The immense wealth of doctrine and institutions can become a handicap if we are trying to present all of that to a person who has lost all contact with the Church and no longer knows who Jesus is. That would… — Raniero Cantalamessa Copy Share Image
The biggest sin against the poor and the hungry is perhaps indifference, making believe we do not see, passing by on the other side… — Raniero Cantalamessa Copy Share Image
Laypeople are a kind of nuclear energy in the Church on a spiritual level. A layperson caught up with the gospel and living next to other people can "contaminate" two others, and these two, four others, etc. Since lay Christians number not only tens of thousands like the clergy but hundreds of millions, they can truly play a decisive role… — Raniero Cantalamessa Copy Share
“In any love-story there are usually two stages or phases. There is the initial stage, where love is expressed by the giving of gifts, especially the gift of self. Then there comes a time when it is no longer enough to give gifts to the beloved, but one has to be ready to suffer for her or for him. Only… — Raniero Cantalamessa Copy Share
“The undivided heart is a good thing, as long as you love somebody. In fact, a divided heart that loves someone is better than an undivided heart that loves nobody -- the latter would actually be undivided egoism. It would mean having one's heart full, but with the most corrupting thing there is: oneself. Of this type of virgin and… — Raniero Cantalamessa Copy Share
“People can be, or can pose as, the enemies of God, but God will never be the enemy of any person. It is the… — Raniero Cantalamessa Copy Share Image
Throughout history there have been many men and women who have chosen to imitate Jesus as he withdraws into the desert... To pass time in the desert means to create a little emptiness and silence around us, to rediscover the road to our heart, to remove ourselves from the noise and external distractions, to enter into contact with the deepest… — Raniero Cantalamessa Copy Share
“There is a lot of talk about the betrayal of Judas, and people are not aware that it is happening again. Christ is being… — Raniero Cantalamessa Copy Share Image
I believe that the most necessary thing to do on the feast of Corpus Christi is not to explain some aspect of the Eucharist,… — Raniero Cantalamessa Copy Share Image
The immense wealth of doctrine and institutions can become a handicap if we are trying to present all of that to a person who… — Raniero Cantalamessa Copy Share Image
“If Jesus were to ask me, as He did that poor demoniac in the Gospel: "What is your name?" I too would have to… — Raniero Cantalamessa Copy Share Image
It is true that not even Christ is seen, but he exists; he is risen, he is alive, he is close to us, more… — Raniero Cantalamessa Copy Share Image
We are not heading for an eternal void and an eternal silence but we are on our way to an encounter, an encounter with… — Raniero Cantalamessa Copy Share Image
