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Men And Women Are Sacrificed To The Idols Of Profit And Consumption: It Is The 'culture Of Waste.' If A Computer Breaks It Is A Tragedy, But Poverty, The Needs And Dramas Of So Many People End Up Being Considered Normal. ... When The Stock Market Drops 10 Points In Some Cities, It Constitutes A Tragedy. Someone Who Dies Is Not News, But Lowering Income By 10 Points Is A Tragedy! In This Way People Are Thrown Aside As If They Were Trash.

-Pope Francis

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Men And Women Are

Pope Francis

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Men And Women Are Sacrificed To The Idols Of Profit And Consumption: It Is The 'culture Of Waste.' If A Computer Breaks It Is A Tragedy, But Poverty, The Needs And Dramas Of So Many People End Up Being Considered Normal. ... When The Stock Market Drops 10 Points In Some Cities, It Constitutes A Tragedy. Someone Who Dies Is Not News, But Lowering Income By 10 Points Is A Tragedy! In This Way People Are Thrown Aside As If They Were Trash.

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Money At The Service Of Life Can Be Managed In The Right Way By Cooperatives, On Condition That It Is A Real Cooperative Where Capital Does Not Have Command Over Men But Men Over Capital.

Whenever We Encounter Another Person In Love, We Learn Something New About God.

Let Us Go Back To The Lord. The Lord Never Tires Of Forgiving: Never! It Is We Who Tire Of Asking His Forgiveness. Let Us Ask For The Grace Not To Tire Of Asking Forgiveness, Because He Never Tires Of Forgiving.

We Are All Called To Be Friends With Jesus. Don’t Be Afraid To Love The Lord.

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

Life Gradually Becomes A Surrender To Situations Conditioned By Technology.

The Crucifix Does Not Signify Defeat Or Failure. It Reveals To Us The Love That Overcomes Evil And Sin.

Not All Muslims Are Violent, Not All Catholics Are Violent. It Is Like A Fruit Salad; There's Everything. There Are Violent Persons Of This Religion.

A Christian Is One Who Is Invited... To Join In The Feast, To The Joy Of Being Saved, To The Joy Of Being Redeemed, To The Joy Of Sharing Life With Christ. This Is A Joy! You Are Called To A Party!

The Secret Of Christian Living Is Love. Only Love Fills The Empty Spaces Caused By Evil.

There Are Some Things We Really Need To Take Care Of: The Children, And Grandparents. Children, Whether They Are Young Or Older, They Are The Strength That Moves Us Forward. We Place Our Hope In Them.grandparents Are The Living Memory Of The Family. They Passed On The Faith, They Transmitted The Faith, To Us.

But Please Know, Jesus Never Lets You Down. Please Know That The Love And Tenderness Of Mother Mary Never Lets You Down. And Holding On To Her Mantle And With The Power That Comes From Jesus Love On The Cross, Let Us Move Forward, Always Forward, And Walk Together As Brothers And Sisters In The Lord Forward.

Gratitude Is A Flower That Blooms In Noble Souls.

Joy Adapts And Changes, But It Always Endures, Even As A Flicker Of Light Born Of Our Personal Certainty That, When Everything Is Said And Done, We Are Infinitely Loved.

Accompanying The People In Their Growth Through Good Times And Also Through Their Difficulties, Accompanying People In Their Joy And In Their Bad Moments, In Their Difficulties When There Is No Work, Ill Health And The Challenge Of The Church.

This Concern For The Poor Is In The Gospel, It Is Within The Tradition Of The Church, It Is Not An Invention Of Communism And It Must Not Be Turned Into An Ideology, As Has Sometimes Happened Before In The Course Of History.

Without A Solution To The Problems Of The Poor, We Will Not Solve The Problems Of The World. We Need Projects, Mechanisms And Processes To Implement Better Distribution Of Resources, From The Creation Of New Jobs To The Integral Promotion Of Those Who Are Excluded'.

I Want To Express My Closeness To The People Of The Philippines Who Have Been Struck By A Strong Earthquake, And I Invite You To Pray For That Dear Nation, Which In Recent Days Has Suffered Different Calamities.

In This System, Which Tends To Devour Everything Which Stands In The Way Of Increased Profits, Whatever Is Fragile, Like The Environment, Is Defenseless Before The Interests Of A Deified Market, Which Become The Only Rule.

