“But because their ancestors were men of righteousness, shall we consent to the abuses of their degenerate descendants? Because they did us a great good, would we be guilty if we prevented them from doing us evil?”
“We love people not because for good they did for us, but for good we did for them.”
“Death is not an evil, because it frees us from all evils, and while it takes away good things, it takes away also the desire for them. Old age is the supreme evil, because it deprives us of all pleasures, leaving us only the appetite for them, and it brings with it all sufferings. Nevertheless, we fear death, and we desire old age.”
“Great leap forwards in mankind do not take place because of the economic values we place on them. They happen because we strive to do better and to be better. The sooner we break away from the 'if it makes money it must be good' mentality the better off we all shall be.”
“Paul said that it is only as we are overwhelmed at the glory of Christ's sacrifice for us that we are transformed into glory ourselves-the glory of people who serve God because they crave God and who do righteousness because they love righteousness.”
“No circumstance in the world can ever prevent us from believing in God, from placing all our trust in him, from loving him with our whole heart, or from loving our neighbor. Faith, hope, and charity are absolutely free, because if they are rooted in us deeply enough, they are able to draw strength from whatever opposes them! If someone sought to prevent us from believing by persecuting us, we always would retain the option of forgiving our enemies and transforming the situation of oppression into one of greater love. If someone tried to silence our faith by killing us, our deaths would be the best possible proclamation of our faith! Love, and only love, can overcome evil by good and draw good out of evil.”