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

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The Poor
 


“He came to his own home, and his own people received him not” (Jn 1:11).
The great moral question of our attitude towards the homeless, towards refugees and migrants, takes on a deeper dimension: do we really have room for God when he seeks to enter under our roof? Do we have time and space for him? Do we not actually turn away God himself? We begin to do so when we have no time for him.

 
Homily
Vatican Basilica
24 December 2012

 
 
 
The Poor
 


Christian communities are to pay special attention to migrant workers and their families by accompanying them with prayer, solidarity and Christian charity, by enhancing what is reciprocally enriching, as well as by fostering new political, economic and social planning that promotes respect for the dignity of every human person, the safeguard of the family, access to dignified housing, to work and to welfare.

 
Message for the
World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2012
celebrated on
15 January 2012

 
 
 
The Poor
 


"I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me" (Mt 25: 35) and so forth. Who does not know this passage? It is part of our civilization. It has marked the history of the peoples of Christian culture: the hierarchy of values, the institutions, the multiple charitable and social organizations.
The Kingdom of Christ is not of this world, but it brings to fulfillment all the good that, thank God, exists in man and in history. If we put love for our neighbor into practice in accordance with the Gospel message, we make room for God's dominion and his Kingdom is actualized among us. If, instead, each one thinks only of his or her own interests, the world can only go to ruin…
The Lord has our good at heart, that is, that every person should have life, and that especially the "least" of his children may have access to the banquet he has prepared for all.

 
Angelus Address
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
King of the Universe
St Peter's Square
23 November 2008

 
 
 
The Poor
 


God does not forget those who are forgotten by all; those who are worthless in human eyes are precious in the Lord's.

 
Angelus
Castel Gandolfo
30 September 2007