The media only writes about the sinners and the scandals, he said, but that's normal, because 'a tree that falls makes more noise than a forest that grows.
Life is a journey. When we stop, things don't go right.
A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.
I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.
God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy.
No one can grow if he does not accept his smallness.
We all have the duty to do good.
Each of us has a vision of good and of evil. We have to encourage people to move towards what they think is good... Everyone has his own idea of good and evil and must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them. That would be enough to make the world a better place.
Together with a culture of work, there must be a culture of leisure as gratification. To put it another way: people who work must take the time to relax, to be with their families, to enjoy themselves, read, listen to music, play a sport.
We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love. Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace.
It is not 'progressive' to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life.
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?
A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges is not Christian. This is not in the Gospel.
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.
Find new ways to spread the word of God to every corner of the world.
I see clearly that the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity.
Situations can change; people can change. Be the first to seek to bring good. Do not grow accustomed to evil, but defeat it with good.
If one has the answers to all the questions - that is the proof that God is not with him. It means that he is a false prophet using religion for himself. The great leaders of the people of God, like Moses, have always left room for doubt. You must leave room for the Lord, not for our certainties; we must be humble.
This is the struggle of every person: be free or be a slave.
Living together is an art. It's a patient art, it's a beautiful art, it's fascinating.
It is true that going out on to the street implies the risk of accidents happening, as they would to any ordinary man or woman. But if the church stays wrapped up in itself, it will age. And if I had to choose between a wounded church that goes out on to the streets and a sick, withdrawn church, I would definitely choose the first one.
Abortion isn't a lesser evil, it's a crime. Taking one life to save another, that's what the Mafia does. It's a crime. It's an absolute evil.
I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner.
God never gives someone a gift they are not capable of receiving. If he gives us the gift of Christmas, it is because we all have the ability to understand and receive it.
Christmas is joy, religious joy, an inner joy of light and peace.
The Church must be a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven, and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel.
Idolatry, then, is always polytheism, an aimless passing from one lord to another. Idolatry does not offer a journey but rather a plethora of paths leading nowhere and forming a vast labyrinth.
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.
 should appear as people who wish to share their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a delicious banquet. ){kind=small}
Instead of imposing new obligations, (Christians) should appear as people who wish to share their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a delicious banquet.
God's image is the married couple, a man and woman, together. Not just the man. Not just the woman. No, both of them. That's God's image.
