"During this liturgical season, the Lord takes us with Him to a place
apart. While our ordinary commitments compel us to remain in our usual places
and our often repetitive and sometimes boring routines, during Lent we are
invited to ascend “a high mountain” in the company of Jesus and to live a
particular experience of spiritual discipline —ascesis— as God’s
holy people. Lenten penance is a commitment, sustained by grace, to overcoming our lack
of faith and our resistance to following Jesus on the way of the Cross."
--Pope Francis, Message for Lent 2023
"Against the insidious wiles
of foreign influence the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly
awake; since history and experience prove, that foreign influence is one of the
most baneful foes of republican government. But that jealousy, to be useful,
must be impartial; else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be
avoided, instead of a defense against it."
--U.S. President George Washington (1732--1799), Farewell Address, 1796
"History is not history unless it's the truth."
--Abraham Lincoln
"The Congo is like a diamond, for her nature, her resources, and
especially for her people; but this diamond has become a source of contention,
of violence, and paradoxically of the impoverishment of the people. It is a
dynamic that is also found in other African regions, and which applies in
general to the Continent... In the face of all this I said two words. The first is negative: 'Enough!'
Stop exploiting Africa!... The second is positive: together, together with dignity, all
together, and with mutual respect, together in the name of Christ, our hope, to
go forward. Do not exploit, and go forward together."
--Pope Francis, General Audience, February 8, 2023
