Pope Quotes

Many men have been capable of doing a wise thing, more a cunning thing, but very few a generous thing. ~ Alexander Pope

The historical novel gives us perspective on our modern lives and helps us connect with the story, which we are continuing ourselves. ~ Mary Pope Osborne

Man always travels along precipices ... His truest obligation is to keep his balance. ~ Pope John Paul II

I find consolation in a no doubt apocryphal story of Pope John XXIII. Apparently at night he'd pray: "I've done everything I can today for your church. But it's your Church, and I'm going to bed. ~ Greg Boyle

When we are young, we are slavishly employed in procuring something whereby we may live comfortably when we grow old; and when we are old, we perceive it is too late to live as we proposed. ~ Alexander Pope

Finally an evangelizing community is filled with joy; it knows how to rejoice always. ~ Pope Francis

A simple lifestyle is good for us, helping us to better share with those in need. ~ Pope Francis

'Tis not enough your counsel still be true; Blunt truths more mischief than nice falsehoods do. ~ Alexander Pope

Indifference is dangerous, whether innocent or not. ~ Pope Francis

Love is the very process of passing over, of transformation, of stepping outside the limitations of fallen humanity - in which we are all separated from one another and ultimately impenetrable to one another - into an infinite otherness. ~ Pope Benedict XVI

The deepest poverty is the inability of joy, the tediousness of a life considered absurd and contradictory. This poverty is widespread today, in very different forms in the materially rich as well as the poor countries. The inability of joy presupposes and produces the inability to love, produces jealousy, avarice - all defects that devastate the life of individuals and of the world. This is why we are in need of a new evangelization - if the art of living remains an unknown, nothing else works ... this art can only be communicated by [one] who has life - he who is the Gospel personified. ~ Pope Benedict XVI

Jesus Christ does not teach us a spirituality 'of closed eyes,' but one of 'alertness,' one which entails an absolute duty to take notice of the needs of others and of situations involving those whom the Gospel tells us are our neighbors ... The gaze of Jesus, what 'his eyes' teach us, leads to human closeness, solidarity, giving time, sharing our gifts and even our material goods. ~ Pope Benedict XVI

Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace. ~ Pope Francis

The Church's teaching on ownership diverges radically from collectivism as proclaimed by Marxism and "rigid" capitalism. The primacy of the person over things joint ownership of the means of work. ~ Pope John Paul II

I then greet and cordially thank you all, dear friends belonging to other religious traditions; first of all the Muslims, who worship the one God, living and merciful, and call upon Him in prayer, and all of you. I really appreciate your presence: in it I see a tangible sign of the will to grow in mutual esteem and cooperation for the common good of humanity. ~ Pope Francis

God's love for his people is so great that it turns God against himself, his love against his justice. ~ Pope Benedict XVI

Anything done for another is done for oneself. ~ Pope Boniface VIII

Enough with the slaughters. Enough with the violence. Enough with the hatred in Iraq! ~ Pope Benedict XVI

And you, my Critics! in the chequer'd shade,
Admire new light thro' holes yourselves have made. ~ Alexander Pope

Protestantism's evolution away from hierarchy and authority has enormous consequences for America and the world. On the one hand, the democratization of religion runs parallel to political democratization. The king of England, questioning the pope, inspires English subjects to question the king and his Anglican bishops. Such dissent is backed up by a Bible full of handy Scripture arguing for arguing with one's kIng. This is the root of self-government in the English-speaking world. ~ Sarah Vowell

Be demanding of the world around you; be demanding first of all with yourselves. Be children of God; take pride in it! ~ Pope John Paul II

You will reciprocally promise love, loyalty and matrimonial honesty. We only want for you this day that these words constitute the principle of your entire life and that with the help of divine grace you will observe these solemn vows that today, before God, you formulate. ~ Pope John Paul II

With pain in his voice, the camerlengo spoke of his late Pope... the victim of an Illuminati poisoning. And finally, his words almost a whisper, he spoke of a deadly new technology, antimatter, which in less than two hours threatened to destroy all of Vatican City. ~ Dan Brown

Religious life ought to promote growth in the Church by way of attraction. The Church must be attractive. Wake up the world! Be witnesses of a different way of doing things, of acting, of living! It is possible to live differently in this world. ~ Pope Francis

They have had great disputes among themselves, whether one chosen by them to be a priest would not be thereby qualified to do all the things that belong to that character, even though he had no authority derived from the Pope, ~ Thomas More

Indeed, I believe that in our own day, after all the efforts of critical exegesis, we can share anew this sense of astonishment at the fact that a saying from the year 733 B.C., incomprehensible for so long, came true at the moment of the conception of Jesus Christ - that God did indeed give us a great sign intended for the whole world. ~ Pope Benedict XVI

