Selected quotes of Pope Benedict XVI offered daily for prayer and reflection….

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The Family of God
 


To help us advance along the path of human maturity, the Church teaches us to respect and foster the marvellous reality of the indissoluble marriage between man and woman which is also the origin of the family. To recognize and assist this institution is one of the greatest services which can be rendered nowadays to the common good and to the authentic development of individuals and societies, as well as the best means of ensuring the dignity, equality and true freedom of the human person.

 
Homily
Fifth World Meeting of Families
Valencia, Spain
9 July 2006

 
 
 
The Family of God
 


The family is a living organism in which there is a reciprocal exchange of gifts. the important thing is that the Word of God, which keeps the flame of faith alive, never be lacking.

 
Angelus Address
2 July 2006

 
 
 
The Family of God
 


At the origin of every man and woman, and thus in all human fatherhood and motherhood, we find God the Creator. For this reason, married couples must accept the child born to them, not simply as theirs alone, but also as a child of God, loved for his or her own sake and called to be a son or daughter of God. What is more: each generation, all parenthood and every family has its origin in God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 
Homily
Fifth World Meeting of Families
Valencia, Spain
9 July 2006

 
 
 
The Family of God
 


The Christian response to the challenges confronted by families and human life in general, consists in intensifying trust in the Lord, and the vigor that springs from one’s faith, which is nourished by attentive listening to the Word of God.

 
Address
6th World Meeting of Families
Mexico City
8 January, 2009

 
 
 
The Family of God
 


Christians know that the family is the living cell of the Church. The more the family is steeped in the spirit and values of the Gospel, the more the Church herself will be enriched by them and the better she will fulfill her vocation.

 
Meeting with French Bishops
Hemicycle of St. Bernadette
Lourdes, France
14 September 2008

 
 
 
The Family of God
 


At the origin of every man and woman, and thus in all human fatherhood and motherhood, we find God the Creator. For this reason, married couples must accept the child born to them, not simply as theirs alone, but also as a child of God, loved for his or her own sake and called to be a son or daughter of God. What is more: each generation, all parenthood and every family has its origin in God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 
Homily
Fifth World Meeting of Families
Valencia, Spain
9 July 2006

 
 
 
The Family of God
 


As he invited the disciples, Jesus also addresses an invitation to us: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mt 16:24). A Christian follows the Lord when he accepts lovingly his own cross, which in the world's eyes seems a defeat and to “lose life”, knowing that he is not carrying it alone but with Jesus, sharing his same journey of self-giving.

 
Angelus Address
Castel Gandolfo
28 August 2011

 
 
 
The Family of God
 


It is said to us that Jesus is the first-born of many brothers. Yes, indeed, now he really is the first of a series of brothers and sisters: the first, that is, who opens up for us the possibility of communing with God. He creates true brotherhood – not the kind defiled by sin as in the case of Cain and Abel, or Romulus and Remus, but the new brotherhood in which we are God’s own family. This new family of God begins at the moment when Mary wraps her first-born in swaddling clothes and lays him in a manger. Let us pray to him: Lord Jesus, who wanted to be born as the first of many brothers and sisters, grant us the grace of true brotherhood. Help us to become like you. Help us to recognize your face in others who need our assistance, in those who are suffering or forsaken, in all people, and help us to live together with you as brothers and sisters, so as to become one family, your family.

 
Homily
Mass of the Night
Nativity of the Lord
St. Peter's Basilica
25 December 2010

 

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