Indeed, beauty is one of mankind's greatest needs; it is the root from which the branches of our peace and the fruits of our hope come forth. Beauty also reveals God because, like him, a work of beauty is pure gratuity; it calls us to freedom and draws us away from selfishness.

Pope Benedict XVI

Categorized in : Needs Roots Selfishness

The world promises you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.

Pope Benedict XVI

greatness inspiration faith

Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed. Each of us is loved. Each of us is necessary.

Pope Benedict XVI

results

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 XVI

foundation catholic love-you

Make sure that every person, of whatever background, can find in you a welcoming heart.

Pope Benedict XVI

welcome backgrounds heart

One who has hope lives differently.

Pope Benedict XVI

having-hope

God loves us; we need only to summon up the humility to allow ourselves to be loved.

Pope Benedict XVI

inspiration humility faith

When politicians presume to do God's work, they do not become divine but diabolical.

Pope Benedict XVI

politician politics political

Truth is not determined by a majority vote.

Pope Benedict XVI

majority-vote determined catholic

Do you want to know yourself better? Then discover silence.

Pope Benedict XVI

know-yourself silence want

If we allow the love of Christ to change our heart, then we can change the world. This is the secret of authentic happiness.

Pope Benedict XVI

secret heart world

We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires.

Pope Benedict XVI

ego goal moving

I'm not a man who constantly thinks up jokes. But I think it's very important to be able to see the funny side of life and its joyful dimension and not to take everything too tragically. I'd also say it's necessary for my ministry. A writer once said that angels can fly because they don't take themselves too seriously. Maybe we could also fly a bit if we didn't think we were so important.

Pope Benedict XVI

angel men thinking

The happiness you have a right to enjoy has a name and a face: it is Jesus of Nazareth, hidden in the Eucharist.

Pope Benedict XVI

inspiration faith jesus

Christianity is not a new philosophy or new morality. We are Christians only if we encounter Christ... Only in this personal relationship with Christ, only in this encounter with the Risen One do we really become Christians... Therefore, let us pray to the Lord to enlighten us, so that, in our world, he will grant us the encounter with his presence, and thus give us a lively faith, an open heart, and great charity for all, capable of renewing the world.

Pope Benedict XVI

christian heart philosophy

Forgiveness does not replace justice.

Pope Benedict XVI

doe justice

God is always faithful to His promises, but He often surprises us in the way He fulfills them.

Pope Benedict XVI

faithful way promise

Mary's greatness consists in the fact that she wants to magnify God, not herself.

Pope Benedict XVI

greatness want facts

We must trust in the mighty power of God's mercy. We are all sinners, but His grace transforms us and makes us new.

Pope Benedict XVI

power-of-god mercy grace

In a world where there is so much noise, so much bewilderment, there is a need for silent adoration of Jesus concealed in the Host. Be assiduous in the prayer of adoration and teach it to the faithful. It is a source of comfort and light, particularly to those who are suffering.

Pope Benedict XVI

holy-eucharist prayer jesus

Look at the face of the other... discover that he has a soul, a history and a life, that he is a person and that God loves this person.

Pope Benedict XVI

soul faces looks