Pope Paul VI Quotes & Sayings

Man's genius has with God's help produced marvelous technical inventions from creation, especially in our times. The Church, our mother, is particularly interested in those which directly touch man's spirit and which have opened up new avenues of easy communication of all kinds of news, of ideas and orientations. — Pope Paul VI

The work of art, just like any fragment of human life considered in its deepest meaning, seems to me devoid of value if it does not offer the hardness, the rigidity, the regularity, the luster on every interior and exterior facet, of the crystal. — Pope Paul VI

Every mother is like Moses. She does not enter the promised land. She prepares a world she will not see. — Pope Paul VI

Satan's smoke has made its way into the Temple of God through some crack — Pope Paul VI

Failing to be there when a man wants her is a woman's greatest sin, except to be there when he doesn't want her. — Pope Paul VI

Never give advice in a crowd. — Pope Paul VI

A dimple on the chin, the devil within. — Pope Paul VI

If the world is made to furnish each individual with the means of livelihood and the instruments for his growth and progress, each man has therefore the right to find in the world what is necessary for himself. The recent Council reminded us of this: "God intended the earth and all that it contains for the use of every human being and people. Thus, as all men follow justice and unite in charity, created goods should abound for them on a reasonable basis." — Pope Paul VI

Technological society has succeeded in multiplying the opportunities for pleasure, but it has great difficulty in generating joy. — Pope Paul VI

Lord, to whom should we go? Thy words are the words of eternal life. — Pope Paul VI

After long centuries, agrarian civilization is weakening. Is sufficient attention being devoted to the arrangement and improvement of the life of the country people, whose inferior and at times miserable economic situation provokes the flight to the unhappy crowded conditions of the city outskirts, where neither employment nor housing awaits them? — Pope Paul VI

Priestly celibacy has been guarded by the Church for centuries as a brilliant jewel, and retains its value undiminished even in our time when the outlook of men and the state of the world have undergone such profound changes. — Pope Paul VI

If evils increase, the devotion of the People of God should also increase. — Pope Paul VI

In youth the days are short and the years are long. In old age the years are short and day's long. — Pope Paul VI

The Catholic Church holds that it is not admissible to ordain women to the priesthood, for very fundamental reasons. These reasons include: the example recorded in the Sacred Scriptures of Christ choosing His apostles only from among men; the constant practice of the Church, which has imitated Christ in choosing only men; and her living teaching authority which has consistently held that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is in accordance with God's plan for His Church. — Pope Paul VI

The task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church. It is a task and mission which the vast and profound changes of present-day society make all the more urgent. Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize. — Pope Paul VI

This pious practice, by which the Blessed Virgin Mary is honored and the Christian people enriched with spiritual gifts, gladdens and consoles us. Mary remains ever the path that leads to Christ. Every encounter with her can only result in an encounter with Christ himself — Pope Paul VI

Married love, therefore, requires of husband and wife the full awareness of their obligations in the matter of responsible parenthood, which today, rightly enough, is much insisted upon, but which at the same time should be rightly understood. Thus, we do well to consider responsible parenthood in the light of its varied legitimate and interrelated aspects. — Pope Paul VI

For He is in the midst of us day and night [in the Blessed Sacrament]; He dwells in us with the fullness of grace and truth. He raises the level of morals, fosters virtue, comforts the sorrowful, strengthens the weak and stirs up all those who draw near to Him to imitate Him, so that they may learn from his example to be meek and humble of heart, and to seek not their own interests but those of God. — Pope Paul VI

Physics does not change the nature of the world it studies, and no science of behavior can change the essential nature of man, even though both sciences yield technologies with a vast power to manipulate the subject matters. — Pope Paul VI

No more war, war never again! Peace, it is peace which must guide the destinies of people and of all mankind. — Pope Paul VI

The pope-and we know this well-is without doubt the most serious obstacle on the ecumenical road. — Pope Paul VI

You also realize, Venerable Brothers, that the Eucharist is reserved in churches or oratories to serve as the spiritual center of a religious community or a parish community, indeed of the whole Church and the whole of mankind, since it contains, beneath the veil of the species, Christ the invisible Head of the Church, the Redeemer of the world, the center of all hearts, 'by whom all things are and by whom we exist'. — Pope Paul VI

The freedom or immunity from coercion in matters religious, which is the endowment of persons as individuals, is also to be recognized as their right when they act in community. Religious communities are a requirement of the social nature both of man and of religion itself. — Pope Paul VI

True humanism points the way toward God and acknowledges the task to which we are called, the task which offers us the real meaning of human life. Man is not the ultimate measure of man. Man becomes truly man only by passing beyond himself. — Pope Paul VI

