You could say to me, “But the Church is made up of sinners; we see them every day.” And this is true: we are a Church of sinners. And we sinners are called to let ourselves be transformed, renewed, sanctified by God.
–Pope Francis (1936-
Compassion is preferable to cleanliness. Reflect that with a little soap I can easily clean my bed covers, but even with a torrent of tears I would never wash from my soul the stain that my harshness toward the unfortunate would create.
–Saint Martin de Porres (1579-1639)
I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars. You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else.
–Pope Francis (1936-
The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion, but, on the contrary, of its liberality and humanity. It is shorter to state the things forbidden than the things permitted: precisely because most things are permitted, and only a few things are forbidden.
–GK Chesterton (1874-1936)
Contemplation is a ladder to God. And when you come down the ladder, come to the aid of your neighbour in need.
–Saint Anthony of Padua (1195-1231)
It is no longer the soul recollecting itself; it is God who recollects it and draws it toward the inner sanctuary. This is the beginning of contemplation; it is infused [by God], since we cannot procure it for ourselves by our own activity aided by grace.
–Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange (1877–1964)
