The theology of the Cross is not a theory it is the reality of Christian life. To live in the belief in Jesus Christ, to live in truth and love implies daily sacrifice, implies suffering. Christianity is not the easy road, it is, rather, a difficult climb, but one illuminated by the light of Christ and by the great hope that is born of him.

- General Audience, 5 November 2008

The novelty of the Resurrection, consists in the fact that Jesus, raised from the lowliness of his earthly existence, is constituted Son of God "in power."

- General Audience, 5 November 2008

The theologian, the preacher, does not create new visions of the world and of life, but he is at the service of truth handed down, at the service of the real fact of Christ, of the Cross, and of the Resurrection. His task is to help us understand today the reality of "God with us" that lies behind the ancient words, and thus the reality of true life.

- General Audience, 5 November 2008

His Christology is never original at the expense of faithfulness to tradition.

- General Audience, 5 November 2008

The whole teaching of Paul the Apostle starts from, and arrives at, the mystery of him whom the Father raised from the dead.

- General Audience, 5 November 2008

Love for the poor and divine liturgy go together; love for the poor is liturgy.

- General Audience, 1 October 2008

Christian freedom is never identified with libertinage or with the will to do as one pleases; it is actuated in conformity to Christ and hence in authentic service to the brethren and above all to the neediest.

- General Audience, 1 October 2008

In this is where it appears that the Bible is a book of a people and for a people; an inheritance, a testament handed over to readers so that they can put into practice in their own lives the history of salvation witnessed in the text. There is therefore a reciprocal relationship of vital belonging between the people and the Book: the Bible remains a living Book with the people which is its subject which reads it; the people cannot exist without the Book, because it is in it that they find their reason for living, their vocation and their identity. This mutual belonging between people and Holy Scripture is celebrated in every liturgical ceremony, which, thanks to the Holy Spirit, listens to Christ since it is He who speaks when the Scripture is read in the Church and welcomes the Covenant that God renews with his people.

- Homily, 27 October 2008

[A]nyone who believes they have understood the Scriptures, or at least a part of them, without undertaking to build, by means of their intelligence, the twofold love of God and neighbor, demonstrates that in reality they are still a long way from having grasped its deeper meaning.

- Homily, 27 October 2008

God is not only the object of love, commitment, will and feelings, but also the intellect, which should not be excluded from this. Our thinking must conform to God's thinking.

- Homily, 27 October 2008

If it is true that the Bible is also a literary work, even more, the great code of universal culture, it is also true that it should not be robbed of its divine element, but rather should be read in the same Spirit in which it was written. Scientific exegesis and lection divina are, therefore, both necessary and complementary for seeking, through the literal meaning, the spiritual one, which God wants to communicate to us today.

- Angelus Address, 26 October 2008

The quest for the truth bears most fruit when it is sustained by love for the truth.

- Address, 16 October 2008

The Rosary is a school of contemplation and silence.

- Address, 19 October 2008

The Rosary is a spiritual "weapon" in the battle against evil, against all violence, for peace in hearts, in families, in society and in the world.

- Homily, 19 October 2008

The Lord's presence is a source of joy, for wherever he is, evil is overcome and life and peace triumph.

- Homily, 19 October 2008

Every crisis, in fact - nature teaches us this - is a passage that leads to a new stage of life.

- Address to Retrouvaille International, 26 September 2008

[T]each the faith of the Church in its integrity, with courage and the conviction of those who live by it and for it, never ceasing to proclaim the moral values of the Catholic Doctrine explicity, which refer to the family, sexuality and life, that are sometimes the subject of debate in the political and cultural context and in the means of social communication.

- Address to the Bishops of Uruguay, 26 September 2008

By its very nature, the Gospel urges people of faith to offer themselves in loving service to their brothers and sisters without distinction and without counting the cost (cf. Luke 10:25-37). Love is the outward manifestation of the faith that sustains the community of believers and empowers them to be signs of hope for the world.

- Address to the New Ambassador of the Czech Republic,

27 September 2008

Only Christ is the true hope of man; only entrusting the human heart to Him can it open up to love that overcomes hate.

- Homily, 9 October 2008

It is precisely this generous path that was taken by those who we are venerating today as Saints. In Baptism they received the wedding garment of divine grace, they kept it clean and purified it and made it radiant during their life through the Sacraments. They are now taking part in the wedding feast in Heaven. The banquet of the Eucharist is an anticipation of the final feast in Heaven, to which the Lord invites us every day and in which we must take part, clothed in the wedding garment of his grace. Should it happen that we soil or even tear this garment with sin, God's goodness does not reject or abandon us to our destiny but rather offers us, with the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the possibility of restoring the wedding garment to the pristine state required for the feast.

- Homily, 12 October 2008