Christian hope is not a ghost and it does not deceive. It is a theological virtue and therefore, ultimately, a gift from God that cannot be reduced to optimism, which is only human. God does not mislead hope; God cannot deny himself. God is all promise.

Each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor.

Advent increases our hope, a hope which does not disappoint. The Lord never lets us down.

The blood of our Christian brothers and sisters is a testimony which cries out to be heard by everyone who can still distinguish between good and evil.

Lent is a fitting time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty. Let us not forget that real poverty hurts: no self-denial is real without this dimension of penance. I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt.

Prayer is all-powerful. Let us use it to bring peace to the Middle East and peace to the world.

It is by God’s mercy that we are saved. May we never tire of spreading this joyful message to the world.