All Quotes

"The presence of the divine in the world should serve to calm the visceral pride and sense of human omnipotence that exalt power and domination."

"Repetition has always been the source of certainty."

"Old certainties appear as gross errors, and there is now a need to educate, and to do so urgently, at a time when no one knows what it means anymore, since for several generations, throughout the 20th century, this term has not been used, obsolete and with the flavor of something dirty and perverse."

"Beliefs in heaven, populated by the living, express well the denial of death and the desire to remain."

"In the family, where daily disagreements have disappeared, dramas made up of extreme behaviors arise."

"To accept defeat, you have to believe in those who decree it, you have to be sure that the competitions are not rigged, that they do not become a business, but that they are conducted with absolute respect for skills and talents, whatever field they may be in."

"If your neighbor is antisocial and does not like your noise, he turns on his own and cancels yours."

"Human rights are about human dignity and how people are treated. It is about wellbeing, about living a self-sufficient life, a life in which you are not below the poverty line. It also encompasses self-esteem. It’s about not treating people as inferior."

"A society cannot be classified as a caring, equal society if it does not uphold dignity of its citizens."

"The guiding principle of any society should be how to make sure that all citizens can lead a dignified life."

"When you talk, listen and try to understand different perspectives barriers, real or imagined, begin to disappear and real conversations begin."

"Nobody can be completely neutral in a situation, but a good mediator needs to remember what both parties are trying to achieve and seek to reach that outcome."

"Women tend to underestimate their abilities. Often women say, ‘oh I don’t know… if I am ready for this job’, whereas the men would say, ‘oh yes, I can do the job.’"

"How can we talk about Christ? We must try to present the figure of Christ as someone we love, in the hope that people will listen to us."

"It is very difficult to die for a friend, but dying for enemies is even more difficult. Christ, however, died for us when we were still his enemies. God always remains close to us; it is the constancy of love to the extreme limit, indeed without limits. This is the reason for our joy. (homily of 14 September 1993)"

"It is important to talk about the mafia, especially in schools, in order to combat the mafia mentality, which is any ideology willing to sell out human dignity for money."

"Be a witness, especially for those who harbor anger toward a society they see as hostile. The witness must instill hope in them by helping them understand that life is valuable when it is given freely."

"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."

"The Church has already excommunicated those who have committed atrocious crimes, such as the so-called men of honor. I can only add that murderers, those who live and feed on violence, have lost their human dignity. They are less than men; they degrade themselves, through their choices, to the rank of animals. (homily of 25 July 1993)"

"(Last words) I was expecting that."

"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."

"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."

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

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

"Those who think too much before taking a step will spend their whole life standing on one foot."

"We must give and ask our brother for whatever is necessary to help him."

"Each of us feels within ourselves a particular inclination, a charisma, a vocation, a project that makes each person unique and unrepeatable: journalist, teacher, priest, student, father, volunteer... This calling is the sign of the Holy Spirit within us. Only listening to this voice can give meaning to our lives. (p. 294)"

"Love for God purifies and liberates. This does not mean that we become depersonalized, but rather that our personality is exalted and enhanced, that is, our natural faculties and our intelligence are given new potential. Our will is given new light. (p. 512)"

"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."

"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."

"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 it is assumed, without due Scriptural support, that the purpose of revelation is to give mankind a source-book of information on all phases of physical, mental, spiritual, sociological, artistic, and scientific life — a source-book which must have meaning for the people to whom it was addressed and to all the generations coming after them in spite of the changes which are continuously occurring — then we have the greatest difficulty in maintaining the doctrine of an inerrant Scripture. If, on this stand, we adopt the position of “arbitrary inerrancy,” we essentially jeopardize the whole truth of Christianity by attempting to balance the great wealth and weight of God’s revelation in Christ upon our ability to show that the words of Scripture can be judged inerrant even when we examine them on the basis of criteria they were not written to satisfy. How much of liberalism and rejection of Biblical revelation has been precipitated as a blind reaction against such a stand!"

"The human senses are tools of science in studying the natural world. If you can see it, hear it, feel, taste, or smell it, then science can’t work with it. This isn’t meant superficially, for scientists have developed a great variety of instruments that extend the capabilities of science far beyond the unaided senses. But even with the most subtle of instruments, the link between instrument and scientist is in the form of a meter needle whose location is seen, a photographic record or computer tape that can be read, or an audible signal that can be heard."

"Evolution is a scientific question on the biological level; it would be unfortunate indeed if a scientific question were permitted to become the crucial point for Christian faith."

"We believe in Creation. We praise the Lord for that faith. But let us avoid either posing creation and evolution as intrinsically antithetical alternatives, the acceptance of one demanding the rejection of the other, or presenting creation as a scientific mechanism alternative to evolution, as though good science must ultimately lead to the verification of fiat creation and a falsification of evolution."

"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)"

"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."

"The focolarini see in Mary that person who, because she was faithful to her particular task, participated in the life of all humanity."

"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."

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

"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; / he has come to his people and set them free. / He has raised up for us a mighty savior, / born of the house of his servant David. / Through his holy prophets he promised of old / that he would save us from our enemies, / from the hands of all who hate us. / He promised to show mercy to our fathers / and to remember his holy covenant."

"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."

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

"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)."

"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."

"[...] 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."

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