The Holy Spirit And Which Guides Us On The Path Of Devotion To God And Others.
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Since Politics Fundamentally Should Be A Moral Enterprise, The Church In This Sense Has Something To Say About Politics.
Church
Moral
Should
God's Love Does Not Distinguish Between The Infant In The Mother's Womb Or The Child Or The Youth Or The Adult Or The Older Person. In Each One God Sees His Image And Likeness. Human Life Is A Manifestation Of God And His Glory.
Mother
Children
Abortion
In Silence, We Are Better Able To Listen To And Understand Ourselves; Ideas Come To Birth And Acquire Depth... Deeper Reflection Helps Us To Discover The Links Between Events That At First Sight Seem Unconnected... For This To Happen, It Is Necessary To Develop An Appropriate Environment, A Kind Of 'eco-system' That Maintains A Just Equilibrium Between Silence, Words, Images And Sounds.
Faith
Inspiration
Reflection
...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.
Christian
Prayer
Commitment
Receiving The Eucharist Means Adoring Him Whom We Receive. Only In This Way Do We Become One With Him, And Are Given, As It Were, A Foretaste Of The Beauty Of The Heavenly Liturgy. The Act Of Adoration Outside Mass Prolongs And Intensifies All That Takes Place During The Liturgical Celebration Itself.
Mean
Holy Eucharist
Catholic
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
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New York
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The Church's Mission Is Not Political In Nature. Her Task Is To Open The World To The Religious Sense By Proclaiming Christ.
Religious
Political
Church
A Spiritual Desert Is Spreading: An Interior Emptiness, An Unnamed Fear, A Quiet Sense Of Despair.
Spiritual
Despair
Desert
Celibacy Is Not A Matter Of Compulsion. Someone Is Accepted As A Priest Only When He Does It Of His Own Accord.
Doe
Matter
Celibacy
It Is Deplorable That Homosexual Persons Have Been And Are The Object Of Violent Malice In Speech Or In Action. Such Treatment Deserves Condemnation From The Church's Pastors Wherever It Occurs. ... The Intrinsic Dignity Of Each Person Must Always Be Respected In Work, In Action And In Law.
Law
Church
Speech
To Me, Its Seems Necessary To Rediscover - And The Energy To Do So Exists - That Even The Political And Economic Spheres Need Moral Responsibility, A Responsibility That Is Born In Man's Heart And, In The End, Has To Do With The Presence Or Absence Of God.
Heart
Responsibility
Men
The Main Task For Us All Is That Of A New Evangelization Aimed At Helping Younger Generations To Rediscover The True Face Of God, Who Is Love. To You Young People, Who Are In Search Of A Firm Hope, I Address The Very Words That Saint Paul Wrote To The Persecuted Christians In Rome At That Time: "may The God Of Hope Fill You With All Joy And Peace In Believing, So That You May Abound In Hope By The Power Of The Holy Spirit" (rom 15:13).
Christian
Believe
Rome
When, For Example, In The Name Of Non-discrimination, People Try To Force The Catholic Church To Change Her Position On Homosexuality Or The Ordination Of Women, Then That Means That She Is No Longer Allowed To Live Out Her Own Identity And That, Instead, An Abstract, Negative Religion Is Being Made Into A Tyrannical Standard That Everyone Must Follow. That Is Then Seemingly Freedom — For The Sole Reason That It Is Liberation From The Previous Situation.
Mean
Names
People
This World In Which We Live Needs Beauty In Order Not To Sink Into Despair. Beauty, Like Truth, Brings Joy To The Human Heart, And Is That Precious Fruit Which Resists The Erosion Of Time, Which Unites Generations And Enables Them To Be One In Admiration. And All This Through The Work Of Your Hands . . . Remember That You Are The Custodians Of Beauty In The World.
Heart
Hands
Order
Dancing Is Not A Form Of Expression For The Christian Liturgy.
Christian
Expression
Dancing
There Is Nothing More Beautiful Than To Be Surprised By The Gospel, By The Encounter With Christ. There Is Nothing More Beautiful Than To Know Him And To Speak To Others Of Our Friendship With Him.
Beautiful
Encounters
Speak
In The World In Which We Live, It Is Almost A Necessity To Be Able To Regain One's Strength Of Body And Spirit, Especially For Those Who Live In The City, Where The Conditions Of Life, Often Feverish, Leave Little Room For Silence, Reflection And Relaxed Contact With Nature.
