MINI-BIOS:
Pope John Paul II (1920 - 2005AD)
Mini-Bio: pope: (1978 - 2005) Polish; The most traveled pope in history. During his papacy he has issued many letters clarifying and safeguarding the Churches teachings in moral areas. Has consecrated his papacy to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Pope John Paul I (1912-1978AD)
Mini-Bio: pope: (1978) Italian; September ceremony initiated his pastoral service. Pope for less than five weeks. Died of a heart attack though the cause of death is still much disputed by some people who believe he was murdered.
Pope Paul VI (1897-1978AD)
Mini-Bio: pope: (1963-1978) Italian; Reconvened Vatican II, and implemented many of its reforms. Became the first pope in over 150 years to leave Italy. He enlarged the college of cardinals. Reaffirmed the church's ban on contraception.
Blessed Pope John XXIII (1881-1963AD)
Mini-Bio: pope: (1958-1963) Italian; He advanced cooperation with other faiths and traditions including Protestant and Greek Orthodox. Doubled the number of cardinals, making the college the largest in history and convened Vatican II, on 11 October 1962.
Venerable Pope Pius XII (1876-1958AD)
Mini-Bio: pope: (1939-1958) Italian; He supported several reforms in the Papal States, which included central Italy, and several outlying areas, such as Assisi. Gained a reputation for being a patriotic, and reforming Pope.
Pope St. Pius X (1835-1914AD)Mini-Bio: pope: (1903-1914) Italian; pope, reformer. Created a special congregation of cardinals to look at formation of a new code of canon law.
HOLY QUOTES
Pope John Paul II
" The Church cannot say what is bad is good, nor can she call valid what is invalid. She cannot fail to proclaim Christ's teaching, even when this teaching is difficult to accept" John Paul II
" In today's world, torn by indifference, division, hatred, and oppression, fraternal communion founded on love is an eloquent example of universal reconciliation in Christ." John Paul II
"The new generations need to be helped to grow as free persons, to love truth and to be faithful to it. The search for the true, the beautiful, and the good is not a pragmatic exercise, but rather a cultural and ethical one. It is a service to human development and a way for evangelization." John Paul II
"Mary, you are the Mother of the Church and the Model of every vocation. Help us respond by saying "Yes" to the Lord when he calls us to collaborate in the Divine Plan of salvation." John Paul II
"The temptation today is to try to build a world for oneself, forgetting the Creator and His design and loving Providence. But sooner or later we must come to grips with this: That to forget God, to feign the death of God, is to promote the death of humankind and of all civilization."John Paul II
" Science can purify religion from error and superstition. Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes. Each can draw the other into a wider world, a world in which both can flourish.." John Paul II
" In a secularized world, to speak and act in the name of Jesus can bring opposition, and even ridicule. It often means being out of step with the majority opinion. Yet if we look at the New Testament, we find encouragement for perseverance in this testing of our faith." John Paul II
"The meek endure conflict and jealousy, rivalries that arise within families and among neighbors. They do not, however, passively accept situations of injustice. They are anything but indifferent, but they do not respond to violence with violence, to hatred with hatred." John Paul II
"In a world that often reduces sex to the pursuit of pleasure, and in some cases to domination, the Church has a special mission. She is to place sex in the context of conjugal love and of generous and responsible openness to parenthood." John Paul II
"There is a higher wisdom: a wisdom that reveals the true meaning of our human weakness and our pain. That wisdom is revealed in Christ. He knows what it is to suffer; He experienced it on the road to Calvary."John Paul II
"Only those persons who recognize that they are sinners, in need of salvation because they cannot save themselves, only they can extend their hands to Jesus as to their Savior."
