Friday Faith ~ Recent Quotes from the Pope

During his recent trip to Germany....

"I feel it is important to ask: 'Why am I in the Church?' ... In my view it is vital to remember that being in the Church is not like being in some association. It means being in the net of the Lord where He catches fish, both good and bad, to draw them from the waters of death to the land of life. It may be that, in this

net, I find myself alongside the bad fish and that I see only them, but it remains true that I am not there for them, I am there because it is the net of the Lord."

"A self-made faith is worthless. Faith is not something we work out intellectually or negotiate between us. It is the foundation for our lives. Unity grows not by the weighing of benefits and drawbacks but only by entering ever more deeply into the faith in our thoughts and in our lives."