Faith
Inspiration
Reflection
Wherever Politics Tries To Be Redemptive, It Is Promising Too Much. Where It Wishes To Do The Work Of God, It Becomes Not Divine, But Demonic.
Wish
Trying
Too Much
The Fundamental Task Of The Evangelization Of Culture Is The Challenge To Make God Visible In The Human Face Of Jesus.
Jesus
Challenges
Tasks
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.
Challenges
Needs
Generations
How Can It Be That The Most Wonderous And Sacred Human Space - The Womb - Has Become A Place Of Unutterable Violence?
Faith
Inspiration
Space
The Destruction Of Images, The First Signs Of Which Reach Back To The 1920s, Eliminated A Lot Of Kitsch And Unworthy Art, But Ultimately It Left Behind A Void.
Art
Kitsch
Void
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.
Faith
Dream
Jobs
Purgatory Basically Means That God Can Put The Pieces Back Together Again. That He Can Cleanse Us In Such A Way That We Are Able To Be With Him And Can Stand There In The Fullness Of Life. Purgatory Strips Off From One Person What Is Unbearable And From Another The Inability To Bear Certain Things, So That In Each Of Them A Pure Heart Is Revealed, And We Can See That We All Belong Together In One Enormous Symphony Of Being.
Heart
Mean
Fullness Of Life
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.
Faith
Inspiration
Voice
The Fact That The Church Is Convinced Of Not Having The Right To Confer Priestly Ordination On Women, Is Now Considered By Some As Irreconcilable With The European Constitution.
Church
Facts
Constitution
Nourishment Is A Factor Which Touches On The Fundamental Right To Life.
Environmental
Fundamentals
Sustainability
We Must Trust In The Mighty Power Of God's Mercy. We Are All Sinners, But His Grace Transforms Us And Makes Us New.
Grace
Mercy
Power Of God
Today The Great Gift Of God's Creation Is Exposed To Serious Dangers And Lifestyles Which Can Degrade It. Environmental Pollution Is Making Particularly Unsustainable The Lives Of The Poor Of The World ... We Must Pledge Ourselves To Take Care Of Creation And To Share Its Resources In Solidarity.
Environmental
Care
Today
Reason Always Stands In Need Of Being Purified By Faith
Needs
Reason
Thus, The Apostles' Adventure Began As A Gathering Of Persons Who Open To One Another Reciprocally. A Direct Knowledge Of The Teacher Began For The Disciples. They Saw Where He Lived And Began To Know Him. They Would Not Have To Be Heralds Of An Idea, But Witnesses Of A Person. Before Being Sent To Evangelize, They Would Have To "be" With Jesus (cf. Mark 3:14), Establishing A Personal Relationship With Him. With This Foundation, Evangelization Is No More Than A Proclamation Of What Has Been Experienced And An Invitation To Enter Into The Mystery Of Communion With Christ (cf. 1 John 13).
Teacher
Jesus
Adventure
Our Knowledge Of Jesus Is In Need Above All Of A Living Experience: Another Person's Testimony Is Certainly Important, As In General The Whole Of Our Christian Life Begins With The Proclamation That Comes To Us From One Or Several Witnesses. But We Ourselves Must Be Personally Involved In An Intimate And Profound Relationship With Jesus.
Christian
Jesus
Profound
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.
Order
Design
Church
Concern For The Fate Of The Great Rivers Of The Earth Must Lead Us To Reflect Soberly On The Model Of Development Which Our Society Is Pursuing. A Purely Economic And Technological Understanding Of Progress, To The Extent That It Fails To Acknowledge Its Intrinsic Limitations And To Take Into Consideration The Integral Good Of Humanity, Will Inevitably Provoke Negative Consequences For Individuals, Peoples And Creation Itself.
Fate
Rivers
Water
If Only Everyone Could Experience The Joy Of Being Christian, Being Loved By God Who Gave His Son For Us!
Christian
Son
Joy
I Have A Mustard Seed; And I Am Not Afraid To Use It.
Catholic
Use
Mustard Seed
Each One Of Us Needs Time And Space For Recollection, Meditation And Calmness.... Thanks Be To God That This Is So! In Fact, This Need Tells Us That We Are Not Made For Work Alone, But Also To Think, To Reflect Or Even Simply To Follow With Our Minds And Our Hearts A Tale, A Story In Which To Immerse Ourselves, In A Certain Sense To Lose Ourselves To Find Ourselves Subsequently Enriched.
