Background Image

...

Chess Holds Deep Wisdoms Of The People. It Is Truly An Image Of Life, The Reflection Of Human Fate That Has Shown Us The Earthly Way Of Suffering In Darkness And Permanent Shortage Of Time. Like In Chess, We Encounter All Kinds Of Traps, Mistakes, Settlements, Sacrifices, Kings, And Queens, Doubled Pawns, And Extraordinary Moves While We Are On The Board Ourselves.

-Pope John Paul II

...

Please Wait....
Translating....

Chess Holds Deep Wisdoms

Pope John Paul II

...

Chess Holds Deep Wisdoms Of The People. It Is Truly An Image Of Life, The Reflection Of Human Fate That Has Shown Us The Earthly Way Of Suffering In Darkness And Permanent Shortage Of Time. Like In Chess, We Encounter All Kinds Of Traps, Mistakes, Settlements, Sacrifices, Kings, And Queens, Doubled Pawns, And Extraordinary Moves While We Are On The Board Ourselves.

Views: 6

Topic

More From Pope John Paul II

We Must Reflect The Light Of Christ Through Lives Of Prayer And Joyful Service To Others.

We Are The Sum Of The Father's Love For Us

Mary Is The Sure Path To Our Meeting With Christ. Devotion To The Mother Of The Lord, When It Is Genuine, Is Always An Impetus To A Life Guided By The Spirit And Values Of The Gospel.

A Society Will Be Judged On The Basis Of How It Treats Its Weakest Members; And Among The Most Vulnerable Are Surely The Unborn And The Dying.

The Ecological Crisis Is A Moral Issue.

It Is Important For America That The Moral Truths Which Make Freedom Possible Should Be Passed On To Each New Generation. Every Generation Of Americans Needs To Know That Freedom Consists Not In Doing What We Like, But In Having The Right To Do What We Ought. ... Christ Asks Us To Guard The Truth Because, As He Promised Us: "you Will Know The Truth And The Truth Will Make You Free." Depositum Custodi! We Must Guard The Truth That Is The Condition Of Authentic Freedom, The Truth That Allows Freedoms To Be Fulfilled In Goodness. We Must Guard The Deposit Of Divine Truth Handed Down To Us.

See Everything. Ignore A Lot. Improve A Little.

Each Man, In His Suffering, Can Also Become A Sharer In The Redemptive Suffering Of Christ.

The Inviolability Of The Person Which Is A Reflection Of The Absolute Inviolability Of God, Finds Its Primary And Fundamental Expression In The Inviolability Of Human Life. Above All, The Common Outcry, Which Is Justly Made On Behalf Of Human Rights-for Example, The Right To Health, To Home, To Work, To Family, To Culture- Is False And Illusory If The Right To Life, The Most Basic And Fundamental Right And The Condition For All Other Personal Rights, Is Not Defended With Maximum Determination.

We Face A Fundamental Question Which Can Be Described As Both Ethical And Ecological. How Can Accelerated Development Be Prevented From Turning Against Man? How Can One Prevent Disasters That Destroy The Environment And Threaten All Forms Of Life, And How Can The Negative Consequences That Have Already Occurred Be Remedied?

Abortion, Euthanasia, Human Cloning, For Example, Risk Reducing The Human Person To A Mere Object: Life And Death To Order, As It Were!

The Choice Of Euthanasia Becomes More Serious When It Takes The Form Of A Murder Committed By Others On A Person Who Has In No Way Requested It And Who Has Never Consented To It. The Height Of Arbitrariness And Injustice Is Reached When Certain People, Such As Physicians Or Legislators, Arrogate To Themselves The Power To Decide Who Ought To Live And Who Ought To Die.

We Need To Make Our Own The Ancient Pastoral Wisdom Which... Encouraged Pastors To Listen More Widely To The Entire People Of God. Significant Is Saint Benedict's Reminder To The Abbot Of A Monastery, Inviting Him To Consult Even The Youngest Members Of The Community: "by The Lord's Inspiration, It Is Often A Younger Person Who Knows What Is Best".

It Is The Responsibility Of Pastors To Encourage, Also By Their Personal Witness, The Practice Of Eucharistic Adoration, And Exposition Of The Blessed Sacrament In Particular, As Well As Prayer Of Adoration Before Christ Present Under The Eucharistic Species.

Be Demanding Of The World Around You; Be Demanding First Of All With Yourselves. Be Children Of God; Take Pride In It!

Confession Is An Act Of Honesty And Courage - An Act Of Entrusting Ourselves, Beyond Sin, To The Mercy Of A Loving And Forgiving God.

America You Are Beautiful . . . And Blessed . . . . The Ultimate Test Of Your Greatness Is The Way You Treat Every Human Being, But Especially The Weakest And Most Defenseless. If You Want Equal Justice For All And True Freedom And Lasting Peace, Then America, Defend Life.

