Francis

And this is the first thing I want to recommend to you: tenderness. How does God do things? With three attitudes: proximity, mercy and tenderness. This is how God is: close, merciful and tender. Beware: I am not talking about sentimentalism, no. I am talking about a feature of God’s love, which is needed today more than ever. At times, a caress given from the heart does greater good than a few coins.

(Address to Members the Circle of Saint Peter, 20 February 2023)

How marvellous it would be if, at the end of the day, each of us could say: today I have performed an act of charity towards others!

(Tweet @Pontifex, 29 April 2013)

In our Christian life too, dear brothers and sisters, may prayer and action always be deeply united. A prayer that does not lead you to practical action for your brother — the poor, the sick, those in need of help, a brother in difficulty — is a sterile and incomplete prayer.

(Angelus, 21 July 2013)