Background Image

...

Proselytism Is Solemn Nonsense, It Makes No Sense. We Need To Get To Know Each Other, Listen To Each Other And Improve Our Knowledge Of The World Around Us. Sometimes After A Meeting I Want To Arrange Another One Because New Ideas Are Born And I Discover New Needs. This Is Important: To Get To Know People, Listen, Expand The Circle Of Ideas. The World Is Crisscrossed By Roads That Come Closer Together And Move Apart, But The Important Thing Is That They Lead Towards The Good.

-Pope Francis

...

Please Wait....
Translating....

Proselytism Is Solemn Nonsense,

Pope Francis

...

Proselytism Is Solemn Nonsense, It Makes No Sense. We Need To Get To Know Each Other, Listen To Each Other And Improve Our Knowledge Of The World Around Us. Sometimes After A Meeting I Want To Arrange Another One Because New Ideas Are Born And I Discover New Needs. This Is Important: To Get To Know People, Listen, Expand The Circle Of Ideas. The World Is Crisscrossed By Roads That Come Closer Together And Move Apart, But The Important Thing Is That They Lead Towards The Good.

Views: 9

Topic

More From Pope Francis

If Evil Is Contagious, So Is Good:therefore, We Must Allow Good To Abound In Us, More And More;let Us Be Infected By Goodness, And Let Us Spread The Good Contagion.

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

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

If We Are To Know The Lord, We Must Go To Him. Listen To Him In Silence Before The Tabernacle And Approach Him In The Sacraments.

But Always Think This: Do Not Be Afraid Of Failure. Do Not Be Afraid Of Falling. In The Art Of Walking, What Is Important Is Not Avoiding The Fall But Not Remaining Fallen.

Forgiveness Is Not A Result Of Our Efforts, But Is A Gift. It Is A Gift Of The Holy Spirit Who Showers Us With Mercy And Grace That Pours Forth Unceasingly From The Open Heart Of Christ Crucified And Risen.

The Tyranny Of Relativism Is The Spiritual Poverty Of Our Time

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

Amid So Many Problems, Even Grave, May We Not Lose Our Hope In The Infinite Mercy Of God.

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

Do You Know What The Title Was Of The Pope, Which Ought To Be Used? Servant Of The Servants Of God. It's A Little Different From The Stars. Stars Are Beautiful To Look At. I Like To Look At Them In The Summer When The Sky Is Clear. But The Pope Must Be, Must Be The Servant Of The Servants Of God.

Jesus On The Cross Feels The Whole Weight Of The Evil, And With The Force Of God's Love He Conquers It, He Defeats It With His Resurrection.

Today Is [the Feast Of] Santa Rita, Patron Saint Of Impossible Things - But This Seems Impossible: Let Us Ask Of Her This Grace, This Grace That All, All, All People Would Do Good And That We Would Encounter One Another In This Work, Which Is A Work Of Creation, Like The Creation Of The Father. A Work Of The Family, Because We Are All Children Of God, All Of Us, All Of Us! And God Loves Us, All Of Us! May Santa Rita Grant Us This Grace, Which Seems Almost Impossible. Amen.

Impossible Things

When I Have A Problem, I Write It Down And Ask St Joseph To Sleep On It

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

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

The Church Is A Mother, Not An Entrepreneur.

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

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.

Gay Adoption Is Discrimination Against Children

The Mystery Of The Cross, A Mystery Of Love, Can Only Be Understood In Prayer. Pray And Weep, Kneeling Before The Cross.

Politics, According To The Social Doctrine Of The Church, Is One Of The Highest Forms Of Charity, Because It Serves The Common Good. I Cannot Wash My Hands, Eh? We All Have To Give Something!

You Should Be Real Witnesses Of A World Of Doing And Acting Differently. But In Life It Is Difficult For Everything To Be Clear, Precise, Outlined Neatly. Life Is Complicated; It Consists Of Grace And Sin. He Who Does Not Sin Is Not Human. We All Make Mistakes And We Need To Recognise Our Weakness. A Religious Who Recognises Himself As Weak And A Sinner Does Not Negate The Witness That He Is Called To Give, Rather He Reinforces It, And This Is Good For Everyone. What I Expect Of You Therefore Is To Give Witness. I Want This Special Witness From Religious.