The Future Starts Today, Not Tomorrow.

War Should Belong To The Tragic Past, To History: It Should Find No Place On Humanity's Agenda For The Future.

'lord You Know That I Love You...lord, You Know That I Love You' (jn 21:15-17). The Eucharist Is, In A Certain Way, The Culminating Point Of This Answer. I Wish To Repeat It Together With The Whole Church To Him, Who Manifested His Love By Means Of The Sacrament Of His Body And Blood, Remaining With Us 'to The Close Of The Age'

Believers Do Not Surrender. They Can Continue On Their Way To The Truth Because They Are Certain That God Has Created Them "explorers", Whose Mission Is To Leave No Stone Unturned, Though The Temptation To Doubt Is Always There. Leaning On God, They Continue To Reach Out, Always And Everywhere, For All That Is Beautiful, Good, And True.

Without Wonder, Men And Women Would Lapse Into Deadening Routine And Little By Little Would Become Incapable Of A Life Which Is Genuinely Personal.

Love Of Christ Does Not Distract Us From Interest In Others, But Rather Invites Us To Responsibility For Them, To The Exclusion Of No One….

Confidently Open Your Most Intimate Aspirations To The Love Of Christ Who Waits For You In The Eucharist. You Will Receive The Answer To All Your Worries And You Will See With Joy That The Consistency Of Your Life Which He Asks Of You Is The Door To Fulfill The Noblest Dreams Of Your Youth.

In My Reading And In My Studies I Always Tried To Achieve A Harmony Between Faith, Reason, And The Heart. These Are Not Separate Areas, But Are Profoundly Interconnected, Each Giving Life To The Other.

The Obligation To Earn One's Bread By The Sweat Of One's Brow Also Presumes The Right To Do So. A Society In Which This Right Is Systematically Denied, In Which Economic Policies Do Not Allow Workers To Reach Satisfactory Levels Of Employment, Cannot Be Justified From An Ethical Point Of View, Nor Can That Society Attain Social Peace.

Young People Are Threatened... By The Evil Use Of Advertising Techniques That Stimulate The Natural Inclination To Avoid Hard Work By Promising The Immediate Satisfaction Of Every Desire.

The Eucharist Is The Secret Of My Day. It Gives Strength And Meaning To All My Activities Of Service To The Church And To The Whole World. . . . Let Jesus In The Blessed Sacrament Speak To Your Hearts. It Is He Who Is The True Answer Of Life That You Seek. He Stays Here With Us: He Is God With Us. Seek Him Without Tiring, Welcome Him Without Reserve, Love Him Without Interruption: Today, Tomorrow, Forever.

Let Us Remember The Past With Gratitude, Live The Present With Enthusiasm, And Look Forward To The Future With Confidence.

Humanity Should Question Itself, Once More, About The Absurd And Always Unfair Phenomenon Of War.

May The Death Penalty, An Unworthy Punishment Still Used In Some Countries, Be Abolished Throughout The World.

All Of Us Experience The Sad Effects Of Blind Submission To Consumerism. In The First Place It Represents Crass Materialism. At The Same Time It Represents A Radical Dissatisfaction Because One Quickly Learns That The More One Possesses, The More One Wants, While Deeper Aspirations Remain Unsatisfied And Perhaps Even Stifled.

The Historical Experience Of Socialist Countries Has Sadly Demonstrated That Collectivism Does Not Do Away With Alienation But Rather Increases It, Adding To It A Lack Of Basic Necessities And Economic Inefficiency.

Socialist Countries

The History Of Mankind, The History Of Salvation, Passes By Way Of The Family... The Family Is Placed At The Center Of The Great Struggle Between Good And Evil, Between Life And Death, Between Love And All That Is Opposed To Love.

Take Away From Love The Fullness Of Self Surrender, The Completeness Of Personal Commitment, And What Remains Will Be A Total Denial And Negation Of It.

Do Not Be Afraid. Do Not Be Satisfied With Mediocrity. Put Out Into The Deep And Let Down Your Nets For A Catch.

It's Too Early For A Polish Pope.

If The Communications Media Are A Good Destined For All Humanity, Then Ever-new Means Must Be Found - Including Recourse To Opportune Legislative Measures - To Make Possible A True Participation In Their Management By All. The Culture Of Co-responsibility Must Be Nurtured.

The 25th Anniversary Of The Decision ... Is A Call To People Of Good Will To Reflect. Now Is The Time For Recommitment To The Building Of A Culture Of Absolute Respect For Life.

