Martyrdom covers a multitude of sins.

Hell is yourself and the only redemption is when a person puts himself aside to feel deeply for another person.

We are punished by our sins, not for them.

I’m going to Heaven just like the thief on the cross who said in that last moment: ‚Lord, remember me.‘

But who prays for Satan? Who, in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most?

Politics is a noble activity. We should revalue it, practise it with vocation and a dedication that requires testimony, martyrdom, that is to die for the common good.

It is good to be tired and wearied by the futile search after the true good, that we may stretch out our arms to the Redeemer.

The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, ‚O God, forgive me,‘ or ‚Help me.‘

If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.

We must be willing to pay a price for freedom.

Life is too short for long-term grudges.

One thing I just want to say to the military families – while you might not wear a uniform, I know – we all know, the nation knows – that you serve and sacrifice right alongside of your loved ones. And we are so grateful and proud of all of you for your service to this nation.

Without forgiveness, there’s no future.

If there is something to pardon in everything, there is also something to condemn.

How shall I lose the sin, yet keep the sense, and love the offender, yet detest the offence?

There is a fine balance between honoring the past and losing yourself in it. For example, you can acknowledge and learn from mistakes you made, and then move on and refocus on the now. It is called forgiving yourself.

To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.

The martyr sacrifices themselves entirely in vain. Or rather not in vain; for they make the selfish more selfish, the lazy more lazy, the narrow narrower.

He who has felt his own ruin will not imagine the case of any to be hopeless; nor will he think them too fallen to be worthy his regard.

I did once seriously think of embracing the Christian faith. The gentle figure of Christ, so full of forgiveness that he taught his followers not to retaliate when abused or struck, but to turn the other cheek – I thought it was a beautiful example of the perfect man.

Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.

Jesus never mistreated anyone just because they mistreated Him. He confronted them in a spirit of gentleness and then continued to love them.

I believe many people feel like God is mad at them.

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.

Let us not listen to those who think we ought to be angry with our enemies, and who believe this to be great and manly. Nothing is so praiseworthy, nothing so clearly shows a great and noble soul, as clemency and readiness to forgive.

It is far more difficult to be simple than to be complicated; far more difficult to sacrifice skill and easy execution in the proper place, than to expand both indiscriminately.

When we believe the best of people, we let go of each thing they do that is hurtful to us. And we choose to think things like, ‚I don’t believe they meant to hurt me.‘ ‚Maybe they’re having a bad day or don’t feel well.‘ ‚They probably don’t even realize how they sound.‘

Kindnesses are easily forgotten; but injuries! what worthy man does not keep those in mind?

I have worshipped woman as the living embodiment of the spirit of service and sacrifice.

My mother was a full-time mother. She didn’t have much of her own career, her own life, her own experiences… everything was for her children. I will never be as good a mother as she was. She was just grace incarnate. She was the most generous, loving – she’s better than me.

A wise man will make haste to forgive, because he knows the true value of time, and will not suffer it to pass away in unnecessary pain.

Saints need sinners.

The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.

Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.

I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.

I have done for my country, and for all mankind, all that I could do, and I now resign my soul, without fear, to my God – my daughter to my country.

Life is essentially a cheat and its conditions are those of defeat; the redeeming things are not happiness and pleasure but the deeper satisfactions that come out of struggle.

Women love us for our defects. If we have enough of them, they will forgive us everything, even our gigantic intellects.

When we quarrel, how we wish we had been blameless.

It’s true my father abused me and didn’t love and protect me the way he should have, and at times it seemed no one would ever help me and it would never end. But God always had a plan for my life, and He has redeemed me.

The roaring thunder of the law and the fear of the terror of judgment are both used to bring us to Christ, but the final victory culminating in our salvation is won through God’s loving-kindness.

I read everything, but generally more fact than fiction – especially autobiographies and biographies. I’ve read ‚Long Walk to Freedom‘ by Nelson Mandela at least twice on holiday. Every time, I’m totally awed by his vision, strength and forgiveness. I feel honoured to have got to know him and his wonderful wife Graca over the years.

People sacrifice the present for the future. But life is available only in the present. That is why we should walk in such a way that every step can bring us to the here and the now.

Ritual will always mean throwing away something: destroying our corn or wine upon the altar of our gods.

Has Jesus saved me? I dare not speak with any hesitation here; I know He has. His Word is true; therefore, I am saved.

There’s no political point worth my son’s life.

The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‚Father, the atheists?‘ Even the atheists. Everyone!

It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.

Although prepared for martyrdom, I preferred that it be postponed.

Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.

A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.

If you’re white and you’re wrong, then you’re wrong; if you’re black and you’re wrong, you’re wrong. People are people. Black, blue, pink, green – God make no rules about color; only society make rules where my people suffer, and that why we must have redemption and redemption now.

Despite the slowness, the infidelity, the errors and sins it committed and might still commit against its members, the Church, trust me, has no other meaning and goal but to live and witness Jesus.

A man who is good enough to shed his blood for the country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards.

Although God loves us unconditionally, He does get angry at sin, wickedness and evil. But He is not an angry God. God hates sin, but He loves sinners! He will never approve of sin in your life, but He always loves you and wants to work with you to make progress in living a holy life in Christ.

Always remember that others may hate you but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself.

The confessional is not a torture chamber, but the place in which the Lord’s mercy motivates us to do better.

When I write, the story is always uppermost in my mind, and I feel that everything must be sacrificed to it. All elegant passages, all the curious details, all the so-called beautiful writing – if they are not truly relevant to what I am trying to say, then they have to go.

There are still many causes worth sacrificing for, so much history yet to be made.

You can live your life angry, bitter, mad at somebody or even guilty, not letting go of your own mistakes, but you won’t receive the good things God has in store.