Pope John Paul II"Mary is the clearest and surest sign that God always comes to us with His love. She sings with all her being that whatever we receive from God is grace. The Virgin is our true teacher in the journey of faith." Pope John Paul II
"In Christ we find hope, because He is the symbol of hope, friendship, unending love, and the Father's indescribable affection for every individual. We know that all the promises and hopes find their complete fulfillment in Christ, because in Christ, God's very word has found its 'Yes.'" Pope John Paul II
"As a manifestation of the human spirit, music performs a function that is noble, unique, and irreplaceable. When music is truly beautiful and inspired, it speaks to us more than all the other acts of goodness, virtue and peace. " Pope John Paul II
"Nobody is a Christian for oneself alone. The gift of faith is given to us so that by word and example we may become witnesses before others." Pope John Paul II
"Welcome Christ into your lives. Without the experience of this interior meeting with Christ, life can all too easily be wasted on illusory and consumerist experiences. These obviously include the suicidal experience of drugs or the egoistic one of using our neighbor and rejecting solidarity." Pope John Paul II
"Lourdes is a prophecy of justice and peace, where there is no room for pride and hardness of heart. Indeed, Lourdes is where this hardness is dissolved by one's witness of charity, mercy, serene resistance to evil, human solidarity, and sincere and moving generosity." Pope John Paul II
"In a single word, be Saints! Holiness is the most powerful force that leads human hearts to Christ. Remember that verse of the Gospel about the vine and the branches. In the union of the branches with the one vine is the concrete source and the sure measure of one's apostolic activity." Pope John Paul II
"Love cannot stop at half measures, as you well know. Love must be ready to offer itself as far as the very ultimate in generosity." Pope John Paul II
"Children learn to do what they see others doing. For this reason, they should learn from you how to be strong, industrious, temperate, happy, and devout, upright citizens and exemplary Christians." Pope John Paul II
"Suffering for the sake of love, truth, and justice is a sign of fidelity to the God of life and of hope. It is the blessedness of those who suffer for Christ, who fall to the ground like grains of wheat and are promised life and resurrection." Pope John Paul II
'Love gives suffering meaning and makes it acceptable. It is possible to have love without suffering; but suffering without love has no meaning. Suffering accepted with love, as Christ and the Saints accepted it, acquires an inestimable value." Pope John Paul II
"Allow the light and the healing presence of Christ to shine brightly through your lives. In that way, all those who come in contact with you will discover the loving kindness of God." Pope John Paul II
"Grace builds upon nature. The Gospel does not make inhuman demands on us. It enlightens, elevates, and perfects what is human through the power of God's grace." Pope John Paul II
"Christ desires to be newly present to this contemporary world with all the explosive force of His Mystery of love. He wishes to meet the people of today through teachers who are true educators, drawn by Christ." Pope John Paul II
"The way to the heart very often passes through the mind. Today, throughout the length and breadth of the Church there is need for a new effort of evangelization and catechesis directed to the mind." Pope John Paul II
"As people, we are meant to have human joys; the joy of living , the joy of love and friendship, the joy of work well done. As Christians, we have cause for further joy; like Jesus, we know that we are loved by God our Father." Pope John Paul II
"Marriage is a communion of life. It is the home. It is work. It is concern for the children. It is also joy and leisure in common." Pope John Paul II
"Paul's conversion reminds us that a sincere change of heart is essential for the spiritual progress of individual Christians as well as for full unity among them. Only by a change of attitude and behavior toward one another can Christ's disciples remove the obstacles to such unity." Pope John Paul II
"If you nourish your life with personal and liturgical prayer, if you are supported by the advice of a spiritual guide, you will not be afraid to face the world. On the contrary, you will face it with a calm, positive, and open mind." Pope John Paul II
"Sorrow is an isolated thing in the natural world. For Jesus, however, it is part of an encounter. Thus, those of you who are sick, who are unfortunate, who are dying may lack all things, but not Jesus on the Cross. He is with you. He is indeed with you."Pope John Paul II
"You must understand that faithful service to Christ and His Church will not always earn you the world's praise. On the contrary, you will sometimes receive the same treatment as the Lord: rejections, contempt, and even persecution." Pope John Paul II
"Despite her youth, St. Agnes experienced the victorious strength of the love of Christ. Sustained by that inner force, she was able to "conquer overwhelmingly." May she be your model of courage and generosity in every event of your life." Pope John Paul II
"There exists a close connection between holiness of life and the promotion of a more human way of life in society, for it is from a converted and reconciled heart that goodness and justice flow in human relations. Time and energy given to the life of the spirit is not time and energy taken away from service." Pope John Paul II
"We strongly deny the assertion that there is no obligation for us to put the message of Christ at the disposal of all. Indeed, we claim with full conviction that it is our right and our duty to do no less."
