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

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Repentence
 


“Thus says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning” (2.12). Please note the phrase “with all your heart,” which means from the very core of our thoughts and feelings, from the roots of our decisions, choices and actions, with a gesture of total and radical freedom. But is this return to God possible? Yes, because there is a force that does not reside in our hearts, but that emanates from the heart of God and the power of His mercy.

 
Homily
Ash Wednesday
Vatican Basilica
13 February 2013  

 
 
 
Repentence
 


“Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15). It is an invitation to have faith in God and to convert all our actions and thoughts to goodness, every day.
The season of Lent is a favorable moment for renewing and reinforcing our relationship with God, through daily prayer, acts of penance, and works of brotherly charity.

 
Angelus Address
St. Peter's Square
26 February 2012

 
 
 
Repentence
 


Penitence is a grace – even though of late we have sought to avoid this word…Now, under the attacks of the world, which speak to us of our sins, we see that to be able to do penance is a grace – and we see how necessary it is to do penance, that is, to recognize what is wrong in our lives: to recognize one’s sin, to open oneself to forgiveness, to prepare for pardon, to allow oneself to be transformed.

 
Homily
Eucharistic Concelebration
Pontifical Biblical Commission
Pauline Chapel, Apostolic Palace
15 April 2010

 
 
 
Repentence
 


Let us remember two things. The first: Jesus respects our freedom. The second: Jesus awaits our openness to repentance and conversion; he is rich in mercy and forgiveness.

 
General Audience
St. Peter's Square
18 October 2006

 
 
 
Repentence
 


Jesus' exhortation, recorded by the Evangelist Mark, rings out more timely than ever: Repent, and believe in the Gospel (cf. Mk 1: 15). The sincere desire for God prompts us to reject evil and to do good.

 
General Audience
Ash Wednesday
21 February 2007

 
 
 
Repentence
 


Holiness does not consist in never having erred or sinned. Holiness increases the capacity for conversion, for repentance, for willingness to start again and, especially, for reconciliation and forgiveness.

 
General Audience
31 January 2007