Faith
Inspiration
Heart
The Catholic Church Is Not Dead, It Is Not Even Tired!
Tired
Catholic
Church
The World Needs Transparent Lives, Clear Souls, Pure Minds That Refuse To Be Perceived As Mere Objects Of Pleasure.
Faith
Inspiration
Soul
Non-african Missionaries, Responding Generously To The Lord's Call With Ardent Apostolic Zeal, Came To Share The Joy Of Revelation. Following In Their Footsteps, Africans Are Today Missionaries On Other Continents.
Joy
Today
Lord
There May Be A Basis In The Case Of Some Individuals, As Perhaps When A Male Prostitute Uses A Condom, Where This Can Be A First Step In The Direction Of A Moralisation, A First Assumption Of Responsibility...
Responsibility
Condom Use
Males
Freedom Is Not Only A Gift, But A Summons To Personal Responsibility.
Responsibility
Personal Responsibility
What A Treasure Is Hidden In Two Small Words: 'thank You!'
Two
Treasure
Small Words
The Human Person Finds His Perfection "in Seeking And Loving What Is True And Good.
Perfection
Humans
Persons
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.
Christian
Real
Essentials
Preservation Of The Environment, Promotion Of Sustainable Development And Particular Attention To Climate Change Are Matters Of Grave Concern For The Entire Human Family.
Climate
Attention
Development
Islam Has A Total Organization Of Life That Is Completely Different From Ours; It Embraces Simply Everything,...there Is A Very Marked Subordination Of Woman To Man; There Is A Very Tightly Knit Criminal Law, Indeed, A Law Regulating All Areas Of Life, That Is Opposed To Our Modern Ideas About Society. One Has To Have A Clear Understanding That It Is Not Simply A Denomination That Can Be Included In The Free Realm Of A Pluralistic Society.
Men
Law
Organization
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)
Children
Acceptance
Blessing
It Was Easy To Know The Doctrine. It's Much Harder To Help A Billion People Live It.
People
Doctrine
Helping
I Encourage All Of You To Discover Ever More Fully In The Eucharist, The Sacrament Of Christ's Sacrificial Love, The Inspiration And Strength Needed To Work Ever More Generously For The Spread Of God's Kingdom And The Growth Of The Civilization Of Love.
Inspiration
Civilization
Growth
Consecrated Life Means Going To The Very Root Of The Love Of Jesus Christ With An Undivided Heart And Putting Nothing Ahead Of This Love.
Jesus
Heart
Mean
If You Find Your Sustenance In Christ, My Dear Young People, And If You Live Profoundly In Him As Did The Apostle Paul, You Will Not Be Able To Resist Speaking About Him And Making Him Known And Loved By Many Of Your Friends And Contemporaries.
People
Able
Christ
Without Fear We Must Set Sail On The Digital Sea.
Sea
Digital
Sail
When, In Adoration, We Look At The Consecrated Host, The Sign Of Creation Speaks To Us. And So, We Encounter The Greatness Of His Gift; But We Also Encounter The Passion, The Cross Of Jesus And His Resurrection. Through This Gaze Of Adoration, He Draws Us Toward Himself, Within His Mystery, Through Which He Wants To Transform Us As He Transformed The Host.
Jesus
Passion
Greatness
Jesus Resolved The False Opposition Between Obedience And Freedom And Opened The Path To Freedom
Jesus
Path
Obedience
Terrorist Activity Is Continually Recurring In Various Parts Of The World, Sowing Death And Destruction And Plunging Many Of Our Brothers And Sisters Into Grief And Despair
Brother
Grief
Despair
A Catholic Would Be Guilty Of Formal Cooperation In Evil, And So Unworthy To Present Himself For Holy Communion, If He Were To Deliberately Vote For A Candidate Precisely Because Of The Candidate's Permissive Stand On Abortion And/or Euthanasia.
Evil
Abortion
Catholic
Rock Music Is A Vehicle Of Anti-religion
Rocks
Anti Religion
Rock Music
The Christian Faith Can Never Be Separated From The Soil Of Sacred Events, From The Choice Made By God, Who Wanted To Speak To Us, To Become Man, To Die And Rise Again, In A Particular Place And At A Particular Time.
Christmas
Christian
Men
Evil Draws Its Power From Indecision And Concern For What Other People Think.
Thinking
People
Evil
Forgiveness Does Not Replace Justice.
