We need courage if we are to be faithful to the Gospel.

Our life is made up of time, and time is a gift from God, so it is important that it be used in good and fruitful actions.

Too often we participate in the globalization of indifference. May we strive instead to live global solidarity.

Politics is noble; it is one of the highest forms of charity, as Paul VI used to say. We sully it when we mix it with business. The relationship between the Church and political power can also be corrupted if common good is not the only converging point.

Wine is a sign of happiness, love and plenty, how many of our adolescents and young people sense that these are no longer found in their homes? How many women, sad and lonely, wonder when love left, when it slipped away from their lives? How many elderly people feel left out of family celebrations, cast aside and longing each day for a little love?

Our mission as Christians is to conform ourselves evermore to Jesus as the model of our lives.

Ask yourselves this question: How often is Jesus inside and knocking at the door to be let out, to come out? And we do not let him out because of our own need for security, because so often we are locked into ephemeral structures that serve solely to make us slaves and not free children of God.