Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups. In other words: the human person is not a mere individual, relatively expansive, with some philanthropic feelings! The human person is a subject with dignity who, through the constitutive relationship with all, especially with the poorest, can gradually mature in his identity and vocation. The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the “Good Samaritan” (cf. Lk 10:25-37), that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception (Pope Francis)
Just as the moon reflects the light of the sun, Pope Francis reflected the light of Christ in the world. One of the things of his life which was so striking was how he seemed, when younger, to be a firm disciplinarian within the Jesuit order, seemingly at one remove from ordinary people, until he was sent to work with the poor. He underwent an epiphany and emerged changed by the experience, a change that never left him.
One of the most striking moments on Maundy Thursday before his first Easter was going into the prisons in Rome and washing the prisoners feet. Pope's traditionally did nothing like this at all. It was a visible sign of how different his papacy would be.
Pope Francis’s first language was Spanish, and he was fluent and comfortable in Italian and Latin. Thus, his English-language quotes are almost always translations. Here are some quotes I found online:
“The Lord never tires of forgiving. It is we who tire of asking for forgiveness.”
“To be saints is not a privilege for a few, but a vocation for everyone.”
“Just as we need the courage to be happy, we also need the courage to live simply.”
"The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth ... The pace of consumption, waste and environmental change has so stretched the planet's capacity that our contemporary lifestyle, unsustainable as it is, can only precipitate catastrophes."
"A selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak and disadvantaged."
"It is increasingly intolerable that financial markets are shaping the destiny of people rather than serving their needs, or that the few derive immense wealth from financial speculation while the many are deeply burdened by the consequences."
“An authentic rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized.”
“If we want security, let us give security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities. The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us.”
“Every man, every woman who has to take up the service of government, must ask themselves two questions: ‘Do I love my people in order to serve them better?’ [and] ‘Am I humble and do I listen to everybody, to diverse opinions, in order to choose the best path?'”
“Embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important.”
“Holiness doesn’t mean doing extraordinary things, but doing ordinary things with love and faith.”
“Let us not be satisfied with a mediocre life. Be amazed by what is true and beautiful, what is of God!”
“If money and material things become the centre of our lives, they seize us and make us slaves.”
“I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting, and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.”
Finally, and a bit longer than the others above, is this last quote, which comes from Pope Francis’s final public speech, his Urbi et Orbi (“to the city and to the world”) address on Easter Sunday:
“What a great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day … How much violence we see, often even within families, directed at women and children! How much contempt is stirred up at times toward the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants! On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For all of us are children of God!”
“You pray for the poor and then you feed them. That’s how prayer works.”
“The perfect family doesn’t exist, nor is there a perfect husband or a perfect wife, and let’s not talk about the perfect mother-in-law! It’s just us sinners. A healthy family life requires frequent use of three phrases: ‘May I?’ ‘Thank you,’ and ‘I’m sorry.’
“To be saints is not a privilege for a few, but a vocation for everyone.”
“Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity. They are children, women, and men who leave or who are forced to leave their homes for various reasons, who share a legitimate desire for knowing and having, but above all for being, more.”
“Dear young people, do not bury your talents, the gifts that God has given you! Do not be afraid to dream of great things!”
“The measure of the greatness of a society is found in the way it treats those most in need, those who have nothing apart from their poverty!”
“If I repeated some passages from the homilies of the Church Fathers, in the second or third century, about how we must treat the poor, some would accuse me of giving a Marxist homily.”
“I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars. You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else.”
“Just as we need the courage to be happy, we also need the courage to live simply.”
"The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth ... The pace of consumption, waste and environmental change has so stretched the planet's capacity that our contemporary lifestyle, unsustainable as it is, can only precipitate catastrophes."
"A selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak and disadvantaged."
"It is increasingly intolerable that financial markets are shaping the destiny of people rather than serving their needs, or that the few derive immense wealth from financial speculation while the many are deeply burdened by the consequences."
“An authentic rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized.”
“If we want security, let us give security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities. The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us.”
“Every man, every woman who has to take up the service of government, must ask themselves two questions: ‘Do I love my people in order to serve them better?’ [and] ‘Am I humble and do I listen to everybody, to diverse opinions, in order to choose the best path?'”
“Embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important.”
“Holiness doesn’t mean doing extraordinary things, but doing ordinary things with love and faith.”
“Let us not be satisfied with a mediocre life. Be amazed by what is true and beautiful, what is of God!”
“If money and material things become the centre of our lives, they seize us and make us slaves.”
“I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting, and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.”
Finally, and a bit longer than the others above, is this last quote, which comes from Pope Francis’s final public speech, his Urbi et Orbi (“to the city and to the world”) address on Easter Sunday:
“What a great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day … How much violence we see, often even within families, directed at women and children! How much contempt is stirred up at times toward the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants! On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For all of us are children of God!”
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