Vocations Are Born In Prayer And From Prayer; And Only In Prayer Can They Persevere And Bear Fruit.

"god Is Love". His Is Not A Sentimental, Emotional Kind Of Love But The Love Of The Father Who Is The Origin Of All Life, The Love Of The Son Who Dies On The Cross And Is Raised, The Love Of The Spirit Who Renews Human Beings And The World. Thinking That God Is Love Does Us So Much Good, Because It Teaches Us To Love, To Give Ourselves To Others As Jesus Gave Himself To Us And Walks With Us. Jesus Walks Beside Us On The Road Through Life.

Not So Much Anymore But Some Years Ago In My Homeland There Was A Habit, Something Called 'casamiento De Apuro,' A Marriage In Haste Because The Baby Is Coming And To Cover Socially The Honor Of The Family. There, They Weren't Free And It Happened Many Times This Marriage Is Null. As A Bishop I Forbade My Priests To Do This.

Lent Comes Providentially To Reawaken Us, To Shake Us From Our Lethargy.

God Always Forgives, Always. But He Asks That I Forgive. If I Don't Forgive, In A Certain Sense I Am Closing The Door To God's Forgiveness.

Each Person, And Every People Hungers And Thirsts For Peace; Therefore, It Is Necessary And Urgent To Build Peace!

Hunger And Thirst

Politics Is Noble; It Is One Of The Highest Forms Of Charity, As Paul Vi Used To Say. We Sully It When We Mix It With Business. The Relationship Between The Church And Political Power Can Also Be Corrupted If Common Good Is Not The Only Converging Point.

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.

For The Sake Of Peace, Religious Beliefs Must Never Be Allowed To Be Abused In The Cause Of Violence And War.

The Goods Of The Earth Are Meant For Everyone.

Proclaim The Beauty And Truth Of The Christian Message To A Society Which Is Tangent By Confusing Presentations Of Sexuality, Marriage And The Family.

A God Who Draws Near Out Of Love, The Holy Father Continued, Walks With His People, And This Walk Comes To An Unimaginable Point. We Could Never Have Imagined That The Same Lord Would Become One Of Us And Walk With Us, Be Present With Us, Present In His Church, Present In The Eucharist, Present In His Word, Present In The Poor, He Is Present, Walking With Us. And This Is Closeness: The Shepherd Close To His Flock, Close To His Sheep, Whom He Knows, One By One.

All Men And Women Of Good Will Are Bound By The Task Of Pursuing Peace.

Abortion Is Not A Theological Problem, It Is A Human Problem, It Is A Medical Problem. You Kill One Person To Save Another, In The Best Case Scenario. Or To Live Comfortably, No? It's Against The Hippocratic Oaths Doctors Must Take.

Medical Problems

There Is Nothing The Church Can Do Except Try To Educate People To Become Good Consumers.

To Follow Jesus Means To Share His Merciful Love For Every Human Being.

To Change The World We Must Be Good To Those Who Cannot Repay Us.

Changing The World

You May Be Poor Yourselves In Material Ways, But You Have An Abundance Of Gifts To Offer When You Offer Christ And The Community Of His Church.

I Thank All Missionaries, Men And Women Who Quietly Work Hard For The Lord And Their Brothers And Sisters.

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.

Christians Must Respond To Evil With Good, Taking The Cross Upon Themselves As Jesus Did

Dear Young People, Put Your Talents At The Service Of The Gospel, With Creativity And Boundless Charity.

If We Are Truly In Love With Christ And If We Sense How Much He Loves Us, Our Heart Will 'light Up' With A Joy That Spreads To Everyone Around Us.

Our Life Must Be Centred On What Is Essential, On Jesus Christ. Everything Else Is Secondary.

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

Why Is It Taken For Granted That Women Should Earn Less Than Men? No! They Have The Same Rights.

Even Today, After The Second Failure Of Another World War, Perhaps One Can Speak Of A Third War, One Fought Piecemeal, With Crimes, Massacres, Destruction.

Because Always, Even In The Darkest Moments, In Moments Of Sin, In Moments Of Weakness, In Moments Of Failure, I Have Seen Jesus, And I Trusted Him... He Has Not Left Me Alone.

Before All Else, The Gospel Invites Us To Respond To The God Of Love Who Saves Us, To See God In Others And To Go Forth From Ourselves To Seek The Good Of Others.

