QUOTES BY POPE FRANCIS / 3

Salvation from sin is like being saved from drowning:

Being upfront and honest about one's sinful nature actually helps create a more authentic encounter with God. There are people who believe they are righteous, follow the catechism well enough and abide by the Christian faith, but they don't have the experience of having been saved."

"It's one thing to hear about a boy who was drowning in a river and the person who jumped in to save him; it's another to have personally been at the scene and lent a hand; and even another for it to have actually been you who was drowning while someone jumps in the water to save you."

"Only we big sinners have this grace of knowing what salvation really means."

Sin is a stain only Jesus can remove:

"Sin is not a stain that I must wash out. What I need to do is ask forgiveness and reconcile myself, not go to the drycleaners.... I have to go encounter Jesus who gave his life for me."

People need to learn from the "shipwreck culture" and salvage the past to build the future:

"The shipwrecked castaway faces the challenge of survival with creativity.".

"He needs to begin building a hut using the boards from the sunken ship, together with new things found on the island he's washed up on."

"In every new era, one can apply the image of the shipwreck because there are things that we no longer need, temporary things, and (eternal) values that get expressed in another way."

Pain versus resentment:

"Resentment is like a full house with lots of people crammed inside so they can't see the sky, while pain is like a city in which there are still lots of people, but at least you can see the sky. In other words, pain is open to prayer, tenderness, the company of a friend and thousands of things that offer dignity. That's why pain is a healthier situation" than resentment.

Optimism versus hope:

"It's best to not confuse optimism with hope. Optimism is a psychological attitude toward life. Hope goes further. It is an anchor that one hurls toward the future, it's what lets you pull on the line and reach what you're aiming for" and head in "the right direction." Hope is also theological: "God is there, too."

God's patience is "comfortable and sweet like a summer's night."

Death, who is "eager," knocks daily; "I run from it, but it smiles at me inviting me to accept it."