If in my life I fail completely to heed others, solely out of a desire to be 'devout' and to perform my 'religious duties', then my relationship with God will also grow arid. It becomes merely 'proper', but loveless.
Pope Benedict XviRead
Prayer, as a means of drawing ever new strength from Christ, is concretely and urgently needed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Prayer is essential for gaining strength and support from one's faith.
In this quote, Pope Benedict XVI emphasizes the importance of prayer as a vital source of strength and inspiration for individuals. He suggests that through prayer, one can draw upon divine support and guidance, which is particularly crucial in times of need and uncertainty. This process of connecting with Christ through prayer fosters resilience and a deeper spiritual life.
Themes
PrayerStrengthFaithChristSpirituality
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a church sermon to emphasize the power of prayer.
More from Pope Benedict Xvi
All quotes βThe life of the community, both domestically and internationally, clearly demonstrates that respect for rights, and the guarantees that follow from them, are measures of the common good that serve to evaluate the relationship between justice and injustice, development and poverty, security and conflict.
Pope Benedict XviRead
If you follow the will of God, you know that in spite of all the terrible things that happen to you, you will never lose a final refuge. You know that the foundation of the world is love, so that even when no human being can or will help you, you may go on, trusting in the One that loves you.
Pope Benedict XviRead
I am consoled by the fact that the Lord knows how to work and how to act, even with insufficient tools.
Pope Benedict XviRead
Faith is above all a personal, intimate encounter with Jesus, and to experience [His] closeness, [His] friendship, [His] Love; only in this way does one learn to know [Him] ever more, and to love and follow [Him] ever more. May this happen to each one of us.
Pope Benedict XviRead
Do not be afraid of seeming different and being criticized for what might seem to be losing or out of fashion; your peers but adults too, especially those who seem more distant from the mindset and values of the Gospel, are crying out to see someone who dares to live according to the fullness of humanity revealed by Jesus Christ.
Pope Benedict XviRead
Similar quotes
One of the values of centering prayer is that you are not thinking about God during the time of centering prayer so you are giving God a chance to manifest. In centering prayer there are moments of peace that give the psyche a chance to realize that God may not be so bad after all. God has a chance to be himself for a change.
Thomas KeatingRead
To be closer to god, be closer to people.
Khalil GibranRead
Prayer is the raising of the mind to God. We must always remember this. The actual words matter less.
Pope John XxiiiRead
Prayer does not mean that I am to bring God down to my thoughts and my purposes, and bend his government according to my foolish, silly, and sometimes sinful notions. Prayer means that I am to be raised up into feeling, into union and design with him; that I am to enter into his counsel and carry out his purpose fully.
Dwight L. MoodyRead
Do not have as your motive the desire to be known as a praying man. Get an inner chamber in which to pray where no one knows you are praying, shut the door, and talk to God in secret.
Oswald ChambersRead
A servant of the Lord stands bodily before men, but mentally he is knocking at the gates of heaven with prayer.
John ClimacusRead