Quotessence
Home / Authors / Pope Francis
Pope Francis

Pope Francis Quotes

Author

Filter quotes by topic

AllPeopleJesusChurchChristianIfsLordChristWorldNeedsHeartChildrenGivingHumansMenAsksWayMayPersonsDoePoor

Famous Pope Francis Quotes

“If God, in the Christmas mystery, reveals himself not as One who remains on high and dominates the universe, but as the One who bends down, descends to the little and poor earth, it means that, to be like him, we should not put ourselves above others, but indeed lower ourselves, place ourselves at the service of others, become small with the small and poor with the poor. It is regrettable to see a Christian who does not want to lower himself, who does not want to serve. A Christian who struts about is ugly: this is not Christian, it is pagan.”

WantMeanDoeUseShowsChristianUniversePoorNiceDown AndBad ThingsPaganismShowing Off
Author:Pope Francis
Create image

“When we give help to the poor, we are not doing the work of aid agencies 'in a Christian way'. Those are good, it is a decent thing to do - aid work is good and quite human - but it is not Christian poverty, which St. Paul desires of us and preaches to us. Christian poverty is that I give of my own, and not of that which is left over - I give even that, which I need for myself, to the poor person, because I know that he enriches me. Why does the poor person enrich me? Because Jesus Himself told us that He is in the poor person.”

KnowsWayNeedsGivingHumansPersonsDoeHelpingChristianDesireJesusLeftMy OwnPoorPovertyAidsThings To DoAgencyDecent
Author:Pope Francis
Create image

“One form of prayer moves us particularly to take up the task of evangelization and to seek the good of others: it is the prayer of intercession. Let us peer for a moment into the heart of Saint Paul, to see what his prayer was like. It was full of people: "...I constantly pray with you in every one of my prayers for all of you... because I hold you in my heart" (Phil 1:4, 7). Here we see that intercessory prayer does not divert us from true contemplation, since authentic contemplation always has a place for others.”

PeopleHeartDoeMomentsMovingFormPrayerPrayingMy HeartTasksSaintContemplationPeersIntercessionIntercessory PrayerSaint Paul
Author:Pope Francis
Create image

“Evangelization does not consist in proselytizing, for proselytizing is a caricature of evangelization, but rather evangelizing entails attracting by our witness those who are far off, it means humbly drawing near to those who feel distant from God in the Church, drawing near to those who feel judged and condemned outright by those who consider themselves to be perfect and pure.”

FeelsMeanDoeChurchPerfectPureDrawingWitnessJudgedCaricaturesProselytizing
Author:Pope Francis
Create image

“In the Gospel we have just heard, Jesus, the Master, teaches the crowds and the small group of his disciples by accommodating himself to their ability to understand. ... Jesus does not seek to 'play the professor.' Instead, he seeks to reach people's hearts, their understanding and their lives, so that they may bear fruit.”

PeopleHeartMayDoePlayJesusUnderstandingAbilityTeachHeardGroupsMastersBearsFruitCrowdsProfessorsDiscipleSmall Groups
Book:Care for Creation: A Call for Ecological Conversion
Create image

“Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey. To those who suffer, God does not provide arguments which explain everything; rather, his response is that of an accompanying presence, a history of goodness which touches every story of suffering and opens up a ray of light.”

DoeStoriesLightNightSufferingStepsDarknessJourneyGoodnessArgumentResponseGuidesRaysLampsRays Of Light
Book:I Believe: The Promise of the Creed
Create image

“We don't want this globalised economic system which does us so much harm. Men and women have to be at the centre (of an economic system) as God wants, not money. The world has become an idolator of this god called money. To defend this economic culture, a throwaway culture has been installed. We throw away grandparents, and we throw away young people. We have to say no to his throwaway culture. We want a just system that helps everyone.”

PeopleMenWorldWantDoeHas BeensHelpingYoungCultureEconomicMen And WomenHarmCentreGrandparentEconomic Systems
Author:Pope Francis
Create image

“When we talk about the environment, about creation, my thoughts turn to the first pages of the Bible, the Book of Genesis, which states that God placed man and woman on earth to cultivate and care for it. And the question comes to my mind: What does cultivating and caring for the earth mean? Are we truly cultivating and caring for creation? Or are we exploiting and neglecting it?”

MenMindFirstsMeanDoeBookStatesCareEarthTurnsEnvironmentCreationPagesMen And WomenCaringNeglectMy ThoughtsGenesisCultivatingBook Of Genesis
Author:Pope Francis
Create image

“You should be real witnesses of a world of doing and acting differently. But in life it is difficult for everything to be clear, precise, outlined neatly. Life is complicated; it consists of grace and sin. He who does not sin is not human. We all make mistakes and we need to recognise our weakness. A religious who recognises himself as weak and a sinner does not negate the witness that he is called to give, rather he reinforces it, and this is good for everyone. What I expect of you therefore is to give witness. I want this special witness from religious.”

WorldWantNeedsGivingShouldHumansDoeRealLife IsDifficultReligiousSinActingMistakeClearGraceSpecialWeaknessWeakComplicatedWitnessMaking MistakesSinnerBeing RealPreciseRecogniseWe All Make MistakesLife Is Complicated
Author:Pope Francis
Create image

“More than by fear of going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: 'Give them something to eat.'”

PeopleGivingFeelsDoeJesusDoorsSecurityJudgingHabitSafeMovedStructureShut UpHarshTireStarvingFalse Sense Of Security
Book:The Joy of the Gospel
Create image

“Lent is a fitting time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty. Let us not forget that real poverty hurts: no self-denial is real without this dimension of penance. I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt.”

GivingWellsDoeRealSelfHelpingOrderAsksHurtForgetPovertyCostGiving UpCharityDenialDimensionsDistrustFittingSelf-denialPenanceLenten
Author:Pope Francis
Create image