Justice
Doe
During The Season Of Lent Which Begins Today, We Renew Our Commitment To The Path Of Conversion, Making More Room For God In Our Lives.
Commitment
Today
Rooms
Grace, Lavished Upon Us By God And Communicated Through The Mystery Of The Incarnate Word, Is An Absolutely Free Gift With Which Nature Is Healed, Strengthened And Assisted In Pursuing The Innate Desire For Happiness In The Heart Of Every Man And Of Every Woman.
Faith
Inspiration
Heart
[evangelization] Is Not Something Optional, But The Very Vocation Of The People Of God, A Duty That Corresponds To It By The Command Of The Lord Jesus Christ Himself
Jesus
People
Christ
Advent, This Powerful Liturgical Season That We Are Beginning, Invites Us To Pause In Silence To Understand A Presence. It Is An Invitation To Understand That The Individual Events Of The Day Are Hints That God Is Giving Us, Signs Of The Attention He Has For Each One Of Us.
Powerful
Giving
Silence
Rediscover The Joy Of Believing.
Believe
Joy
The Current Economic Crisis...has Numerous Causes And Sends A Powerful Message About The Need For A Profound Revision Of The Model Of Global Economic Development. It's An Acute Symptom That Is Added To Other More Grave And Already Well-known Ones, Such As The Continued Imbalance Between Wealth And Poverty, The Scandal Of Hunger, The Ecological Emergency And The Problem Of Unemployment, Which Has Now Become General. In This Context A Strategic Re-launching Of Agriculture Appears Decisive.
Powerful
Land
Agriculture
God Is Our Father And Loves Us, Even When His Silence Remains Incomprehensible.
Father
Silence
And Love
Enough With The Slaughters. Enough With The Violence. Enough With The Hatred In Iraq!
Iraq
Hatred
Violence
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.
Responsibility
Humanity
Generations
God Is Alive. He Has Created Every One Of Us, And He Knows Us All. He Is So Great That He Has Time For The Little Things In Our Lives: “every Hair Of Your Head Is Numbered”. God Is Alive, And Makes Sense To Become A Priest: The World Needs Priests, Pastors, Today, Tomorrow And Always, Until The End Of Time.
Hair
Littles
Today
We Cannot Live, We Cannot Look At The Truth About Ourselves Without Letting Ourselves Be Looked At And Generated By Christ In Daily Eucharistic Adoration.
Looks
Christ
Adoration
From The Point Of View Of The Christian Faith, Man Comes In The Profoundest Sense To Himself Not Through What He Does But Through What He Accepts. He Must Wait For The Gift Of Love, And Love Can Only Be Received As A Gift... One Must Wait For It, Let It Be Given To One. And One Cannot Become Wholly Man In Any Other Way Than By Being Loved, By Letting Oneself Be Loved... If He Declines To Let Himself Be Presented With The Gift, Then He Destroys Himself.
Faith
Christian
Inspiration
Each Of Us Is The Result Of A Thought Of God. Each Of Us Is Willed. Each Of Us Is Loved. Each Of Us Is Necessary.
Results
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.
Past
Sacred
Lineage
At The Time Of Galileo The Church Remained Much More Reasonable Than Galileo Himself. The Process Against Galileo Was Reasonable And Just.
Church
Christianity
Process
God Loves Us Despite Our Shortcomings And Sins, And His Love Gives Meaning To Our Lives And To The Life Of The World.
Giving
World
His Love
Sometimes Men And Women Prefer The Darkness To The Light Because They Are Attached To Their Sins. Nevertheless It Is Only By Opening Oneself To The Light And Only By Sincerely Confessing One's Sins To God That One Finds True Peace And True Joy. It Is Therefore Important To Receive The Sacrament Of Penance Regularly, Especially During Lent, In Order To Receive The Lord's Forgiveness And To Intensify Our Process Of Conversion.
Men
Light
Order
Rock... Is The Expression Of Elemental Passions... In The Ecstasy Of Having All Their Defenses Torn Down, The Participants Sink, As It Were, Beneath The Elemental Force Of The Universe.
Passion
Rocks
Expression
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!
Technology
People
News
No Law Made By Man Can Overturn That Of The Creator Without Dramatically Affecting Society In Its Very Foundation.
