May no one use religion as a pretext for actions against human dignity and against the fundamental rights of every man and woman.

You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. That's how prayer works.

The world tells us to seek success, power and money; God tells us to seek humility, service and love.

To change the world we must be good to those who cannot repay us.

Let us learn to live with kindness, to love everyone, even when they do not love us.

Let the Church always be a place of mercy and hope, where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven.

Having faith does not mean having no difficulties, but having the strength to face them, knowing we are not alone.

Holiness doesn't mean doing extraordinary things, but doing ordinary things with love and faith.

Throwing away food is like stealing from the table of those who are poor and hungry.

Wretched are those who are vindictive and spiteful.

Inequality is the root of social evil.

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

Taking a step in the dark is braver than taking a leap in light.

To lose--get angry and fight back. To win--forgive with love.

I do not think consciously of children [when writing] … I do know that children read me more intelligently than adults do.

We read to understand, or to begin to understand. We cannot do but to read. Reading almost as much as breathing, is our essential function.

Of darkness visible so much be lent, as half to show, half veil, the deep intent.

I grew to manhood in the Ohio State Penitentiary.

You have to be very careful when you let someone win.

Smoking cigarettes seems to alarm peace activists much more than voting for Reagan does.

I really didn't say everything I said. [...] Then again, I might have said 'em, but you never know.