Joachim Meisner

thumb|Joachim Meisner (2005) Joachim Meisner (25 December 1933 – 5 July 2017) was a German cardinal of the Catholic Church. Quotes We are the first pioneers of a future of which most men and women know nothing. This should fill every student with a deep Catholic awareness and a humble conviction of victory. Of course students must also become experts in precise methods of missionary pastoral. But methods are only a means and as such of secondary importance: the most important thing is the joy which comes from knowing God, from knowing what we believe this joy is our strength. “Being missionaries today”: interview with Cardinal Joachim Meisner (15 March 2006) Fides News Agency Interviews Tragedia per la Chiesa: il sacramento della confessione dimenticato, 30giorni.it, May 2010 We must become a "Church that meets men" again. One of the most tragic failures the Church suffered in the second half of the 20th century is its neglect of the gift of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of penance. Where the priest is no longer a confessor, he becomes a religious social worker. In the confessional the priest can penetrate the hearts of many people and from this comes impulses, encouragement and inspiration for his own following of Christ. God's wonders never happen in the spotlight of world history. It belongs to God's strategy to achieve great effects by small means. A priest who does not frequently sit on either side of the confessional grate suffers permanent damage to his soul and his mission. The greatest grace is being pardoned. The purpose of confession is not that we, forgetting sins, no longer think of God. Confession rather allows us access to a life where one can think of nothing but God. A confessional with a priest present in an empty church is the most touching symbol of God's patience that awaits. A man's wounded heart can only heal if it can bleed to the end, that is, if it can vent completely. Probably the greatest confessor of the Church is the saint Curate of Ars. External links Category:Catholics from Germany Category:Cardinals Category:1933 births Category:2017 deaths