Like So Many Pilgrims Before Us, We Kneel In Wonder And Adoration Before The Ineffable Mystery Which. Was Accomplished Here... In This Child - The Son Who Is Given To Us - We Find Rest For Our Souls And The True Bread That Never Fails - The Eucharistic Bread Foreshadowed Even In The Name Of This Town: Bethlehem, The House Of Bread. God Lies Hidden In The Child; Divinity Lies Hidden In The Bread Of Life

And Christ, Through His Own Salvific Suffering, Is Very Much Present In Every Human Suffering, And Can Act From Within That Suffering By The Powers Of His Spirit Of Truth, His Consoling Spirit.

In The Sacrifice Which Jesus Christ Makes Of Himself On The Cross For His Bride, The Church... There Is Entirely Revealed That Plan Which God Has Imprinted On The Humanity Of Man And Woman Since Their Creation.

The Universality Of Salvation Means That It Is Granted Not Only To Those Who Explicitly Believe In Christ And Have Entered The Church. Since Salvation Is Offered To All, It Must Be Made Concretely Available To All.

A Good Leader Sees Everything, Overlooks A Great Deal, And Corrects A Little.

Humanity, Its Dignity And Its Balance, Will Depend At Every Moment And On Every Place On The Globe,on Who Man Is For Woman And Who Woman Is For Man.

The Drama Of Aids Threatens Not Just Some Nations Or Societies, But The Whole Of Humanity. It Knows No Frontiers Of Geography, Race, Age Or Social Condition(calling) For A Supreme Effort Of International Cooperation On The Part Of Government, The World Medical And Scientific Community And All Those Who Exercise Influence In Developing A Sense Of More Responsibility In Society.

People Are Made For Happiness. Rightly, Then, You Thirst For Happiness. Christ Has The Answer To This Desire Of Yours. But He Asks You To Trust Him.

There Is Nothing More Man Needs Than Divine Mercy - That Love Which Is Benevolent, Which Is Compassionate, Which Raises Man Above His Weakness To The Infinite Heights To The Holiness Of God.

The Church Counters The Culture Of Death With The Culture Of Love.

Holiness Is Not Reserved For A Small Number Of Exceptional Persons. It Is For Everyone. It Is The Lord Who Brings Us To Holiness When We Are Willing To Collaborate In The Salvation Of The World For The Glory Of God, Despite Our Sin And Our Sometimes Rebellious Temperament.

The Lust Of The Flesh Directs These Desires [of Personal Union], However, To Satisfaction Of The Body, Often At The Cost Of A Real And Full Communion Of Persons.

Man Matures Through Work Which Inspires Him To Difficult Good.

Christians Will Want To Be In The Vanguard In Favoring Ways Of Life That Decisively Break With The Exhausting And Joyless Frenzy Of Consumerism.

I Plead With You--never, Ever Give Up On Hope, Never Doubt, Never Tire, And Never Become Discouraged. Be Not Afraid.

Laws Which Authorize And Promote Abortion And Euthanasia Are Therefore Radically Opposed Not Only To The Good Of The Individual But Also To The Common Good; As Such They Are Completely Lacking In Authentic Juridical Validity. Disregard For The Right To Life, Precisely Because It Leads To The Killing Of The Person Whom Society Exists To Serve, Is What Most Directly Conflicts With The Possibility Of Achieving The Common Good. Consequently, A Civil Law Authorizing Abortion Or Euthanasia Ceases By That Very Fact To Be A True, Morally Binding Civil Law.

A Nation That Kills Its Own Children Has No Future.

Let Science Tell Us What And How. Let Religion Tell Us Who And Why.

We Christians Joyfully Recognize The Religious Values We Have In Common With Islam. I Would Like To Repeat What I Said To Young Muslims Some Years Ago In Casablanca: 'we Believe In The Same God, The One God, The Living God, The God Who Created The World And Brings His Creatures To Their Perfection.

Through Mary, We Come To Her Son More Easily.

The World Designed By God Cannot Be A World In Which Some Hoard Immoderate Wealth In Their Hands, While Others Suffer From Destitution And Poverty, And Die Of Hunger. Love Must Inspire Justice And The Struggle For Justice

Work Bears A Particular Mark Of Man And Of Humanity, The Mark Of A Person Operating Within A Community Of Persons

Life With Christ Is A Wonderful Adventure.

Have No Fear Of Moving Into The Unknown. Simply Step Out Fearlessly Knowing That I Am With You, Therefore No Harm Can Befall You; All Is Very, Very Well. Do This In Complete Faith And Confidence.

One Cannot Use With Impunity The Different Categories Of Beings-animals, Plants, The Natural Elements-simply As One Wishes, According To Economic Needs. One Must Take Into Account The Nature Of Each Being And Its Mutual Connection In An Ordered System, Which Is The Cosmos.

Man Always Travels Along Precipices... His Truest Obligation Is To Keep His Balance.

How Beautiful Is The Family That Recites The Rosary Every Evening.

