Today, as in the time of Jesus, Christmas is not a fairytale for children, but rather God's answer to the drama of humanity in search of peace.

- Angelus Address, 20 December 2009

To be joyful we do not just have need of things, but love and truth: We need a God who is near, who warms our hearts, and responds to our profound desires. This God is manifested in Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary. This is why that Baby, whom we place in the stable or the cave, is the center of everything, the heart of the world.

- Angelus Address, 13 December 2009

...the creche is a school of life, where we can learn the secret of true joy. This does not consist in having a lot of things, but in feeling loved by the Lord, in making oneself a gift for others, in loving. We look at the creche: The Madonna and St. Joseph do not seem to be a very fortunate family; they had their first child in the midst of great hardships; and yet they are full of deep joy, because they love each other, they help each other and above all they are certain that God is at work in their history, God who made himself present in the little Jesus.

- Angelus Address, 13 December 2009

We should have a longing and a passion to illumine all peoples with the light of Christ that shines on the face of the Church, so that all may be gathered into the one human family, under God's loving fatherhood.

- Message for World Mission Day, 28 August 2009

When married couples devote themselves generously to the education of children, guiding them and orienting them to the discovery of God's plan of love, they are preparing that fertile spiritual ground from which vocations to the priesthood and to the consecrated life spring up and develop.

- Angelus Address, 30 August 2009

Jesus did not come to teach us philosphy but to show us a way, indeed the way that leads to life.

- Angelus Address, 13 September 2009

Serving, and is no doing giving oneself; exisiting not for oneself but for others, on behalf of God and in view of God; this is the innermost core of Jesus Christ's mission and at the same time of the true essense of his priesthood.

- Homily, 12 September 2009

The Gospel is, at its core, not only a word - Christ himself is the Gospel.

- Homily, 12 September 2009

Prudence demands humble, disciplined and watchful reason that does not let itself be blinded by prejudices; it does not judge according to desires and passions but rather seeks the truth, even though it may prove uncomfortable.

- Homily, 12 September 2009

Fidelity is not fear but rather is inspired by love and by its dynamism.

- Homily, 12 September 2009

It is the Lord himself, through the words of prayer and the act of the imposition of hands, who takes that man totally into his service, draws him into his priesthood.

- Homily, 12 September 2009

When they meet us, our contempories want to see what they see nowhere else, that is, the joy and hope that come from being with the Risen Lord.

- Address to the Bishops from Brazil, 7 September 2009

Although God is the only one who can plant the call to the pastoral service of his people in the human heart, all the members of the Church should question themselves on the deep urgency and real commitment with which they feel and lives this cause.

- Address to the Bishops from Brazil, 7 September 2009

In our time - when an urgent need to educate the new generations is evident - it is therefore necessary for the Church to continue to support sports for youth, making the most of their positive aspects also at competitive levels - such as their capacity for stimulating competitiveness, courage and tenacity in pursuing goals. However, it is necessary to avoid every trend that perverts the nature of sports by recourse to practices that can even damage the body, such as doping.

- Message to Cardinal Rylko, 3 November 2009

...Christian Advent becomes an opportunity to reawaken within ourselves the true meaning of waiting, returning to the heart of our faith which is the mystery of Christ, the Messiah who was expected for long centuries and was born in poverty, in Bethlehem.

- Homily, 28 November 2009

The essential meaning of the adventus was: God is here, he has not withdrawn from the world, he has not deserted us.

- Homily, 28 November 2009

In the language of the ancient world it [the word adventus] was a technical term used to indicate the arrival of an official or the visit of the king or emperor to a province. However, it could also mean the coming of the divinity that emerges from concealment to manifest himself forcefully or that was celebrated as being present in worship.

- Homily, 28 November 2009