Open your hearts to the Lord. The Lord is waiting for you and the Church will welcome you if your willingness to serve good is as clear and public as your choice to serve evil was. ~ Pope Francis

Yes, hypothetically, western Catholicism could revise the theme of celibacy ... But for the moment, I am in favor of maintaining celibacy, with the pros and the cons it has, because we have ten centuries of more good experiences than bad ones. ~ Pope Francis

The socialists, therefore, in setting aside the parent and setting up a State supervision, act against natural justice, and destroy the structure of the home. ~ Pope Leo XIII

When I have a problem, I write it down and ask St Joseph to sleep on it ~ Pope Francis

Faith and Reason are like two wings of the human spirit by which is soars to the truth. ~ Pope John Paul II

It is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good. ~ Pope Francis

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

The thing the Church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful. ~ Pope Francis

The universe is not rich enough to buy the vote of an honest man. ~ Pope Gregory I

Motherhood involves a special communion with the mystery of life, as it develops in the mother's womb. The mother is filled with wonder at this mystery of life, and 'understands' with unique intuition what is happening inside her. In the light of the 'beginning', the mother accepts and loves as a person the child she is carrying in her womb. This unique contact with the new human being developing within her gives rise to an attitude towards human beings - not only towards her own child, but every human being - which profoundly marks the woman's personality. ~ Pope John Paul II

Horses (thou say'st) and asses men may try,
And ring suspected vessels ere they buy;
But wives, a random choice, untried they take;
They dream in courtship, but in wedlock wake;
Then, nor till then, the veil's removed away,
And all the woman glares in open day. ~ Alexander Pope

Sin, also for those who don't have faith, exists when one goes against one's conscience. To listen to and obey it means, in fact, to decide in face of what is perceived as good or evil. And on this decision pivots the goodness or malice of our action. ~ Pope Francis

Young friends, do not hesitate to follow the example of Pedro, who 'pleased God and was loved by him' and who, having come to perfection in so short a time, lived a full life. ~ Pope John Paul II

Even at the very dawn of Christianity, there was a commonly-accepted theory known as the Blood Libel, which stated matter-of-factly that Jewish people regularly sacrificed non-Jewish babies and used the blood of those babies in Judaic rituals. Later, in medieval times, plagues and other diseases were commonly blamed on Jews, resulting in the enforcement of Apartheid-like conditions, separating Jewish communities from the rest of the population throughout Europe. For example, in the Papal States – territories in the Italian Peninsula that existed throughout the middle ages and medieval times that were governed directly by the Pope – Jews were only allowed to reside in neighborhoods called ghettos. They were regularly forced to convert to Christianity in various barbaric ways such as involuntary baptisms. The stealing of Jewish babies from their parents by Church officials was also not uncommon and the children would often then be brought up as Catholic orphans never knowing of their Jewish heritage. ~ James Morcan

Vocation is more a calling than a job ~ Andreas Widmer The Pope And The CEO

Look, Father, I don't think you're being straight with me. I want to join your Church and I'm going to join your Church, but you're holding too much back. I've had a long talk with a Catholic-a very pious, well-educated one, and I've learned a thing or two. For instance, that you have to sleep with your feet pointing East because that's the direction of heaven, and if you die in the night you can walk there. Now I'll sleep with my feet pointing any way that suits Julia, but d'you expect a grown man to believe about walking to heaven? And what about the Pope who made one of his horses a Cardinal? And what about the box you keep in the church porch, and if you put in a pound note with someone's name on it, they get sent to hell. I don't say there mayn't be a good reason for all this, but you ought to tell me about it and not let me find out for myself. ~ Evelyn Waugh

Christians must respond to evil with good, taking the cross upon themselves as Jesus did ~ Pope Francis

Saint Paul lives in the Christian imagination as the chief sponsor of Christian contempt for Jews, the avatar of law versus grace, flesh versus spirit, works versus faith, Moses versus Jesus, the Old Covenant versus the New. This brutal dichotomizing was attributed to Paul most influentially by Martin Luther, who used a perceived Jewish legalism, materialism, and obsession with externals as stand-ins for the decadence of his nemesis, the pope. "Because the Papists, like the Jews," he wrote, "insist that anyone wishing to be saved must observe their ceremonies, they will perish like the Jews."39 After Luther, both Protestants and Catholics read Paul as the preeminent tribune of Jewish corruption - a misreading that had terrible consequences, especially in Luther's Germany, where the Volk were defined in ontological opposition to Juden. Paul's ~ James Carroll