Every Christian Is A Missionary To The Extent That He Or She Bears Witness To God’s Love. Be Missionaries Of God’s Tenderness!

In The Face Of Life’s Difficulties, Let Us Ask The Lord For The Strength To Remain Joyful Witnesses To Our Faith.

If Money And Material Things Become The Center Of Our Lives, They Seize Us And Make Us Slaves.

May Both Of Them [saint John Xxiii And Saint John Paul Ii] Teach Us Not To Be Scandalized By The Wounds Of Christ And To Enter Ever More Deeply Into The Mystery Of Divine Mercy, Which Always Hopes And Always Forgives, Because It Always Loves.

An Evangelizer Must Never Look Like Someone Who Has Just Come Back From A Funeral.

Sometimes We Know What We Have To Do, But We Lack The Courage To Do It. Let Us Learn From Mary How To Make Decisions, Trusting In The Lord.

We Ask For Peace And Freedom For The Many Men And Women Subject To Old And New Forms Of Enslavement On The Part Of Criminal Individuals And Groups.

I Do Not Know What Might Be The Most Fitting Description.... I Am A Sinner. This Is The Most Accurate Definition. It Is Not A Figure Of Speech, A Literary Genre. I Am A Sinner. And This Is What I Said When They Asked Me If I Would Accept My Election As Pontiff: I Am A Sinner, But I Trust In The Infinite Mercy And Patience Of Our Lord Jesus Christ, And I Accept In A Spirit Of Penance.

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

Around Us There Is The Presence Of Evil. The Devil Is At Work. But In A Loud Voice I Say: God Is Stronger.

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

The Scourge Of Drug Trafficking, That Favors Violence And Sows The Seeds Of Suffering And Death, Requires Of Society As A Whole An Act Of Courage.

Suffering And Death

Tell Me, When You Give Alms Do You Look Into The Eyes Of The Man Or Woman To Whom You Give Alms? . . . And When You Give Alms, Do You Touch The Hand Of The One To Whom You Give Alms, Or Do You Toss The Coin?

To Be An Ambassador For Christ Means To Invite Everyone To A Personal Encounter With Jesus

As Christians, Our Duty Is To Pray For Them And Ask The Lord To Give Them The Grace Of Penance, So That They Don't Die With A Corrupt Heart, Because Otherwise The Dogs Of Hell Will Take Their Blood.

Lent Is A Time Of Grace, A Time To Convert And Live Out Our Baptism Fully.

Jesus Is The Sun And Mary Is The Dawn Announcing His Rising.

Education Cannot Be Neutral. It Is Either Positive Or Negative; Either It Enriches Or It Impoverishes; Either It Enables A Person To Grow Or It Lessens, Even Corrupts Him. The Mission Of Schools Is To Develop A Sense Of Truth, Of What Is Good And Beautiful. And This Occurs Through A Rich Path Made Up Of Many Ingredients. This Is Why There Are So Many Subjects - Because Development Is The Results Of Different Elements That Act Together And Stimulate Intelligence, Knowledge, The Emotions, The Body, And So On.

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

Changing The World

Peace Is A Daily Commitment. It Is A Homemade Peace.

It Is Necessary To Reaffirm Our Solid Opposition To Any Direct Offense Against Life, Especially When Innocent And Defenseless, And The Unborn Child In Its Mother's Womb Is The Quintessence Of Innocence. Let Us Remember The Words Of Vatican Council Ii: 'therefore From The Moment Of Its Conception Life Must Be Guarded With The Greatest Care While Abortion And Infanticide Are Unspeakable Crimes.'

To Use A Telling Phrase Of The Reverend Martin Luther King, We Can Say That We Have Defaulted On A Promissory Note And Now Is The Time To Honor It.

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

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.

Only Trust In God Can Transform Doubts Into Certainty, Evil Into Good, Night Into Radiant Dawn.

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.

