Franciscans

"Logic is the most useful tool of all the arts. Without it no science can be fully known. It is not worn out by repeated use, after the manner of material tools, but rather admits of continual growth through the diligent exercise of any other science. For just as a mechanic who lacks a complete knowledge of his tool gains a fuller [knowledge] by using it, so one who is educated in the firm principles of logic, while he painstakingly devotes his labor to the other sciences, acquires at the same time a greater skill at this art."

"The head of Christians does not, as a rule, have power to punish secular wrongs with a capital penalty and other bodily penalties and it is for thus punishing such wrongs that temporal power and riches are chiefly necessary; such punishment is granted chiefly to the secular power. The pope therefore, can, as a rule, correct wrongdoers only with a spiritual penalty. It is not, therefore, necessary that he should excel in temporal power or abound in temporal riches, but it is enough that Christians should willingly obey him."

"Numquam ponenda est pluralitas sine necessitate"

"Frustra fit per plura, quod potest fieri per pauciora."

"Intuitive cognition is such that when some things are cognized, of which one inheres in the other, or one is spatially distant from the other, or exists in some relation to the other, immediately in virtue of that non-propositional cognition of those things, it is known if the thing inheres or does not inhere, if it is spatially distant or not, and the same for other true contingent propositions, unless that cognition is flawed or there is some impediment."

"It is on account of theology alone that any assertion whatsoever should be called catholic or heretical. For only an assertion which is consonant with theology is truly catholic, and only one which is known to be opposed to theology is known to be heretical. For if some assertion were found to be opposed to decrees of the highest pontiffs, or also of general councils or also to laws of the emperors, nevertheless, if it were not in conflict with theology, even if it could be considered false, erroneous or unjust, it should not be counted as a heresy."

"The Holy Spirit through blessed John the evangelist makes a terrible threat against those who add anything to or take anything from divine scripture when he says in the last chapter of Revelations [22:18–9], "If any man shall add to these things, God shall add unto him the plagues which are in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city, and from these things that are written in this book." We clearly gather from all these that nothing should be added to sacred scripture nor anything removed from it. To decide by way of teaching, therefore, which assertion should be considered catholic, which heretical, chiefly pertains to theologians, the experts on divine scripture. You see that I have set out opposing assertions in response to your question and I have touched on quite strong arguments in support of each position. Therefore consider now which seems the more probable to you."

"Purely philosophical assertions which do not pertain to theology should not be solemnly condemned or forbidden by anyone, because in connection with such [assertions] anyone at all ought to be free to say freely what pleases him."

"Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem."

"Historically, Ockham has been cast as the outstanding opponent of Thomas Aquinas (1224–1274): Aquinas perfected the great "medieval synthesis" of faith and reason and was canonized by the Catholic Church; Ockham destroyed the synthesis and was condemned by the Catholic Church. Although it is true that Aquinas and Ockham disagreed on most issues, Aquinas had many other critics, and Ockham did not criticize Aquinas any more than he did others. It is fair enough, however, to say that Ockham was a major force of change at the end of the Middle Ages. He was a courageous man with an uncommonly sharp mind. His philosophy was radical in his day and continues to provide insight into current philosophical debates. The principle of simplicity is the central theme of Ockham's approach, so much so that this principle has come to be known as "Ockham's Razor." Ockham uses the razor to eliminate unnecessary hypotheses. In metaphysics, Ockham champions nominalism, the view that universal essences, such as humanity or whiteness, are nothing more than concepts in the mind. He develops an Aristotelian ontology, admitting only individual substances and qualities. In epistemology, Ockham defends direct realist empiricism, according to which human beings perceive objects through "intuitive cognition," without the help of any innate ideas. These perceptions give rise to all of our abstract concepts and provide knowledge of the world. In logic, Ockham presents a version of supposition theory to support his commitment to mental language. Supposition theory had various purposes in medieval logic, one of which was to explain how words bear meaning. Theologically, Ockham is a fideist, maintaining that belief in God is a matter of faith rather than knowledge. Against the mainstream, he insists that theology is not a science and rejects all the alleged proofs of the existence of God."

"From the middle of the Nineteenth Century, nearly every modern book on Logic has contained the words: Entia non sunt multiplicanda, præter necessitatem: quoted as if they were the words of William of Ockham. But nobody gives a particular reference to any work of the Singular and Invincible Doctor ... my own fruitless inquisition for the formula, in those works of Ockham which have been printed, has led me to disbelieve that he ever used it to express his Critique of Entities."

"In his controversial writings William of Ockham appears as the advocate of secular absolutism. He denies the right of the popes to exercise temporal power, or to interfere in any way whatever in the affairs of the Empire. ... In philosophy William advocated a reform of Scholasticism both in method and in content. The aim of this reformation movement in general was simplification. This aim he formulated in the celebrated "Law of Parsimony", commonly called "Ockham's Razor": "Entia non sunt multiplicanda sine necessitate". With this tendency towards simplification was united a very marked tendency towards skepticism a distrust, namely, of the ability of the human mind to reach certitude in the most important problems of philosophy. ... Ockham's attitude towards the established order in the Church and towards the recognized system of philosophy in the academic world of his day was one of protest. He has, indeed, been called "the first Protestant". Nevertheless, he recognized in his polemical writings the authority of the Church in spiritual matters, and did not diminish that authority in any respect. Similarly, although he rejected the rational demonstration of several truths which are fundamental in the Christian system of theology, he held firmly to the same truths as matters of faith."

"Let every man abide in the art or employment wherein he was called. And for their labor they may receive all necessary things, except money. ... Let none of the brothers, wherever he may be or whithersoever he may go, carry or receive money or coin in any manner, or cause it to be received, either for clothing, or for books, or as the price of any labor, or indeed for any reason, except on account of the manifest necessity of the sick brothers. For we ought not to have more use and esteem of money and coin than of stones. And the devil seeks to blind those who desire or value it more than stones. Let us therefore take care lest after having left all things we lose the kingdom of heaven for such a trifle. And if we should chance to find money in any place, let us no more regard it than the dust we tread under our feet."

"Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor vexation. Where there is poverty and joy, there is neither greed nor avarice. Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt."

"When the spirit is lukewarm, and gradually growing cold as it moves from grace, flesh and blood inevitably seek their own interests. When the soul finds no delight, what is left except for the flesh to look for some? Then the base instinct covers itself with the excuse of necessity, and the mind of the flesh forms the conscience."

"Such was the will of the Father that his Son, blessed and glorious, whom he gave to us, and who was born for us, should by his own blood, sacrifice, and oblation, offer himself on the altar of the cross, not for himself, by whom "all things were made," but for our sins, leaving us an example that we should follow his steps."

"All those men and women … who in their body serve the world through the desires of the flesh, the concerns of the world and the cares of this life: They are held captive by the devil, whose children they are, and whose works they do."

"We must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh, but, instead, we must be simple, humble and pure."

"Hail, queen wisdom! May the Lord save thee with thy sister holy pure simplicity! O Lady, holy poverty, may the Lord save thee with thy sister holy humility! O Lady, holy charity, may the Lord save thee with thy sister holy obedience! O all ye most holy virtues, may the Lord, from whom you proceed and come, save you! There is absolutely no man in the whole world who can possess one among you unless he first die. He who possesses one and does not offend the others, possesses all; and he who offends one, possesses none and offends all; and every one [of them] confounds vices and sins. Holy wisdom confounds Satan and all his wickednesses. Pure holy simplicity confounds all the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of the flesh. Holy poverty confounds cupidity and avarice and the cares of this world. Holy humility confounds pride and all the men of this world and all things that are in the world. Holy charity confounds all diabolical and fleshly temptations and all fleshly fears. Holy obedience confounds all bodily and fleshly desires and keeps the body mortified to the obedience of the spirit and to the obedience of one's brother and makes a man subject to all the men of this world and not to men alone, but also to all beasts and wild animals, so that they may do with him whatsoever they will, in so far as it may be granted to them from above by the Lord."

"St. Francis reportedly said, "Preach Jesus, and if necessary use words.""

"Witness for Christ each day, and if necessary use words."

"Always remember to preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words."

"Wherever you go, preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words."

"Share the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words"

"Go into all the world and preach the gospel, and, if necessary, use words."

"Do all you can to preach the gospel and if necessary use words!"