If you want peace, work for justice. — Pope Paul VI

Having rationally endeavored to control nature, is he not now becoming the slave of the objects which he makes? — Pope Paul VI

Based on technological research and the transformation of nature, industrialization constantly goes forward, giving proof of incessant creativity. While certain enterprises develop and are concentrated, others die or change their location. Thus new social problems are created: professional or regional unemployment, redeployment and mobility of persons, permanent adaptation of workers and disparity of conditions in the different branches of industry. — Pope Paul VI

No member of the faithful could possibly deny that the Church is competent in her magisterium to interpret the natural moral law. — Pope Paul VI

Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the Living Heart of each of our parishes — Pope Paul VI

There are those who ask what authority, what theological qualification, the Council intended to give to its teachings, knowing that it avoided issuing solemn dogmatic definitions backed by the Church's infallible teaching authority. The answer is known by those who remember the conciliar declaration of March 6, 1964, repeated on November 16, 1964. In view of the pastoral nature of the Council, it avoided proclaiming in an extraordinary manner any dogmata carrying the mark of infallibility. — Pope Paul VI

The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows. For the aim and object of apostolic works is that all who are made sons of God by faith and baptism should come together to praise God in the midst of His Church, to take part in the sacrifice, and to eat the Lord's supper. — Pope Paul VI

Nothing makes one feel so strong as a call for help. — Pope Paul VI

Justice is not always an open and shut case - sometimes we have to work for it. If you want peace, you must work for justice. — Pope Paul VI

For peace is not simply the absence of warfare, based on a precarious balance of power; it is fashioned by efforts directed day after day toward the establishment of the ordered universe willed by God, with a more perfect form of justice among men. — Pope Paul VI

The international trading system was devised by the rich to suit their needs; it ignores those of the poor. — Pope Paul VI

Two conditions render difficult this historic situation of mankind: It is full of tremendously deadly armament, and it has not progressed morally as much as it has scientifically and technically. — Pope Paul VI

We see in these swift and skillful travelers a symbol of our life, which seeks to be a pilgrimage and a passage on this earth for the way of heaven. — Pope Paul VI

Christ did not found an abstract religion, a mere school of religious thought. He setup a community of apostles, of teachers, with the task of spreading His message and so giving rise to a society of believers: His Church. He promised the Spirit of truth to His Church and then sent Him. — Pope Paul VI

In America, you are not required to offer food to the hungry or shelter the homeless. There is no ordinance forcing you to visit the lonely, or comfort the infirmed. No where in the Constitution does it say you have to provide clothing to the poor. In fact, one of the nicest things about living here in America, is that you really don't have to do anything for anybody. But when you do, you give meaning and provide soul to the concept of community ... and develop a sense of purpose to something greater than one's self ... — Pope Paul VI

Anger is as a stone cast into a wasp's nest. — Pope Paul VI

Regulation of the sacred liturgy depends solely on the authority of the Church, that is, on the Apostolic See and, as laws may determine, on the bishop. In virtue of power conceded by the law, the regulation of the liturgy within certain defined limits belongs also to various kinds of competent territorial bodies of bishops legitimately established. Therefore no other person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority. — Pope Paul VI

In accordance with the centuries-old tradition of the Latin rite, the Latin language is to be retained by clerics in the divine office. — Pope Paul VI

Through some crack the smoke of satan has entered into the Church of God. — Pope Paul VI

Never reach out your hand unless you're willing to extend an arm. — Pope Paul VI

Perhaps the Lord has called me and preserved me for this service not because I am particularly fit for it, or so that I can govern and rescue the Church from her present difficulties, but so that I can suffer something for the Church, and in that way it will be clear that he, and no other, is her guide and saviour — Pope Paul VI

Liturgy is like a strong tree whose beauty is derived from the continuous renewal of its leaves, but whose strength comes from the old trunk, with solid roots in the ground. — Pope Paul VI

The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator. — Pope Paul VI

If you believe in peace it is possible. If it is possible it is a duty. — Pope Paul VI

The older the fiddler, the sweeter the tune. — Pope Paul VI

The Eucharistic mystery stands at the heart and center of the liturgy since it is the fount of life by which we are cleansed and strengthened to live not for ourselves but for God and to be united in love among ourselves. — Pope Paul VI

[On married love]
This love is above all fully human, a compound of sense and spirit. It is not, then, merely a question of natural instinct or emotional drive. It is also, and above all, an act of the free will, whose trust is such that it is meant not only to survive the joys and sorrows of daily life, but also to grow, so that husband and wife become in a way one heart and one soul, and together attain their human fulfillment.
It is a love which is total - that very special form of personal friendship in which husband and wife generously share everything, allowing no unreasonable exceptions and not thinking solely of their own convenience. Whoever really loves his partner loves not only for what he receives, but loves that partner for the partner's own sake, content to be able to enrich the other with the gift of himself. — Pope Paul VI

