Clergy From France

"The mid-19th century saw the triumph of the reign of money over the medieval reign of honor and traditions."

"The prayer of Bernadette is contagious."

"The Virgin [Mary] is the one in whom no sin has diminished love."

"Lourdes does not disappoint, even though miracles remain the exception there."

"We sinners oscillate dangerously between harshness and complicity towards others."

"There is no true love for the sinner without hatred for his sin."

"One cannot understand the sinner through sin, because sin is not a positive technique: in its essence it is deprivation, absence, nothingness; it is sin to the exact extent that it decapitates the good of the act performed. It is therefore not a factor of understanding but of obscurity."

"If heaven chooses what does not exist according to the world, it is not for the gratuitous pleasure of mocking the world."

"Allow Father Leray to go into Vicksburg? Why, I would sooner let in Forrest's Brigade."

"I am a sacrificed man; may the divine will be done."

"There is not in the history of heroism a figure more forlorn and pathetic than that of the President of the Council of Basel."

"The cardinal showed heroic courage in tending the plague-stricken. He was also a diligent promoter of the decree passed by the council in favour of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady."

"His violent action at Basle seems to have resulted from an earnest desire for the reform of the Church, and having made his submission to Nicholas V, he is believed to have done penance for his former disloyal and schismatical conduct. He died shortly after in the odour of sanctity. His private life had always been a penitential one."

"Well meant though it undoubtedly was, and perhaps necessary under the circumstances, the French leader's intervention in the inter-tribal politics of the natives likewise resulted in their paying more heed to the war songs and the satisfaction of their passions than to the question of their spiritual advancement."

"His life was one alternation of triumphs and defeats. At times he had to prevent the Indians from adoring him as a god; at others they were about to sacrifice him to their deities."

"Respect for the decisions of the Church, veneration and the most pure singleness of affection are too deeply rooted in your hearts that any foreign or presumptuous sentiment should mar the integrity or tarnish the brilliancy of your allegiance or even suggest any grounds to fear these and the like calamities. You will submit in all cheerfulness and humility to the decisions which have been come to you"

"Gifted with keen foresight, Bishop Guigues formed a diocese with the slender resources at his disposal."

"It would seem that the victories of the Egyptian monarchs were far from decisive, and that Ethiopia always retained enough liberty to openly aspire to independence."

"Urbs Syon aurea, patria lactea, cive decora Omne cor obruis, omnibus obstruis et cor et ora Nescio, nescio, quae jubilatio, lux tibi quali Quam sociala gaudia, gloria quam specialis."

"Hic breve vivitur, hic breve plangitur, hic breve fletur: Non breve vivere, non breve plangere retribuetur."

"Catholic scholars justly regard Biblical introduction as a theological science. They are indeed fully aware of the possibility of viewing it in a different light, of identifying it with a literary history of the various books which make up the Bible. They distinctly know that this is actually done by many writers outside of the Church, who are satisfied with applying to the Holy Scriptures the general principles of historical criticism."

"He was to me, for more than a quarter of a century, a most affectionate, devoted, and faithful friend, and a wise and able counsellor."

"I have trusted very much and been sometimes deceived; but I know that had I trusted less I would have been still oftener deceived."

"We have to give account only to God. The contribution of the Catholic Church in Ghana cannot be reduced in numbers, because we deal with persons, persons with wonderful dignity regardless of their origins, tribes and religion. A human person is the noblest being on earth. We believe that he is coming and going to God, for that reason we want to serve God through him in the best way."

"Variations are naturally to be expected in four distinct, and in many ways independent, accounts of Christ's words and deeds, so that their presence, instead of going against, rather makes for the substantial value of the Evangelical narratives."

"Exercise is as essential to the health of the soul as it is to that of the body. A condition of habitual quiescence and stagnation were fatal to the health of both."

"It was but natural that in view of the extraordinary discoveries made in recent years in physics, mechanics and chemistry, the minds of men should be fascinated by new and unheard-of physical, mechanical and chemical phenomena, admitting of scientific examination, and holding out such rich and transcendent promises. Now, by imitating and even surpassing the effects of natural agents, pure spiritual substances can thus easily conceal their operation and gain access to man. They can even, on the pretence of furthering scientific progress, induce man to indulge in these unlawful practices, and thus attack him unawares. This is so much easier in an age when the study of the human soul and its faculties, and of the angelic nature and the spiritual world in general, is so greatly and universally neglected."

"I have a Vicariate as large as all France, and three churches and two priests."

"The religion of the Malagasies appears to be fundamentally a kind of mixed Monotheism, under the form of a Fetishism which finds expression in numerous superstitious practices of which these people are very tenacious."

"His episcopal career, which promised to be one of great usefulness to the Church, was cut short by his untimely death."

"Having been inured for many years to the labors of a missionary life, we feel ready, in spite of our advanced age, to share with you all the hardships' of the ministry. We are ambitious of no distinction. We expect to find in each of you a friend."

"There is a middle position, represented by the judgment of serious, right-minded men, which commends itself to the commonsense public. I need not say that I believe that position to be mine; I may deceive myself. But the folly of some of the theories is as repugnant to me as the foolishness of some of the legends. I think even that if I had to choose I should prefer the legends, for in them at least there is always some poetry and something of the soul of a people."