"Preach often, and if necessary, use words"

"Preach the gospel always and if necessary, use words."

"...love one another, as the Lord says: "This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you." And let them show their love by the works they do for each other, according as the Apostle says: "let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.""

"..."Yes, the true servant unceasingly rebukes the wicked, but he does it most of all by his conduct, but the truth that shines in his words, by the light of his example, by all the radiance of his life." (1989) The Road to Assisi, Sabatier as edted by Sweeney, pg 143."

"No brother should preach contrary to the form and regulation of the holy Church nor unless he has been permitted by his minister. The minister should take care not to grant this permission to anyone indiscriminately. All the Friars, however, should preach by their deeds."

"Speak the Gospel, use deeds when necessary Mark Galli, Christianity Today, May 21, 2009. He is the author of "Francis of Assisi and His World""

"Lord, grant me the strength to change the things I can, the serenity to deal with the things I cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference."

"He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist."

"All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle."

"Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled as to console, To be understood as to understand, To be loved, as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; It is in dying to self that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen."

"He detested those in the Order who dressed in three layers of clothing or who wore soft clothes without necessity. As for “necessity” not based on reason but on pleasure, he declared that it was a sign of a spirit that was extinguished. “When the spirit is lukewarm,” he said, “and gradually growing cold as it moves from grace, flesh and blood inevitably seek their own interests. When the soul finds no delight, what is left except for the flesh to look for some? Then the base instinct covers itself with the excuse of necessity, and the mind of the flesh forms the conscience."

"I love the mystics; Francis also was in many aspects of his life, but I do not think I have the vocation and then we must understand the deep meaning of that word. The mystic manages to strip himself of action, of facts, objectives and even the pastoral mission and rises until he reaches communion with the Beatitudes. Brief moments but which fill an entire life."

"He is great because he is everything. He is a man who wants to do things, wants to build, he founded an order and its rules, he is an itinerant and a missionary, a poet and a prophet, he is mystical. He found evil in himself and rooted it out. He loved nature, animals, the blade of grass on the lawn and the birds flying in the sky. But above all he loved people, children, old people, women. He is the most shining example of that agape we talked about earlier."

"Once, Saint Francis of Assisi said to a young monk, 'Brother, let us go and preach in the city.' And so they left the monastery, and, talking of lofty subjects, they passed through the whole city and returned to the monastery. The young monk asked in amazement, 'Father, and when shall we preach?' And Saint Francis replied, 'Brother, did you not notice that we were preaching all the time? We walked with dignity, we discussed most lofty subjects, the passers-by looked at us and received peace and comfort. Indeed, preaching does not consist of words alone, but also of behavior itself.'""

"Saint Francis is the outstanding exception to the rule that Catholicism discourages concern for the welfare of nonhuman beings. "If I could only be presented to the emperor," he is reported as saying, "I would pray him, for the love of God, and of me, to issue an edict prohibiting anyone from catching or imprisoning my sisters the larks, and ordering that all who have oxen or asses should at Christmas feed them particularly well." Many legends tell of his compassion, and the story of how he preached to the birds certainly seems to imply that the gap between them and humans was less than other Christians supposed. But a misleading impression of the views of Saint Francis may be gained if one looks only at his attitude to larks and the other animals. It was not only sentient creatures whom Saint Francis addressed as his sisters: the sun, the moon, wind, fire, all were brothers and sisters to him. His contemporaries described him as taking "inward and outward delight in almost every creature, and when he handled or looked at them his spirit seemed to be in heaven rather than on earth." This delight extended to water, rocks, flowers, and trees. This is a description of a person in a state of religious ecstasy, deeply moved by a feeling of oneness with all of nature. People from a variety of religious and mystical traditions appear to have had such experiences, and have expressed similar feelings of universal love. Seeing Francis in this light makes the breadth of his love and compassion more readily comprehensible. It also enables us to see how his love for all creatures could coexist with a theological position that was quite orthodox in its speciesism. Saint Francis affirmed that "every creature proclaims: 'God made me for your sake, O man!'" The sun itself, he thought, shines for man. These beliefs were part of a cosmology that he never questioned; the force of his love for all creation, however, was not to be bound by such considerations. While this kind of ecstatic universal love can be a wonderful source of compassion and goodness, the lack of rational reflection can also do much to counteract its beneficial consequences. If we love rocks, trees, plants, larks, and oxen equally, we may lose sight of the essential differences between them, most importantly, the differences in degree of sentience. We may then think that since we have to eat to survive, and since we cannot eat without killing something we love, it does not matter which we kill. Possibly it was for this reason that Saint Francis's love for birds and oxen appears not to have led him to cease eating them; and when he drew up the rules for the conduct of the friars in the order he founded, he gave no instruction that they were to abstain from meat, except on certain fast days."

"St. Francis is not only the most attractive of all the Christian saints, he is the most attractive of Christians, admired by Buddhists, atheists, completely secular, modern people, Communists, to whom the figure of Christ himself is at best unattractive. Partly this is due to the sentimentalization of the legend of his life and that of his companions in the early days of the order. Many people today who put his statue in their gardens know nothing about him except that he preached a sermon to the birds, wrote a hymn to the sun, and called the donkey his brother. These bits of information are important because they are signs of a revolution of the sensibility — which incidentally was a metaphysical revolution of which certainly St. Francis himself was quite unaware. They stand for a mystical and emotional immediate realization of the unity of being, a notion foreign, in fact antagonistic, to the main Judeo-Christian tradition."

"I saw St. Francis at first in his old age, at prayer and sickly, of an indescribable cheerfulness and purity and humility. Everything in him, everything that constituted his life, all his difficulties, are now transfigured and have become translucent. And this happened through prayer. The things that occupy him no longer contain anything at all that is purely personal, not a trace of annoyance or injury or resentment for the unjust things inflicted on him. God alone is left, as well as perfect service in the indescribable happiness of one who serves and in uninterrupted contemplation."

"Francis must rank with those creative personalities to which all the deepest developments of Christian consciousness are due."

"The quest for our origin is the sweet fruit's juice which maintains satisfaction in the minds of the philosophers."

"The Ancients, having taken into consideration the rigorous construction of the human body, elaborated all their works, as especially their holy temples, according to these proportions; for they found here the two principal figures without which no project is possible: the perfection of the circle, the principle of all regular bodies, and the equilateral square."

"Books should be closed each year, especially in partnership because frequent accounting makes for long friendship."

"The first published work describing the double entry accounting system and giving us insight into the logic behind the accounting entries is the Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalità... Repeatedly Pacioli stated that he described a system of bookkeeping that had been in use in Venice for more than 200 years, with the purpose of acquainting the merchants of his time with the method for keeping in good order their accounting books (chap. 1). Thus he did not mention things that were common practice a long time before 1494, as his treatise was a text for the untutored. Hence, Pacioli omitted most of the refinements common in practice of that day."

"O Man, as long as you exist, know, have, and cherish, You have not been delivered, believe me, of your burden."

"How fleeting is this world yet it survives. It is ourselves that fade from it and our ephemeral lives."

"Christ could be born a thousand times in Bethlehem – but all in vain until He is born in me."

"Where is my dwelling place? Where I can never stand. Where is my final goal, toward which I should ascend? It is beyond all place. What should my quest then be? I must, transcending God, into the desert flee"

"The Thought and Deed of Deity Are of such richness and extent That It remaineth to Itself An Undiscovered Continent."

"A Loaf holds many grains of corn And many myriad drops the Sea: So is God's Oneness Multitude And that great Multitude are we."

"The All proceedeth from the One, And into One must All regress: If otherwise, the All remains Asunder-riven manyness."

"God is an utter Nothingness, Beyond the touch of Time and Place: The more thou graspest after Him, The more he fleeth thy embrace."

"Naught ever can be known in God: One and Alone Is He. To know Him, Knower must be one with Known."

"Ah, were men's voices like the wood-birds' melody— Each happy note distinct, but all in harmony!"

"All Heaven is within thee, Man, And all of Hell within thy heart: What thou dost choose and will to have, That hast thou wheresoe'er thou art."

"Travel within thyself! The Stone Philosophers with wisest arts Have vainly sought, cannot be found By travelling in foreign parts."

"Though Jesus Christ in Bethlehem A thousand times his Mother bore, Is he not born again in thee Then art thou lost for evermore."

