At times we can be self-absorbed. Lord, help us to open our hearts to others and to serve those who are most vulnerable.

If God, in the Christmas mystery, reveals himself not as One who remains on high and dominates the universe, but as the One who bends down, descends to the little and poor earth, it means that, to be like him, we should not put ourselves above others, but indeed lower ourselves, place ourselves at the service of others, become small with the small and poor with the poor. It is regrettable to see a Christian who does not want to lower himself, who does not want to serve. A Christian who struts about is ugly: this is not Christian, it is pagan.

A great challenge: stop ruining the garden which God has entrusted to us so that all may enjoy it.

Every religion has its dignity ... in freedom of expression there are limits.

While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few. This imbalance is the result of ideologies which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation. Consequently, they reject the right of states, charged with vigilance for the common good, to exercise any form of control.

If we don’t think about God, everything ends up being about 'me' and my own comfort.

Let us never yield to pessimism, to that bitterness that the devil offers us every day.