Wisdom. Love. Service. Sincerity. Quote most popular global celebrities: Pope Francis & UK's longest-reigning Queen Elizabeth II

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New York Times, Wednesday September 23, 2015 - News and features on Pope Francis’ visit to Washington, New York and Philadelphia in September, his first visit ever.
"When Pope Francis speaks, millions listen." "the English translation of Pope Francis’ speech to United States bishops at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, as prepared for delivery and released by the Vatican"
Wisdom quoted from the full speech –

- I am well aware of the immense efforts you have made to welcome and integrate those immigrants who continue to look to America, like so many others before them, in the hope of enjoying its blessings of freedom and prosperity.

- I realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims – in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed – and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated.

- What does work is the combination of the epic struggle of the pioneers and the homely wisdom and endurance of the settlers. As one of your poets has put it, “strong and tireless wings” combined with the wisdom of one who “knows the mountains”.

- It is not my intention to offer a plan or to devise a strategy. I have not come to judge you or to lecture you. I trust completely in the voice of the One who “teaches all things” (Jn 14:26). Allow me only, in the freedom of love, to speak to you as a brother among brothers. I have no wish to tell you what to do, because we all know what it is that the Lord asks of us. Instead, I would turn once again to the demanding task – ancient yet never new – of seeking out the paths we need to take and the spirit with which we need to work. Without claiming to be exhaustive, I would share with you some reflections which I consider helpful for our mission.

- May they always hear from you a word of appreciation for their efforts to confirm in liberty and justice the prosperity in which this land abounds.

- We all know the anguish felt by the first Eleven, huddled together, assailed and overwhelmed by the fear of sheep scattered because the shepherd had been struck. But we also know that we have been given a spirit of courage and not of timidity. So we cannot let ourselves be paralyzed by fear.

I know that you face many challenges, that the field in which you sow is unyielding and that there is always the temptation to give in to fear, to lick one’s wounds, to think back on bygone times and to devise harsh responses to fierce opposition.

- And yet we are promoters of the culture of encounter.

- Dialogue is our method, not as a shrewd strategy but out of fidelity to the One who never wearies of visiting the marketplace, even at the eleventh hour, to propose his offer of love.

Telegraph UK - On September 9, Queen Elizabeth II has become the longest-serving monarch in British history.

Queen Elizabeth II quotes:

"I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong."

"The upward course of a nation's history is due in the long run to the soundness of heart of its average men and women."

"I cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else - I can give my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations."

"Work is the rent you pay for the room you occupy on earth."

"Like all the best families, we have our share of eccentricities, of impetuous and wayward youngsters and of family disagreements."

"I know of no single formula for success. But over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together."

"The lessons from the peace process are clear; whatever life throws at us, our individual responses will be all the stronger for working together and sharing the load."

"I have to be seen to be believed."

"Grief is the price we pay for love."

"To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy. With the benefit of historical hindsight we can all see things which we would wish had been done differently or not at all."

"I have in sincerity pledged myself to your service, as so many of you are pledged to mine. Throughout all my life and with all my heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust."

"Therefore I am sure that this, my Coronation, is not the symbol of a power and a splendor that are gone but a declaration of our hopes for the future, and for the years I may, by God's Grace and Mercy, be given to reign and serve you as your Queen."

"First, I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional and gifted human being. In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness. I admired and respected her - for her energy and commitment to others, and especially for her devotion to her two boys."

"No one who knew Diana will ever forget her. Millions of others who never met her, but felt they knew her, will remember her."

"I hope that tomorrow we can all, wherever we are, join in expressing our grief at Diana's loss, and gratitude for her all-too-short life. It is a chance to show to the whole world the British nation united in grief and respect."

"The events that I have attended to mark my Diamond Jubilee have been a humbling experience. It has touched me deeply to see so many thousands of families, neighbors and friends celebrating together in such a happy atmosphere."

"My husband has quite simply been my strength and stay all these years, and I owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim."

"In remembering the appalling suffering of war on both sides, we recognise how precious is the peace we have built in Europe since 1945."

- Queen Elizabeth II

Pope Francis quotes:

"A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just."

"Money has to serve, not to rule."

"We all have the duty to do good."

"Grace is not part of consciousness; it is the amount of light in our souls, not knowledge nor reason."

"Among us, who is above must be in service of the others. This doesn't mean we have to wash each other's feet every day, but we must help one another."

"We have observed that, in society and the world in which we live, selfishness has increased more than love for others, and that men of good will must work, each with his own strengths and expertise, to ensure that love for others increases until it is equal and possibly exceeds love for oneself."

"We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love. Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace."

"Since many of you do not belong to the Catholic Church and others are non-believers, from the bottom of my heart I give this silent blessing to each and every one of you, respecting the conscience of each one of you but knowing that each one of you is a child of God."

"Each of us has a vision of good and of evil. We have to encourage people to move towards what they think is good... Everyone has his own idea of good and evil and must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them. That would be enough to make the world a better place."

"Although the life of a person is in a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God."

- Pope Francis

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Photo courtesy Buckingham Palace / Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee, Telegraph UK, and Wikipedia