Quotessence
Home / Authors / Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI Quotes

Author

Filter quotes by topic

AllChristChurchFaithWorldHumansInspirationPeopleChristian InspirationalNeedsMen

Famous Pope Benedict XVI Quotes

“Knowing is not simply a material act, since the object that is known always conceals something beyond the empirical datum. All our knowledge, even the most simple, is always a minor miracle, since it can never be fully explained by the material instruments that we apply to it. In every truth there is something more than we would have expected, in the love that we receive there is always an element that surprises us.”

SimpleKnownKnowingObjectsMaterialsElementsMiracleInstrumentsSurpriseExpectedDataMinors
Book:Charity in Truth
Create image

“Anyone who knows he is loved is in turn prompted to love. It is the Lord himself, who loved us first, who asks us to place at the center of our lives love for him and for the people he has loved. It is especially adolescents and young people, who feel within them the pressing call to love, who need to be freed from the widespread prejudice that Christianity, with its commandments and prohibitions, sets too many obstacles in the path of the joy of love and, in particular prevents people from fully enjoying the happiness that men and women find in their love for one another.”

PeopleKnowsMenNeedsFeelsFirstsYoungJoyTurnsAsksEnjoyChristianityLordPathOur LivesParticularMen And WomenPrejudiceObstaclesLove LifeCommandmentsProhibition
Author:Pope Benedict XVI
Create image

“The capacity to accept suffering for the sake of goodness, truth and justice is an essential criterion of humanity, because if my own well-being and safety are ultimately more important than truth and justice, then the power of the stronger prevails, then violence and untruth reigns supreme.”

IfsWellsImportantSufferingHumanityJusticeMy OwnAcceptingViolenceEssentialsGoodnessCapacityStrongerSafetySakeSupremeWell BeingReignCriteriaUntruthTruth And Justice
Author:Pope Benedict XVI
Create image

“Each of you has a personal vocation which He has given you for your own joy and sanctity. When a person is conquered by the fire of His gaze, no sacrifice seems too great to follow Him and give Him the best of ourselves. This is what the saints have always done, spreading the light of the Lord ... and transforming the world into a welcoming home for everyone.”

WorldGivingPersonsDoneHomeLightSeemsJoyGivenLordFireSacrificeSaintWelcomeVocationTransformingSanctityTransforming The World
Author:Pope Benedict XVI
Create image

“Only in truth does charity shine forth, only in truth can charity be authentically lived. Truth is the light that gives meaning and value to charity. That light is both the light of reason and the light of faith, through which the intellect attains to the natural and supernatural truth of charity: it grasps its meaning as gift, acceptance, and communion. Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality. Love becomes an empty shell, to be filled in an arbitrary way.”

WayLifeGivingDoeReasonLightValuesNaturalLove IsAcceptanceTruth IsEmptyFilledShiningCharityIntellectShellsCommunionArbitrarySentimentalityDegeneratesFilled InEmpty Shell
Author:Pope Benedict XVI
Create image

“Authentic love is obviously something good... When we love, we become most fully ourselves, most fully human... People often think they are being loving when actually they are being possessive or manipulative. People sometimes treat others as objects to satisfy their own needs... How easy it is to be deceived by the many voices in our society that advocate a permissive approach to sexuality, without regard for modesty, self-respect or the moral values that bring quality to human relationships! This is worship of a false god. Instead of bringing life, it brings death.”

PeopleLifeNeedsHumansSelfSometimesValuesEasyVoiceLove IsQualityMoralObjectsApproachWorshipTreatsRegardSexualitySelf RespectOur SocietyModestyDeceivedHuman RelationsLife DeathHuman RelationshipsMoral ValuesPossessiveManipulativeFalse Gods
Author:Pope Benedict XVI
Create image

“Love has a particular trait: far from being indulgent or fickle, it has a task or purpose to fulfil: to abide. By its nature love is enduring. Again, dear friends, we catch a further glimpse of how much the Holy Spirit offers our world: love which dispels uncertainty; love which overcomes the fear of betrayal; love which carries eternity within; the true love which draws us into a unity that abides!”

WorldLifeSpiritPurposeLove IsParticularHolyOffersDrawsTasksOvercomingEternityUnityEndureBetrayalUncertaintyHoly SpiritCarrieOur WorldTraitsNature LoveWorld LoveLove Betrayal
Author:Pope Benedict XVI
Create image

“Dear young people, we have seen that it is the Holy Spirit who brings about the wonderful communion of believers in Jesus Christ. True to his nature as giver and gift alike, he is even now working through you. Let unifying love be your measure; abiding love your challenge; self-giving love your mission!”

