Those we most often exclude from the normal life of society, people with disabilities, have profound lessons to teach us

A community which refuses to welcome - whether through fear, weariness, insecurity, a desire to cling to comfort, or just because it is fed up with visitors - is dying spiritually.

Every human activity can be put at the service of the divine and of love. We should all exercise our gift to build community.

A community that is growing rich and seeks only to defend its goods and its reputation is dying. It has ceased to grow in love. A community is alive when it is poor and its members feel they have to work together and remain united, if only to ensure that they can all eat tomorrow!

If we love (the poor) people, we want to identify with them and share with them.

One of the marvelous things about community is that it enables us to welcome and help people in a way we couldn't as individuals. When we pool our strength and share the work and responsibility, we can welcome many people, even those in deep distress, and perhaps help them find self-confidence and inner healing.

We work for peace every time we exercise authority with wisdom and authentic love.