One Day We Will See Our Animals Again In Eternity Of Christ. Paradise Is Open To All God’s Creatures.

How Can It Be That It Is Not A News Item When An Elderly Homeless Person Dies Of Exposure, But It Is News When The Stock Market Loses Two Points? This Is A Case Of Exclusion.

Economic Inequality

May The Lord Bless The Family And Strengthen It In This Moment Of Crisis

Communications Requires Study, Preparation, And A Special Attention To Truth, Goodness And Beauty.

Obeying God Is Listening To God, Having An Open Heart To Follow The Path That God Points Out To Us.

The Great Danger In Today's World, Pervaded As It Is By Consumerism, Is The Desolation And Anguish Born Of A Complacent Yet Covetous Heart, The Feverish Pursuit Of Frivolous Pleasures, And A Blunted Conscience. Whenever Our Interior Life Becomes Caught Up In Its Own Interests And Concerns, There Is No Longer Room For Others, No Place For The Poor.

When We Do Not Adore God, We Adore Something Else. Money And Power Are False Idols Which Often Take The Place Of God.

Money And Power

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

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!

May All People Here Find Inspiration And Strength To Build A Future Of Reconciliation, Justice And Peace For All The Children Of This Beloved Land.

Business Is A Noble Vocation, Directed To Producing Wealth And Improving The World. It Can Be A Fruitful Source Of Prosperity For The Area In Which It Operates, Especially If It Sees The Creation Of Jobs As An Essential Part Of Its Service To The Common Good. This Common Good Also Includes The Earth... The Environmental Challenge We Are Undergoing, And Its Human Roots, Concern And Affect Us All.

You Pray For The Hungry. Then You Feed Them. That's How Prayer Works.

Do Not Be Afraid To Dream Great Things!

Solidarity...is A Structural Value Of The Social Doctrine, As Blessed John Paul Ii Reminded Us.

In This Year Of Faith, Let Us Remember That Faith Is Not Something We Possess, But Something We Share. Every Christian Is An Apostle.

The Great Challenge Facing Us Today Is To Learn Once Again How To Talk To One Another, Not Simply How To Generate And Consume Information. The Latter Is A Tendency Which Our Important And Influential Modern Communications Media Can Encourage. Information Is Important, But It Is Not Enough. All Too Often Things Get Simplified, Different Positions And Viewpoints Are Pitted Against One Another, And People Are Invited To Take Sides, Rather Than To See Things As A Whole.

This Is Christian Hope, That The Future Is In God's Hands.

Do I Pray That The Lord Gives Me The Desire To Do His Will, Or Do I Look For Compromises Because I'm Afraid Of God's Will?

If, In Your Relationship With The Lord, You Do Not Feel That He Loves You Tenderly, You Are Missing Something, You Still Have Not Understood What Grace Is, You Have Not Yet Received Grace Which Is This Closeness.

If Priest Is Closed To Forgiveness, He Won't Receive It, Because He Locked The Door From The Inside. And What Remains Is To Pray For The Lord To Open That Door. To Forgive You Must Be Willing. But Not Everyone Can Receive Or Know How To Receive It, Or Are Just Not Willing To Receive It.

Francis Of Assisi Tells Us We Should Work To Build Peace. But There Is No True Peace Without Truth! There Cannot Be True Peace If Everyone Is His Own Criterion, If Everyone Can Always Claim Exclusively His Own Rights, Without At The Same Time Caring For The Good Of Others, Of Everyone, On The Basis Of The Nature That Unites Every Human Being On This Earth.

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

The Gospel, Radiant With The Glory Of Christ’s Cross, Constantly Invites Us To Rejoice.

From The Peak Of Chimborazo (volcano) To The Pacific Coast, From The Amazon Rainforest To The Galapagos Islands, May You Never Lose The Ability To Thank God For What He Has Done And Is Doing For You, May You Never Lose The Ability To Protect What Is Small And Simple, To Care For Your Children And Your Elderly, To Have Confidence In The Young, And To Be Constantly Struck By The Nobility Of Your People And The Singular Beauty Of Your Country.

American Catholics Are Committed To Building A Society Which Is Truly Tolerant And Inclusive, To Safeguarding The Rights Of Individuals And Communities, And To Rejecting Every Form Of Unjust Discrimination. With Countless Other People Of Good Will, They Are Likewise Concerned That Efforts To Build A Just And Wisely Ordered Society Respect Their Deepest Concerns And Their Right To Religious Liberty.