The Greeks' Christian successors rejected the idea that the universe is governed by indifferent natural law. They also rejected the idea that humans do not hold a privileged place within that universe. And though the medieval period had no single coherent philosophical system, a common theme was that the universe is God's dollhouse, and religion a far worthier study than the phenomena of nature. Indeed, in 1277 Bishop Tempier of Paris, acting on the instructions of Pope John XXI, published a list of 219 errors or heresies that were to be condemned. Among the heresies was the idea that nature follows laws, because this conflicts with God's omnipotence. Interestingly, Pope John was killed by the effects of the law of gravity a few months later when the roof of his palace fell in on him. ~ Stephen Hawking

The Church's roots are in the teaching of the apostles, the authentic witnesses of Christ, but she looks to the future, she has the firm consciousness of being sent - sent by Jesus - of being missionary, bearing the name of Jesus by her prayer, proclaiming it and testifying to it. A Church that is closed in on herself and in the past, a Church that only sees the little rules of behavior, of attitude, is a Church that betrays her own identity; a closed Church betrays her own identity! Then, let us rediscover today all the beauty and responsibility of being the Church apostolic! And remember this: the Church is apostolic because we pray - our first duty - and because we proclaim the Gospel by our life and by our words. ~ Pope Francis

Eusebius strongly challenges believers of all times on their approach to the events of history and of the Church in particular. He also challenges us: what is our attitude with regard to the Church's experiences? Is it the attitude of those who are interested in it merely out of curiosity, or even in search of something sensational or shocking at all costs? Or is it an attitude full of love and open to the mystery of those who know - through faith - that they can trace in the history of the Church those signs of God's love and the great works of salvation wrought by him? ~ Pope Benedict XVI

We all have the duty to do good. ~ Pope Francis

Let us pray that the Church be holier and more humble, loving God by serving the poor, the lonely and the sick. ~ Pope Francis

On history's clock it was sunset, and the sun of the old world was setting in a dying blaze of splendour never to be seen again. ~ W. Macqueen-Pope

Anger is as a stone cast into a wasp's nest. ~ Pope Paul VI

It is neither just nor human so to grind men down with excessive labour as to stupefy their minds and wear out their bodies. ~ Pope Leo XIII

Concern for the fate of the great rivers of the earth must lead us to reflect soberly on the model of development which our society is pursuing. A purely economic and technological understanding of progress, to the extent that it fails to acknowledge its intrinsic limitations and to take into consideration the integral good of humanity, will inevitably provoke negative consequences for individuals, peoples and creation itself. ~ Pope Benedict XVI

Fear not the anger of the wise to raise; Those best can bear reproof who merit praise. ~ Alexander Pope

It appears to me that strong sense and acute sensibility together constitute genius. ~ George Pope Morris

The Gospel of life must be proclaimed and human life defended in all places and all times. ~ Pope John Paul II

In this work (peace building), the role of religion is fundamental. It is not possible to build bridges between people while forgetting God, ... But the converse is also true: it is not possible to establish true links with God while ignoring other people. Hence it is important to intensify dialogue among the various religions, and I am thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam. ~ Pope Francis

Life gradually becomes a surrender to situations conditioned by technology. ~ Pope Francis

The problem of pornography is that it does not reveal too much of a woman but too little. ~ Pope John Paul II

Our Mother Mary is full of beauty because she is full of grace. ~ Pope Francis

It is important to draw out the pastoral consequences of the Council's teaching, which reflects an ancient conviction of the Church. First, it needs to be said that in preaching the Gospel a fitting sense of proportion has to be maintained. ~ Pope Francis

We must reflect the light of Christ through lives of prayer and joyful service to others. ~ Pope John Paul II

There is a common belief that under modern conditions peace cannot be assured except on the basis of an equal balance of armaments ... [but] true and lasting peace among nations cannot consist in the possession of an equal supply of armaments but only in mutual trust. ~ Pope John XXIII

Like the Good Samaritan, may we not be ashamed of touching the wounds of those who suffer, but try to heal them with concrete acts of love. ~ Pope Francis

Who are next to knaves? Those that converse with them. ~ Alexander Pope

You eat, in dreams, the custard of the day. ~ Alexander Pope

Vanity, showing off, is an attitude that reduces spirituality to a worldly thing, which is the worst sin that could be committed in the church. ~ Pope Francis

A fellow feeling makes us wondrous kind. ~ Alexander Pope

Be the first to seek to bring good, do not grow accustomed to evil, but defeat it. ~ Pope Francis

During my visit to the Philippines, I wanted in a particular way to meet with young people, to listen to you and to talk to you. I want to express the love and the hopes of the Church for you. And I want to encourage you as Christian citizens of this country to offer yourselves passionately and honestly to the great work of renewing your society and helping to build a better world. ~ Pope Francis