Pope John Paul II"I ask you to pray for those who cannot pray and also for those who do not know how to pray. Pray too for all who have lost faith in God and in His mercy." Pope John Paul II
"Attaining happiness requires a rigorous personal ascetism whose function is to bring order into the human person. It is a tragic lie to teach people that happiness can or even should be reached by abandoning oneself to the inclinations of instinct, without any self-denial." Pope John Paul II
"If peace is to reign in your hearts, you must be willing to forgive, to forgive completely and sincerely. No community can survive without forgiveness. No family can live in harmony, no friendship can endure, without repeated forgiveness." Pope John Paul II
"The Spirit of God is the Spirit of life, Who is capable of causing life to burst forth even where everything seemed dead and withered. That is why we can and must have confidence. Not only can we, but we must!" Pope John Paul II
"We may be tempted to show respect only for the great ones of the earth and to reserve our love for our own family and friends. But Christ teaches us that, for good or ill, what we do to the least of our brothers and sisters we do to Him." Pope John Paul II
"Every Cross that we see in the world becomes a silent reminder for us. The true victory that overcomes hatred in the world is ultimately self-sacrifice, in constant fidelity flowing from the power of love." Pope John Paul II
"You may say that it is hard to think of yourself as a brother or sister of Someone Who died so long ago. But no, Jesus is alive today and always! This is our Faith. This is the source of every thing it means to be a Christian." Pope John Paul II
"Be happy, rejoice in Christ's love, and live from His Strength. True, you cannot always be healthy or successful. However, you can always be with Christ and find strength at His side." Pope John Paul II
"Jesus identified Himself with the poor and the defenseless. Thus, what we do for them is done for Him, and the service we fail to render them is service denied to Him. Gross disparities of wealth between nations, classes, and persons reenact the parable of the rich man and Lazarus." Pope John Paul II
"Once a star led the Magi to set out on their journey to the Lord. And it may be that the star has not yet appeared in the sky that you see. Nonetheless, in your soul there is that same interior light that guided the Magi." Pope John Paul II
"Today, faced with the contradictions of the adult world and the rapidity of change, evangelizers could become discouraged and be tempted to limit their missionary effort. We must revive the Master's invitation to the whole world! To all creatures! To the ends of the earth!" Pope John Paul II
"Loving is not easy. It presupposes affective maturity, willpower, the capacity for self-control, and an attitude of self-denial and giving. It is necessary to learn how to love. This is an apprenticeship that requires years of commitment." Pope John Paul II
"Do not be afraid of the demands of the love of Christ. On the contrary, be afraid of being fainthearted, of taking things lightly, of seeking your comfort, of being selfish. Be afraid of everything that seeks to silence the voice of Christ Who addresses each person."Pope John Paul II
"The dynamism of new life is at work throughout history in apostolic service and in the mandate to pass on the Gospel. In order to touch everyone's heart it must be translated into understandable and easily accessible language." Pope John Paul II
"Let no one in your land be at ease while there is anyone whose human and Christian dignity is not respected and loved. This is true whether that person is a man, a woman, a child, an elderly or sick person, or any child of God!" Pope John Paul II
"Christians of these last years of the Second Millennium, you have an honorable yet burdensome task. You must be bearers of the Word to those who have lost its full meaning and importance." Pope John Paul II
"May prayers give wings to work, purify intentions and be a defense against the longings of materialism. And may work in its turn lead to the refreshing encounter with God in which humanity rediscovers its primordial vocation and the true meaning of its existence......" Pope John Paul II
"As Christians we should offer our memories to the Lord. Thinking about the past will not alter the reality of your sufferings of disappointments, but it can change the way you look at them....." Pope John Paul II
"How essential is it for the life of society that people not lose faith in their own work. How essential is it that they not suffer disillusionment because of this work."Pope John Paul II
"In prayer the Church concentrates on Christ; she possesses Him, savors His Friendship, and is therefore in a position to communicate Him. But by exercising faith, hope, and charity in prayer, she reinforces her power to communicate Christ." Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul 1 "To be perfect" means to love God not a little, but a great deal. It means not to stop at the point at which we have arrived, but with His help to progress to love." Pope John Paul 1
Pope Paul VI
" Being a Christian is not a secondary, questionable, changeable thing; it is not a subjective ideology. It is truth that happily transfigures and vivifies. The truth will make you free." Pope Paul VI
" It is He, it is only He Who can quench the deep and mysterious thirst of your spirits. Jesus, Jesus; He is the light and salvation of the world and each of us." Pope Paul VI
"Authority is a duty, a burden, a debt, a ministry to others, to lead them to the life of God. It is a channel, an obligatory, necessary, but saving channel, and it is called the care of souls. This is the pastoral function." Pope Paul VI