"The Wise Man is that which he hath. The precious Pearl of Paradise Wouldst thou not lose, then must thou be Thyself that Pearl of greatest price."

"The World doth not imprison thee. Thou art thyself the World, and there, Within thyself, thou hold'st thyself Thy self-imprisoned Prisoner."

"Though Christ a thousand times in Bethleham be born And not within thyself, Thy soul will be forlorn"

"The Cross on Golgotha Thou lookest to in vain, Unless within thine heart It be set up again"

"If thou dost love a Something, Man, Thou lovest naught that doth abide. God is not This nor That—do thou Leave Somethings utterly aside"

"He has not lived in vain who learns to be unruffled by loss, by gain, by, joy, by pain."

"How short our span! If you once realized how brief, you would refrain from causing any beast or man the smallest grief, the slightest pain."

"Christ was born a man for me, for me he died - Unless I become God through Him, His birth is mocked His death denied"

"True prayer requires no word, no chant no gesture, no sound. It is communion, calm and still with our own godly Ground"

"God far exceeds all words that we can here express In silence He is heard, in silence worshiped best"

"No thought for the hereafter have the wise, for on this very earth they live in paradise"

"All heaven's glory is within and so is hell's fierce burning. You must yourself decide in which direction you are turning"

"Unless you find paradise at your own center, there is not the smallest chance That you may enter"

"Saints do not die. It is their lot, To die while on this earth to all that God is not."

"The vengeful God of wrath and punishment is a mere fairytale. It simply is the Me That makes me fail."

"No ray of Light can shine if severed from its source. Without my inner Light I lose my course."

"So high above all things that be. Is God uplifted, man can dare. No utterance: he prayeth best. When Silence is his sum of prayer"

"Even before I was me, I was God in God; And I can be once again, as soon as I am dead to myself"

"Time is eternity and eternity is time, just as long as you yourself don't make them different"

"I know God couldn't live a moment without me; if I should disappear, He would die, destitute"

"In waste God hides the gold, accept what He may send, The great within the small, though we don't comprehend."

"No man has known perfect felicity, Until his otherness is drowned in unity"

"Love is alike to death, annihilates the senses, My heart it breaks as well, the spirit's drawn from hence"

"The Spirit is like new wine, see the disciples all, Like men inebriate, swept away and enthralled By both its heat and strength; thus it remains true still That the disciples had of sweetest wine their fill"

"If you know how to launch your ship into God's sea Oh, what a blessed fate, submerged in it to be"

"Two eyes our souls possess: While one is turned on time, The other seeth things Eternal and sublime"

"Who would expect it so? From darkness light is brought, Life rises out of Death, And Something comes from Naught."

"I say it speeds thee not That Christ rose from the grave, So long as thou art still To death and sin a slave."

"The resurrection is In spirit done in thee, As soon as thou from all Thy sins hast set thee free."

"If neither love nor pain Will ever touch thy heart, Then only God's in thee, And then in God thou art"

"The nearest way to God Leads through love's open door; The path of knowledge is Too slow for evermore"

"Here I still flow in God as a small stream of time, There I shall be a sea of blessedness sublime"

"Thou laughest that a child cries o'er its broken doll;— The things o'er which thou mournest—are they not playthings all?"

"Three days: Today, Tomorrow and Yesterday, I know, Yet if the past were cancelled within the here and now And then the future hidden, I could regain that Day Which I, before I was, had lived in God's own way."

"Never in endless time will ring a sound as sweetly As when a human heart in God is tuned completely."

"God, being a great abyss, to men his depth reveals Who climb the highest peak of the eternal hills"

"In schools throughout the world God's but described to you. Within the spirit's school one sees and loves him too."

"A spark without its fire, a drop without its sea, Without rebirth what more, pray, wouldst thou be?"

"God is a flowing well which constantly may pour Into his whole Creation, and yet be as before."

"Many years ago in lovely Lindau on the Bodensee, I happened upon a thin volume of Angelus Silesius' couplets which startled, amused and greatly interested me. Although it was in 1657 the world had first received them it seemed to me that they had lost little of their significance in 300 years. Their pithy comments upon human frailty, their wholesome attempt to direct a way toward peace of mind, their often half concealed humor, have modern application."

"I will end with a great line by the poet who, in the seventeenth century, took the strangely real and poetic name of Angelus Silesius. It is the summary of all I have said tonight — except that I have said it by means of reasoning and simulated reasoning. I will say it first in Spanish and then in German: La rosa es sin porqué; florece porque florece. Die Rose ist ohne warum; sie blühet weil sie blühet"

"I have been told that Queen Christina had a decided leaning toward this opinion, and as M. Naude, who was her librarian, was imbued with it, he probably communicated to her what he knew of the secret views of the celebrated philosophers with whom he had had intercourse in Italy. Spinoza, who admits only one substance, is not far removed from the doctrine of a single, universal spirit, and even the New Cartesians, who claim that God alone acts, establish it likewise without noticing it. Apparently Molinos and several other New Quietists, among others, a certain Joannes Angelus Silesius, who wrote before Molinos and some of whose works have recently been reprinted, and even Weigelius before them, embraced this opinion of the Sabbath or rest of souls in God. This is why they believed that the cessation of particular functions was the highest state of perfection."

"One of the most prominent and interesting mystics of Germany, Johannes Scheffler, or as he is better known by his adopted name, Angelus Silesius ... was born of Protestant parents at Breslau, the capital of Silesia, in 1624 ... Scheffler's mystic inclinations had long before alienated him from the dogmatic and anti-artistic spirit of the religion of his birth which during the middle of the seventeenth century was more severe and bigoted than ever before or afterwards. At the same time there was a religious revival in the Roman Catholic world which proved attractive to him, and so it was but natural that finally in 1653 he severed his old affiliations, and joined the Church that by the mystical glamor of its historical traditions was most sympathetic to him"

"To comment upon the residue of truth or wisdom enshrined in the utterances of Angelus Silesius does not lie within my scope. For mystics the heart is always the supreme court of appeal and within their community, though so widely extended in space and time, there has always been a remarkable unanimity in its findings ...They are those who can say with Angelus Silesius: Turn whereso'er I will, I find no evidence Of End, Beginning, Centre or Circumference. There are perhaps few to-day who will find the language of Angelus Silesius adequate in every respect to the expression of their deepest intuitions. He spoke in the dialect of a venerable creed, but the experience of which he spoke is immemorial. And it appears to be unchanging. Those who are in possession of the code will readily decipher the message."

"Although the influence of Boehme was to be felt far and wide, ranging from French and German theosophers and esoterists to Russian contemplatives, perhaps the most artistically powerful expression of purely sapiential teachings deeply influenced by him are to be found in the hymns of Christian gnosis which comprise the Cherubic Wanderer of Angelus Silesius (1624-1677) which are also among the most remarkable works of German literature. This collection, so close in both form and content to Sufi poetry, is based upon the central theme of return to God...it is the al-ma'rifah of Islam or the jnana of Hinduism and very much in accord with works of such nature whether they be in Arabic and Persian or Sanskrit."

"Meister Eckhart, Jacob Boehme and Angelus Silesius describe their spiritual vision of the sublime and ultimate reality of God, as well as their participation therein, by a dramatic use of the power of imagery of the German language which, although rooted in time and space, seems to be free from the constraints of these elements. Time and space alone are incapable of grasping eternity; only when struck by a shaft of eternal light can they reflect its splendor. Such a reflection of the eternal is present in the language of Meister Eckhart, Jacob Boehme and Angelus Silesius. It is, more-over, the light of eternity that makes it at all possible to see the teachings of these great metaphysicians and mystics as a unity, in spite of their having lived at different times and belonged to differing Christian confessions. The uniformity of their spiritual vision arises from the inner unity of Divine Reality itself. Human language becomes inadequate when confronted with this mystery of the inner unity of the Godhead; “the most beautiful statement about God of which man is capable is his silence in the face of his inner riches.”...Angelus Silesius summarized his spiritual vision in rhymes whose beauty is filled with an inner certainty that derives directly from the knowledge of the divine being. This direct knowledge of God is founded on the identity of essence between God and the soul, which occurs when the soul once more corresponds to its original state of being created in the image of God."

