"The liturgy invites us to share in the heavenly
jubilation of the Saints, to taste their joy. The Saints are not a small
caste of chosen souls but an innumerable crowd to which the liturgy
urges us to raise our eyes. This multitude not only includes the
officially recognized Saints, but the baptized of every epoch and nation
who sought to carry out the divine will faithfully and lovingly. We are
unacquainted with the faces and even the names of many of them, but
with the eyes of faith we see them shine in God's firmament like
glorious stars.
"Today, the Church is celebrating her dignity as 'Mother of the
Saints, an image of the Eternal City' (A. Manzoni), and displays her
beauty as the immaculate Bride of Christ, source and model of all
holiness. She certainly does not lack contentious or even rebellious
children, but it is in the Saints that she recognizes her characteristic
features and precisely in them savors her deepest joy....
"This, then, is the meaning of today's Solemnity: looking at the
shining example of the Saints to reawaken within us the great longing to
be like them; happy to live near God, in his light, in the great family
of God's friends. Being a Saint means living close to God, to live in
his family. And this is the vocation of us all, vigorously reaffirmed by
the Second Vatican Council and solemnly proposed today for our
attention."
--Benedict XVI, Homily, November 1, 2006
"The operation launched from Gaza and the reaction of the Israeli Army are
bringing us back to the worst periods of our recent history. The too many
causalities and tragedies, which both Palestinians and Israeli families have to
deal with, will create more hatred and division, and will destroy more and more
any perspective of stability.
"We call on the international community, the religious leaders in the region
and in the world, to make every effort in helping to de-escalate the situation,
restore calm and work to guarantee the fundamental rights of people in the
region.
"Unilateral declarations surrounding the status of religious sites and places
of worship rattle religious sentiment and fuel even more hatred and extremism.
It is therefore important to preserve the status quo in all the Holy Places in
the Holy Land and in Jerusalem in particular....
"We ask God to inspire world leaders in their intervention for the
implementation of peace and concord so that Jerusalem may be a house of prayer
for all peoples."
--Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Archbishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, October 12, 2023
"Today the Church honors Our Lady of the Rosary, a liturgical Memorial
that gives me the opportunity to reassert the importance of the prayer
of the Rosary, so dear also to my venerable Predecessors. I commend it to you, dear young people, so that it may help you to do God's will and find in the Immaculate Heart of Mary a safe shelter. May it enable you, dear sick people, to
experience the comfort of our Heavenly Mother, so that she may sustain
you in moments of trial. May the recitation of this prayer be for you,
dear newlyweds a daily custom in your family which, thanks to Mary's intercession will thus grow in unity and fidelity to the Gospel."
--Benedict XVI, General Audience, October 7, 2009