Trade Unions Have Been An Essential Force For Social Change, Without Which A Semblance Of A Decent And Humane Society Is Impossible Under Capitalism.

Since Many Of You Do Not Belong To The Catholic Church And Others Are Non-believers, From The Bottom Of My Heart I Give This Silent Blessing To Each And Every One Of You, Respecting The Conscience Of Each One Of You But Knowing That Each One Of You Is A Child Of God.

When I Saw From Rome That Catastrophe (brought By Yolanda) I Had To Be Here. And On Those Very Days I Decided To Come Here. I Am Here To Be With You – A Little Bit Late, But I’m Here.

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

May We Try To Listen And Be Silent In Order To Make Space For The Beauty Of God.

In The Gospel We Have Just Heard, Jesus, The Master, Teaches The Crowds And The Small Group Of His Disciples By Accommodating Himself To Their Ability To Understand. ... Jesus Does Not Seek To 'play The Professor.' Instead, He Seeks To Reach People's Hearts, Their Understanding And Their Lives, So That They May Bear Fruit.

Where The Elderly Are Not Honored, There Is No Future For The Young.

You Have A Specific And Important Mission, That Of Keeping Alive The Relationship Between The Faith And The Cultures Of The Peoples To Whom You Belong. . . . [w]e Have To Follow Christ Along The Concrete Path Of Our Daily Lives So That He Can Transform Us.

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.

God’s Goodness Is Stronger Than Any Evil!

While The Earnings Of A Minority Are Growing Exponentially, So Too Is The Gap Separating The Majority From The Prosperity Enjoyed By Those Happy Few. This Imbalance Is The Result Of Ideologies Which Defend The Absolute Autonomy Of The Marketplace And Financial Speculation. Consequently, They Reject The Right Of States, Charged With Vigilance For The Common Good, To Exercise Any Form Of Control.

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

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

Needing To Talk Badly About Others Indicates Low Self Esteem. That Means, 'i Feel So Low That Instead Of Picking Myself Up, I Have To Cut Others Down.' Letting Go Of Negative Things Quickly Is Healthy.

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

Pastors Must Welcome The Lost Sheep. Actually, I Made A Mistake. I Said Welcome, Rather, Go Out And Find Them.

When We Read About Creation In Genesis, We Run The Risk Of Imagining God Was A Magician, With A Magic Wand Able To Do Everything. But That Is Not So. He Created Human Beings And Let Them Develop According To The Internal Laws That He Gave To Each One So They Would Reach Their Fulfillment.

Theory Of Evolution

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

Lent Is A Favorable Time For Letting Christ Serve Us So That We In Turn May Become More Like Him.

God Understands Us, He Waits For Us. He Doesn't Get Tired Of Forgiving Us. If We Repent And Go To Him With A Truly Open Heart.

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.

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

Let Us Never Give In To Pessimism, To That Bitterness That The Devil Offers Us Every Day. Do Not Give In To Pessimism And Discouragement. We Have The Firm Certainty That The Holy Spirit Gives The Church With His Mighty Breath, The Courage To Persevere And Also To Seek New Methods Of Evangelization, To Bring The Gospel To The Ends Of The Earth.

If We Act Like Children Of God, Knowing That He Loves Us, Our Lives Will Be Made New, Filled With Serenity And Joy.

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

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

The Goods Of The Earth Are Meant For Everyone.

We Cannot Insist Only On Issues Related To Abortion, Gay Marriage And The Use Of Contraceptive Methods. The Teaching Of The Church, For That Matter, Is Clear And I Am A Son Of The Church, But It Is Not Necessary To Talk About These Issues All The Time.

God Never Tires Of Forgiving Us; We Are The Ones Who Tire Of Seeking His Mercy.

In Imitation Of Our Master, We Christians Are Called To Confront The Poverty Of Our Brothers And Sisters, To Touch It, To Make It Our Own And To Take Practical Steps To Alleviate It.

Do Good: We Will Meet One Another There.

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

Every Time We Give In To Selfishness And Say “no” To God, We Spoil His Loving Plan For Us.