Men
Law
Foundation
Humanity Today Is Rightly Concerned About The Ecological Balance Of Tomorrow. It Is Important For Assessments In This Regard To Be Carried Out Prudently, In Dialogue With Experts And People Of Wisdom, Uninhibited By Ideological Pressure To Draw Hasty Conclusions, And Above All With The Aim Of Reaching Agreement On A Model Of Sustainable Development Capable Of Ensuring The Well-being Of All While Respecting Environmental Balances.
Assessment
Agreement
People
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.
Christian
Brother
Heart
Forgiveness Is Not Substitute For Justice.
Justice
Substitutes
Guilt Must Not Be Allowed To Fester In The Silence Of The Soul, Poisoning It From Within. It Needs To Be Confessed. Through Confession We Bring It Into The Light, We Place It Within Christ's Purifying Love. In Confession, The Lord Washes Our Soiled Feet Over And Over Again And Prepares Us For Table Fellowship With Him.
Light
Feet
Silence
While Conscious Of The Challenges You Face, I Encourage You To Follow Faithfully In The Footsteps Of Your Founders, And To Stir Into Flame The Charisms And Apostolic Zeal Which You Have Inherited From Them, Confident That Christ Will Continue To Work With You And To Confirm Your Preaching With Signs Of His Presence And Power.
Flames
Challenges
Faces
The Catholic Tradition Maintains That The Objective Norms Governing Right Action Are Accessible To Reason, Prescinding From The Content Of Revelation.
Catholic
Action
Tradition
Seeing With The Eyes Of Christ, I Can Give To Others Much More Than Their Outward Necessities; I Can Give Them The Look Of Love Which They Crave.
Eye
Giving
Looks
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
Jesus
Blessed
Son
Every Human Life Is Precious In God's Sight And No Effort Should Be Spared In The Attempt To Promote Throughout The World A Genuine Respect For The Inalienable Rights And Dignity Of Individuals And Peoples Everywhere.
Rights
Sight
Effort
Thus, The Apostles' Adventure Began As A Gathering Of Persons Who Open To One Another Reciprocally. A Direct Knowledge Of The Teacher Began For The Disciples.
Teacher
Adventure
Gathering
In A World Where There Is So Much Noise, So Much Bewilderment, There Is A Need For Silent Adoration Of Jesus Concealed In The Host. Be Assiduous In The Prayer Of Adoration And Teach It To The Faithful. It Is A Source Of Comfort And Light, Particularly To Those Who Are Suffering.
Jesus
Prayer
Holy Eucharist
The Great Tasks Facing The Ecclesial Community In The Modern World - And Among The Many I Particularly Stress Evangelization And Ecumenism - Are Centered On The Word Of God And, At The Same Time, Draw Therefrom Their Justification And Support.
Stress
Support
Community
Joy Is The True Gift Of Christmas.
Joy
True Gifts
Before It's Too Late, We Need To Make Courageous Choices That Will Recreate A Strong Alliance Between Man And Earth. We Need A Decisive 'yes' To Care For Creation And A Strong Commitment To Reverse Those Trends That Risk Making The Situation Of Decay Irreversible.
Strong
Commitment
Choices
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.
Doors
Years
Rose
Liberty Isn't Liberalism, Arbitrariness, But It's Connected; It's Conditioned By The Great Values Of Love And Solidarity And In General By The Good.
Liberty
Value Of Love
Solidarity
Young People In Particular, I Appeal To You: Bear Witness To Your Faith Through The Digital World.
People
World
Digital
You Must Know How To Translate The Indications Of The Word Into Daily Witness, Allowing Yourselves To Be Formed By The Word Which, Like Seed Sown In Good Soil, Brings Abundant Fruit. Thus You Will Remain Docile To The Spirit And Grow In Union With God, You Will Cultivate Fraternal Communion Among Yourselves And Be Ready To Serve Your Brethren Generously, Especially Those Most In Need.
Needs
Unions
Soil
It Is Not By Sidestepping Or Fleeing From Suffering That We Are Healed, But Rather By Our Capacity For Accepting It, Maturing Through It And Finding Meaning Through Union With Christ, Who Suffered With Infinite Love.
Suffering
Fleeing
Unions
Dear Friends, May No Adversity Paralyze You. Be Afraid Neither Of The World, Nor Of The Future, Nor Of Your Weakness. The Lord Has Allowed You To Live In This Moment Of History So That, By Your Faith, His Name Will Continue To Resound Throughout The World.
