Clergy

"The foundational God-experience of Israel was the Exodus – the experience of God in the liberation of slaves. Israel also experienced God as the one who was active on its behalf in the decisive moments of its history. And the early Christians experienced God in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, who was done to death as a political criminal. For us Christians, the human person is the privileged locus of God-experience – we encounter God first of all in Jesus of Nazareth, and then in every man, woman and child."

"The biblical understanding of the human person is holistic. It makes no distinction between body and soul. The human person is not a soul living in a body, but an animated body, so perfectly integrated that the person in his totality can express himself/herself and be apprehended in any part. “It is the body rooted in the cosmos and related to other human beings, which gives the person his or her identity.”"

"Uniformity is the death of life. Wherever there is life, there is diversity."

"Mission of the Church is to collaborate with God in his work for the wholeness of the human person, the human community and the cosmos according to the pattern revealed in Jesus Christ."

"All this calls for an attitudinal change in the Church. An inward looking Church gives undue importance to rite and rubrics, orthodoxy and discipline. But God-ward looking Church is concerned with the great human problem of living together in freedom and equality, love, justice and peace as well as in tune with the rhythm of nature. For the world, not the Church, is the primary object of God’s love."

"The one mission of the Church receives its specification from the actual context in which it is exercised in the concrete situations in which it is fulfilled."

"Now if the Church’s mission is to collaborate with God in his work for the wholeness of the human person, the human community and the cosmos, then this demands that it care for the earth, that it be concerned about life and that it be committed to people. The Church’s task is to work along with God for the creation of a new human society which is consciously rooted in God, which is characterized by freedom, equality, love, justice and peace and which lives in harmony and communion with nature."

"Christian hope asks us to regard every stage in the growth of a person and every phase in the development of the Church as merely provisional. It has to be transcended. We are still on our way to the final Kingdom."

"Any genuine experience of God will send us out to serve those whom God loves. And working with people will make us aware of how much we are in need of God, of God’s help and guidance. This will gradually usher in a rhythm of prayer and work – prayer leading to work and work leading to prayer. So the integration of prayer and work takes place existentially."

"Freedom is for love and service. Our ability to give ourselves away in love and service is the true measure of our freedom. After having declared: “For you were called to freedom”, Paul adds: “Through love become slaves to one another”."

"Normally we think that it was Jesus’ mission to reveal the mystery of God to us. This he certainly did. But he also revealed to us the mystery of the human person. As the Council declares: “The truth is that only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of the human being take on light” (GS 22). First of all, Jesus pointed out the God-dimension of human person."

"The Church of God becomes concrete and visible only in a community of people who have experienced the presence of God and responded to his saving activity."

"It is our Christian task to make ourselves increasingly more free. As one of the beautiful hymns has it: “It is a long road to freedom”. There is a great danger that we will give in to external force or internal compulsion, thus jeopardizing our freedom."

"God did not create the world in order to get anything for himself. In fact, there is no need of God’s that we can supply, no luxury of His that we can provide. Actually, God created the world in order to bestow his blessings on his creatures and to give them a share in his own goodness."

"If the world had a finite reality as its goal, then it has only a limited possibility of growth. But when the world has the Infinite God as its goal, it has endless possibilities of growth and development."

"Transcendence is the way God is immanent. God is present in every created reality, without being identified with it. This is the meaning of God’s transcendence."

"I wish to adopt a holistic approach to the mission of the Church. To my mind the mission of the Church is to collaborate with God in God’s work for the wholeness of the human person, the human community and the cosmos according to the pattern revealed in Jesus Christ (Kunnumpuram 2011)"

"In recent times, we are becoming increasingly more aware of the cosmic dimension of salvation. The destiny of humankind and that of the cosmos are inextricably intertwined. In the past, Christians often thought of their relationship to the world in terms of domination, possession, use and enjoyment. There was little awe and wonder before the mystery of the universe. This arrogant and irreverent attitude to creation is largely responsible for the serious ecological crisis was are facing today."

