I have long admired the insights of the papal preacher Father Raneiro Cantalamessa, who will be made a cardinal this Saturday, Nov. 28. Here are three of my favorite quotes from him:

“I do not need to look outside myself for proof that God loves me; I, myself, am proof; my being is, in itself, a gift. Looking at ourselves in the light of faith we can say, I exist, therefore I am loved!” (Life in Christ, Liturgical Press, 1990)

[Speaking of the sexual dysfunction in the world and in the Church] “Do we as Christians want to find an explanation for this devastating dysfunction once and for all? The explanation is that the sexual union is not occurring in the way and with the purpose intended by God. Its purpose was that, through this ecstasy and joining together in love, the man and the woman would be raised to desire and to obtain a certain foretaste of infinite love; they would be reminded of where they came from and where they are headed.” (Fourth Homily of Lent, 2016)

We must correct the idea “of a kingdom of God come to ‘judge’ the world, with that of a kingdom of God come to ‘save’ the world, beginning from eros which is the dominant force.” (First Homily of Lent, 2011)