Roman Catholic Priests

"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."

"Fiat justitia et ruant coeli."

"It is ironic that so often we continue to live like paupers though our inheritance of spirit is so vast."

"In contrast to how a child belongs in the world, adult belonging is never as natural, innocent, or playful. Adult belonging has to be chosen, received, and renewed. It is a lifetime's work."

"One of the great modern philosophers of beauty, Immanuel Kant, spoke of the joy we take in the Beautiful as 'disinterested delight'. The animation of the Beautiful is so immediate and fulfilling that we simply enjoy it for itself; it never occurs to us to ask what purpose it serves."

"We were created to be creators."

"The years of my diplomatic service have taken me to work in different countries with different sensitivities in Church-State relations. In all of them, however, I seemed to perceive a common denominator: the State looks at the Church with attention and interest. Why is this so? Perhaps because the Church has always shown itself to be more inclined to what unites than to what divides."

"The longer I stay in education, the more I realize that it is an effective instrument for development and empowerment. I see fewer distinctions than I used to between various kinds of involvement such as social action, pastoral work or education or even work in an administrative set up, as I am now in. I find my work very priestly. I don't have to jump from one sector (religious) to the other (secular) as the distinction between the two gets thinner. Education for me is spiritual involvement."

"The best way to help the poor is to respect them, to stand before them as an equal, without any masks, privilege, without any authority other than love and respect. And love will help you persevere in spite of the disappointments and the failures and the lack of honesty that we have to deal with almost every day. I can say that there is no magic formula to help the poor. In each country, culture and civilization, there will always be different gestures, different approaches."

"Conversion is a free and sincere change of the human heart that embraces Christ and His message and no one can force a person to do so. Whoever truly wants to be a disciple of Jesus should have the right to do so: it is a human right, included in the Constitution. No civil authority has the right to enter into the sanctuary of the human conscience."

"This Synod also calls on members to talk heart-to-heart to each other and to encourage all we shepherds to listen to small ethnic and cultural groups and minority movements in the Church. The way of the Pacific is the way of journeys also. Hospitality must be our special care. I think especially from Tokelau of the welcome given to Pacific islanders arriving in Australia and New Zealand. Hurt human nature does not communicate well."

"In truth, I left the Congregation only canonically, but my heart has always been that of a Salesian and my way of being is always that of a Salesian - so much so that today we are part of the Salesian Family and we are resolved to be really Salesian."

"I became a pastor, close to the people, cheerful, someone who welcomes. I will be bold: I have a lot still to win, but my ticket in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal caused me to be a little more of Jesus. It was a lever that pushed me forward I want to be increasingly Jesus to the people, because this need is not of me but of Jesus; people need Jesus in me."

"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 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"

"As in our languages Christians take their name from Christ, so in the language of the Talmud Christians are called Notsrim, from Jesus the Nazarene. But Christians are also called by the names used in the Talmud to designate all non-Jews: Abhodah Zarah, Akum, Obhde Elilim, Minim, Nokhrim, Edom, Amme Haarets, Goim, Apikorosim, Kuthrim."

"In the infamous book Toldoth Jeschu […] it is related that in the house of the Sanctuary there was a stone which the Patriarch Jacob anointed with oil. On this stone were carved the tetragrammatic letters of the Name (IHVH), and if anyone could learn them he could destroy the world. They therefore decreed that no one must learn them, and they placed two dogs upon two iron columns before the Sanctuary so that if anyone should learn them the dogs would bark at him coming out and he would forget the letters through fear. Then it is related: "Jesus came and entered, learned the letters and wrote them down on parchment. Then he cut into the flesh of his thigh and inserted them there, and having pronounced the name, the wound healed.""

"Many passages in the Talmudic books treat of the birth, life, death and teachings of Jesus Christ. He is not always referred to by the same name, however, but is diversely called "That Man," "A Certain One," "The Carpenter's Son," "The One Who Was Hanged," etc. […] Since the word Jeschua means "Savior," the name Jesus rarely occurs in Jewish books. It is almost always abbreviated to Jeschu, which is maliciously taken as if it were composed of the initial letters of the three words Immach SCHemo Vezikro—"May his name and memory be blotted out.""