Adversity
Names
Weakness
Adoration Outside Holy Mass Prolongs And Intensifies What Has Taken Place In The Liturgical Celebration And Makes A True And Profound Reception Of Christ Possible. I . . . Warmly Recommend, To Pastors And To All The Faithful, The Practice Of Eucharistic Adoration
Taken
Practice
Profound
Silence 'is So Lacking In This World Which Is Often Too Noisy, Which Is Not Favorable To Recollection And Listening To The Voice Of God. In This Time Of Preparation For Christmas, Let Us Cultivate Interior Recollection So As To Receive And Keep Jesus In Our Lives.'
Jesus
Voice
Silence
The Proclamation Of The Gospel Remains The Primary Service That The Church Owes To Humanity, To Offer The Salvation Of Christ To The Man Of Our Time, Who Is In Many Ways Humiliated And Oppressed, And To Orientate In A Christian Way Cultural, Social, And Ethical Transformations That Are Unfolding In The World.
Christian
Men
Humanity
The Goods Of Creation Belong To Humanity As A Whole. Yet The Current Pace Of Environmental Exploitation Is Seriously Endangering The Supply Of Certain Natural Resources Not Only For The Present Generation, But Above All For Generations To Come.
Humanity
Environmental
Generations
Continue To Witness To The Gospel Every Day And Commit Yourselves Generously In The Next Missionary Initiatives In The Diocese Of Rome.
Rome
Missionary
Next
Love Alone Makes Us Happy, Because We Live In Relation, And We Live To Love And To Be Loved.
Faith
Inspiration
Relation
To Suffer With The Other And For Others; To Suffer For The Sake Of Truth And Justice; To Suffer Out Of Love And In Order To Become A Person Who Truly Loves - These Are Fundamental Elements Of Humanity, And To Abandon Them Would Destroy Man Himself.
Men
Order
Justice
Love In Truth-caritas In Veritate-is A Great Challenge For The Church In A World That Is Becoming Progressively And Pervasively Globalized. The Risk For Our Time Is That The De Facto Interdependence Of People And Nations Is Not Matched By Ethical Interaction Of Consciences And Minds That Would Give Rise To Truly Human Development. Only In Charity, Illumined By The Light Of Reason And Faith, Is It Possible To Pursue Development Goals That Possess A More Humane And Humanizing Value.
Light
People
Giving
Although The Particular Inclination Of The Homosexual Person Is Not A Sin, It Is More Or Less Strong Tendency Ordered To An Intrinsic Moral Evil, And Thus The Inclination Itself Must Be Seen As An Objective Disorder.
Strong
Evil
Moral
We Are Still Awaiting Easter; We Are Not Yet Standing In The Full Light But Walking Toward It Full Of Trust.
Easter
Light
Stills
The New Pope Knows That His Task Is To Make The Light Of Christ Shine Before Men And Women Of World - Not His Own Light, But That Of Christ.
Men
Light
Shining
Because The Truth Of God Is Love, Conversion To God Is Conversion To Love.
God Is Love
Conversation
Truth Of God
Mission Is A Workshop Where There Is Room For All.
Rooms
Missions
Workshops
We Can Not Communicate With The Lord If We Do Not Communicate With Each Other. If We Want To Present Ourselves To Him, We Must Take A Step Towards Meeting One Another. To Do This We Must Learn The Great Lesson Of Forgiveness: We Must Not Let The Gnawings Of Resentment Work In Our Soul But Must Open Our Hearts To The Magnanimity Of Listening To Others, Open Our Hearts To Understanding Them, Eventually To Accepting Their Apologies, To Generously Offering Our Own.
Heart
Apology
Listening To Others
It Is A Symbol Evoking A Reality That Touches The Depths Of The Person ... The Light Of Goodness That Vanquishes Evil, Of Love That Overcomes Hatred, Of Life That Defeats Death.
Reality
Light
Evil
Grant That We May Be One Flock And One Shepherd.
Religion
Atheism
Shepherds
Anyone Who Knows He Is Loved Is In Turn Prompted To Love. It Is The Lord Himself, Who Loved Us First, Who Asks Us To Place At The Center Of Our Lives Love For Him And For The People He Has Loved. It Is Especially Adolescents And Young People, Who Feel Within Them The Pressing Call To Love, Who Need To Be Freed From The Widespread Prejudice That Christianity, With Its Commandments And Prohibitions, Sets Too Many Obstacles In The Path Of The Joy Of Love And, In Particular Prevents People From Fully Enjoying The Happiness That Men And Women Find In Their Love For One Another.