Do Not Forget This: The Lord Never Wearies Of Forgiving! We Are The Ones Who Weary Of Asking For Forgiveness.

To Live As True Children Of God Means To Love Our Neighbour And To Be Close To Those Who Are Lonely And In Difficulty

God’s Love Is Free. He Asks For Nothing In Return; All He Wants Is For His Love To Be Accepted.

If We Take The Poor Away From The Gospel, We Won't Be Able To Understand The Whole Message Of Jesus Christ.

Drug Addiction Is An Evil, And With Evil There Can Be No Yielding Or Compromise.

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.

In My Own Experience, Including When I Ask For Advice, I Would Ask A Collaborator, A Friend, I Also Like To Hear The Opinion Of A Woman Because They Have Such Wealth. They Look At Things In A Different Way.

The Family Is Threatened By Growing Efforts On The Part Of Some To Redefine The Very Institution Of Marriage, By Relativism, By The Culture Of The Ephemeral, By A Lack Of Openness To Life. These Realities Are Increasingly Under Attack From Powerful Forces, Which Threaten To Disfigure God’s Plan For Creation.

May Each Family Rediscover Family Prayer, Which Helps To Bring About Mutual Understanding And Forgiveness.

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.

Love Is More Powerful, Love Gives Life, Love Makes Hope Blossom In The Wilderness.

We Can Study The Whole History Of Salvation, We Can Study The Whole Of Theology, But Without The Spirit We Cannot Understand. It Is The Spirit That Makes Us Realize The Truth Or - In The Words Of Our Lord - It Is The Spirit That Makes Us Know The Voice Of Jesus.

This Is Ideological Colonization. They Colonize People With Ideas That Try To Change Mentalities Or Structures, But This Is Not New. This Was Done By The Dictatorships Of The Last Century.

If We Wish To Follow Christ Closely, We Cannot Choose An Easy, Quiet Life. It Will Be A Demanding Life, But Full Of Joy.

True Love Does Not Pay Attention To The Evil It Suffers. It Rejoices In Doing Good.

There Is Never A Reason To Lose Hope. Jesus Says: “i Am With You Until The End Of The World.

To Imitate The Hatred And Violence Of Tyrants And Murderers Is The Best Way To Take Their Place.

Congress And The President

... The Christian Is A Person Who Remembers: ... He Continually Says To The Lord: 'yes, I Want The Commandments, I Want Your Will, I Will Follow You'. He Is A Man Of The Covenant, And We Celebrate The Covenant, Every Day " In The Mass: Thus A Christian Is "a Woman, A Man Of The Eucharist".

I Would Like To Ask All Those Who Have Positions Of Responsibility In Economic, Political And Social Life, And All Men And Women Of Goodwill: Let Us Be 'protectors' Of Creation, Protectors Of God's Plan Inscribed In Nature, Protectors Of One Another And Of The Environment.

We Also Must Learn To Listen More To Our Conscience. Be Careful, However: This Does Not Mean We Ought To Follow Our Ego, Do Whatever Interests Us, Whatever Suits Us, Whatever Pleases Us. That Is Not Conscience.

The Lord Never Tires Of Forgiving. It Is We Who Tire Of Asking For Forgiveness.

To Celebrate The Sacrament Of Reconciliation Means To Be Wrapped In A Warm Embrace.

Please Pray With Me For Everyone In Sri Lanka And The Philippines As I Begin My Trip.

Are We Ready To Be Christians Full-time, Showing Our Commitment By Word And Deed?

We Must Overcome...all Forms Of Racism. The Problem Of Intolerance Should Be Dealt With As A Whole: Every Time A Minority Is Persecuted And Marginalized...the Good Of The Whole Society Is In Danger.

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

A Population That Does Not Take Care Of The Elderly And Of Children And The Young Has No Future, Because It Abuses Both Its Memory And Its Promise.

Lord, Help Us To Recognize You In The Sick, Poor And Suffering.

Let Us Not Forget This Word: God Never Ever Tires Of Forgiving Us!

We Now Live In A Culture Of The Temporary, In Which More And More People Are Simply Giving Up On Marriage As A Public Commitment.