"Questioner: What is the meaning of the word Hullin [animals permissible as food]?Pranaitis: I don't know.Questioner: What is the meaning of the word Erubin [Sabbath walking limits]?Pranaitis: I don't know.Questioner: What is the meaning of the word Yebamot [family relationships]?Pranaitis: I don't know.Questioner: When did Baba Batra [a tractate of the Talmud] live and what was her activity?Pranaitis: I don't know."

"In the 13th century "Popes Gregory IX and Innocent IV condemned the books of the Talmud as containing every kind of vileness and blasphemy against Christian truth, and ordered them to be burned because they spread many horrible heresies.""

"Justinas Pranaitis was a Roman Catholic priest, Hebraist, and author of antisemitic tracts. […] In 1892, he published The Christian in the Talmud of the Jews, or The Secrets of the Rabbinical Teachings Concerning Christians, a work based on his dissertation. By means of numerous citations in Hebrew and in Latin translations, he sought to demonstrate that the Talmud obliged Jews to injure Christians in multifarious ways and to work for their elimination. Pranaitis drew on the works of the German anti-Talmudists Jakob Ecker and August Rohling. The book received the imprimatur of the church and was published by the press of the Academy of Sciences. […] Pranaitis's work was translated into Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Italian, Spanish, and English (as The Talmud Unmasked). Today, it is still being distributed by extreme right-wing and clerical circles and can be accessed from a number of antisemitic websites."

"Father Pranaitis was one of those "liquidated" by the Cheka during the Bolshevist revolution in Russia."

"Cross-examination of Pranaitis has weakened the evidential value of his expert opinion, exposing lack of knowledge of texts and insufficient knowledge of Jewish literature. Because of his amateurish knowledge and lack of resourcefulness, Pranaitis' expert opinion is of very low value."

"In Abhodah Zarah (26b, Tosephoth) it says:"Even the best of the Goim should be killed""

"In numerous places ignominious names are given by the Jews to Christian things. It will not be out of place to list a few of these names which they give to things and persons which are held holy and dear by Christians, as follows:Jesus is ignominiously called Jeschu—which means, May his name and memory be blotted out. His proper name in Hebrew is Jeschua, which means Salvation.Mary, the mother of Jesus, is called Charia—dung, excrement (German Dreck). In Hebrew her proper name is Miriam.Christian saints, the word for which in Hebrew is Kedoschim, are called Kededchim (cinaedos)—feminine men (Fairies). Women saints are called Kedeschoth, Whores. […]The gospel books are called Aavon Gilaion, Books of Iniquity."

"There is a natural instinct that pushes for a return to old institutions and a quick economic recovery. This, for us, would be the worst outcome. We must use this opportunity to envision a better future."

"We follow Christ, and he's come to bring the Kingdom of God, that is one of justice, peace, inclusion. This Kingdom, of course, will come at the end of times, but we are tasked with spreading it. And this means that the Catholic Church is called to work where there's justice, peace, but also war. It's called to work in healthcare, the environment, politics and the world of finance. It's a call from the Gospel."

"We are a society of apostolic life, so there’s going to be a common life … there must be fraternal life. If there’s no fraternal life, priests become extremely susceptible to the wiles and snares of the devil."

"If pastors and theologians are asked to reflect and follow the direction indicated by the Holy Father, they are certainly not obliged to think that the proposed approach, with the preambles supporting it, are exempt from danger, nor that the advice given is appropriate. They are even fully justified in drawing the attention of the Holy See of the bishops to the serious ambiguities of the underlying doctrine and on the dangers of the proposed pastoral care."

"The failure to admit the existence of intrinsic evil in man and the search for happiness in this world are interrelated. Both are predicated on the denial of Transcendence (and so the denial of conscience as the antenna of Transcendence, that inner sense of right and wrong) and so the denial of the universal call to holiness as man’s goal in life. Both are materialistic—reducing moral behaviour to a calculus of advantages and disadvantages to the autonomous self. Both constitute the essence of secularism. That secularism has seeped into the very fabric of the contemporary theology."

"The rules express perfectly the spirit of the Church; but they also contain some important characteristics of our Founder’s personality. The rules are an excellent instrument for a true reform of the Church for our time. They are essentially a response to overcome the deep crisis in the Church, namely, by fostering a true understanding of the priesthood of Jesus Christ, a lively faith, and a missionary spirit."