Poetic justice, with her lifted scale,
Where, in nice balance, truth with gold she weighs,
And solid pudding against empty praise.
Here she beholds the chaos dark and deep,
Where nameless somethings in their causes sleep,
Till genial Jacob, or a warm third day,
Call forth each mass, a poem, or a play:
How hints, like spawn, scarce quick in embryo lie,
How new-born nonsense first is taught to cry. ~ Alexander Pope

Let's ask the Lord for the grace of giving all of us the wisdom to trust only in him, not in things, in human strength, only in him ~ Pope Francis

Mission is a duty about which one must say 'Woe to me if I do not evangelize' (1 Corinthians 9:16) ... redemption and mission are acts of love [because] those who proclaim the Gospel participate in the charity of Christ. ~ Pope Benedict XVI

In a word: charity cannot be neutral, antiseptic, indifferent, lukewarm or impartial! Charity is infectious, it excites, it risks, and it engages! For true charity is always unmerited, unconditional, and gratuitous! ~ Pope Francis

Not to admire, is all the art I know To make men happy, or to keep them so. Thus Horace wrote we all know long ago; And thus Pope quotes the precept to re-teach From his translation; but had none admired, Would Pope have sung, or Horace been inspired? ~ Lord Byron

One science only will one genius fit; so vast is art, so narrow human wit. ~ Alexander Pope

We consider Christmas as the encounter, the great encounter, the historical encounter, the decisive encounter, between God and mankind. He who has faith knows this truly; let him rejoice. ~ Pope Paul VI

Jesus receives us with all of our limitations, He bring us the mercy of the Father who forgives us, and transforms our heart, rendering it a new heart, capable of loving Him, who loved His own to the end (cf. John 13:1). And this love is manifested in his mercy. Jesus always forgives us. ~ Pope Francis

One of the promising indications of a renewal in the Church's missionary consciousness in recent decades, has been the growing desire of many lay men and women [ ... ] to cooperate generously in the 'missio ad gentes.' As Vatican Council II stressed, the work of evangelization is a fundamental duty incumbent upon the whole People of God. ~ Pope Benedict XVI

Human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and then discarded. We have created a "disposable" culture which is now spreading. It is no longer simply about exploitation and oppression, but something new. Exclusion ultimately has to do with what it means to be a part of the society in which we live; those excluded are no longer society's underside or its fringes or its disenfranchised - they are no longer even a part of it. The excluded are not the "exploited" but the outcast, the "leftovers". ~ Pope Francis

Holiness doesn't mean doing extraordinary things, but doing ordinary things with love and faith. ~ Pope Francis

Mankind is unamendable. ~ Alexander Pope

The social progress, order, security and peace of each country are necessarily connected with the social progress, order, security and peace of all other countries. ~ Pope John XXIII

Unfortunately, what is thrown away is not only food and dispensable objects, but often human beings themselves, who are discarded as 'unnecessary.' For example, it is frightful even to think there are children, victims of abortion, who will never see the light of day; children being used as soldiers, abused and killed in armed conflicts; and children being bought and sold in that terrible form of modern slavery which is human trafficking, which is a crime against humanity. ~ Pope Francis

This is Christian hope, that the future is in God's hands. ~ Pope Francis

All it takes is one good person to restore hope. ~ Pope Francis

A field of glory is a field for all. ~ Alexander Pope

Trusting God is a lifestyle. David ~ Wendy Pope

All Catholics must ask themselves what they personally have done lately to build up the holiness of the church and ensure people feel welcomed and loved in it. ~ Pope Francis

The new evangelization ... begins in the confessional. ~ Pope Benedict XVI

The holy universal Church teaches that it is not possible to worship God truly except in Her and asserts that all who are outside of Her will not be saved. ~ Pope Gregory I

The most faithful disciples of Christ have been builders of peace, to the point of forgiving their enemies, sometimes even to the point of giving their lives for them. ~ Pope John Paul II

The economic part is the one that came out first because there were some problems about which the press spoke a lot. ~ Pope Francis

Beautiful things never last. That's why fireflies flash. ~ Ron Pope

We have lost a very important religious figure who dedicated his life to peace and justice for all. [on the death of Pope John Paul II ~ Mahmoud Abbas

We need to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished, and protected. ~ Pope Francis

No silver saints, by dying misers giv'n, Here brib'd the rage of ill-requited heav'n; But such plain roofs as Piety could raise, And only vocal with the Maker's praise. ~ Alexander Pope

Poverty that is learned with the humble, the poor, the sick and all those who are on the existential peripheries of life. Theoretical poverty is of no use to us. Poverty is learned by touching the flesh of the poor Christ, in the humble, the poor, the sick, in children. ~ Pope Francis

Human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that creates huge inequalities. ~ Pope Francis

The twentieth century must be a century of the Blessed Sacrament if it means to be a century of resurrection and of life ~ Pope Leo XIII