Catholics From Italy

"Ancient Christian documents strikingly confirm both the dogmas of the Catholic Faith and ancient ecclesiastical traditions. The study of Archaeology should therefore be considered as an auxiliary to the study of Theology and of sacred history."

"Eletto was a young men who found life's meaning in Jesus, a life given up like Jesus. I would like to see not only the monument on the banks of Lake Bracciano but also a monument in our hearts so that in our different vocations we are able to imitate him in his total trust in Christ without reserve. Here and here only lies the future of the Church in Italy, in Europe and in the rest of the world."

"Whereas no civil society can subsist without a supreme principle regulating the morality of its acts and laws, the Church has received from God this lofty mission, which tends to the happiness of the people, while she in no way embarrasses, by the exercise of this her ministry, the free and prompt action of Governments."

"Absolute certainty of our vocation has never been granted through ordinary means, although we may be allowed to believe its existence, when time and results have, so to speak, proved the reality of one's election."

"A few Precepts that are ready and at Hand, are much more profitable to us, than whole Volumes hat over-charge the Memory, and leave us at a Loss where to find them, when we have Occasion to use them. He that knows what belongs to his Salvation, has learned what is sufficient."

"Muratori really proved himself to be a universal genius of rare calibre, at home in all fields of human knowledge. He showed extraordinary qualities as priest and man; he was zealous in the ministry, charitable to the poor, and diligent in visiting the abandoned and imprisoned."

"Knowing the author personally and admiring his qualities of mind and heart; his sound learning, his rare powers of exposition as a teacher, his priestly zeal and earnestness, I feel confident that his book will be helpful to many souls in this country."

"We should be apostles of good with at least the same zeal and interest with which the wicked propagate evil. For every effort, for every sacrifice, which we make for the Children of Christ as yet outside the Church of Christ, we shall receive a hundred-fold return."

"Fifty years a Jesuit and forty years a missionary, one of the noblest men that ever laboured in the ranks of the Church in Montana, his fame stands very high in Montana."

"I could have had that pleasure, but then the sacrifice would not have been complete."

"I knew Pacciani personally, I was his defence counsel, and I will never believe that Pacciani is guilty."

"(About q:it:Angelo Izzo) The meritorious law should apply to those of sound mind. In 1980, I said that he would kill again and that he had to be prevented from doing so. Then he pretended to repent, making delusional statements. Because of him, we may have two more victims, who died like those in Circeo."

"The reputation for solid virtue, patience, and courage, which he had acquired in the different grades of his order, was by no means dimmed in the long years of his generalate. During Tamburini's superiorship, the apostolic activity of the Society was at its best."

"The identikit [of the Monster of Florence] was that of a person of good socio-cultural standing, unlike Pacciani, who was a farmer, uncouth, uneducated, intelligent, cunning but certainly not of high standing, or of average socio-cultural standing."

"The Monster of Florence is still alive and his human trophies are in a house"

"The monster is a man of remarkable intelligence and culture, of remarkable ability, who may also have done something to throw investigators off the trail."

"Truly great events arise from small things. (January 10, 1978)"

"Of course, keeping Christmas and banishing the Newborn is something that causes pain. (November 22, 1980)"

"The joy of the Christian is like a ray of sunshine shining from a tear, a rose blooming on a spot of blood, the essence of love distilled from pain, [...] which is why it has the apostolic power of a glimpse of Paradise. (‘'Spiritual Writings’')"

"I think that our religions have the medicine to cure this sick world and restore it to health, harmony, and peace. (March 8, 1990)"

"“Peace” is the effect of unity. (November 24, 1985)"

"The isolated individual is unable to resist the pressures of the world for long, while in mutual love he finds a healthy environment, capable of protecting his purity and his entire authentic Christian existence. (November 1999)"

"Everything that happens to us, such as pain and joy, blessings and misfortunes, significant events (such as successes and good fortune, accidents or the death of loved ones), insignificant events (such as daily work at home, in the office or at school), everything, everything will take on a new meaning because it is offered to us by the hand of God who is Love. He wants, or allows, everything for our own good. And sooner or later we will realize, looking with the eyes of the soul, that a golden thread links events and things and composes a magnificent embroidery: God's design for each of us."

"The first quality of Christian love is to love everyone."