"sic: si omnes homines natura scire desiderant, ergo maxime scientiam maxime desiderabunt. Ita arguit Philosophus I huius cap. 2. Et ibidem subdit: "quae sit maxime scientia, illa scilicet quae est circa maxime scibilia". Maxime autem dicuntur scibilia dupliciter: uel quia primo omnium sciuntur sine quibus non possunt alia sciri; uel quia sunt certissima cognoscibilia. Utroque autem modo considerat ista scientia maxime scibilia. Haec igitur est maxime scientia, et per consequens maxime desiderabilis."

"loquimur de materia "circa quam" est scientia, quae dicitur a quibusdam subiectum scientiae, uel magis proprie obiectum, sicut et illud circa quod est uirtus dicitur obiectum uirtutis proprie, non subiectum. De isto autem obiecto huius scientiae ostensum est prius quod haec scientia est circa transcendentia; ostensum est autem quod est circa altissimas causas. Quod autem istorum debeat poni proprium eius obiectum, uariae sunt opiniones. Ideo de hoc quaeritur primo utrum proprium subiectum metaphysicae sit ens in quantum ens (sicut posuit Auicenna) uel Deus et Intelligentiae (sicut posuit Commentator Auerroes.)"

"I say that some things can be said to belong to the law of nature in two ways: One way is as first practical principles known from their terms or as conclusions necessarily entailed by them. These are said to belong to the natural law in the strictest sense, and there can be no dispensation in their regard... But this is not the case when we speak in general of all the precepts of the second table. For the reasons behind the commands and prohibitions there are not practical principles that are necessary in an unqualified sense, nor are they simply necessary conclusions from such. For they contain no goodness such as is necessarily prescribed for attaining the goodness of the ultimate end, nor in what is forbidden is there such malice as would turn one away necessarily from the last end, for even if the good found in these [precepts] were not commanded, the ultimate end could still be loved and attained, whereas if the evil proscribed by them were not forbidden, it would still be consistent with the acquisition of the ultimate end."

"There had been implanted along through the ages germs of another growth in human thinking, some of them even as early as the Babylonian period. In the Assyrian inscriptions we find recorded the Chaldeo-Babylonian idea of an evolution of the universe out of the primeval flood or "great deep," and of the animal creation out of the earth and sea. This idea, recast, partially at least, into monotheistic form, passed naturally into the sacred books of the neighbors and pupils of the Chaldeans—the Hebrews; but its growth in Christendom afterward was checked, as we shall hereafter find, by the more powerful influence of other inherited statements which appealed more intelligibly to the mind of the Church...In the minds of Ionians like Anaximander and Anaximenes it was most clearly developed: the first of these conceiving of the visible universe as the result of processes of evolution, and the latter pressing further the same mode of reasoning, and dwelling on agencies in cosmic development recognized in modern science. ...Aristotle sometimes developed it in a manner which reminds us of modern views. ...Lucretius caught much from it extending the evolutionary process virtually to all things. ...Scotus Erigena and Duns Scotus, among the schoolmen, bewildered though they were, had caught some rays of this ancient light, and passed on to their successors, in modified form, doctrines of an evolutionary process in the universe. ...In the latter half of the sixteenth century these evolutionary theories seemed to take more definite form in the mind of Giordano Bruno... but with his murder by the Inquisition at Rome this idea seemed utterly to disappear."

"On one of these occasions to some of those greedy people (Native Californians) who requested permission to go to the woods (To hunt for food) I answered with certain annoyance: "Well, you make me realize that now that, although you were given a steer, a mutton, and a fanega of grain every day, you would, despite all this, long for your woods and your shores." Then the keenest-witted Indian of those who had heard me replied, somewhat shamefacedly, "It is so Father, as you say, it is so.""

"It is evident that a nation (Referring to native Californians) that is barbarous, ferocious, and ignorant requires more frequent punishment than a nation which is cultured, educated, and of gentle and moderate."

"It happens that they put on a heathen and abominable dance or fiesta; if the Christian who is present refuses to participate in that vile diversion, they mock him and laugh at him and persecute him until he gives in."

"Let us not believe that it is enough to read without unction, to speculate without devotion, to investigate without wonder, to observe without joy, to act without godly zeal, to know without love, to understand without humility, to strive without divine grace, or to reflect as a mirror without divinely inspired wisdom."

"But the soul cannot have any virtue if God is not loved with all the heart; for from that love flows the fulness of all grace, and without it no grace can flow into the soul, nor can it abide in it."

"The virtue of gratitude is extremely commendable and pleasing in the sight of God, as its opposite is a detestable vice before him. Of which subject, thus speaks St. Bernard: Learn to be thankful for every grace received. Consider diligently the favors heaped upon you, that no gift of God be defrauded of the due return of gratitude and thanksgiving you ought to make, whether the gift be great, middling, or little."

"For the nearer any one approaches to God, the more he is illuminated, and therefore the more clearly does he see the majesty and mercy of God."

"...Though His Passion sufficed for all, yet all would not profit from it, for some would be reprobate, hard-hearted, and impenitent."

"It will avail a man little to have been a religious, to have been patient and humble, devout and chaste, to have loved God and to have exercised himself in all the virtues, if he continues not to the end. He must persevere to win the crown. In the race of the spiritual life all the virtues run, but only perseverance “receives the prize” (1 Cor. 9:24.) It is not the beginner in virtue but “he that shall persevere unto the end that shall be saved” (Matt 10: 22.) “What is the use of seeds sprouting if afterwards they wither and die?” None whatever!"

"Christ’s death on the Cross should live in our thoughts and imagination, for frequent thought on the Passion of Christ keeps aflame and brings to intense heat the fires of earnest piety."

"Contemplation deepens the more we feel the working of God’s grace within our hearts, and the better we learn to encounter God in creatures outside ourselves."

"Though a superior is rather to be loved, yet by the insolent he ought to be feared."

"He would confidently affirm that the grace of prayerfulness should be more desired than all others by the religious man, and, believing that without it no good could be wrought in the service of God, he would stir up his Brethren unto zeal therefore by all means that he could. For, whether walking or sitting, within doors or without, in toil or at leisure, he was so absorbed in prayer as that he seemed to have devoted thereunto not only his whole heart and body, but also his whole labor and time."

"The world is like a book in which the creative Trinity shines, manifests itself in sensible forms and is read."

"The Life of Christ translated and edited by William Henry Hutchings, 1881."

"The Journey of the Mind into God (Itinerarium mentis in Deum), Indianapolis: Hackett, 1993."

"Life of St Francis of Assisi, TAN Books, 2010."

"There is a “diaspora,” a dispersion, even within ourselves. If Jesus were to ask me, as He did that poor demoniac in the Gospel: “What is your name?” I too would have to reply: “My name is legion, for there are many of us” (Mk 5:9). There are as many of us as there are desires, plans and regrets which we harbor, each one different from and contrary to others which pull us in opposite directions. They literally distract us, drag us apart. Virginity is a powerful aid to progress toward interior unity, in virtue of the fact that it enables us to live united to the Lord, and able to devote ourselves to Him “without distractions.”"

"“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” Jesus said at the Last Supper (John 15:13). […] The word “friends” in the active sense indicates those who love you, but in the passive sense it indicates those whom you love. Jesus calls Judas “friend” (Matthew 26:50), not because Judas loved him, but because he loved Judas! There is no greater love than giving one's life for one's enemies while considering them friends; this is what Jesus meant by his statement. People can be—or act as though they are—enemies of God, but God will never be the enemy of any human being. That is the terrible advantage children have over their fathers and mothers."

"From the investigation into Jesus, one gets the impression that it sometimes turns into gossip about Jesus. However, there is an explanation for this phenomenon. There has always been a tendency to dress Christ in the clothes of one's own era or ideology. In the past, however questionable, these were serious and far-reaching causes: the idealistic, socialist, revolutionary Christ... Our age, obsessed with sex, cannot conceive of him as anything other than grappling with emotional problems. I believe that combining an avowedly alternative journalistic vision with a historical vision that is also radical and minimalist has led to an overall result that is unacceptable, not only for people of faith, but also for historians. Upon finishing the book, one asks oneself: how did Jesus, who brought absolutely nothing new to Judaism, who did not want to found any religion, who performed no miracles and did not rise from the dead except in the altered minds of his followers, how did he, I repeat, become "the man who changed the world"?"

"Maria is the only one who believed "in the contemporary situation", that is, while it was happening, before any confirmation or validation by events and history."

