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Sunday Pope Quote: Pope Benedict XVI on courageously speaking the truth

Posted Jan. 13, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason 1 comment

Today’s Sunday Pope Quote comes from another recent address by Pope Benedict XVI, this time his homily for the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (Jan. 6, 2013). While he does not mention marriage directly, the Holy Father offers guidance and exhortation to bishops (and all of us) to courageously preach the truth, even when it runs against the prevailing cultural headwinds (as the Church’s teaching on marriage most certainly does).

Pope Benedict XVI: “The humility of faith, of sharing the faith of the Church of every age, will constantly be in conflict with the prevailing wisdom of those who cling to what seems certain. Anyone who lives and proclaims the faith of the Church is on many points out of step with the prevalent way of thinking, even in our own day. . . . Therefore the courage to contradict the prevailing mindset is particularly urgent for a Bishop today. He must be courageous. And this courage or forcefulness does not consist in striking out or in acting aggressively, but rather in allowing oneself to be struck and to be steadfast before the principles of the prevalent way of thinking. The courage to stand firm in the truth is unavoidably demanded of those whom the Lord sends like sheep among wolves. ‘Those who fear the Lord will not be timid’, says the Book of Sirach (34:16). The fear of God frees us from the fear of men. It liberates.

– Homily on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (Jan. 6, 2013), emphasis added

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Sunday Pope Quote: Bl. John Paul II on freedom

Posted Jul. 1, 2012 by Marriage Unique for a Reason 2 comments

We are beginning the home stretch of the Fortnight for Freedom. Today’s Sunday Pope Quote is from Letter to Families by Bl. John Paul II and is about the word of the hour – “freedom.”

Bl. John Paul II: “We thus come to the very heart of the Gospel truth about freedom. The person realizes himself by the exercise of freedom in truth. Freedom cannot be understood as a license to do absolutely anything: it means a gift of self. Even more: it means an interior discipline of the gift. The idea of gift contains not only the free initiative of the subject, but also the aspect of duty. All this is made real in the ‘communion of persons.’ We find ourselves again at the very heart of each family.”

Letter to Families, no. 14, emphasis original