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

It Means Caring For One Another In Our Families: Husbands And Wives First Protect One Another, And Then, As Parents, They Care For Their Children, And Children Themselves, In Time, Protect Their Parents.

Environmental Degradation Is One Of The Biggest Challenges We Have. I Think A Question That We're Not Asking Ourselves Is: 'isn't Humanity Committing Suicide With This Indiscriminate And Tyrannical Use Of Nature?'

A Beautiful Homily, A Genuine Sermon, Must Begin With The First Proclamation, With The Proclamation Of Salvation. There Is Nothing More Solid, Deep And Sure Than This Proclamation.

The Pace Of Consumption, Waste And Environmental Change Has So Stretched The Planet's Capacity That Our Contemporary Lifestyle, Unsustainable As It Is, Can Only Precipitate Catastrophes, Such As Those Which Even Now Periodically Occur In Different Areas Of The World ... We Need To Reflect On Our Accountability Before Those Who Will Have To Endure The Dire Consequences.

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!

I Ask You To Ensure That Humanity Is Served By Wealth, And Not Ruled By It.

Leaders Of The Church Have Often Been Narcissus, Flattered And Sickeningly Excited By Their Courtiers. The Court Is The Leprosy Of The Papacy.

There Is No Sin That God Cannot Pardon. All We Need To Do Is Ask For Forgiveness

Asking For Forgiveness

I Would Like To Say Something Just About The Mexican People. It Is A Population That Has A Wealth, Such Great Wealth, A People That Surprises.

We Ought Never To Lose Hope. God Overwhelms Us With His Grace, If We Keep Asking.

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.

Work Ends Up Dehumanizing People.

I Believe That It Is Truly Important For Everyone To Confront In Dialogue The Historical Reality Of The Reformation, Its Consequences And The Responses It Elicited. Catholics And Lutherans Can Ask Forgiveness For The Harm They Have Caused One Another And For Their Offenses Committed In The Sight Of God. Together We Can Rejoice In The Longing For Unity Which The Lord Has Awakened In Our Hearts, And Which Makes Us Look With Hope To The Future.

Let Us Leave A Spare Place At Our Table: A Place For Those Who Lack The Basics, Who Are Alone.

We Are All Sinners. We Are Called To A Conversion Of Heart

Every Child Who, Rather Than Being Born, Is Condemned Unjustly To Being Aborted, Bears The Face Of Jesus Christ, Bears The Face Of The Lord, Who Even Before He Was Born, And Then Just After Birth, Experienced The World’s Rejection. And Every Elderly Person…even If He Is Ill Or At The End Of His Days, Bears The Face Of Christ. They Cannot Be Discarded, As The ‘culture Of Waste’ Suggests!

A Good Teacher Does Not Get Lost In The Details, But Points To What Is Essential So That The Child Or Student Can Find Meaning And Joy In Life.

Dear Young People, Pray With Me For Peace In The World.

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.

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.

Let Love Simply Bloom... And It Is Unstoppable.

Human Dignity Is The Same For All Human Beings: When I Trample On The Dignity Of Another, I Am Trampling On My Own.

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.

The World Is Polarized. The Middle Class Becomes Smaller. The Polarization Makes The Difference Between Rich And The Poor Big. This Is True.

It Is No Easy Task To Overcome The Bitter Legacy Of Injustices, Hostility And Mistrust Left By The Conflict. It Can Only Be Done By Overcoming Evil With Good.

Overcoming Evil

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

We Are All Sinners. But May The Lord Not Let Us Be Hypocrites. Hypocrites Don’t Know The Meaning Of Forgiveness, Joy And The Love Of God.

Dear Young People, Please, Don’t Be Observers Of Life, But Get Involved. Jesus Did Not Remain An Observer, But He Immersed Himself. Don’t Be Observers, But Immerse Yourself In The Reality Of Life, As Jesus Did.

Every Man, Every Woman Who Has To Take Up The Service Of Government, Must Ask Themselves Two Questions: ‘do I Love My People In Order To Serve Them Better? Am I Humble And Do I Listen To Everybody, To Diverse Opinions In Order To Choose The Best Path.’ If You Don’t Ask Those Questions, Your Governance Will Not Be Good.