Love Life
Men
People
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.
World
Praying
Mystery
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
Brother
Prayer
Mean
An Authentically Eucharistic Church Is A Missionary Church... Truly, Nothing Is More Beautiful Than To Know Christ And To Make Him Known To Others.
Beautiful
Church
Missionary
In Jesus Christ, God Took On A Human Face And Became Our Friend And Brother.
Jesus
Brother
Faces
If Jesus Has Become Your Hope, Communicate This To Others With Your Joy And Your Spiritual, Apostolic And Social Engagement. Let Christ Dwell Within You, And Having Placed All Your Faith And Trust In Him, Spread This Hope Around You. Make Choices That Demonstrate Your Faith.
Spiritual
Jesus
Choices
If We Take The Lord's Hand And Let Ourselves Be Guided By Him, The Path We Take Will Be Right And Good.
Hands
Path
Lord
Too Often [the Church] Is Weighted Down And Burdened With The Sins And Failings Of Her Children; Too Often She Appears Disfigured And Discouraged.
Children
Church
Down And
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.
Ocean
Order
Erosion
Standards Of Conduct Appropriate To Civil Society Or The Workings Of A Democracy Cannot Be Purely And Simply Applied To The Church.
Democracy
Church
Standards
Being A Christian Means Having Love. That Is Unbelievably Difficult And, At The Same Time, Incredibly Simple.
Christian
Mean
Simple
From Earliest Times, Water Has Always Been Acknowledged As A Primary Human Good And An Indispensable Natural Resource. Around The Great Rivers Of The World, Like The Mississippi, Great Cultures Have Developed, While Over The Course Of The Centuries The Prosperity Of Countless Societies Has Been Linked To These Waterways. Today, However, The Great Fluvial Systems Of Every Continent Are Exposed To Serious Threats, Often As A Result Of Man's Activity And Decisions.
Men
Rivers
Water
Dear Young People, Do Not Be Satisfied With Anything Less Than Truth And Love, Do Not Be Content With Anything Less Than Christ
People
And Love
Christ
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.
People
Joy
Encounters
There Is No Other Possibility For Possessing Certitude With Regard To One's Life Apart From Self-abandonmen T, In A Continuous Crescendo, Into The Hands Of A Love That Seems To Grow Constantly Because It Has Its Origin In God.
Self
Hands
Possibility
Can We Remain Indifferent Before The Problems Associated With Such Realities As Climate Change?
Change
Reality
Climate
The Abuse Of Faith Has To Be Resisted Precisely.
Abuse
We Live In A Society In Which It Seems That Every Space, Every Moment Must Be 'filled' With Initiatives, Activity, Sound; Often There Is Not Even Time To Listen And Dialogue... Let Us Not Be Afraid To Be Silent Outside And Inside Ourselves, So That We Are Able Not Only To Perceive God's Voice, But Also The Voice Of The Person Next To Us, The Voices Of Others.
Faith
Inspiration
Voice
Dear Young People, Let Me Now Ask You A Question. What Will You Leave To The Next Generation? Are You Building Your Lives On Firm Foundations, Building Something That Will Endure?
People
Foundation
Generations
The Primary Contribution That The Church Offers To The Development Of Mankind And Peoples Does Not Consist Merely In Material Means Or Technical Solutions. Rather, It Involves The Proclamation Of The Truth Of Christ.
Mean
Church
Doe
The Church Is Not An Association That Wishes To Promote A Certain Cause. It Is Not About A Cause. It Is About The Person Of Jesus Christ.
Jesus
Wish
Church
We Do Not Seek A Christ Whom We Have Invented, For Only In The Real Communion Of The Church Do We Encounter The Real Christ.
Real
Religion
Church
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.
Faith
Inspiration
Names
The World Promises You Comfort, But You Were Not Made For Comfort. You Were Made For Greatness.
Faith
Inspiration
Greatness
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.
Faith
Inspiration
Men
The Gospel Purifies And Renews, It Bears Fruit, Wherever The Community Of Believers Hears It And Receives God’s Grace In Truth And Charity. This Is My Confidence, This Is My Joy.
Community
Joy
Grace
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.
Faith
Inspiration
Heart
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.
Children
Decision
Circumstances
Indeed, Truth Draws Strength From Itself And Not From The Number Of Votes In Its Favour.
Truth
Numbers
Favour
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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