Pope Benedict XVI Quotes

From the point of view of the Christian faith, man comes in the profoundest sense to himself not through what he does but through what he accepts. He must wait for the gift of love, and love can only be received as a gift... One must wait for it, let it be given to one. And one cannot become wholly man in any other way than by being loved, by letting oneself be loved... If he declines to let himself be presented with the gift, then he destroys himself.

The greatest joy of a Christian is to give joy to Christ.

To believe Christ's cross to be a friend, as he himself is a friend, is also a special act of faith.

I find Jesus my confidant and companion, brother and savior; our relationship is intimate, vulnerable, demanding yet comfortable and reassuring.

My best goal was to meet Jesus.

The only reason why I'm a Christian is because I'm a gift of the Father to the Son, not because of anything I've ever done.

Christians have learned that when there seems to be no other evidence of God's love, they cannot escape the cross.

It represents a Bible verse I wear on my shoe. Philippians 4:13. It says 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' It's also my mantra, how I get up for games and why I play the way I do.

When we learn to read the story of Jesus and see it as the story of the love of God, doing for us what we could not do for ourselves--that insight produces, again and again, a sense of astonished gratitude which is very near the heart of authentic Christian experience.

The Christian truth is attractive and persuasive because it responds to humanity's deepest needs.

The secret of Christian quietness is not indifference, but the knowledge that God is my Father, He loves me, and I shall never think of anything He will forget. With this knowledge, worry becomes an impossibility.

The fruit of wisdom is Christlikeness, peace, humility and love. And, the root of it is faith in Christ as the manifested wisdom of God

A Christian is not somebody who stays away from all the wicked things he loves and clings to all the righteous things he hates so that he can go to heaven. The fear of the Christian is not going to hell. The fear of the Christian is being separated from Christ.

It is impossible for a man to be a Christian without having Christ; and if he has Christ he has at the same time all that is in Christ.

For Christians, as for all people of faith, reflection, meditation and prayer help us to renew ourselves in God's love, as we strive daily to become better people. The Christmas message shows us that this love is for everyone. There is no one beyond its reach.

To come to faith on the basis of experience alone is unwise, though not so foolish as to reject faith altogether because of lack of experience ... the quality of a Christian's experience depends on the quality of his faith, just as the quality of his faith depends in turn on the quality of his understanding of God's truth.

The Christian idea of 'putting on Christ' is the whole of Christianity.

Being a Christian is more like having your soul possessed by a spirit than having your mind clothed with new beliefs... It is like being haunted by the Holy Ghost.

If we are Christians, we must look like Christ - this is my deep conviction.

If you ignore every single thing Jesus told you to do, you are just auditing. You're not a Christian.

The Bible talks plentifully about joy, but it nowhere talks about a 'happy Christian.' Happiness depends on what happens; joy does not. Remember, Jesus Christ had joy, and He prayed 'that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.'

Our greatest value is to reproduce ourselves in the lives of others. When you leave behind a vibrant Christian who knows his calling and his commission, you can be buried, but you will live on through all those in whom you have been reproduced.

We are never nearer Christ than when we find ourselves lost in a holy amazement at His unspeakable love.

The heart of the Christian faith is Good News, not good advice, good technique, or good behavior.

For Faith is the beginning and the end is love, and God is the two of them brought into unity. After these comes whatever else makes up a Christian gentleman.