Filipinos Are Called To Be Outstanding Missionaries Of Faith In Asia

The Cross Isn't An Ornament, Mere Symbol. It's The Mystery Of God's Love, That He Died For Our Sins.

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.

God Always Has Patience.

Having Patience

Allow Me To Draw Your Attention To The Value And Beauty Of Marriage. The Complementarity Of Man And Woman, The Vertex Of The Divine Creation, Is Being Questioned By Gender Ideology, In The Name Of A Freer And More Just Society. The Difference Between Man And Woman Is Not Meant To Stand In Opposition, Or To Subordinate, But Is For The Sake Of Communion And Generation, Always 'in The Image And Likeness Of 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.

Life Rejuvenates And Acquires Energy When It Multiplies: It Is Enriched, Not Impoverished.

How Precious Is The Family As The Privileged Place For Transmitting The Faith! Speaking About Family Life, I Would Like To Say One Thing: Today, As Brazil And The Church Around The World Celebrate This Feast Of Saints Joachim And Anne, Grandparents Day Is Also Being Celebrated. How Important Grandparents Are For Family Life, For Passing On The Human And Religious Heritage Which Is So Essential For Each And Every Society! How Important It Is To Have Intergenerational Exchanges And Dialogues, Especially Within The Context Of The Family.

God's Image Is The Married Couple, A Man And Women, Together. Not Just The Man. Not Just The Woman. No, Both Of Them. That's God's Image.

I Pray The Breviary Every Morning. I Like To Pray With The Psalms. Then, Later, I Celebrate Mass. I Pray The Rosary. What I Really Prefer Is Adoration In The Evening, Even When I Get Distracted And Think Of Other Things, Or Even Fall Asleep Praying. In The Evening Then, Between Seven And Eight O'clock, I Stay In Front Of The Blessed Sacrament For An Hour In Adoration. But I Pray Mentally Even When I Am Waiting At The Dentist Or At Other Times Of The Day.

I Am A Sinner. This Is The Most Accurate Definition. It Is Not A Figure Of Speech, A Literary Genre. I Am A Sinner.

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.

The Process Of Healing Also Needs To Include The Pursuit Of Truth, Not For The Sake Of Opening Old Wounds, But Rather As A Necessary Means Of Promoting Justice, Healing And Unity.

The First Reform Must Be The Attitude. The Ministers Of The Gospel Must Be People Who Can Warm The Hearts Of The People, Who Walk Through The Dark Night With Them, Who Know How To Dialogue And To Descend Themselves Into Their People's Night, Into The Darkness, But Without Getting Lost. The People Of God Want Pastors, Not Clergy Acting Like Bureaucrats Or Government Officials.

How Precious Is The Family As The Privileged Place For Transmitting The Faith.

Everyone Is Called, Everyone Is Sent Out… The Call Of God Can Reach Us On The Assembly Line And In The Office, In The Supermarket And In The Stairwell, I.e., In The Places Of Everyday Life.

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

We Christians Bring Peace And Grace As A Treasure To Be Offered To The World, But These Gifts Can Bear Fruit Only When Christians Live And Work Together In Harmony. This Makes It Easier To Contribute To Building Relations Of Respect And Peaceful Coexistence With Those Who Belong To Other Religious Traditions, And With Non-believers.

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.

The Proclamation Of The Gospel Is Destined Primarily To The Poor, To Those Who Often Lack The Essentials For A Decent Life. The Good News Is First Announced To Them, That God Loves Them Before All Others And Comes To Visit Them Through The Acts Of Charity That The Disciples Of Christ Carry Out In His Name.

I Think With Great Affection And Deep Gratitude Of My Venerable Predecessor, Benedict Xvi, Who During These Years Of His Pontificate Has Enriched And Strengthened The Church With His Teaching, His Goodness, His Guidance, His Faith, His Humility, And His Gentleness, Which Will Remain A Spiritual Heritage For All.

Reject Every Form Of Corruption.

Your Sins Are Great? Just Tell The Lord: Forgive Me, Help Me To Get Up Again, Change My Heart!