I Feel So Low That Instead Of Picking Myself Up I Have To Cut Others Down.

The Lord Speaks To Us Through The Scriptures And In Our Prayer. Let Us Learn To Keep Silence Before Him, As We Meditate Upon The Gospel.

Children Have A Right To Grow Up In A Family With A Father And A Mother.

There Is Another Form Of Poverty! It Is The Spiritual Poverty Of Our Time, Which Afflicts The So-called Richer Countries Particularly Seriously.

It Is The Disease Of Cowards, Who Do Not Have The Courage To Speak Upfront And So Talk Behind One's Back... Watch Out Against The Terrorism Of Gossip!

Take Good Care Of Creation. St. Francis Wanted That. People Occasionally Forgive, But Nature Never Does. If We Don't Take Care Of The Environment, There's No Way Of Getting Around It.

The Presence Of The Devil Is On The First Page Of The Bible, And The Bible Ends As Well With The Presence Of The Devil, With The Victory Of God Over The Devil.

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.

This Happens Today: If The Investments In The Banks Fall Slightly... A Tragedy... What Can Be Done? But If People Die Of Hunger, If They Have Nothing Eat, If They Have Poor Health, It Does Not Matter! This Is Our Crisis Today!

Economic Inequality

I'm Overwhelmed By Shame That The People Who Had The Responsibility To Take Care Of The Tender Ones Violated That Trust And Caused Them Great Pain.

Certain Realities Of Life We Only See Through Eyes Cleansed By Our Tears.

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

Jesus Teaches Us Another Way: Go Out. Go Out And Share Your Testimony, Go Out And Interact With Your Brothers, Go Out And Share, Go Out And Ask. Become The Word In Body As Well As Spirit.

It Occurs To Me: Why Is It Mainly Women, Who To Pass On The Faith? Simply Because The One Who Brought Us Jesus Is A Woman. It Is The Path Chosen By Jesus. He Wanted To Have A Mother: The Gift Of Faith Comes To Us Through Women, As Jesus Came To Us Through Mary.

The Internet Offers Immense Possibilities For Encounter And Solidarity. This Is Something Truly Good, A Gift From God.

Don't Be Afraid To Go To The Sacrament Of Confession, Where You Will Meet Jesus Who Forgives You.

I Wish To Make Add My Voice To The Cry Which Rises Up With Increasing Anguish From Every Part Of The World, From Every People, From The Heart Of Each Person, From The One Great Family Which Is Humanity: It Is The Cry For Peace!

At Times We Can Be Self-absorbed. Lord, Help Us To Open Our Hearts To Others And To Serve Those Who Are Most Vulnerable.

The Church In The Philippines Is Called To Acknowledge And Combat The Causes Of The Deeply Rooted Inequality And Injustice Which Mar The Face Of Filipino Society, Plainly Contradicting The Teaching Of Christ.

Instead Of Being Just A Church That Welcomes And Receives By Keeping The Doors Open, Let Us Try Also To Be A Church That Finds New Roads, That Is Able To Step Outside Itself And Go To Those Who Do Not Attend Mass, To Those Who Have Quit Or Are Indifferent.

Thought Provoking

We Are In Front Of A Global Scandal Of Around One Billion - One Billion People Who Still Suffer From Hunger Today. We Cannot Look The Other Way And Pretend This Does Not Exist. The Food Available In The World Is Enough To Feed Everyone.

Reject All Forms Of Corruption That Divert Resources From The Poor

So Let Us Ask Ourselves This Evening, In Adoring Christ Who Is Really Present In The Eucharist: Do I Let Myself Be Transformed By Him? Do I Let The Lord Who Gives Himself To Me, Guide Me To Going Out Ever More From My Little Enclosure, In Order To Give, To Share, To Love Him And Others? Brothers And Sisters, Following, Communion, Sharing. Let Us Pray That Participation In The Eucharist May Always Be An Incentive: To Follow The Lord Every Day, To Be Instruments Of Communion And To Share What We Are With Him And With Our Neighbour. Our Life Will Then Be Truly Fruitful.

When It Comes To The Care Of Our Common Home, We Are Living At A Critical Moment Of History.

Critical Moments

Holy Week Is A Privileged Time When We Are Called To Draw Near To Jesus: Friendship With Him Is Shown In Times Of Difficulty.

