The Lord is always there waiting to give us his love: it is an amazing thing, one which never ceases to surprise us!

We who are Christians, members of God’s family, are called to go out to the needy and to serve them.

How many people worldwide are victims of this type of slavery, in which the person is at the service of his or her work, while work should offer a service to people so they may have dignity. I ask my brothers and sisters in faith and all men and women of good will for a decisive choice to combat trafficking in persons, which includes "slave labor."

Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey.

I want to express my closeness to the people of the Philippines who have been struck by a strong earthquake, and I invite you to pray for that dear nation, which in recent days has suffered different calamities.

I feel so low that instead of picking myself up I have to cut others down.

God's word is unpredictable in its power... The Church has to accept this unruly freedom of the word, which accomplishes what it wills in ways that surpass our calculations and ways of thinking.