Children are to be welcomed, cherished, protected.

May we always care for our children, not counting the cost, so that they may never believe themselves to be mistakes, but always know their infinite worth.

Let us remember Paul VI's words: "For the Catholic Church, no one is a stranger, no one is excluded, no one is far away" (Homily for the closing of the Second Vatican Council, 8 December 1965). Indeed, we are a single human family that is journeying on toward unity, making the most of solidarity and dialogue among peoples in the multiplicity of differences.

Once capital becomes an idol and guides people's decisions, once greed for money presides over the entire socioeconomic system, it ruins society, it condemns and enslaves men and women, it destroys human fraternity, it sets people against one another and it even puts at risk our common home.

Do I pray that the Lord gives me the desire to do his will, or do I look for compromises because I'm afraid of God's will?

The true strength of the Christian is the power of truth and love, which leads to the renunciation of all violence. Faith and violence are incompatible.

In the face of life’s difficulties, let us ask the Lord for the strength to remain joyful witnesses to our faith.