We Are All Missionary Disciples

[orthodox Patriarch] Kirill, My Brother. We Kissed Each Other, Embraced, And Then A Conversation For Two Hours. Old Age Doesn't Come On Its Own.two Hours Where We Spoke As Brothers, Sincerely And No One Knows What Was Spoke About, Only What We Said At The End Publicly About How We Felt As We Spoke.

Today One Can Read The Gospel Also On So Many Technological Instruments. You Can Carry The Whole Bible On Your Mobile Phone, On Your Tablet. It Is Important To Read The Word Of God, By Any Means, But By Reading The Word Of God: Jesus Speaks To Us There! And Welcome It With An Open Heart. Then The Good Seed Will Bear Fruit!

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

Holy Mother Church Teaches Us To End The Year And Also Our Days With An Examination Of Conscience...to Be Grateful And To Ask For Forgiveness.

I Address A Strong Appeal From My Heart That The Dignity And Safety Of The Worker Always Be Protected.

The Blood Of Our Christian Brothers Is A Witness That Cries Out..if They Are Catholic, Orthodox, Copts, Lutherans, It Is Not Important : They Are Christians. The Blood Is The Same: It Is The Blood Which Confesses Christ.

The One Thing That The Catholic Church Desires, And That I Seek As Bishop Of Rome, “the Church Which Presides In Charity”, Is Communion With The Orthodox Churches.

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

You May Be Asking Yourselves, 'who Is This Man Standing Before Us?' I Would Like To Reply To That Question With Something Absolutely Certain About My Own Life: The Man Standing Before You Is A Man Who Has Been Forgiven. A Man Who Was, And Is, Saved From His Many Sins.

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.

If God, In The Christmas Mystery, Reveals Himself Not As One Who Remains On High And Dominates The Universe, But As The One Who Bends Down, Descends To The Little And Poor Earth, It Means That, To Be Like Him, We Should Not Put Ourselves Above Others, But Indeed Lower Ourselves, Place Ourselves At The Service Of Others, Become Small With The Small And Poor With The Poor. It Is Regrettable To See A Christian Who Does Not Want To Lower Himself, Who Does Not Want To Serve. A Christian Who Struts About Is Ugly: This Is Not Christian, It Is Pagan.

While New Rights Are Attributed To Or Indeed Almost Presumed By The Individual, Life Is Not Always Protected As The Primary Value And The Primordial Right Of Every Human Being. The Ultimate Aim Of Medicine Remains The Defence And Promotion Of Life.

Our Life Is Not Given To Us Like An Opera Libretto, In Which All Is Written Down; But It Means Going, Walking, Doing, Searching, Seeing.... We Must Enter Into The Adventure Of The Quest For Meeting God; We Must Let God Search And Encounter Us.

How Powerful Prayer Is! May We Never Lose The Courage To Say: Lord, Give Us Your Peace.

No One Listens Willingly To Someone Who Speaks To Them From A Position Of Self-righteousness And Judgment. Again And Again In The Gospels, Jesus Reserves His Harshest Words For Those Who Ignore Their Own Weakness In Order To Lord It Over Others.

If In So Many Parts Of The World There Are Children Who Have Nothing To Eat, That's Not News, It Seems Normal. It Cannot Be This Way!

When I Confess A Couple Who Have Kids, A Married Couple, I Ask, 'how Many Children Do You Have?' Some Get Worried And Think The Priest Will Ask Why I Don't Have More. I Would Make A Second Question, 'do You Play With Your Children?' The Majority Say, 'but Father, I Have No Time. I Work All Day.'

As Always, The Ones Who Aren't Saints Make The Most Noise...a Single Tree Falling Makes A Sound, But A Whole Forest Growing Doesn't.

Unfortunately, What Is Thrown Away Is Not Only Food And Dispensable Objects, But Often Human Beings Themselves, Who Are Discarded As 'unnecessary.' For Example, It Is Frightful Even To Think There Are Children, Victims Of Abortion, Who Will Never See The Light Of Day; Children Being Used As Soldiers, Abused And Killed In Armed Conflicts; And Children Being Bought And Sold In That Terrible Form Of Modern Slavery Which Is Human Trafficking, Which Is A Crime Against Humanity.

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

Open Your Hearts To The Lord. The Lord Is Waiting For You And The Church Will Welcome You If Your Willingness To Serve Good Is As Clear And Public As Your Choice To Serve Evil Was.