This Is Why Moral Uneasiness Is Destined To Become Even More Acute. It Is Obvious That A Fundamental Defect, Or Rather A Series Of Defects, Indeed A Defective Machinery Is At The Root Of Contemporary Economics And Materialistic Civilization, Which Does Not Allow The Human Family To Break Free From Such Radically Unjust Situations.

Economic Inequality

Faith And Reason Are Like Two Wings On Which The Human Spirit Rises To The Contemplation Of Truth; And God Has Placed In The Human Heart A Desire To Know The Truth- In A Word, To Know Himself- So That, By Knowing And Loving God, Men And Women May Also Come To The Fullness Of Truth About Themselves.

The Saints Have Always Been The Source And Origin Of Renewal In The Most Difficult Moments In The Church's History.

The Encouragement And The Deepening Of Eucharistic Worship Are Proofs Of The Authentic Renewal Which The Council Set Itself As An Aim And Of Which They Are The Central Point.

In This Silence Of The White Host, Carried In The Monstrance, Are All His Words; There Is His Whole Life Given In Offering To The Father For Each Of Us; There Is Also The Glory Of The Glorified Body, Which Started With The Resurrection, And Still Continues In Heavenly Union.

There Must Be A Cooperation Of All Who Believe In God, Knowing That Authentic Religiousness - Far From Placing Individuals And Peoples In Conflict With One Another - Rather Pushes Them Together To Build A World Of Peace.

By Dialogue, We Let God Be Present In Our Midst, For As We Open Ourselves To One Another, We Open Ourselves To God.

The Gradual Depletion Of The Ozone Layer And The Related "greenhouse Effect" Has Now Reached Crisis Proportions As A Consequence Of Industrial Growth, Massive Urban Concentrations And Vastly Increased Energy Needs. Industrial Waste, The Burning Of Fossil Fuels, Unrestricted Deforestation, The Use Of Certain Types Of Herbicides, Coolants And Propellants: All Of These Are Known To Harm The Atmosphere And Environment.

Prayer Gives Us Light By Which To See And To Judge From God's Perspective And From Eternity. That Is Why You Must Not Give Up On Praying!

The Gospel Of Life Must Be Proclaimed And Human Life Defended In All Places And All Times.

I Hope That This Form Of Adoration, With Permanent Exposition Of The Blessed Sacrament, Will Continue Into The Future. Specifically, I Hope That The Fruit Of This Congress Results In The Establishment Of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration In All Parishes And Christian Communities Throughout The World

All Human Life-from The Moment Of Conception And Through All Subsequent Stages-is Sacred, Because Human Life Is Created In The Image And Likeness Of God. Nothing Surpasses The Greatness Or Dignity Of A Human Person...if A Person's Right To Life Is Violated At The Moment In Which He Is First Conceived In His Mother's Womb, An Indirect Blow Is Struck Also At The Whole Moral Order.

It Is Not Enough To Long For A Person As A Good For Oneself, One Must Also, And Above All, Long For That Person's Good.

Only Faith In Christ Gives Rise To A Culture Contrary To Egotism And Death.

The Church's Teaching On Ownership Diverges Radically From Collectivism As Proclaimed By Marxism And "rigid" Capitalism. The Primacy Of The Person Over Things Joint Ownership Of The Means Of Work.

The Enemy Of The Human Race...invented A Means Never Before Heard Of, By Which He Might Hinder The Preaching Of God's Word Of Salvation To The People.

On One Hand The Eternal Attraction Of Man Towards Femininity (cf. Gn. 2:23) Frees In Him-or Perhaps It Should Free-a Gamut Of Spiritual-corporal Desires Of An Especially Personal And "sharing" Nature (cf. Analysis Of The "beginning"), To Which A Proportionate Pyramid Of Values Corresponds. On The Other Hand, "lust" Limits This Gamut, Obscuring The Pyramid Of Values That Marks The Perennial Attraction Of Male And Female.

It's Better To Cry Than Be Angry, Because Anger Hurts Others While Tears Flow Silently Through The Soul And Cleans The Heart.

What Really Matters In Life Is That We Are Loved By Christ And That We Love Him In Return

The Sacraments Infuse Holiness Into The Terrain Of Man's Humanity: They Penetrate The Soul And Body, The Femininity And Masculinity Of The Personal Subject, With The Power Of Holiness.

Since Christ Is The Only Way To The Father, In Order To Highlight His Living And Saving Presence In The Church And The World, The International Eucharistic Congress Will Take Place In Rome, On The Occasion Of The Great Jubilee. The Year 2000 Will Be Intensely Eucharistic: In The Sacrament Of The Eucharist The Savior, Who Took Flesh In Mary's Womb Twenty Centuries Ago, Continues To Offer Himself To Humanity As The Source Of Divine Life

We Emphasize The Transcendent Worth Of The Human Person. We Insist That The Human Person Must Never Be Treated As An Object; He Must Always Be Considered The Subject. That Is The Basis For Our Teaching, The Absolute Standard.

