QUOTATION: God is Close

When we face the most difficult and painful situations, when it seems that God does not hear, we must not be afraid to entrust the whole weight of our overburdened hearts to Him, we must not fear to cry out to Him in our suffering, we must be convinced that God is close, even if He seems silent.

--Pope Benedict XVI

QUOTATION: Ascension

The joy of the disciples after the “Ascension” corrects our image of the event. “Ascension” does not mean departure into a remote region of the cosmos but, rather, the continuing closeness that the disciples experience so strongly that it becomes a source of lasting joy.

--Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, Volume 2

QUOTATION: God's Closeness

Although God is said to be near to all men by reason of His special care over them, He is exceptionally close to the good who strive to draw near to Him in faith and love…Indeed, He not only draws nigh to them; He even dwells in them through grace.

--St. Thomas Aquinas

QUOTATION: God's Immanence

All the harm comes from not truly understanding that He is near, but in imagining Him far away.

--St. Teresa of Avila