And the second commandment of the teaching: You shall not commit murder, you shall not commit adultery [Ex 20:13–14], you shall not commit pederasty, you shall not commit fornication, you shall not steal [Ex 20:15], you shall not practice magic, you shall not...
Assemble on the Lord’s day, and break bread and offer the Eucharist; but first make confession of your faults, so that your sacrifice may be pure. Anyone who has a difference with his fellow is not to take part until he has been reconciled, so as to avoid profaning...
In the church you shall acknowledge your transgressions, and you shall not come near for your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life. . . . But every Lord’s day gather yourselves together and break bread and give thanksgiving after having confessed...
And thus preaching through countries and cities, they appointed the first fruits [of their labors], having first proved them by the Spirit, to be bishops and deacons of those who should afterwards believe. Nor was this any new thing, since indeed many ages before it...
“The other day I dreamed that I was at the gates of heaven. And St. Peter said, ‘Go back to Earth, there are no slums up here.'”
It is much more difficult to judge yourself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself, then you are indeed a man of true wisdom
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye. - The Little Prince
The wisdom of what a person says is in direct proportion to his progress in learning the Holy Scriptures – and I am not speaking of intensive reading or memorization, but real understanding and careful investigation of their meaning. Some people read them but neglect...
To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the great human achievement.
Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection with you.
In matters that are obscure and far beyond our vision, even in such as we may find treated in Holy Scripture, different interpretations are sometimes possible without prejudice to the faith we have received. In such a case, we should not rush in headlong and so firmly...
Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature.
If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.
For you are infinite and never change. In you 'today' never comes to an end: and yet our 'today' does come to an end in you, because time, as well as everything else, exists in you. If it did not, it would have no means of passing. And since your years never come to...
What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.
The bible was composed in such a way that as beginners mature, its meaning grows with them. - Confessions
People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering. - Confessions
Beauty grows in you to the extent that love grows, because charity itself is the soul’s beauty. - Confessions
At the beginning of a new yearly cycle, the liturgy invites the Church to renew her proclamation toall the peoples and sums it up in two words "God comes". These words, so concise, contain anever new evocative power.Let us pause a moment to reflect: it is not used in...
Among Christians, the word "peace" has taken on a very particular meaning: it has become a word to designate communion in the Eucharist. There Christ’s peace is present. In all the places where the Eucharist is celebrated, a great network of peace spreads through the...
Tonight let us look at the shepherds. What kind of people were they? In the world of their time, shepherds were looked down upon; they were considered untrustworthy and not admitted as witnesses in court. But really, who were they? To be sure, they were not great...
These words, "Do not fear", must have deeply penetrated Mary's heart. We can imagine how in various situations the Virgin must have pondered on those words, she must have heard them again.At the moment when Simeon said to her: "This child is destined to be the...
We cannot keep solely for ourselves this joy that we have received; joy must always be shared. Joy must be communicated. Mary went without delay to communicate her joy to her cousin Elizabeth. And ever since her Assumption into Heaven she has showered joy upon the...
We have said that this coming was unique: "the" coming of the Lord. Yet there is not only the final coming at the end of time: in a certain sense the Lord always wants to come through us. And he knocks at the door of our hearts: are you willing to give me your...
All sins are attempts to fill voids.