When we are generous in welcoming people and sharing something with them-some food, a place in our homes, our time-not only do we no longer remain poor: we are enriched.

I want to remind priests that the confessional must not be a torture chamber but rather an encounter with the Lord’s mercy which spurs us on to do our best. A small step, in the midst of great human limitations, can be more pleasing to God than a life which appears outwardly in order but moves through the day without confronting great difficulties. Everyone needs to be touched by the comfort and attraction of God’s saving love, which is mysteriously at work in each person, above and beyond their faults and failings.

Faith transforms the whole person precisely to the extent that he or she becomes open to love.

True charity requires courage: Let us overcome the fear of getting our hands dirty so as to help those in need.

When we do not adore God, we adore something else. Money and power are false idols which often take the place of God.

The Sacraments are Jesus Christ’s presence in us. So it is important for us to go to Confession and receive Holy Communion.

The human person is in danger: this is certain, the human person is in danger today, here is the urgency of human ecology! And it is a serious danger because the cause of the problem is not superficial but profound: it is not just a matter of economics, but of ethics and anthropology.