The Sickness Of A Family Member, Friend Or Neighbor Is A Call To Christians To Demonstrate True Compassion, That Gentle And Persevering Sharing In Another's Pain.

A Just Wage For The Worker Is The Ultimate Test Of Whether Any Economic System Is Functioning Justly.

This Is The Wonderful Truth, My Dear Friends: The Word, Which Became Flesh Two Thousand Years Ago, Is Present Today In The Eucharist

...if Desire Is Predominant It Can Deform Love Between Man And Woman And Rob Them Both Of It.

Every Scientist, Through Personal Study And Research, Completes Himself And His Own Humanity. ... Scientific Research Constitutes For You, As It Does For Many, The Way For The Personal Encounter With Truth, And Perhaps The Privileged Place For The Encounter Itself With God, The Creator Of Heaven And Earth. Science Shines Forth In All Its Value As A Good Capable Of Motivating Our Existence, As A Great Experience Of Freedom For Truth, As A Fundamental Work Of Service. Through Research Each Scientist Grows As A Human Being And Helps Others To Do Likewise.

Believers Know That The Presence Of Evil Is Always Accompanied By The Presence Of Good, By Grace... Where Evil Grows, There The Hope For Good Also Grows... In The Love That Pours Forth From The Heart Of Christ, We Find Hope For The Future Of The World. Christ Has Redeemed The World: "by His Wounds We Are Healed." (isaiah 53:5)

When A Parliamentary Or Social Majority Decrees That It Is Legal, At Least Under Certain Conditions, To Kill Unborn Human Life, Is It Not Really Making A Tyrannical Decision With Regard To The Weakest And Most Defenseless Of Human Beings?....while Public Authority Can Sometimes Choose Not To Put A Stop To Something Which Were It Prohibited Would Cause More Serious Harm, It Can Never Presume To Legitimize As A Right Of Individuals Even If They Are The Majority Of The Members Of Society An Offense Against Other Persons Caused By The Disregard Of So Fundamental A Right As The Right To Life.

I Sense That The Moment Has Come To Commit All Of The Church's Energies To A New Evangelization... No Believer In Christ, No Institution Of The Church Can Avoid This Supreme Duty: To Proclaim Christ To All Peoples.

The Earth Will Not Continue To Offer Its Harvest, Except With Faithful Stewardship. We Cannot Say We Love The Land And Then Take Steps To Destroy It For Use By Future Generations.

When Sunday Loses Its Fundamental Meaning And Becomes Subordinate To A Secular Concept Of Weekend Dominated By Such Things As Entertainment And Sport, People Stay Locked Within A Horizon So Narrow That They Can No Longer See The Heavens.

God Is Love. We Eventually Have To Ask Ourselves The Question; Why Was Love Nailed To A Cross?

The Vocation And Mission Of The Faithful Can Only Be Understood In Light Of A Renewed Awareness Of The Church As Sacrament Or Sign And Instrument Of Intimate Union With God, Of The Unity Of The Whole Of Mankind, And Of The Personal Duty To Adhere More Closely To Her.

Real Love Is Demanding. I Would Fail In My Mission If I Did Not Clearly Tell You So. For It Was Jesus - Our Jesus Himself - Who Said: 'you Are My Friends If You Do What I Command You'. Love Demands Effort And A Personal Commitment To The Will Of God. It Means Discipline And Sacrifice, But It Also Means Joy And Human Fulfilment.

What Will You Do With Your Life? What Are Your Plans? Have You Ever Thought Of Committing Your Existence Totally To Christ? Do You Think That There Can Be Anything Greater Than To Bring Jesus To People And People To Jesus?

The Promotion Of The Culture Of Life Should Be The Highest Priority In Our Societies...if The Right To Life Is Not Defended Decisively As A Condition For All Other Rights Of The Person, All Other References To Human Rights Remain Deceitful And Illusory.

Those Who Advocate Euthanasia Have Capitalized On People's Confusion, Ambivalence And Even Fear About The Use Of Modern Life-prolonging Technologies. Being Able To Choose The Time And Manner Of One's Death, Without Regard To What Is Chosen Is Presented As The Ultimate Freedom.

Born And Nurtured When The Human Being First Asked Questions About The Reason For Things And Their Purpose, Philosophy Shows In Different Modes And Forms That The Desire For Truth Is Part Of Human Nature Itself.

And Everything Else Will Then Turn Out To Be Unimportant And Inessential Except This: Father, Child, And Love. And Then, Looking At The Simplest Things, We Will All Say, Could We Have Not Learned This Long Ago? Has This Not Always Been Embedded In Everything That Is?

He Has Chosen You, In A Mysterious But Real Way, To Make You Saviors With Him And Like Him. Yes, Christ Calls You, But He Calls You In Truth. His Call Is Demanding, Because He Invites You To Let Yourselves Be 'captured' By Him Completely, So That Your Whole Lives Will Be Seen In A Different Light.

