We wish a happy birthday to Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, or as he prefers to be called, “Father Benedict,” who today celebrates his 89th year.
Given his prolific writings, we realize we could very likely find 89 great quotes of his to share with our readers — or 90, if we add a year “for luck,” as we tend to do.
But finding 90 quotes, and expecting people to read them all, seemed crazy. So we have gathered for you here 10 brief-but-great quotes from Father Benedict, one for each decade including the year before him, and another ten years “for luck.”
1) “Evil draws its power from indecision and concern for what other people think.”
― Pope Benedict XVI, 1st Station, Meditations for Stations of the Cross, Good Friday, 2005
2) “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.”
― Pope Benedict XVI, Audience 31 January 2007
3) “Freedom of conscience is the core of all freedom”
― Pope Benedict XVI, Church, Ecumenism and Politics
4) “One who has hope lives differently.”
― Pope Benedict XVI Spe salvi, 2
5) “Seeing with the eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their outward necessities; I can give them the look of love which they crave.”
― Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 18
6) “God’s love for his people is so great that it turns God against himself, his love against his justice.”
― Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 10
7) “The ways of the Lord are not easy, but we were not created for an easy life but for great things, for goodness.” To German Pilgrims, April 25, 2005
8) “It is true: God disturbs our comfortable day-to-day existence. Jesus’ kingship goes hand in hand with his passion.”
― Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives
9) “The proper request of love is that our entire life should be oriented to the imitation of the Beloved. Let us therefore spare no effort to leave a transparent trace of God’s love in our life.”
― Pope Benedict XVI, The Church Fathers: From Clement of Rome to Augustine
10) “Violence does not build up the kingdom of God, the kingdom of humanity. On the contrary, it is a favorite instrument of the Antichrist, however idealistic its religious motivation may be. It serves not humanity, but inhumanity.”
― Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, Part Two: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem to the Resurrection
Happy Birthday, Papa! If we may quote you back to yourself, “It is good that you exist!”**
**“If an individual is to accept himself, someone must say to him: ‘It is good that you exist’ — must say it, not with words, but with that act of the entire being that we call love.” Principles of Catholic Theology: Building Stones for a Fundamental Theology
And today we celebrate...