The hungry nations of the world cry out to the peoples blessed with abundance. And the Church, cut to the quick by this cry, asks each and every man to hear his brother's plea and answer it lovingly. — Pope Paul VI

Twenty-two martyrs were recognized, but there were many more, and not only Catholics. There were also Anglicans and some Mohammedans. — Pope Paul VI

The command to the Twelve to go out and proclaim the Good News is also valid for all Christians, though in a different way ... . the Good News of the kingdom which is coming and which has begun is meant for all people of all times. Those who have received the Good News and who have been gathered by it into the community of salvation can and must communicate and spread it, — Pope Paul VI

The religion of the God who became man has met the religion (for such it is) of man who makes himself God. And what happened? Was there a clash, a battle, a condemnation? There could have been, but there was none — Pope Paul VI

No more war! Never again war! If you wish to be brothers, drop your weapons. — Pope Paul VI

We must see to it that enthusiasm for the future does not give rise to contempt for the past. — Pope Paul VI

The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services. But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded from liturgical celebrations, so long as they accord with the spirit of the liturgical action. — Pope Paul VI

Peace is not simply the absence of warfare. — Pope Paul VI

The Mass is the most perfect form of prayer. — Pope Paul VI

All life demands struggle. Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive to the real values of life. The very striving and hard work that we so constantly try to avoid is the major building block in the person we are today. — Pope Paul VI

Individual initiative alone and the mere free play of competition could never assure successful development. One must avoid the risk of increasing still more the wealth of the rich and the dominion of the strong, whilst leaving the poor in their misery and adding to the servitude of the oppressed. — Pope Paul VI

The important role of union organizations must be admitted: their object is the representation of the various categories of workers, their lawful collaboration in the economic advance of society, and the development of the sense of their responsibility for the realization of the common good. — Pope Paul VI

We consider Christmas as the encounter, the great encounter, the historical encounter, the decisive encounter, between God and mankind. He who has faith knows this truly; let him rejoice. — Pope Paul VI

Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows. — Pope Paul VI

Idleness or boredom has no place in the life of a Christian. — Pope Paul VI

The pope is becoming a missionary, you will say. Yes, the pope is becoming a missionary, which means a witness, a shepherd, an apostle on the move. — Pope Paul VI

I met a hundred men going to Delhi and everyone is my brother. — Pope Paul VI

To love can mean 'to love oneself,' and often love is no more than a juxtaposition of two solitudes. — Pope Paul VI

It is called the real presence, not in an exclusive sense, as though other forms of presence were not real, but by reason of its excellence. It is the substantial presence by which Christ is made present without doubt, whole and entire, God and man. — Pope Paul VI

Is he prepared to support, at his own expense, projects and undertakings designed to help the needy? Is he prepared to pay higher taxes so that public authorities may expand their efforts in the work of development? Is he prepared to pay more for imported goods, so that the foreign producer may make a fairer profit? Is he prepared to emigrate from his homeland if necessary and if he is young, in order to help the emerging nations? — Pope Paul VI

The world calls for and expects from us simplicity of life, the spirit of prayer, charity towards all, especially towards the lowly and the poor, obedience and humility ... Without this mark of holiness, our word will have difficulty in touching the heart of modern man. It risks being vain and sterile. — Pope Paul VI

Excessive economic, social and cultural inequalities among peoples arouse tensions and conflicts, and are a danger to peace. — Pope Paul VI

Man is suddenly becoming aware that by an ill-considered exploitation of nature he risks destroying it and becoming in his turn the victim of this degradation. Not only is the material environment becoming a permanent menace - pollution and refuse, new illness and absolute destructive capacity - but the human framework is no longer under man's control, thus creating an environment for tomorrow which may well be intolerable. This is a wide-ranging social problem which concerns the entire human family. — Pope Paul VI

Of all human activities, man's listening to God is the supreme act of his reasoning and will. — Pope Paul VI

You must strive to multiply bread so that it suffices for the tables of mankind, and not rather favor an artificial control of birth, which would be irrational, in order to diminish the number of guests at the banquet of life. — Pope Paul VI

We would also like you to know that the Church recognizes the riches of the Islamic faith - a faith that binds us to the one God. — Pope Paul VI

Are there memories left that are safe from the clutches of phony anniversaries? — Pope Paul VI

Marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordained toward the procreation and education of children. Children are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute in the highest degree to their parents' welfare. — Pope Paul VI

This world in which we live needs beauty in order not to sink into despair. It is beauty, like truth, which brings joy to the heart of man and is that precious fruit which resists the year and tear of time, which unites generations and makes them share things in admiration. — Pope Paul VI