Mere administration can no longer be enough. Throughout the world, let us be permanently in a state of mission.

God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy.

What has the Cross left in each of us? You see, it gives us a treasure that no one else can give: the certainty of the faithful love which God has for us. A love so great that it enters into our sin and forgives it, enters into our suffering and gives us the strength to bear it. It is a love which enters into death to conquer it and save us.

If you withdraw into yourself, you run the risk of becoming egocentric. And stagnant water becomes putrid.

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.

An authentic faith-which is never comfortable or completely personal-always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave this earth somehow better than we found it.

The cross is the price of true love. Lord, give us the strength to accept and carry our crosses!