"Who is our neighbor? We know we don't have to look far: our neighbor is the brother who passes by us."

"If we have experienced that what Jesus says is “all true,” it is easy to leave every other teacher for Him."

"Using language that is quite familiar today, we can say that love knows “no form of discrimination.”"

"To be Christian, we must love our neighbor now. So not a platonic love, not an ideal love: active love."

"Saint Thérèse and the followers of the little way seem to perpetuate the words: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Mt 18:3)."

"Contemplating the flagellation of Jesus means learning to accept physical pain, whether as great as a serious illness or as small as a state of fatigue. Accepting it and offering it to Jesus, uniting it with his passion, because in this way it acquires infinite value. Man certainly suffers from negative factors such as accidents, illness, or misfortune... But God, who is love, gives another reason, a new meaning to his suffering: through it, man contributes to his own salvation, to his own sanctification, and contributes to that of his brothers and sisters. Yes, our suffering is also necessary to change people and create a new world."

"Those who graft their lives onto God's thoughts realize in their existence what they have always dreamed of and certainly more. (in Città Nuova, 24, 1980)"

"[...] when we begin to live the Gospel. At first, we are carried away by enthusiasm, as well as conviction, in this revolution that the Gospel proposes. But at a certain point, the Lord, through a speech or a writing or a conversation, makes us understand what is the indispensable condition for the choice of God as an ideal to be authentic. We are then told about pain, about the cross, about Jesus crucified and abandoned. In order to continue on our path and to continue to give Jesus to the world, we must then say a second “yes,” the “yes” to the cross, like the one Mary must have uttered in the depths of her heart as she listened to the elderly Simeon."

"Città Nuova, 24, 1980"

"Mary did not go to Elizabeth to sing the Magnificat, but to help her. So we, too, should not go to our neighbors to reveal the Christian treasure we carry in our hearts, but to share their sorrows and burdens and to share their joys and responsibilities."

"Let us love one another! We will all meet again one day up there, united for all eternity, if we have had the courage to love one another without excuses here below. (undated, 1944?)"

"Pain is a gift that God gives to His creatures."

"There is no Christian without the cross. If we do not carry our cross, we cannot follow Jesus as he climbs Calvary carrying his cross. The cross is the root of charity. With it, we have a solid life, well-grounded and protected against storms. With it, we walk confidently. Our hearts must possess two great loves: Mary as our destination and the cross as the means to be another her in the world and fulfill God's plans."

"To love, Christians must do as God does: not expect to be loved, but love “first.”"

"Twenty, sixty, a hundred years... life. What good is it if we go in the wrong direction? What matters is encountering Christ, living like him, proclaiming his saving Love. Bringing hope and not forgetting that all of us, each in our own place, even at personal cost, are builders of a new world."

"You have a family. I have no one. I have no wife or children, and even if they kill me, I don't care."

"On September 15, Don Pino Puglisi, parish priest of the church of San Gaetano in Brancaccio, was killed with a single gunshot to the back of the head. With his tireless pastoral, educational, and social work, the priest had become a thorn in the side of the local mafia."

"Don Puglisi was proclaimed blessed on May 25, 2013. He who did not like celebrations, solemnities, or official rites, is consigned to history as the first martyr of the Church killed by the mafia in odium fidei."

"When a person's heart surrenders to God, when they say yes to Him, then the Kingdom comes, then God reigns."

"A man, Don Pino [Puglisi], fighting against non-men, mafiosi, and hitmen in the neighborhood to save children and young people from a fate of violence, illegality, poverty, ignorance, and incivility."

"If we have the heart of a mother or, more precisely, if we set out to have the heart of the Mother par excellence: Mary, we will always be ready to love."

"‘'I love you | because you entered my life | more than the air in my lungs, | more than the blood in my veins.’' (April 24, 1960)"

"In the parish, all pastoral care should be guided by the vocational line together with the missionary line: “all called, all sent.”"

"Holocaust means burning one's entire existence on the altar of the cross."

"God loves us, but always through someone else."

"The first duty in Brancaccio is to roll up our sleeves. And the first targets are children and adolescents: with them, we still have time, educational measures can be effective... But even at that age it is not easy, because many children are forced to work or steal. And many girls are forced to do worse, because there are also cases of child prostitution in the neighborhood."