The Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church

"The Holy Spirit, who with the Father and the Son, created the universe, who guided the People of Israel through history and spoke through the Prophets, who in the fullness of time cooperated in our redemption, came down at Pentecost upon the nascent Church and made her missionary, sending her out to proclaim to all peoples the victory of divine love over sin and death.

The Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church. Without him what would she be reduced to? She would certainly be an important movement in history, a complex and solid social institution, perhaps a sort of humanitarian agency. And to tell the truth she is considered such by those who do not see her from a perspective of faith. Yet, the reality is that in her true nature and also in her authentic presence in history, the Church is ceaselessly formed and guided by the Spirit of her Lord. She is a living body, whose vitality is, precisely, the fruit of the invisible divine Spirit."

-- Pope Benedict XVI, Regina Coeli address on Mary 31, 2009, Solemnity of Pentecost

"Dear friends, let us too learn at the school of Mary to recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, to listen to his inspirations and to follow them with docility. He makes us grow in accordance with the fullness of Christ, in accordance with those good fruits which the Apostle Paul lists in his Letter to the Galatians: "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Gal 5:22). I hope you will be filled with these gifts and that you will always walk with Mary, in accordance with the Spirit..."

-- Pope Benedict XVI, address on Mary 30, Marian Vigil

Purify this world with merciful love

"Stay with us Jesus, make a gift of yourself and give us the bread that nourishes us for eternal life! Free this world from the poison of evil, violence and hatred that pollute consciences, purify it with the power of your merciful love". "And you, Mary, who were the woman 'of the Eucharist' throughout your life, help us to walk united towards the heavenly goal, nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ, the eternal Bread of life and medicine of divine immortality". Amen!

-- Pope Benedict XVI, Homily on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, 11 June 2009

Closure of the Pauline Year

"Dear brothers and sisters!

Today, we celebrate solemnly the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, special Patrons of the Church of Rome: Peter, the fisherman of Galilee, who "first confessed to faith in Christ... and constituted the first community with the righteous of Israel"; Paul, the persecutor of old Christians, "that illuminated the depths of the mystery... teacher and doctor who proclaimed salvation to all peoples "(cf. Preface of today's Mass). In a sermon to the community of Rome, Pope St Leo the Great said: "These are your Fathers and true Shepherds (Bishops), because they have founded you that you would be entered into the kingdom of heaven " (Sermo I in Nat App Petri et Pauli, c I, PL 54.422).

Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord bless you and protect through the intercession of Saints Peter and Paul! As your pastor, I urge you to remain faithful to their Christian vocation and not conformed to this world - as the Apostle to the Gentiles wrote to his own Christians in Rome - but to go and always turn renewed by the Gospel, to follow what is really good and pleasing to God (cf Rom 12:2). For this I pray, that Rome constantly keeps alive its Christian vocation, not only retaining intact its immense spiritual and cultural heritage, but also because its people can transmit the beauty of faith in concrete ways of thinking and acting, and thus affording to those who, for various reasons are in this city, an atmosphere filled with humanity and the evangelical values. Therefore - with the words of Saint Peter - I invite you, dear brothers and sisters, disciples of Christ, to be "living stones", compact around him, who is the "living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious before God" (cf 1 Pt 2:4). "

--Extract from Pope Benedict XVI's Angelus address - 29 June 2009. Translated by ocdsister.

The call to holiness

Holiness is not a luxury. It is not the privilege of a few, something impossible for the normal person. [Holiness] is the common destiny of all people called to be children of God. It is the universal vocation of all the baptized."
-- Pope Benedict XVI

Praying is a journey

"Praying is a journey in personal communion with Christ, setting before Him our daily life, our successes, our failures, our struggles, and our joys - in a word, it is to stand in front of Him." -- Pope Benedict XVI