"Christian spirituality is a spirituality of hope. St. Paul believes that Christians are those who have hope (1Thess 4:13). Now to hope is to look forward to the new, to what is not yet there, and strive to bring it about. Hence hope is forward-looking and forward moving. That is why a spirituality of hope is a spirituality of change. According to Karl Rahner it is a sin against hope to refuse to change. Those who refuse to change regard the past or the present as the final state of humankind. We are not yet in the new heavens and the new earth. We are on our way to them. And so our spirituality is a spirituality of hope and change."

"The poor are becoming increasingly aware of the injustice of the system that condemns them to a life of indigence and misery. And they are opposing the system courageously, sometimes even violently. This leads to a situation of conflict."

"The Church has consistently taught that justice and charity are the foundations of peace. It may be right to think of “charity as the soul and justice as the substance of international peace”."

"The Church in India needs to take more seriously the option for the poor and take concrete steps to alleviate poverty and misery in India."

"The Church in India has to join hands with all subaltern groups – the Dalits, the tribal people and women – in their struggle for liberation and justice. For centuries, the Dalits have been victims of oppression. In recent years violence against them has grown. The tribal people, too, are subjected to various forms of injustice."

"That is why individuals and peoples need a “healing of memories”. This does not mean that they have to forget past events. Rather, they have to learn to look at them in a new way. Instead of remaining prisoners of the past, they have to recover their freedom to forgive. As the pope says: “The deadly cycle of revenge must be replaced by the new-found liberty of forgiveness.”"

"To work for peace and reconciliation is central to the mission of the Church. For the Church exists in order to carry on the saving work of Jesus under the guidance of the Spirit. And his saving work is interpreted in the New Testament as reconciliation and peace-making. According to Paul, God was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world to himself."

"Peace is the gift of God who through the death and resurrection of Christ, reconciled humans with himself and with one another. However, peace is also a human achievement since it is to be ushered in through the practice of love and justice."

"Pope John Paul II is a tireless champion of peace who has dealt with the theme of peace often and at some length. Like his predecessors, John Paul II sees a close connection between justice and peace. John Paul II believes that justice is rooted in love and “finds its most significant expression in mercy”. Hence, justice, “if separated from merciful love, becomes cold and cutting.”"

"Justification is the act of God as a Judge; adoption as a Father; by the former we are discharged from condemnation, and accepted as righteous; by the latter we are made the children of God and joint-heirs with Christ."

"Messieurs, nous avons un maître, ce jeune homme fait tout, peut tout, et veut tout."

"J'ai vécu."

"La mort sans phrase."

"Une nation de singes à larynx de parroquets."

"God looked through eternity past and He saw you and He chose to reach out and redeem you by His own grace. It’s hard to imagine that kind of love."

"Too many times we’re looking for ways to get around deep waters and dangerous fires, rather than through them. Has this ever been your experience?"

"At this moment, God is watching your life and at some point in this trial, He will say enough. You don’t need to falter."

"Only when we have done all we knew to do can we wait by faith for God to do what only He can do."

"If He wasn’t going to use that hard thing for your good, it wouldn’t have happened. He had to sign off on every single thing that touches your life."

"I want to be a part of the grand plan. Being on board with God’s objectives means I understand that this is not about me."

"Difficult trials will naturally evoke powerful emotions in us. How would your circumstances look today if you chose to focus first on God’s promises?"

"By your grace, I will not despair. I believe that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."

"Eventually you can see that your pain was part of a much larger picture that God was carefully painting."

"What kind of future is in God’s plan? A good one to which you can look forward. That’s why you can hope."

"Our prayer must be, “Father, I’m waiting for You because I know You are good in what You do and in when you do it.”"

"We all know the disappointments that come when we base anticipation on what we and other humans can deliver. God will never have a problem delivering!"

"I will not fail: God is always victorious."

"You might not think it now, but if you’re one of God’s children, you’re going to figure it out by the end of your life—God is good."

"His disposition is kindness. His default action is for your benefit. He’s good! And someday you will taste it!"

"It doesn’t matter what has happened, better things are coming. God’s plan produces hope in me."

"Don’t miss God’s fingerprints all over the events, lining up people and circumstances in perfect timing to preserve His people and advance His agenda."

"[God’s] purposes are always accomplished. His enemies are always defeated. His faithful followers are always rewarded. His Son’s throne will be established forever."