"If the purpose is not carried out, Jesus is conceived but not born."

"It is obvious that wise, strong and prophetic moral leadership is needed in Papua New Guinea in order to bring hope to a people that has lost its way in many areas of life. Parish priests, especially indigenous Papua New Guinea priests, motivated by a genuine and humble love for their flock, true and dedicated pastoral charity, should provide such leadership for the people entrusted to them by their bishop."

"Many of the Dioceses of Papua have been gifted with an old evangelization: the Christian population has grown and has received an excellent education. Today, in the new social and cultural context, opportunities to transmit the faith have decreased and new roads and new ways to bring the Gospel to children, youth and families are needed."

"There are always differences that can be brought to the fore and provide reasons for disagreement. But it seems to me there's nothing insurmountable now – no sharp conflicts and confrontations, thank God."

"We also represent this pilgrim Church, which is made up of different people and which brings us all together. Along the way, we have the most diverse experiences: joy, suffering, beauty, hospitality and poverty. All this pushes us towards the most important quest of all: that of our mission as individuals and in our communities. Here, the Lord brings us closer to different communities in Kazakhstan, which are a tangible sign of his presence."

"It concerns not only the Catholic Church but all believing citizens (and even non-believers), adhering to any religious denomination present in the United States, because this governmental action could make it clear that, with the pretext of the implementation of legislation of social and health interest, it can act at any moment against the religious liberty of any citizen."

"To me it is really beautiful and it really expresses the catholicity of the Church, that the people have embraced the faith as something that is truly theirs, something that is truly meaningful to them. They don't look upon it as something foreign, as something coming from the outside."

"The Catholic Church, and our Catholic faith, is the answer to this darkness and bringing people into relationship with Jesus and teaching the dignity of the human person are the best ways of changing people’s attitudes and changing their behavior"

"I would tell Catholics in the West and in the world: Show them your fraternal attention and pray to God for their intentions; finally, contact and bond with them as much as possible."

"It is time to face conflicts with courage and transparency. Only through authentic encounter with the other can the spark of fraternity emerge in our common home, which God, made love, has entrusted to us. by walking together, despite our differences, we can be true witnesses of peace. Let us not limit ourselves to dreaming about it: let us build it with concrete actions of reconciliation and unity."

"وقال رئيس أساقفة طهران للاتين الكاردينال دومينيك ماتيو عبر "آسي مينا": "لتتوقف الأسلحة، ولتَعِش القلوب بسلامٍ وعدالةٍ وطمأنينة، وفق ما يريد اللهلأبنائه". (Let the weapons stop, and let hearts live in peace, justice and tranquility, as God wants for his children.)"

"Nascondiamo tutto, anche quello che può avere apparenza di dono di Dio, affinché non se ne faccia mercato. A Dio solo l'onore e la gloria! Se fosse possibile, noi dovremmo passare sulla terra come un'ombra che non lascia traccia di sé."

"Be at peace; place everything on my shoulders. I will take care of it. I give my penitents only small penances because I do the rest myself."

"Faith! Have Faith! God is both doctor and medicine."

"We will not lose hope because we have the certainty that our destiny is not in the hands of a man or a superpower. Our destiny is in the hands of God, a Provident Father. It is in Him, and only in Him, that our salvation lies."

"I do not yet know God's plan, but I hope that his grace will accompany me to carry out the project for which God has chosen and called me."

"The Catholic Church in Greece must play the game of the European Union, pushing for a secular, free, independent and modern state."

"When someone is moved by apostolic zeal, he always moves forward, with a very open spirit, with the desire of always doing good. The Lord then does the rest."

"One must always infuse comfort and hope."

"[Holy Cross,] you resolve every bitterness."

"[Edvige] lived an ordinary life, from the outside the same as that of so many laypeople, but extraordinary in terms of her intimacy with God, her union with Him, to the point of identifying with Jesus in a perfect and transforming union with Him, the spouse of souls. Friend of the poor and the marginalized, she had words of consolation for everyone … If we ask what are the strong points of the Christian life of this sister of ours, and which lead her to be an example of welcoming prayerfulness and humble and joyful abnegation, we would say that there are essentially two: constant contemplation of the Crucified Lord and the adoration of the Eucharist."

"Our communities must face daily not a few difficulties of an economic order; above all, however, they must be able to react to an inferiority complex in the face of an oppressive Muslim majority, which makes them feel oppressed and can make them think that they are the "infidels.""

"Nicaea is not only a place for theological reflection: This Council was also the fruit of the profound witness of faith by so many people who gave their lives for the faith in the first three centuries of Christianity. This witness, in a sense, prepared the outcome of the Council. For us today, the memory of this witness of faith is the most important thing, because it inspires and strengthens us in the challenges we live in the present"

"If we follow Jesus' thinking, spirit and deeds in our life. We can defeat the spreading of hatred, if we stop it in ourselves and instead recall the teaching of Jesus about the love to enemies. The peace, for which we have been praying for months so eagerly, first of all has to be born in ourselves. Then it can spread in the society – maybe not today, not nowadays, but in the future. The hatred kept in human heart leads to war."

"Education is an essential tool to overcome religious, tribal and political barriers, as well as being an essential element for human development."

"We must move forward. These are extremists, not everyone is like that. We try to educate our people to differentiate between the terrorists and those Muslims who are not terrorists. For their part, the Muslims try to tell their people that Christians are their brothers, although there are differences. We must live together as brothers and sisters."

"I wanted to encourage local people to love the environment and the best way to do so was to lead by example. I tried hard."

"We ask for prayers and support for our seminarians so that they can recover soon, and for the medical workers looking after them."

"During the festival we appreciate how big is God's gift to Asmat people. They can preserve their identity through their woodcarvings. Their carving is art that reflects fundamental beliefs passed down from generation to generation."

"Jesus Christ founded one Catholic Church with fundamental truths and sacraments. He did not detail the way that should be experienced. History and geography have provided the alternate expressions. With a unified Catholic Church, our differences can be ways of understanding those truths and celebrating the sacraments while protecting their integrity."

"I expect greater involvement of the Somali diaspora, while better coordination and a unified approach of the international community would be desirable."

"To simplify, we have before us a central power, which is trying to resurface and assert itself, which is facing federal states which, in turn, are trying to make their voice heard. In fact, this confrontation has immobilized the country. The Somali political situation is influenced by the interests of regional and international actors. The price of this situation is the instability paid by the civilian population."

"Notwithstanding its errors and sins, Christian history succeeded in tracing paths of freedom, dignity, goodness and truth."

"To play God today is to be the owner of human life, to control that life in all of his stages and all of its forms. A control that decides who must be eliminated and when."

"It has always been important for the Capuchins to encourage lay people to take an active part in the Church and in effect we have many local lay Catholics in the Franciscan Tertiary Order. This is very encouraging for us because the collaboration of well-prepared lay people is necessary for the apostolate."

"Francis will go down in history as the Pope of reform. He has done a great deal to reform the Church, and this must continue, and I believe it will continue, for the simple reason that before leaving office he concluded the cycle of the Synod on synodality. And what has been produced by this Synod has become a heritage for the whole Church. Interviewer: You mentioned synodality. In mid-March, Francis approved the start of a synodal journey that should lead to an ecclesial assembly in 2028. Can we say that this synodal journey remains unfinished? Cardinal Ambongo: I wouldn't say unfinished. The Pope always repeated: "I pray to the Lord that he will grant me enough time so that the reforms that have begun can reach the point of no return." I believe that the reform initiatives undertaken by Francis have now reached that point. That is why I am convinced that the reforms will continue."

"The Pope himself considered his trip to Congo one of his most important apostolic visits."

"(About the Synod on Synodality) So, coming to this Synod, the intention was not to address this or that problem. The main intention, the primary objective of the Synod, is about how we can become a new Church together, acquire a new way of being the Church; in our way of being, in our operating structures, in our collaboration structures."

"We have the impression, at least from the outside, that the West is losing its roots, and the roots of the West are precisely the values that the West brought us during colonisation, and we believed in these values; but today we see that these values no longer exist for the West, and this confuses us a little. We ask ourselves: where is the West going with this kind of approach? And when I say that the West is in danger of disappearing, it is because a people is also its culture, but we have the impression that the West is no longer willing to embrace its culture: everything is relativised, everything is questioned, and this, in any case, disturbs us."