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!

Accept The Risen Jesus Into Your Life. Even If You Have Been Far Away, Take A Small Step Towards Him. He Awaits You With Open Arms.

Art In The Church Fundamentally Exists For Evangelization

Please Waste Time Just Playing With Your Kids!

I Sincerely Hope I Can Contribute To The Progress There Has Been In Relations Between Jews And Catholics Since The Second Vatican Council In A Spirit Of Renewed Collaboration.

To Protect Creation, To Protect Every Man And Every Woman, To Look Upon Them With Tenderness And Love Is To Open Up A Horizon Of Hope.

Work Ends Up Dehumanizing People.

In Your School You Take Part In Various Activities That Habituate You Not To Shut Yourselves In On Yourselves Or In Your Small World, But To Be Open To Others, Especially To The Poorest And Neediest, To Work To Improve The World In Which We Live. Be Men And Women With Others And For Others, Real Champions In The Service Of Others. To Be Magnanimous With Interior Liberty And A Spirit Of Service, Spiritual Formation Is Necessary. Dear Children, Dear Youths, Love Jesus Christ Ever More!

I Had The Habit Of Not Accepting Prizes Or Honors, But Always, Not Out Of Humility, But Because I Don't Like Them. Maybe It's A Little Crazy, But It's Good To Have It, But I Just Don't Like Them.

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

We Don't Need Youth Museums But We Do Need Holy Young People.

Jesus Spoke In Such A Way That The People Loved The Things Of God. That’s Why They Followed Him.

The Earth Is Our Environment To Protect And The Garden To Tend To.

When A Child Has A Bad Dream And Wakes Up Crying, Dad Goes And Says, 'don't Be Afraid, Don't Be Scared. I'm Here.' The Lord Speaks This Way, Too... Usually, Christmas Seems Like A Very Noisy Feast, But We Can Use A Bit Of Silence To Hear These Words Of Love, Closeness And Tenderness.

I Do Not Believe, That It Is True Or Right That Islam Is Terrorist.

The Poor Is The Center Of The Gospel. If We Take Out The Poor, We Cannot Understand The Message Of Christ

It Would Be Nice If You As Journalists - There Are Some Books That Explain The Painting [ Of Guadalupe] What It Is Like, The Significance, And That Is How You Can Understand Better This Great And Beautiful People.

Sometimes We Are Tempted To Find Excuses And Complain, Acting As If We Could Only Be Happy If A Thousand Conditions Were Met...i Can Say That The Most Beautiful And Natural Expressions Of Joy Which I Have Seen In My Life Were In Poor People Who Had Little To Hold On To.

No One Must Use The Name Of God To Commit Violence. To Kill In The Name Of God Is A Grave Sacrilege. To Discriminate In The Name Of God Is Inhuman.

Religion Has The Right To Express Its Opinion In The Service Of The People, But God In Creation Has Set Us Free: It Is Not Possible To Interfere Spiritually In The Life Of A Person.

It Is Neither A Culture Of Confrontation Nor A Culture Of Conflict Which Builds Harmony Within And Between Peoples, But Rather A Culture Of Encounter And A Culture Of Dialogue; This Is The Only Way To Peace.

Inconsistency On The Part Of Pastors And The Faithful Between What They Say And What They Do, Between Word And Manner Of Life, Is Undermining The Church's Credibility.

At The First Meeting I Had With The (italian) Bishops In May 2013, One Of The Three Things I Said Was: With The Italian Government You're On Your Own. Because The Pope Is For Everybody And He Can't Insert Himself In The Specific Internal Politics Of A Country. This Is Not The Role Of The Pope, Right?

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

Seeking Happiness

I Entered The Diocesan Seminary. I Liked The Dominicans, And I Had Dominican Friends. But Then I Chose The Society Of Jesus, Which I Knew Well Because The Seminary Was Entrusted To The Jesuits. Three Things In Particular Struck Me About The Society: The Missionary Spirit, Community And Discipline.

The Joy Of The Gospel Fills The Hearts And Lives Of All Who Encounter Jesus. Those Who Accept His Offer Of Salvation Are Set Free From Sin, Sorrow, Inner Emptiness, And Loneliness. With Christ Joy Is Constantly Born Anew.