Attention Is Riveted On What Is Tangible, Useful, Instantly Available; The Stimulus For Deeper Thought And Reflection May Be Lacking. Yet Human Beings Have A Vital Need For Time And Inner Quiet To Ponder And Examine Life And Its Mysteries... Understanding And Wisdom Are The Fruit Of A Contemplative Eye Upon The World, And Do Not Come From A Mere Accumulation Of Facts, No Matter How Interesting.

Today, For The First Time In History, A Bishop Of Rome Sets Foot On English Soil. This Fair Land, Once A Distant Outpost Of The Pagan World, Has Become, Through The Preaching Of The Gospel, A Beloved And Gifted Portion Of Christ's Vineyard.

Dear Young People Of Every Language And Culture, A High And Exhilarating Task Awaits You: That Of Becoming Men And Women Capable Of Solidarity, Peace And Love Of Life, With Respect For Everyone. Become Craftsmen Of A New Humanity, Where Brothers And Sisters - Members All Of The Same Family - Are Able At Last To Live In Peace.

Original Sin Is Not Only The Violation Of A Positive Command … But … Attempts … To Abolish Fatherhood, Destroying Its Rays Which Permeate The Created World, Placing In Doubt The Truth About God Who Is Love And Leaving Man With Only A Sense Of The Master-slave Relationship.

There Cannot Be Forgotten The Great Possibilities Of Mass Media In Promoting Dialogue, Becoming Vehicles For Reciprocal Knowledge, Of Solidarity And Of Peace. They Become A Powerful Resource For Good If Used To Foster Understanding Between Peoples, A Destructive 'weapon' If Used To Foster Injustice And Conflicts.

Dear Young People, Let Yourselves Be Taken Over By The Light Of Christ, And Spread That Light Wherever You Are.

The Greatest Deception, And The Deepest Source Of Unhappiness, Is The Illusion Of Finding Life By Excluding God, Of Finding Freedom By Excluding Moral Truths And Personal Responsibility.

Pray And Learn To Pray! Deepen Your Knowledge Of The Word Of The Living God By Reading And Meditating On The Scriptures.

It Is Legitimate And Necessary To Ask Oneself If This Is Not Perhaps Part Of A New Ideology Of Evil, Perhaps More Insidious And Hidden, Which Attempts To Pit Human Rights Against The Family And Against Man.

Prayer Joined To Sacrifice Constitutes The Most Powerful Force In Human History.

When Freedom Does Not Have A Purpose, When It Does Not Wish To Know Anything About The Rule Of Law Engraved In The Hearts Of Men And Women, When It Does Not Listen To The Voice Of Conscience, It Turns Against Humanity And Society.

There Is No Dignity When The Human Dimension Is Eliminated From The Person. In Short, The Problem With Pornography Is Not That It Shows Too Much Of The Person, But That It Shows Far Too Little.

God Of Our Fathers, You Chose Abraham And His Descendants To Bring Your Name To The Nations: We Are Deeply Saddened By The Behaviour Of Those Who In The Course Of History Have Caused These Children Of Yours To Suffer, And Asking Your Forgiveness We Wish To Commit Ourselves To Genuine Brotherhood With The People Of The Covenant.

In The Newborn Child Is Realized The Common Good Of The Family.

Love Is Never Defeated, And I Could Add, The History Of Ireland Proves It.

The Dramatic Threat Of Ecological Breakdown Is Teaching Us The Extent To Which Greed And Selfishness Are Contrary To The Order Of Creation. ...a Given Culture Reveals Its Understanding Of Life Through The Choices It Makes In Production And Consumption... A Great Deal Of Educational And Cultural Work Is Urgently Needed, Including The Education Of Consumers In The Responsible Use Of Their Power Of Choice.

In The Life Of Husband And Wife Together, Fatherhood And Motherhood Represent Such A Sublime "novelty" And Richness As Can Only Be Approached "on One's Knees".

The Mystery Of The Holy Night, Which Historically Happened Two Thousand Years Ago, Must Be Lived As A Spiritual Event In The 'today' Of The Liturgy," The Pope Clarified. "the Word Who Found A Dwelling In Mary's Womb Comes To Knock On The Heart Of Every Person With Singular Intensity This Christmas.

It Is Manifestly Unjust That A Privileged Few Should Continue To Accumulate Excess Goods, Squandering Available Resources, While Masses Of People Are Living In Conditions Of Misery At The Very Lowest Level Of Subsistence.

True Holiness Does Not Mean A Flight From The World; Rather, It Lies In The Effort To Incarnate The Gospel In Everyday Life, In The Family, At School And At Work, And In Social And Political Involvement.