"I have often asked myself: “Why has Jesus let all of this happen?” The only answer that comes to mind is that Jesus wants to manifest just how weak is the faith of many within the Church, even among too many of her bishops. Ironically, your pontificate has given those who hold harmful theological and pastoral views the license and confidence to come into the light and expose their previously hidden darkness. In recognizing this darkness, the Church will humbly need to renew herself, and so continue to grow in holiness."

"The world needs holy men today, especially fathers–both biological fathers and spiritual fathers, priests and bishops. Today many men are confused about what it means to be a man, a husband, and a father. Addictions to pornography and entertainment (especially sports) have consumed the lives of men around the world. Furthermore, for those who want to try and break free of the cycle of cultural brain-washing, education and career systems have been put in place to beat down any traditional understanding of strong male leadership, determining and classifying traditional manhood as toxic. This has left many men feeling emasculated and adrift in a society that views their fatherhood and leadership as dispensable. We need St. Joseph to serve as the model for men (fathers, husbands, and clergy) today. From St. Joseph they learn to be servant leaders, sacrificial and chivalrous men not afraid to confront the darkness, slay spiritual dragons, and combat the politics of death. If St. Joseph is the Terror of Demons (and he is), all men are called to resemble him and also be a terror to the forces of evil."

"A man who prays lives out the mystery of existence, and a man who does not pray scarcely exists."

"The priest-monk lived and served in the monastery for 19 years, showing great devotion to the life of prayer, manual work, and contemplative silence. Charbel's superiors observed God's 'supernatural power' at work in his life, and he became known as a wonder-worker even among some Muslims. In 1875, he was granted permission to live as a solitary monk in a nearby hermitage dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. Rigorous asceticism, and a profound union with God, continued to characterise the monk's life for the next 23 years."

"Strange things happen to Nohad al-Shami. In 1993 her painting of St Charbel began oozing oil. Around the same time the long-dead saint appeared in her dreams. 'I have come to operate on you,' he said. And so he did, curing her of hemiplegia (paralysis of half of the body), she claims. At the mountain-top monastery of Annaya, in north-west Lebanon, a mass is said every month to mark the miracle and to pray for new ones."

"For the next 45 nights, a most unusual event occurred: According to many local townspeople, an extraordinarily bright light appeared above his tomb, lighting the night sky. Finally, after the mysterious light persisted, officials at the monastery petitioned the ecclesiastical authorities for permission to exhume Charbel's body. When the grave was opened four months after Charbel's death, his body was found to be incorrupt."

"On Christmas Eve in 1898, Father Charbel died. His body was interred in the ground without a coffin and without embalming, according to the monk's custom, dressed in the full habit of the order."

"One does not have to look far to see evidence of Satan’s plan in our world today, as the family is further fragmented and divided in modern culture."

"The family is the basis of the Lord’s plan; and all forces of evil are focusing all their evil on destroying the family because they know that by destroying the family, the foundations of the plan of God will be shaken. The war of the Evil One against the Lord is his war against the family, and the war of the Evil One against the family is the core of his war against the Lord. Because the family is the image of God, from the beginning of the creation of this universe, The Evil one is focusing on destroying the family, the foundation of God’s plan."

"Pray in your beds."

"By your prayers you can bring down the rain of mercy."

"Pray to soften hardened hearts, to open darkened minds."

"The Father's will is always for your good."

"Persevere in prayer without ceasing.. to understand and live according to his will, not to change it."

"Their buildings rise, their morality sinks. Their worldly goods increase, their values diminish. Their speeches multiply, their prayers grow scarce.... An edifice based on man may well rise, but it ends up crushing him."

"Success in life consists of standing without shame before God."

"Guard your families and keep them from the schemes of the evil one through the presence of God in them. Protect and keep them through prayer and dialog, through mutual understanding and forgiveness, through honesty and faithfulness, and most importantly, through listening. Listen to one another with your ears, eyes, hearts, mouths and the palms of your hands, and keep the roaring of the noise of the world away from your homes because it is like raging storms and violent waves; once it enters the home, it will sweep away everything and disperse everyone. Preserve the warmth of the family, because the warmth of the whole world cannot make up for it."

"No, you're not dreaming... Now you are conscious. You have never been so conscious as you are now."