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

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The Sacraments
 


Without the Lord's help, the yoke of sickness and suffering weighs down on us cruelly. By receiving the Sacrament of the Sick, we seek to carry no other yoke that that of Christ, strengthened through His promise to us that His yoke will be easy to carry and His burden light.

 
Homily 

Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows
Lourdes, France
15 September 2008

 
 
 
The Sacraments
 


From the Lord’s pierced side, from his open heart, there springs the living fountain which continues to well up over the centuries and which makes the Church. The open heart is the source of a new stream of life; here John was certainly also thinking of the prophecy of Ezechiel who saw flowing forth from the new temple a torrent bestowing fruitfulness and life (Ez 47): Jesus himself is the new temple, and his open heart is the source of a stream of new life which is communicated to us in Baptism and the Eucharist.

 
Homily
Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
St Peter's Square
11 June 2010

 
 
 
The Sacraments
 


The outpouring of Christ’s blood is the source of the Church’s life. Saint John, as we know, sees in the water and blood which flowed from our Lord’s body, the wellspring of that divine life which is bestowed by the Holy Spirit and communicated to us in the sacraments.

 
Eucharistic Celebration
Westminster Cathedral
London, England
18 September 2010

 
 
 
The Sacraments
 


Through the sacraments it is Christ who communicates his life to multitudes of brothers and sisters, while he heals and comforts innumerable sick people through the many activities of health-care assistance that Christian communities promote with fraternal charity. Thus they reveal the true Face of God, his love. It is true: very many Christians around the world priests, religious and lay people - have lent and continue to lend their hands, eyes and hearts to Christ, true physician of bodies and souls!

 
Angelus
8 February 2009