Truth, According To The Christian Faith, Is God's Love For Us In Jesus Christ. Therefore, Truth Is A Relationship.

Some People Continue To Defend Trickle-down Theories Which Assume That Economic Growth, Encouraged By A Free Market, Will Inevitably Succeed In Bringing About Greater Justice And Inclusiveness In The World. This Opinion, Which Has Never Been Confirmed By The Facts, Expresses A Crude And Naive Trust In The Goodness Of Those Wielding Economic Power And In The Sacralized Workings Of The Prevailing Economic System.

Economic Inequality

When Money, Instead Of Man, Is At The Center Of The System, When Money Becomes An Idol, Men And Women Are Reduced To Simple Instruments Of A Social And Economic System, Which Is Characterized, Better Yet Dominated, By Profound Inequalities. So We Discard Whatever Is Not Useful To This Logic; It Is This Attitude That Discards Children And Older People, And Is Now Affecting The Young.

Filipinos Are Called To Be Outstanding Missionaries Of Faith In Asia

...we Must Also Acknowledge That The Majority Of The Men And Women Of Our Time Continue To Live Daily In Situations Of Insecurity, With Dire Consequences. Certain Pathologies Are Increasing, With Their Psychological Consequences; Fear And Desperation Grip The Hearts Of Many People, Even In The So-called Rich Countries; The Joy Of Life Is Diminishing; Indecency And Violence Are On The Rise; Poverty Is Becoming More And More Evident. People Have To Struggle To Live And, Frequently, To Live In An Undignified Way.

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.

Our Efforts Must Aim At Restoring Hope, Righting Wrongs, Maintaining Commitments, And Thus Promoting The Well-being Of Individuals And Of Peoples.

Human Self-understanding Changes With Time, And So Also Human Consciousness Deepens.

A Delicate Balance Is Required To Combat Violence Perpetrated In The Name Of A Religion, An Ideology Or An Economic System, While Also Safeguarding Religious Freedom, Intellectual Freedom And Individual Freedoms. But There Is Another Temptation Which We Must Especially Guard Against: The Simplistic Reductionism Which Sees Only Good Or Evil; Or, If You Will, The Righteous And Sinners.

Let's Not Forget That God Never Gets Tired Of Forgiving So Let's Never Get Tired Of Asking For Forgiveness.

Like Mary, May We Nurture The Light Born Within Us At Christmas. May We Carry It Everywhere In Our Daily Lives.

Being Christian Without The Church Doesn't Make Sense. That's Why The Great Paul Vi, Said That The Most Absurd Dichotomy Is Loving Christ Without The Church. To Listen To Christ, But Not The Church. To Be With Christ, But Stay At The Margins Of The Church. It's Not Possible. It's An Absurd Dichotomy.

I Believe In God - Not In A Catholic God; There Is No Catholic God. There Is God, And I Believe In Jesus Christ, His Incarnation. Jesus Is My Teacher And My Pastor, But God, The Father, Abba, Is The Light And The Creator. This Is My Being.

Mary Joins Us, She Fights At Our Side. She Supports Christians In The Fight Against The Forces Of Evil. Especially Through Prayer, Through The Rosary. Hear Me Out, The Rosary... Do You Pray The Rosary Each Day?

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.

Through Prayer, Charity And Humility Before God, People Receive A Heart Which Is Firm And Merciful, Attentive And Generous, A Heart Which Is Not Closed, Indifferent Or Prey To The Globalization Of Indifference.

Let Those Desert Places In Our Hearts Bloom.

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!

We Have Begun A Throw Away Culture. This Tendency Is Seen On The Level Of Individuals And Whole Societies; And It Is Being Promoted! In Circumstances Like These, Solidarity, Which Is The Treasure Of The Poor, Is Often Considered Counterproductive, Opposed To The Logic Of Finance And The Economy. While The Income Of A Minority Is Increasing Exponentially, That Of The Majority Is Crumbling.

May Every Church And Christian Community Be A Place Of Mercy Amid So Much Indifference.

Today Too, Amid So Much Darkness, We Need To See The Light Of Hope And To Be Men And Women Who Bring Hope To Others.

God's Word Is Unpredictable In Its Power... The Church Has To Accept This Unruly Freedom Of The Word, Which Accomplishes What It Wills In Ways That Surpass Our Calculations And Ways Of Thinking.

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.

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Frances Perkins

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