"Go to Church to thank the Lord for another year. The people should understand the difference between what is necessary and what only satisfies a whim."

"Feeling sad, helpless and sometimes even furious is not unusual. However, we must prevent sadness developing into hopelessness, prevent anger turning into hatred."

"Dialogue is not the crucial game changing focus anymore. Instead, reconciliation should be the key. The conflict between the protesters and the police, the dissatisfaction towards the performance of the government must be addressed. It is apparent that we must try out best to heal the soul and body of our younger generation. Please do not ask me how to heal the young souls. I really do not know how can that be done without the intervention from the Holy Spirit."

"This small, but great church has given the world church countless martyrs. These were people who had a great loyalty to Christ and the church. Catholicism continued on in Albania. This is thanks to the martyr church."

"We should never give up whatever happens because there is someone real stronger than every political power, and that is the strength of the risen Lord,"

"Although we may be different in our look, ethnicity, culture, and clothing we are all the same and want the same – faith, hope and love. Our beliefs bind us so closely, that even though we come from various backgrounds we are able to live with each other in peace and harmony."

"Reciprocal knowledge helps to eliminate prejudice and build peace. Being a Franciscan in this context means being authentic brothers to people of different opinion, religion, or race. Living fraternity can also help Indonesia as a country: a reality dispersed over its 13,000 islands."

"We are called to be witnesses to Jesus; if we are witnesses we are missionaries. To be witnesses we must learn to live with Christ who is always with us."

"Celebrating the Eucharist means celebrating who we are, always living our priestly identity, our ministry or service of making the Lord's Supper present. What greatness we possess! And what a responsibility! Are we astounded by this self-giving and this responsibility before Christ and the Church? At least we should be."

"Our method of evangelising is in fact to promote respect for the dignity of every person"

"For our part, we hope to restore peace and reconciliation through dialogue and reaffirm the need for Christians to respect all other believers."

"We must not allow violence among brothers, and we must seek justice through the institutions that apply the law. The solution will never come with violence."

"Look at the 12 apostles. Jesus chose a man who was the tax collector for the Roman empire and also one who was an enemy of Caesar. But Jesus is bigger than politics, and the same happens here."

"The Christian must be a universal brother, open to all without distinctions, preserving his own identity, but establishing bridges of respect, friendship, solidarity with the whole world. This is another way of evangelizing, perhaps more costly and more exacting than that by word. We are called to live evangelical values like love, justice, forgiveness, solidarity with everyone, especially with the poorest."

"It's not about doing new things but about being genuinely faithful to what the essence of the Christian faithful is. Some think that the renewal will bring about new things or something like that. Instead, the renewal will help us to cleanse ourselves a bit, so that the face of Jesus Christ will shine in our face, because this is what it means to be a Christian."

"As for the inter-religious relationships, especially between Muslims and Christians, I am not worried. In fact, I am very confident."

"The Church is evolving. The face of the Church is no longer European or American, but also African and Asian. It is very interesting to see the universality of the Church. This is one of the most impressive parts of this encounter, I think."

"Leaders of nations must do everything to stop the conflict: they are destroying a whole country, and anyone who will prevail in the end will be faced only a pile of human and material rubble."

"Parents should instill positive and important values into their children's minds so that families can be evangelizers. This is how Catholic families can be truly involved in spreading the spirit of Christianity."

"He is a figure who never stays silent and always tries to make breakthroughs in his work."

"God chose me and every baptized Christian to be a missionary, to be always ready to serve His people with humility, doing our best, listening and praying. My mission is to meet, to visit the people of God , sharing the word of God and announcing the Gospel."

"If the Church helps people, it means there is need. This would mean that the revolution has not succeeded in satisfying the people's needs."

"We are living difficult and painful moments. Libya is a bit of an enigma, it is not always possible to understand how things are but I trust that Libyans will be able to find peace."

"I am amazed at how the population is able to quickly go from a situation of war to one of peace. I think it is because people yearn for peace, they need it after all these years of uncertainty. This is why I say: pray for us, because the only force is that of prayer that moves the hearts of people."

"The faithful are all foreigners: Filipinos and a large number of Africans, many of whom are in search of work and in need of material assistance. In Benghazi life is almost normal. Every now and then explosions in the distance can be heard, but otherwise people lead their lives as always. People go to work and shops are open. Generally the situation is calm, although not always do we know what happens."

"South Africa's leadership thinks that respect for human rights is a sufficient basis for democracy. However all the country's religious leaders, not only Catholics, say this is not enough: strong supported must be given to moral values to ensure correct social progress."

"Children are all important in Papua New Guinea's culture. Special care is given to their education in customs to ensure that tradition is handed down from one generation to the next. Since Christmas celebrates the birth of the Child, it fits well into the PNG mindset. For all our children the Child Jesus is a model and a friend."

"To the faithful of the Mentawai Islands, I say: this is a disaster that has devastated your lives, but do not be discouraged! Now is not the time to ask ourselves how and why, but we extend our heart and hands to God, with faith and prayer. Do not be afraid, but be ready to hope that the Lord and our brothers are close to you in your suffering."

"The causes of the serious status of human life in Colombia, America and the world are based on the following factors, in this order: 1) human and Christian ignorance on the part of individuals, families and communities; 2) more and more individuals and entire groups who turn away from the Lord; 3) indifference to the Lord and His Plan of Salvation from the religious and moral viewpoint, with many people and communities turning simply to natural, legal and civil ethical norms."

"We religious are decisively called upon to place Christ in the center of our life; and this entails having the courage to bear witness to this openly. We must not be afraid of saying that for Him and for Him only that we have chosen to embrace religious life and live mutual dependence in fraternity. We are invited to say that from Him we receive our reward for all of our renunciations and the best part has yet to come."

"Despite the profoundly personal nature of the experience in the Holy Land, the pilgrimage itself unites all believers with the Churches of Jerusalem. It unites them in Christ, in faith and in their contribution to preserving the precious Christian legacy in this land. This is the grace of the Holy Places."

"It is not always possible to recover one's health. However, it is possible to give comfort to the sick and help of the divine grace. Sometimes this is what they mostly need, and this is the role of pastoral care. Anointing the sick, which must be administered by the right person must be a pastoral need on the part of the Church towards its suffering members"

"In Angola a country of many ethnic groups, languages, parties, churches and sects there is need of unity, fatherland, nationality."

"The Islamic-Christian dialogue in Pakistan in the form of a dialogue of life: we develop brotherly relations, we go to each others parties, we are close in painful events and in the experience of solidarity"

"We have lost a wonderful priest and friar, who humbly served in his community, and also reached people of other faiths with the Christian message of peace and love. A priest who was known, appreciated and loved not only among Christians, but also among faithful of other religions. He was full of ideas, always very creative in building bridges among people of different faiths. He was in communion and in excellent relationship with people of other faith, and he always worked to spread the message of peace and love, in the name of Christ, in all corners of the Country."

"The family is the first place where one learns to love, where we experience and practice mutual love. Blessed are those parents who teach their children respect and love for others, who avoid hatred and educate them to show love and care for others."

"It will be our duty to promote interfaith peace and harmony so that reconciliation prevails in Pakistan and the world. We have to educate young people to be ambassadors of peace."

"I think people are looking for something, as they always have, to hold to something that has roots, that has tradition, that has meaning, that has depth. And I think the Catholic Church continues to offer that despite her imperfections."

"Thankfully there is no deep lying hatred among the people but the problem is that many former soldiers, used to earning their living by fighting, have turned into bandits and they harass the people. In this context the Church continues her work of evangelisation and human promotion, aware that hearts and minds cannot be changed immediately but only with patience and time."

"We Bishops also need formation. We studied for the priesthood in the seminary and we had teachers who accompanied our journey of formation. When we are appointed Bishops our task becomes more difficult, there is more responsibility, there are more problems."

"Peace brought to us by Christ is the attitude of all those who practice the laws of justice and love, established by God for harmony in creation. The Church must make an appeal to Africa, to have a pure conscience to work honestly towards the common good. The Church must also be the voice of those who have no say, to courageously denounce all those plans that make men slaves. We must make an effort to create internal and external peace and maintain it, fruit of victory and self-discipline."