PeopleLifeGivingSelfYoungSpiritJesusChristChallengesLove IsWonderfulLove YouHolyJesus ChristDearMissionsBelieverHoly SpiritCommunionGiverAbidingUnifyingSelf GivingGiving LoveAbiding Love
Author:Pope Benedict XVI
Create image

“A new generation of Christians is being called to help build a world in which God's gift of life is welcomed, respected and cherished-not rejected, feared as a threat and destroyed. A new age in which love is not greedy or self-seeking, but pure, faithful and genuinely free, open to others, respectful of their dignity, seeking their good, radiating joy and beauty. A new age in which hope liberates us from the shallowness, apathy and self-absorption that deaden our souls and poison our relationships.”

WorldLifeSoulSelfHelpingAgeChristianLife IsJoyLove IsGenerationsPureDignityThreatSeekingDestroyedFaithfulPoisonApathyOur RelationshipRejectedGreedyNew AgeRespectfulNew GenerationAbsorptionShallownessSelf AbsorptionGifts Of Life
Author:Pope Benedict XVI
Create image

“Islam has a total organization of life that is completely different from ours; it embraces simply everything,...There is a very marked subordination of woman to man; there is a very tightly knit criminal law, indeed, a law regulating all areas of life, that is opposed to our modern ideas about society. One has to have a clear understanding that it is not simply a denomination that can be included in the free realm of a pluralistic society.”

MenIdeasDifferentLawUnderstandingClearModernAreasOrganizationEmbraceIslamCriminalsRealmsDenominationsSubordinationCriminal Law
Author:Pope Benedict XVI
Create image

“The rediscovery of the value of one's own Baptism is at the root of every Christian's missionary commitment, because as we see in the Gospel, those who allow themselves to be fascinated by Christ cannot fail to witness to the joy of following in his footsteps... We understand ever more that it is precisely in virtue of Baptism that we possess a co-natural missionary vocation.”

ChristianJoyValuesChristVirtueCommitmentBasesFollowingMissionaryFascinatedInherentVocationFootstepsBaptismRediscovery
Author:Pope Benedict XVI
Create image

“Their example testifies that Baptism commits Christians to participating courageously in the spreading of the Kingdom of God, if need be cooperating with the sacrifice of life itself... This martyrdom of ordinary life constitutes a particularly important witness in the secularized society of our time. It is the peaceful battle of love which every Christian, like Paul, must fight without flagging: the race to spread the Gospel that involves us until our death. May the Virgin Mary, Queen of Martyrs and Star of Evangelization, help us in our daily witness.”

IfsGivingMayImportantFactsHelpingChristianLife IsFightingStarsRaceSacrificeExampleBattleOrdinarySpreadCommitKingdomsPeacefulWitnessQueensOur TimeMaryMartyrKingdom Of GodBaptismOrdinary LifeMartyrdomCooperating
Author:Pope Benedict XVI
Create image

“The Catholic community must offer support to those women who may find it difficult to accept a child, above all when they are isolated from their family and friends. Likewise, the community should be open to welcome back all who repent of having participated in the grave sin of abortion, and should guide them with pastoral charity to accept the grace of forgiveness, the need for penance, and the joy of entering once more into the new life of Christ.”

NeedsShouldMayChildrenJoyDifficultChristCommunitySinAcceptingSupportGraceOffersCatholicCharityGuidesGravesWelcomeAbortionIsolatedFamily And FriendsNew LifeEnteringRepentPenanceWelcome Back
Author:Pope Benedict XVI
Create image

“The Holy Spirit gives us joy. And he is joy. Joy is the gift in which all the other gifts are included. It is the expression of happiness, of being in harmony with ourselves, that which can only come from being in harmony with God and with his creation. It belongs to the nature of joy to be radiant; it must communicate itself. The missionary spirit of the Church is none other than the impulse to communicate the joy which has been given.”

GivingHas BeensJoySpiritGivenChurchCreationExpressionHolyHarmonyCommunicateImpulseHoly SpiritMissionaryRadiant
Author:Pope Benedict XVI
Create image

“The proclamation of the Gospel remains the primary service that the Church owes to humanity, to offer the salvation of Christ to the man of our time, who is in many ways humiliated and oppressed, and to orientate in a Christian way cultural, social, and ethical transformations that are unfolding in the world.”

MenWorldWayChristianHumanitySocialChristChurchHe ManOffersTransformationRemainsSalvationPrimariesOur TimeEthicalOppressedUnfoldingHumiliatedProclamation
Author:Pope Benedict XVI
Create image