The Church thus urgently needs people with a deep and sound faith, a well-grounded culture and genuine human and social sensitivity, of Religious and priests who dedicate their lives to being on these very frontiers to bear witness and to help people understand that on the contrary there is profound harmony between faith and reason, between the Gospel spirit, the thirst for justice and initiatives for peace.

- Address to the Jesuit General Convention, 21 February 2008

It is not oceans or immense distances that challenge the heralds of the Gospel but the boundaries resulting from an erroneous or superficial vision of God and man that stand between faith and human knowledge, faith and modern science, faith and the commitment to justice.

- Address to the Jesuit General Convention, 21 February 2008

I wondered if Pope Benedict XVI might ever carry a different pastoral staff. No I wonder if he'll keep using this one of if he'll keep switching them now and again. I might be tempted to switch them around, just to keep people guessing.

[photo source]

Christ's heart is divine-human: in him God and man meet perfectly, without separation and without confusion. He is the image, or rather, the incarnation of God who is love, mercy, paternal and maternal tenderness, of God who is Life.

- Angelus Address, 9 March 2008

[B]odily death is a sleep from which God can awaken us at any moment.

- Angelus Address, 9 March 2008

One cannot contemplate Mary without being attracted by Christ and one cannot look at Christ without immediately perceiving the presence of Mary.

- Message for the 16th World Day of the Sick

Mary is a model of total self-abandonment to God's will.

- Message for the 16th World Day of the Sick

[I]f the Lord's voice is to be heard, an atmosphere of silence is essential.

- Homily, 1 February 2008

Indeed, even though it may seem that the priest's life does not attract most people's interest, it is in fact the most interesting and necessary adventure for the world, the adventure of showing, of making present, the fullness of life to which we all aspire. It is a very demanding adventure; and it could not be otherwise since the priest is called to imitate Jesus, who "came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mt 20: 28).

- Homily, 1 February 2008

God does not abandon us...his love comes to us where we are, with our misery and our weakness, to offer us a new possibility of goodness.

- Letter to Romans on Education

In giving alms, we offer something material, a sign of the greater gift that we can impart to others through the announcement and witness of Christ, in whose name is found true life.

- Message for Lent 2008, 5

In gratuitously offering himself, the Christian bears witness that it is love and not material richness that determines the laws of his existence. Love, then, gives almsgiving its value; it inspires various forms of giving, according to the possibilities and conditions of each person.

- Message for Lent 2008, 5

Almsgiving teaches us the generosity of love.

- Message for Lent 2008, 5

By drawing close to others through almsgiving, we draw close to God; it can become an instrument for authentic conversion and reconciliation with Him and our brothers.

- Message for Lent 2008, 4

There is little use in giving one’s personal goods to others if it leads to a heart puffed up in vainglory: for this reason, the one, who knows that God “sees in secret” and in secret will reward, does not seek human recognition for works of mercy.

- Message for Lent 2008, 3

Almsgiving, according to the Gospel, is not mere philanthropy: rather it is a concrete expression of charity, a theological virtue that demands interior conversion to love of God and neighbor, in imitation of Jesus Christ, who, dying on the cross, gave His entire self for us.

- Message for Lent 2008, 3

If, in accomplishing a good deed, we do not have as our goal God’s glory and the real well being of our brothers and sisters, looking rather for a return of personal interest or simply of applause, we place ourselves outside of the Gospel vision.

- Message for Lent 2008, 3

The disciple is to be concerned with God’s greater glory.

- Message for Lent 2008, 3

[W]e are not owners but rather administrators of the goods we possess: these, then, are not to be considered as our exclusive possession, but means through which the Lord calls each one of us to act as a steward of His providence for our neighbor.

- Message for Lent 2008

Almsgiving helps us to overcome this constant temptation, teaching us to respond to our neighbor’s needs and to share with others whatever we possess through divine goodness.

- Message for Lent 2008