The Church Is Or Should Go Back To Being A Community Of God's People, And Priests, Pastors And Bishops, Who Have The Care Of Souls, Are At The Service Of The People Of God.

A Society Which Abandons Children And The Elderly Severs Its Roots And Darkens Its Future.

We Live In An Age Rather Skeptical Of Truth, Of Its Existence." There Is A "tendency To Believe That Nothing Is Definitive, And Think That The Truth Is Given By Consent Or By What We Want. The Question Arises: Does "the" Truth Really Exist? What Is "the" Truth? Can We Know It? Can We Find It?

You Just Can’t Say That, Just As You Can’t Say That All Christians Are Fundamentalists. We Have Our Share Of Them (fundamentalists). All Religions Have These Little Groups.

That Is Why The Center Of Our Faith Isn't Just A Book, But A History Of Salvation, And Above All, It's About A Person: Jesus Christ, The Word Of God Made Flesh.

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

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

Dear Young People, Do Not Bury Your Talents, The Gifts That God Has Given You! Do Not Be Afraid To Dream Of Great Things!

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.

Human Rights Are Not Only Violated By Terrorism, Repression Or Assassination, But Also By Unfair Economic Structures That Creates Huge Inequalities.

Economic Inequality

The Christian Mission Has Only One Focus: To Change Individual's Lives So They Can Change The World.

The Proclamation Of Jesus Is Not A Veneer: The Proclamation Of Jesus Goes Straight To The Bones, Heart, Goes Deep Within And Change Us. And The Spirit Of The World Does Not Tolerate It, Will Not Tolerate It, And Therefore, There Is Persecution.

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

In A Family It Is Normal To Take Charge Of Those Who Need Help. Do Not Be Afraid Of Frailty!

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

Be Missionaries Of God's Tenderness!

It Is Vital That Government Leaders And Financial Leaders Take Heed And Broaden Their Horizons, Working To Ensure That All Citizens Have Dignified Work, Education, And Healthcare.

Jesus Did Not Say: 'one Of You Go', But 'all Of You Go': We Are Sent Together.

Our Mother Mary Is Full Of Beauty Because She Is Full Of Grace.

Jesus On The Cross Feels The Whole Weight Of The Evil, And With The Force Of God's Love He Conquers It; He Defeats It With His Resurrection. This Is The Good That Jesus Does For Us On The Throne Of The Cross. Christ's Cross, Embraced With Love, Never Leads To Sadness, But To Joy, To The Joy Of Having Been Saved And Of Doing A Little Of What He Did On The Day Of His Death.

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

Position Of Power

We Have To Find A New Balance; Otherwise Even The Moral Edifice Of The Church Is Likely To Fall Like A House Of Cards, Losing The Freshness And Fragrance Of The Gospel.

The Security Of Faith Does Not Make Us Motionless Or Close Us Off, But Sends Us Forth To Bear Witness And To Dialogue With All People.

Integrating In The Church Doesn't Mean Receiving Communion.

I Have A Dogmatic Certainty: God Is In Every Person's Life. God Is In Everyone's Life. Even If The Life Of A Person Has Been A Disaster, Even If It Is Destroyed By Vices, Drugs Or Anything Else - God Is In This Person's Life. You Can - You Must - Try To Seek God In Every Human Life.

Let Us Protect With Love All That God Has Given Us!

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.

How Many Young People Among You Are Like This? You Know How To Give And Yet You Have Ever Learned How To Receive. You Still Lack One Thing. Become A Beggar. This Is What You Still Lack. Learn How To Beg. This Isn’t Easy To Understand. To Learn How To Beg. To Learn How To Receive With Humility.

Saints Are People Who Belong Fully To God. They Are Not Afraid Of Being Mocked, Misunderstood Or Marginalized.

Do Not Feel Discouraged By All The Challenges And Hardships You Might Face. I Ask You Not To Forget That, Like Those Who Came Here Before You, You Bring Many Gifts To This New Nation Of Yours.

When One Lives Attached To Money, Pride Or Power, It Is Impossible To Be Truly Happy.