Marriage Is An Act Of Will That Signifies And Involves A Mutual Gift, Which Unites The Spouses And Binds Them To Their Eventual Souls, With Whom They Make Up A Sole Family - A Domestic Church.

Christian Holiness Does Not Being Sinless, But Rather It Means Struggling Not To Give In And Always Getting Up After Every Fall.

Precisely In An Age When The Inviolable Rights Of The Person Are Solemnly Proclaimed And The Value Of Life Is Publicly Affirmed, The Very Right To Life Is Being Denied Or Trampled Upon, Especially At The More Significant Moments Of Existence: The Moment Of Birth And The Moment Of Death.

In The Eucharistic Sacrifice The Church Venerates The Memory Of Mary The Ever Virgin Mother Of God And The Memory Of Saint Joseph, Because He Fed Him Whom The Faithful Must Eat As The Bread Of Life

To The Family Is Entrusted The Task Of Striving, First And Foremost, To Unleash The Forces Of Good.

New Knowledge Has Led To The Recognition In The Theory Of Evolution Of More Than A Hypothesis. It Is Indeed Remarkable That This Theory Has Been Progressively Accepted By Researchers, Following A Series Of Discoveries In Various Fields Of Knowledge. The Convergence, Neither Sought Nor Fabricated, Of The Results Of Work That Was Conducted Independently Is In Itself A Significant Argument In Favor Of This Theory.

Theory Of Evolution

The Worst Prison Would Be A Closed Heart.

The Legal Toleration Of Abortion Or Of Euthanasia Can In No Way Claim To Be Based On Respect For The Conscience Of Others, Precisely Because Society Has The Right And The Duty To Protect Itself Against The Abuses Which Can Occur In The Name Of Conscience And Under The Pretext Of Freedom.

Faced With The Widespread Destruction Of The Environment, People Everywhere Are Coming To Understand That We Cannot Continue To Use The Goods Of The Earth As We Have In The Past ... [a] New Ecological Awareness Is Beginning To Emerge Which Rather Than Being Downplayed, Ought To Be Encouraged To Develop Into Concrete Programs And Initiatives.

Around The World, We See The Results Of Exploitation Which Destroys Much Without Taking Future Generations Into Account. Protecting The World's Forests; Stemming Desertification And Erosion; Avoiding The Spread Of Toxic Substances Harmful To Man, Animals And Plants; Protecting The Atmosphere; All These Can Be Accomplished Only Through Active And Wise Cooperation, Without Borders Or Political Power Plays.

We Can Pray Perfectly When We Are Out In The Mountains Or On A Lake And We Feel At One With Nature. Nature Speaks For Us Or Rather Speaks To Us. We Pray Perfectly.

In The Mass And In Eucharistic Adoration We Meet The Merciful Love Of God That Passes Through The Heart Of Jesus Christ.

The Mother Of Christ, Who Stands At The Very Center Of This Mystery...is Given As Mother To Every Single Individual And All Mankind.

There Is No Evil To Be Faced That Christ Does Not Face With Us. There Is No Enemy That Christ Has Not Already Conquered. There Is No Cross To Bear That Christ Has Not Already Borne For Us, And Does Not Now Bear With Us.

Hands Are The Heart's Landscape.

The Priest Is Not And Must Not Be A Civil Servant Of The Church. Above All The Priest Is A Man Who Lives For The Spirit For God. This Being The Case The Seminary Is The Place Where He Learns 'to Be With Him.'

Those Who Perceive In Themselves... The Artistic Vocation As Poet, Writer, Sculptor, Painter, Musician, And Actor Feel At The Same Time An Obligation Not To Waste This Talent But To Develop It, In Order To Put It To Service Of Their Neighbour And The Humanity As A Whole.

Pervading Nationalism Imposes Its Dominion On Man Today In Many Different Forms And With An Aggressiveness That Spares No One. The Challenge That Is Already With Us Is The Temptation To Accept As True Freedom What In Reality Is Only A New Form Of Slavery.

When Man Turns His Back On The Creator's Plan, He Provokes A Disorder Which Has Inevitable Repercussions On The Rest Of The Created Order. If Man Is Not At Peace With God, Then Earth Itself Cannot Be At Peace.

Radical Changes In World Politics Leave America With A Heightened Responsibility To Be, For The World, An Example Of A Genuinely Free, Democratic, Just And Humane Society.

The Battle Against The Devil, Which Is The Principal Task Of Saint Michael The Archangel, Is Still Being Fought Today, Because The Devil Is Still Alive And Active In The World.

St. Joseph Was A Just Man, A Tireless Worker, The Upright Guardian Of Those Entrusted To His Care. May He Always Guard, Protect And Enlighten Families.

If He Asks Much Of You, It Is Because He Knows You Can Give Much.

Open Your Minds And Hearts To The Beauty Of All That God Has Made And To His Special, Personal Love For Each One Of You.