"Christ's love for us: behold the Eucharist! Love that gives itself, love that remains, love that communicates itself, love that multiples itself, love that sacrifices itself. The Eucharist is the love that unites us and the love that saves us." Pope Paul VI
"The person who has been evangelized goes on to evangelize others. It is unthinkable that people should accept the Word and give themselves to the Kingdom without becoming persons who bear witness to it and proclaim it in turn." Pope Paul VI
"Jesus is the joy of the earth; He is the physician of every human infirmity. He is personified in every person who suffers, arousing compassion and generous love. Jesus, therefore, is present always and everywhere." Pope Paul VI
"The Church is the unifying effect of the love of Christ for us. She can herself be considered a living sign, a Sacrament of unity and of love. To love is her mission." Pope Paul VI
"Let us strive to be true Catholics, convinced Catholics, unwavering Catholics, and good Catholics. Ours cannot be a watered down, approximate and camouflaged Catholicism. Above all, it cannot be a Catholicism that implies denying by our behavior what will bring us and our Separated Brethren mutually closer." Pope Paul VI
"Prayer is the breath of the Mystical Body, it's conversation with God, the expression of its love and it's striving toward the Father." Pope Paul VI
"Time is a gift from God; it is a question posed by God's love to our free and fateful answer. We must be sparing of time in order to use it well in the intense activity of our life of work, love, and suffering. Idleness or boredom has no place in the life of a Christian." Pope Paul VI
"Every believer ought to be an active member of the Church. Every Catholic lay person is invested with the right and has the duty to work in order to testify to and spread the Kingdom of God." Pope Paul VI
"All the pure in heart are, in a certain sense, mystics, because, as Christ proclaimed, they are candidates to "see God." But we should all be pure in heart, all good, simple, and childlike. We should all be able to want, be able to yearn, be able to receive."Pope Paul VI
"The Church reaffirms the religious and supernatural values of penitence. She invites everyone to accompany the inner conversion of the spirit with the voluntary exercise of external acts of penitence...." Pope Paul VI
Blessed Pope John XXIII
" Let us not only take care to defend ourselves from the contagion of evil but also to promote the good, sustain it, give witness to it, defend it, and multiply it. We must take responsibility for the face that the world is suffering from evil stemming from our lukewarmness." Blessed Pope John XXIII
" We must be convinced of the necessity of having a living, authentic, and active faith. That is all the more true today, when we face so many difficulties. It is not enough to have a vague, weak, or uncertain faith." Blessed Pope John XXIII
"It must be borne in mind that to proceed gradually is the law of life in all its expressions. Therefore, in human institutions, too, it is not possible to renovate for the better except by working from within them gradually." Blessed Pope John XXIII
"Christian life is a sacrifice. Sacrifice inspired by charity has the merit of bringing us into conformity with the earthly life of Jesus. For He became our brother and died for us in order to assure us of joy and glory forever."
Blessed Pope John XXIII"The Christian family is a sacred institution. If it totters, if the norms that the Divine Redeemer laid down for it are rejected or ignored, then the very foundation of the state tremble. Civil society stands betrayed and in peril. Everyone suffers." Blessed Pope John XXIII
POPE PIUS XII
"The origin, nature, destiny, and history of humanity are bound up in that Infant by the very fact of His birth among us. Without the knowledge of that history our human nature would remain an impenetrable enigma." Pope Pius XII
"In no other spot as much as Lourdes do we feel so impelled toward prayer, forgetfulness of self, and charity. The most fervent are attracted to a life more totally offered to God's service. The less fervent become aware of their tepidity and rediscover the way of prayer. Hardened sinners and unbelievers are often touched by grace".. Pope Pius XII
"Devotion to the Blessed Virgin in no way detracts from the glory of God. Rather it leads us directly back to that Author of all good Who has willed her to be so great and so pure." Pope Pius XII
"The Heart of Christ overflows with divine and human love and is abundantly rich with the treasures of all the graces that our Redeemer acquired by His Life, Passion, and Death. It is truly the unfailing fountain of the love that His Spirit pours forth into all the members of His Mystical Body." Pope Pius XII
"Modern society is barely conscious of the ills that assail it. It conceals its miseries beneath a prosperous, glittering, and trouble-free exterior. In such a society the Immaculate Virgin manifested herself to an innocent child of Lourdes." Pope Pius XII
Pope St. Pius X (1835-1914AD)
"A sincere and zealous reformer will avoid extremes and never overstep the bounds of true reform. The true reformer will always be united in the closest bonds with the Church and Christ, her Head." Pope Saint Pius X
from http://www.cpats.org
"Promoting Catholic Apologetic support groups loyal to the Magisterium"
Question and Answer Knowledge base: http://www.cpats.org/answers
http://www.cpats.org/holyquotes/index.cfm
"Promoting Catholic Apologetic support groups loyal to the Magisterium"
Question and Answer Knowledge base: http://www.cpats.org/answers
http://www.cpats.org/holyquotes/index.cfm