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

I Distrust A Charity That Costs Nothing And Does Not Hurt.

Because If We Destroy Creation, Creation Will Destroy Us! Never Forget This!

Ask Yourselves This Question: How Often Is Jesus Inside And Knocking At The Door To Be Let Out, To Come Out? And We Do Not Let Him Out Because Of Our Own Need For Security, Because So Often We Are Locked Into Ephemeral Structures That Serve Solely To Make Us Slaves And Not Free Children Of God.

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

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

A Small Step, In The Midst Of Great Human Limitations, Can Be More Pleasing To God Than A Life Which Appears Outwardly In Order But Moves Through The Day Without Confronting Great Difficulties.

The Victims Of Problems Of The Family Are The Children. The Children. Even Of Problems That Neither Husband Nor Wife Have A Say In.

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.

We, The Women And Men Of The Church, We Are In The Middle Of A Love Story: Each Of Us Is A Link In This Chain Of Love. And If We Do Not Understand This, We Have Understood Nothing Of What The Church Is.

When Families Bring Children Into The World, Train Them In Faith And Sound Values, And Teach Them To Contribute To Society, They Become A Blessing In Our World.

The Fruits Of This Profound Union With Jesus Are Marvelous: Our Whole Being Is Transformed By The Grace Of The Holy Spirit: Soul, Intelligence, Will, Affections And Even The Body, Because We Are United In Body And Spirit.

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.

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.

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

Once Elected, The Pope Is By Virtue Of The Promise Of Jesus To Peter, The Pope Is Preserved From The Possibility Of Error. God Would Change Any Spend Thrift Politician Into A Responsible Pope.

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.

Lord, Teach Us To Step Outside Ourselves. Teach Us To Go Out Into The Streets And Manifest Your Love.

The Golden Rule Reminds Us Of Our Responsibility To Protect And Defend Human Life At Every Stage Of Its Development. This Conviction Has Led Me, From The Beginning Of My Ministry, To Advocate At Different Levels For The Global Abolition Of The Death Penalty.

We Must Not Believe The Evil One When He Tells Us That There Is Nothing We Can Do In The Face Of Violence, Injustice And Sin.

Don't Confuse The Evil Of Avoiding Pregnancy By Itself, With Abortion. 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.

Medical Problems

The Charismatics Confused The Holy Liturgy With A School Of Samba, But Than I Was Converted When I Got To Know Them Better And Saw The Good They Do.

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.

Christmas Celebrations Are Often Full Of Sound. It Would Be Good For Us To Make Room For Silence, To Hear The Voice Of Love.

Dear Young People, Do Not Be Afraid Of Making Decisive Choices In Life. Have Faith; The Lord Will Not Abandon You!

If You Don’t Learn How To Cry, You Cannot Be A Good Christian. When They Posed This Question To Us – Why Children Suffer, Why This Or That Tragedy Occurs In Life – Our Response Must Be Either Silence Or A Word That Is Born Of Our Tears. Be Courageous, Don’t Be Afraid To Cry.

The People Of America, Are Not Fearful Of Foreigners, Because Most Of Us Were Once Foreigners.

In The Face Of So Many Wounds That Hurt Us And Could Lead To A Hardness Of Heart, We Are Called To Dive Into The Sea Of Prayer, Which Is The Sea Of The Boundless Love Of God, In Order To Experience His Tenderness

Proselytism Is Solemn Nonsense, It Makes No Sense. We Need To Get To Know Each Other, Listen To Each Other And Improve Our Knowledge Of The World Around Us.

Only We Big Sinners Have This Grace Of Knowing What Salvation Really Means.

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

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

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.

When We Read About Creation In Genesis, We Run The Risk Of Imagining God Was A Magician, With A Magic Wand Able To Do Everything. But That Is Not So. God Is Not A Demiurge [demigod] Or A Magician, But The Creator Who Gives Being To All Entities. Evolution In Nature Is Not Opposed To The Notion Of Creation, Because Evolution Presupposes The Creation Of Beings That Evolve.

Theory Of Evolution

Trending Author

Jose Ramos-Horta

Helena Rubinstein

Category