If in my life I fail completely to heed others, solely out of a desire to be 'devout' and to perform my 'religious duties', then my relationship with God will also grow arid. It becomes merely 'proper', but loveless.
Pope Benedict XviRead
The Catholic Church is not dead, it is not even tired!
Interpretation
What this quote means
The Catholic Church continues to be vibrant and active despite challenges.
Pope Benedict XVI's assertion highlights the enduring nature of the Catholic Church, suggesting that it remains dynamic and full of life, capable of adapting and thriving even in the face of adversity. This statement serves to inspire hope among believers and reinforce the Church's mission in the contemporary world.
Themes
CatholicChurchVibrantAdversityFaith
In practice
Example use cases
During a church service to inspire congregants about the vitality of their faith.
More from Pope Benedict Xvi
All quotes →The life of the community, both domestically and internationally, clearly demonstrates that respect for rights, and the guarantees that follow from them, are measures of the common good that serve to evaluate the relationship between justice and injustice, development and poverty, security and conflict.
Pope Benedict XviRead
If you follow the will of God, you know that in spite of all the terrible things that happen to you, you will never lose a final refuge. You know that the foundation of the world is love, so that even when no human being can or will help you, you may go on, trusting in the One that loves you.
Pope Benedict XviRead
I am consoled by the fact that the Lord knows how to work and how to act, even with insufficient tools.
Pope Benedict XviRead
Faith is above all a personal, intimate encounter with Jesus, and to experience [His] closeness, [His] friendship, [His] Love; only in this way does one learn to know [Him] ever more, and to love and follow [Him] ever more. May this happen to each one of us.
Pope Benedict XviRead
Do not be afraid of seeming different and being criticized for what might seem to be losing or out of fashion; your peers but adults too, especially those who seem more distant from the mindset and values of the Gospel, are crying out to see someone who dares to live according to the fullness of humanity revealed by Jesus Christ.
Pope Benedict XviRead
Similar quotes
In times of affliction we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of the love of God.
John BunyanRead
Evangelicalism is like my religious mother tongue. I revert to it whenever I’m angry or excited or surrounded by other people who understand what I’m saying. And it’s the language in which I most often hear God’s voice on the rare occasion that it rises above the noise.
Rachel Held EvansRead
We shall not adjust our Bible to the age; but before we have done with it, by God’s grace, we shall adjust the age to the Bible.
Charles SpurgeonRead
The likeness of Your Church, O Lord, is that woman who went behind and touched the hem of Your garment, saying within herself: 'If I do but touch His garment I shall be whole' (Mt. 9:21). So the Church confesses her wounds, but desires to be healed.
AmbroseRead
United with the angels and saints of the heavenly Church, let us adore the most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. Prostrate, we adore this great mystery that contains God's new and definitive covenant with humankind in Christ.
Pope John Paul IiRead
It is not always those who have the most eminent gifts who are the most successful laborers for God. It is generally those who keep up closest communion with Christ and are most constant in prayer.
J. C. RyleRead