"(Nam) corporea pulchritudo in pelle solummodo constat. Nam si viderent homines hoc quod subtus pellem est, sicut lynces in Boetia cernere interiora feruntur, mulieres videre nausearent. Iste decor in flegmate, et sanguine, et humore, ac felle, consistit. Si quis enim considerat quae intra nares, et quae intra fauces, et quae intra ventrem lateant, sordes utique reperiet. Et si nec extremis digitis flegma vel stercus tangere patimur, quomodo ipsum stercoris saccum amplecti desideramus?"

"Conversions from paganism progress slowly, but continuously. The native Catholics, now numbering rather more than one thousand, are well instructed and faithful to their religious duties."

"In carrying my remembrances back to those sad days, of which I am writing, I recognize that I never have thanked God, as I ought to have done, for those particular graces, by which he preserved me in the midst of so great madness and impiety. Those who were at the head of the irreligious frenzy which then devastated our France, presided forward with all the confidence of success. Every device of cruelty and malice was put in operation, to attain the end they had in view: to destroy the Catholic Religion, not only in France, but throughout the world. So far, as I am witness, did their detestable hopes of the complete final triumph over the Christian Faith extend. And yet, at that very moment, how strong and imperishable was its hold upon thousands of hearts; how fervently did every true Christian family pledge its love and life to our blessed Lord."

"Some historians have pretended that pagan philosophy entirely dominated Justin's Christianity, or at least weakened it. To appreciate fairly this influence it is necessary to remember that in his "Apology" Justin is seeking above all the points of contact between Hellenism and Christianity."

"In spite of the avowed infidelity then prevalent in the schools, he remained proof against sophistry and ridicule."

"His great influence on the entire church, his wonderful success in planning, financing, and carrying out necessary ecclesiastical reforms, and the constructive and executive ability he displayed in his diocese, make him one of the foremost Catholic emigrants to the United States."

"Like his predecessor, he spent the whole of his priestly life in arduous missionary work in southern Texas, often helping to build churches with his own hands. He was consecrated 28 October, 1895, and d. 11 March, 1911, deeply loved and regretted by all classes."

"His gentleness and self-sacrifice wrought wonders."

"With an eye to the future he endeavored to provide for the growth of his diocese by bringing Catholic immigrants from European countries to the fertile plains of Minnesota. Withal he did not neglect his ministerial and pastoral office."

"His administration was marked by piety, zeal, and providential prudence."

"During nearly twenty years of devoted work for the church he won the esteem of thousands of its best citizens."

"The lives of the missionaries who are devoting themselves exclusively to the native population are lives of intense isolation, but their personal sufferings and inconveniences count for little when there are souls to be saved."

"His energy, sound judgment, and an eloquence which caused Pope Leo XIII to compare him to Bossuet, as well as his unbounded charity, endeared Archbishop Perché to the people of Louisiana."

"Archbishop Perche was a great scholar, but he lacked administrative ability."

"This Church was born a year after Vatican II which placed the accent on the universality of the People of God. She is inscribed in the Universial Mission of the Church; she is an integral part of the whole which she serves and benefits of its support. To her alone, she is the whole Church and, however, she can only survive through the other members which make fraternal love interdependent. Because of this, she counts especially upon the solidarity of the unique college of all the Bishops."

"We are looking to be more numerous, to gather more faithful for the Eucharist, to manifest more strongly the Catholic presence in our secularized societies. However, we cannot be satisfied by these quantitative perspectives. We are also called upon to a task of internal renewal of our Christian life."

"Journalist: According to you, the term "proof" does not apply to God. You prefer the term "sign". Why? God is not an entity of the same order as an atom or a galaxy. The existence of the atom is corroborated by theoretical schemes and experimental evidence. Almost the entire scientific community recognizes its existence. God, at least from my Christian point of view, is not a matter of demonstration. He is a personal God with whom we can establish a relationship. This is an act of faith and freedom. The word "proof" does not apply to the existence of God, because proof is a matter of logical reasoning, not of personal choice. When faced with a mathematical proof, we do not have the freedom to accept or reject the result. Even in physics, where there is no absolute certainty, scientists reach situations of consensus. The theory of general relativity, for example, is accepted by almost all scientists. But this is far from the case with the existence of God! A sign, however, requires interpretation. And interpretation refers to the freedom of the interpreter. If we have a pleasant encounter on the street, we can see it as a sign of God's benevolence or simply as a result of chance. It is a question of freedom of interpretation. No demonstration can conclude that we should have met that person on that day and at that time. The believer can be free to find signs of divine action in the structure of the universe. Isn't it a sign of something that the universe is so coherent? There is room for debate here. But this is not proof."

"The word "proof" is often understood in the strong sense of "rigorous demonstration that leaves no room for interpretation." Admitting the conclusion of a mathematical theorem does not commit freedom. It can be used in a weaker sense, but I prefer to speak of "signs", as in the Gospel according to John. They are, if you like, "clues". That an unexpected event spurs me to give thanks to God poses no difficulty to me, even if other people can see the result of chance in it. The sign presupposes the commitment of a freedom."