"I ask ACN to do everything in its power to enable the Biblia Sagrada Africana to be brought to Mozambique. I personally find this project very opportune, as it will allow us to have access to the Word of God, which we need very much, especially in the reflections and catechesis that we usually carry out in the 47 parishes of the Archdiocese of Maputo."

"I would dare to say that the Holy Land is the place where Christian communities are closest to unity. I would say that in the Holy Land we speak less about the theory of ecumenism and instead practice unity much more."

"Preserve this cultural wealth so that it will not be gradually eradicated by modern culture."

"In their search for happiness, they've discovered that it is found in an intense and fascinating relationship with Jesus, in giving of themselves to help others to get to know Him."

"I try to teach serenity and inner peace. It is important not to hate, not to hold grudges. Forgiveness breeds forgiveness and that is the only remedy, even in a situation where the air is polluted with hatred, as is the case in our Argentina. There are many divisions in society, but also in the Church, and we need to change. Conversion has only one name: the person of Jesus. The relationship with Jesus is what is fundamental, more than "religion", more than the content of catechesis."

"The starting point for new evangelization must be the return to the sources, re-discovering the heredity of the peoples and the Nation, with a special effort in reinforcing the ethical and moral values in society, compromised by the prior totalitarianism and the new violence of war."

"The invited one felt something stronger than himself, stronger than his childhood and youthful dreams, plans and ideals. It's usually a barely noticeable whisper. You need to listen to it well, strain your attention, if you want to hear it. God's voice is never a command. It is a call for free radical choice. By calling, God guarantees his presence as a friendly force and support in temptations, the courage that the called one can give testimony of Him."

"When the rights of God are trampled with impunity, the rights of man are in danger."

"To build peace all the causes of discord among men, which generate wars must disappear; especially injustice."

"The Catholic community is not very big and in this rests its charm."

"There are essential elements which no activism must take away from religious life in a local Church. Although expressing itself according to different models and according to charisma, fraternal life is an essential component of consecrated life. Encourage communities to be an evangelical sign in the various environments, especially for the young and offer the local Church wealth of universality."

"When you meet God it's like finding a treasure, you bet everything. How much we have changed in our lives because of our faith and our faith makes us bet everything"

"The pandemic has certainly brought more poverty. There are people who have lost not only their loved ones, but have lost work (and) closed business. One has to confront this situation. Certainly it's a call for governments and the church."

"The beginning and the end of life are fundamental moments of life itself, the more man assumes to place the beginning and the end under an interest-driven feasibility, the more he also weakens the time of life that runs between these two moments."

"Perhaps the Lord chose me because I am one of the few who is respected by both sides. Perhaps I can help pacify the two sides. It is not a mission that is only mine, but a Franciscan mission."

"Here in Utah all the community – Anglos, Hispanics and others alike – are together celebrating and participating as one whole community. When you get over the language barrier and take away the shame and you are not afraid, all the divisions get erased. I recognize all the contributions that they make to our Universal Church in their local churches, and for that I am also thankful. Now here in Utah and then when I am in El Salvador, I will continue saying "Animo" – you are doing good."

"The process towards worldliness, in great part fruit of urban, modern, and post-modern culture, which afflicts the family today, profoundly weakens fundamental family values, as, with respect to life, matrimonial indissolubility, conjugal fidelity, and religious education of children."

"We cannot accommodate and continue allowing economic interests that seek exorbitant profits before the well-being of people, to destroy biodiversity and ecosystems, nor continue dictating our energy model based on fossil fuels. We know that Brazil has abundant resources of clean and renewable energy that do no harm to our common home. Therefore, I believe that the proposal to turn the Diocese of Umuarama into low-carbon is a practical way to achieve what Laudato si' calls for."

"Today's world calls for new attitudes, new ways of life - more responsible, aware, and egalitarian. We need more communion and more dialogue. By affecting us regardless of political, territorial, racial, ethnic and religious boundaries, climate change unites the world through shared suffering. In order to fight it, we need to keep united and to transform this union into an action that is collective, global, and shared, involving all strata of society all around the world."

"As pertaining to the Church's public charity, we must underline the following: in the relations of the Catholic Church with the States and with the European Union we believe that one must certainly overcome confessionalism as well as hostile laicism. The prospect of healthy laity must become ours, which involves recognizing that society needs the contribution of religious professions to ensure its ethical-cultural foundations."

"Faith in Jesus Christ and the remembrance of our ancestors have given us, and continue to give us, the strength to endure the past and present, when others want to erase our memory by force."

"I said if I want to do this I would want to live in a community. The Franciscans are always really down to earth and that appealed to me. They also have a very big outreach to the poor and that's something I was very drawn to. It's been life-giving to be able to give back to people who are in great need."

"If I thought that God was asking something of me, I've always tried to respond positively. I never thought I'd be out here in Chicago. I never thought that I would be a bishop. But when you say "yes" to God, there are all kinds of surprises along the way - and they're good."

"Bishops' Conferences must create space for us to discern evangelization in our spiritual and pastoral lives. As father and brother we bishops must travel closely with our priests evaluating their parish apostolates and keeping before them the light of Evangelization. We must welcome the new movement but continue with them to keep the vision of the diocese within the contours of their charisms."

"Scripture is not seen as primarily a written norm, but rather a consecration of the History of Salvation under the species of the human word. The content and unity of Scripture does not refer to the books of the Scriptures themselves but to the reality to which these books give testimony and witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ."

"A Franciscan, he reflected the deep faith and true Christian charity of St. Francis. We will all miss his kindness and support."

"The church is not against any group, but we do believe that the poor have legitimate rights that must be respected within the framework of the law."

"Closeness makes sharing possible for authorities with our people, particularly the most vulnerable. Listening allows us to discover how people live, want and expect; and not exactly just what we like to hear. Service is the guiding principle of every project and social, political or economic program."

"In a country that is still being plagued by civil unrest and where the government is weak, the Catholic Church has a great moral authority due to its social commitment, especially in the sectors of healthcare and education."

"We need to be careful and instead of looking for justifications not to become involved we need to ask ourselves: "what is the Lord asking me to do in this situation?" And then simply, obey."

"The diocese's promise is enormous, and with God's help, and that of Catholics in places such as Australia, I will continue to bring this promise to fruition."

"We must strive to be a Church capable of listening to the religious expressions of the communities, of welcoming the religious richness of the rituals of the people, of offering opportunities for commissioning ministries, of perceiving the presence of God in the way of living in harmony with everything and everyone."

"We claim a space among the people of God and not one of us can be left out. We must first acknowledge that we belong here, that this is our rightful place. God desires us to be here. God desires you and me to recognize our sacred calling as His children, and to give witness."

"Many elements of the African culture are falling, following the, impact with so-called advanced modernity. They will continue to be unconfoundable elements of the African soul which will remain, and will be the basis for encounter with faith in Christ."

"There is vastly more in the life of a saint than appears on the surface. In order that it receive just treatment it should be written by a saint."

"The more supernatural and sublime the ideas, the ruder is their collision with reality and the more allowance must made for the feebleness of man."

"We have the obligation to accompany the evolution of communications media with a reasonable optimism. We cannot arrive late because others will occupy the vacant seats."

"It is important to do everything to preserve peace and have peaceful elections."

"Verbum Caro: the son of God chose flesh and even flesh "in bad shape" like mine."

"At a social level, despite the country's economic growth, the wealth produced does not reach a good part of the population. For this reason I ask you to pray for us, so that Kenyans do not let themselves be carried away by the temptation of hatred."

"As far as it concerns me personally, would that it might be to-morrow, so that I might retire between the four walls of a cell to weep over the time I wasted in behalf of these unfortunates."

"He was a very pious and energetic missionary, but dreaded the office of superior."

"Peruvians want and need peace, work and unity... to seek social peace and help to overcome the difficult conditions of the country."

"In Australia, as in Great Britain and Italy, Dr. Torreggiani always wore the habit of his order. His first visitation of his straggling and difficult diocese occupied three years."

"We have prayed and asked God to bring us the vaccine against the coronavirus and now it has been found, but we refuse it. What else do we want God to do for us? God's will is for us to live."

"He quickly saw that the question must be considered not merely in relation to present politics but also in relation to the past history of Ireland, and he delayed his final report in order to consider the question in this broader aspect. Meanwhile the Holy See issued its condemnation of the Plan of Campaign. Persico returned to Rome much disappointed."

