Pope Leo XIV quoted The Lord of the Rings in ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ underscoring our duty to uproot the evils of our own time. He wrote:
“The twentieth-century Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien, in the words of a protagonist in one of his novels, described our responsibility in this way: “It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.”
“To eliminate suffering entirely would mean, in the end, extinguishing love and desire as well. Those who love and desire cannot avoid passing through trial and suffering; and over the years, we carry within us lessons that leave their mark like scars, the memories of a journey shaped by freedom and failure, dreams and disappointments.
It is only thanks to the interplay of these elements that the wonders of the soul occur within us, allowing us to sense the richness of our humanity.
To renounce this adventure, both tragic and splendid, in the name of a presumed transcendence of all limits, could mean many things, but it would no longer be human.”
Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas (par. 120) (May 15, 2026)
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer the negative elements in your life, don’t sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”
— Dale Carnegie
@stminfo Instead of hiring more agents in full paramilitary cosplay to loom over tired commuters and check for $3.75 worth of fare evasion, perhaps redirect a tiny portion of that budget toward, I don’t know… controlling your actual infrastructure?
James Stewart was not supposed to cry in this scene of It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Real war experience drove him to tears.
He once said, "As I said those words, I felt the loneliness, hopelessness of people who had nowhere to turn. I broke down sobbing.