The Catholic Church is….
The Catholic Church is but one; for as the Bridegroom is one, the Bride must be one also. Between the Bridegroom and the Bride there is one and the same spirit.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)
The Eucharist is…
The Eucharist is the life of the people. The Eucharist gives them a center of life. All can come together without the barriers of race or language in order to celebrate the feast days of the Church. It gives them a law of life, that of charity, of which it is the source; thus it forges between them a common bond, a Christian kinship
–Saint Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868)
The Church can radiate…
Never distant, never on the defensive, freed of all harshness, the Church can radiate the humble trusting of faith into our human hearts.
–Brother Roger of Taize (1915-2005)
The Church listens, heals, and…
When tirelessly the Church listens, heals and reconciles, it becomes what it is at its most luminous—a communion of love, of compassion, of consolation, a clear reflection of the Risen Christ.
–Brother Roger of Taize (1915-2005)
A church that suffers…
A church that suffers no persecution but enjoys the privileges and support of the things of the earth – beware! – is not the true church of Jesus Christ. A preaching that does not point out sin is not the preaching of the gospel. A preaching that makes sinners feel good, so that they are secured in their sinful state, betrays the gospel’s call.
–Blessed Oscar Romero (1917-1980)
A Church that doesn’t…
A church that doesn’t provoke any crisis, a gospel that doesn’t unsettle, a Word of God that doesn’t get under anyone’s skin, what kind of gospel is that? Preachers who avoid every thorny matter so as not to be harassed do not light up the world.
–Blessed Oscar Romero (1917-1980)
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