"The Lord is great and merciful and he supports this wounded humanity. I see it in the eyes of the children and the defenseless of this tormented Holy Land. I see it in the simple gestures when sharing pain and suffering. This is the strength of the faith of the Christians of the Holy Land. Their life here is a continuous testimony, and we must continue to support them."

"Ladies and gentlemen, you will find in your prseence a great body of men who, with many courage and the true Christian spirit, have bound themselves together for the great cause of temperance. Follow their example, for the cause of temperance means the cause of Christian perfection and the cause of suffering humanity. Should you, however, not find it convenient to join their ranks, at least help their cause by your prayers and your constant co-operation. Gentlemen of the Total Abstinence Union, we admire your spirit of self-abnegation in professing the great virtue of total abstinence, and we appreciate your efforts in encouraging it both by words and example. Your associations are of paramount importance for the spiritual and temporal welfare of our people, and are, consequently, of great service to religion and society."

"His reports and mission entries are distinguished by their exactness and beauty of penmanship. Though a very zealous missionary, Señan loved a retired life. He disliked to hold office or give orders; for this reason he was sometimes nicknamed Padre Calma."

"He was the poorest of the bishops, his annual stipend being only $6,000, and he received no share from tithes."

"We would like to conclude with a plea to the producers of weapons to cease to furnish weapons to Africa and in paraphrasing the Prophet Isaiah (Is 2,4), that they transform their factories of weaponry into factories of agricultural instruments or modem technologies for the good of humanity."

"Our strength, the strength of our people, our vicariate and our diocese is faith. We have a very deep-rooted faith, people trust in God, they place their hope in God that the future holds something good for them."

"The reaction to my appointment was overwhelming. When the Nuncio asked me to meet him to tell me, I was overwhelmed because I would never have expected it. God wanted me to serve in this way and so I prayed and accepted his will."

"The Catholic Church is very appreciated, the esteem and affection that surrounds us is enormous, people are grateful for the social activities we carry out in the various areas. The political authorities respect us, as do the various faith communities, because we promote peace. In fact, we are known for our peaceful coexistence with other religions. Whenever there is a small conflict, people prefer to call on Catholics as witnesses to reconcile the other groups."

"Of all the feelings, implanted in the heart of man, next to religion, there is none so strong as patriotism."

"Dr. Mullock always took a keen interest in the commercial development of Newfoundland, and was most enthusiastic about its natural resources."

"If then the saint's sermons were on the whole moral rather than doctrinal, it was less because he preached to meet the wants of his day, and those whom he addressed had not strayed from dogmatic truth; they were still "hearers", if not "doers", of the Word. For this reason Francis set aside all questions more theoretical than practical, and returned to the Gospel."

"The bishop began with great plans and a sincere desire to promote the welfare of the Church in his territory."

"Emlekezzünk régiekről, A` Szitlyiából kijöttekről Magyaroknak eleikről, ´Es azoknak vitézségekről."

"There is no reason why "bad news" should continue to take center stage and to spread everywhere at lightening speed while "the Good News" is relegated into the background and/or never heard at all. It is our responsibility as "Missionaries of Today" to champion with enthusiasm the dissemination of the Good News of victory of truth over lies, love over hatred, forgiveness over vengeance, humility over pride, unity over division, and peace over war."

"Our Church is very small, but for this reason we feel a big family. We all know each other and are very close."

"The business ability of the bishop assisted somewhat to temper his zeal in certain directions, and to guide his labors as administrator and head of the church, whose interest he ably promoted."

"Our Holy Mother the Church here reminds the Just that it is only by a perseverance in the pathways of religion, and by partaking of the refreshing fountains of the sacraments, that they can hope to attain to that crown of immortality to which they aspire—:To the avaricious she exhibits treasures, surpassing all the riches of the Nations of the earth—: To the sensual she displays pleasures beyond the power of human imagination to conceive — To the describe she exposes the deformity of bis degrading passions, and points to a love more pure than earthly hopes could promise."

"There was no law in the statutes of the country penalizing the exercise of the Catholic Religion, but the penal laws of Ireland were supposed to be applicable to Newfoundland. However, the principle would not work both ways, and when Catholic Emancipation was granted to Ireland these same interpreters of the law held that the privileges of Emancipation did not apply to Newfoundland. During the whole course of his episcopate Bishop Fleming fought against, these injustices and finally succeeded in obtaining full freedom for the Catholics."

"We may then easily obtain the power of calling out the members of any Religious Society established in this country when the necessities of the Diocese require it. The power is invested in the Bishops of Ireland because it is a mission country. The same reason applies much more forcibly in this country."

"Let us no longer listen to the voice of blinding passion, but act in public and private affairs as thinking and reasoning human beings, vindicating our own views as best we can, and making all charitable allowances for others. Let us have honorable ambition; yes! but let us be moderate and modest in our pretensions."

"By his tact he soon removed the ill-feeling that had existed between Catholics and Protestants in Nova Scotia. He took a great interest in public affairs. He was strongly opposed to Fenianism, and was a warm advocate of the confederation of the British North American provinces. At the Vatican Council he was a prominent figure, and, while opposed to the declaration of the dogma of infallibility, he loyally accepted it as soon as it had been declared."

"He was a truly evangelical man, and was held in the highest esteem by the missionaries for his learning and piety."

"In my diocese there are so many Catholics, we can say that almost 80% of the people are Catholic, however, this does not exclude an increase of sects and other groups. The Catholic Church, however, has its weight in the national tradition and a presence in the life of the country, even at the Episcopal Conference level."

"Virga de Jesse prodiit, virga virens tenella, quae tota florens exiit de materna fiscella, purissima, sanctissima, rorifera, fructifera, carens omni procella."

"He was a man of the most thorough loyalty to his country and to his order, of extensive learning, free from all desire for personal aggrandisement, and of an unlimited benevolence."

"While the religious idea of a crusade inspired the secular policy of Père Joseph, intense sacerdotal and Apostolic zeal characterized him amid all his political preoccupations."

"The way has been prepared: the Navajos are well-disposed toward the Catholic missionaries and give founded hopes for an abundant harvest of souls."

"Fr. Magin Catala stands conspicuous for zeal, sanctity, and an uncommonly long term of missionary activity in one place."

"We need to scale up our practical compassion, not simply adjust priorities within existing plans."

"He was almost the last survivor of the Fernandinos, and for virtue, learning, and missionary zeal ranks with the most brilliant of his predecessors."

"Of course the mission is not without danger because terrorism strikes anywhere. But this makes it all the more urgent and important to work for dialogue in the spirit of Francis of Assisi."

"To meet the challenges of the present day to bear witness faith to our Christian faith and hope, the international Fraternity of Friars Minor in Istanbul strives to build relations of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue with men and women of good will and believers of other religions and Churches . We know the journey is long with obstacles at every step but we are certain that dialogue is the path to brotherhood and peace, in keeping with the will of the God of life."

"Ecumenism is making progress in Turkey and we hope this will continue and grow. Communion among the different communities is increasing. We are all committed to dialogue and common prayer so we may offer the world around us witness of unity in Christ. Catholic religious in Turkey are keenly aware that they have a mission of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue if they wish to bear witness to the message of peace and harmony which Jesus Christ offers the world."

"Building peace and brotherhood in the world and among believers is and will always be a daily task which we Christians wish to announce in the truth of the Risen Lord. Christ is truly Risen."

"His pastoral style was characterized by closeness and good-natured patience. He weaved relationships step by step, in the fabric of daily life, and always supported the occasions of common prayer with Christians of other Churches that I too have tried to promote in recent years here in Istanbul."

"While his superiors regarded him as one of the best and most zealous of friars, the people looked upon him as a saint."

"We all want the good of the country, we all want to develop the country and all Ecuadorians want to have a good life and support each other. So, I think that dialogue is the key to resolving the disputes. All I know is what I have to do. I am the father of all and children must be invoked to reconciliation, dialogue, and development."

"The formation of men, in addition to the theological and moral part, includes a so-called "civil" part (for example on human and civic rights), a practical part on how, for example, to impart Christian teachings to those who ask to join the Catholic Church. Finally, a part dedicated to human development, focused on cultivation and breeding. It is no coincidence that the symbol of the school is an open Bible with a machete next to it, a work tool for harvesting the fruits of the earth. In short, we refer to the Ora et Labora rule."