And So, Like Moses (cf Ex 3, 5), In Spirit We Remove The Shoes From Our Feet, On The Threshold Of The Inner Sanctuary That Each Of Us Must Become As We Meet The Lord.

I Cannot Fail To Note Once Again That The Poor Constitute The Modern Challenge, Especially For The Well-off Of Our Planet, Where Millions Of People Live In Inhuman Conditions And Many Are Literally Dying Of Hunger. It Is Not Possible To Announce God The Father To These Brothers And Sisters Without Taking On The Responsibility Of Building A More Just Society In The Name Of Christ.

The Vow Of Celibacy Is A Matter Of Keeping One's Word To Christ And The Church. A Duty And A Proof Of The Priest's Inner Maturity; It Is The Expression Of His Personal Dignity.

While It Is True That The Taking Of Life Not Yet Born Or In It's Final Stages Is Sometimes Marked By A Mistaken Sense Of Altruism And Human Compassion It Cannot Be Denied That Such A Culture Of Death, Taken As A Whole, Betrays A Completely Individualistic Concept Of Freedom, Which Ends Up By Becoming The Freedom Of "the Strong" Against The Weak Who Have No Choice But To Submit.

The Only Really Effective Means Of Enabling States To Deal With The Grave Problem Of Poverty Is To Provide Them With The Necessary Resources Through Foreign Financial Aid - Public And Private - Granted Under Reasonable Conditions, Within The Framework Of International Commercial Relations Regulated With Fairness.

God Passionately Desires And Ardently Yearns For Our Salvation... Nothing Is Greater Than This: That The Blood Of God Was Poured Out For Us.

The Unworthy Successor Of Peter Who Desires To Benefit From The Immeasurable Wealth Of Christ Feels The Great Need Of Your Assistance, Your Prayers, Your Sacrifice, And He Most Humbly Asks This Of You.

None Of Us Is Alone In This World; Each Of Us Is A Vital Piece Of The Great Mosaic Of Humanity As A Whole.

The Conviction Which We Must Share And Spread Is That The Call To Holiness Is Directed To All Christians. This Is Not A Question Of Privilege Or Of Spiritual Elitism. It Is A Question Of A Grace Offered To All The Baptized.

Around The World, We Can See The Results Of Exploitation Which Destroys Much Without Taking Future Generations Into Account. Today, All Men Have A Duty To Show Themselves Worthy Of The Mission Given Them By The Creator By Ensuring The Safekeeping Of That Creation.

[on His 83rd Birthday] Physical Condition Or Advancing Of Age Are Not Obstacles To A Perfect Life. God Does Not Look At External Things But At The Soul.

Condemning Class Struggle Does Not Mean Condemning Every Possible Form Of Social Conflict. Such Conflicts Inevitably Arise And Christians Must Often Take A Position In The "struggle For Social Justice." What Is Condemned Is "total War," Which Has No Respect For The Dignity Of Others (and Consequently Of Oneself). It Excludes Reasonable Compromise, Does Not Pursue The Common Good But The Good Of A Group, And Sets Out To Destroy Whatever Stands In Its Way.

Do Not Be Afraid To Be Saints. Follow Jesus Christ Who Is The Source Of Freedom And Light. Be Open To The Lord So That He May Lighten All Your Ways.

Wars Generally Do Not Resolve The Problems For Which They Are Fought And Therefore, In Addition To Causing Horrendous Damage, They Prove Ultimately Futile.

The Body In Its Masculinity And Femininity Has Been Called "from The Beginning" To Become The Manifestation Of The Spirit. The Body, In Fact, And Only The Body, Is Capable Of Making Visible What Is Invisible: The Spiritual And The Divine.

Chess Holds Deep Wisdoms Of The People. It Is Truly An Image Of Life, The Reflection Of Human Fate That Has Shown Us The Earthly Way Of Suffering In Darkness And Permanent Shortage Of Time. Like In Chess, We Encounter All Kinds Of Traps, Mistakes, Settlements, Sacrifices, Kings, And Queens, Doubled Pawns, And Extraordinary Moves While We Are On The Board Ourselves.

You Are Our Dearly Beloved Brothers, And In A Certain Way, It Could Be Said That You Are Our Elder Brothers.

The Heart Is Our Hidden Center, Beyond The Grasp Of Our Reason And Of Others; Only The Spirit Of God Can Fathom The Human Heart And Know It Fully. The Heart Is The Place Of Decision, Deeper Than Our Psychic Drives. It Is The Place Of Truth, Where We Choose Life Or Death. It Is The Place Of Encounter.

Man, Especially In Our Time, Has Without Hesitation Devastated Wooded Plains And Valleys, Polluted Waters, Disfigured The Earth's Habitat, Made The Air Unbreathable, Disturbed The Hydro-geological And Atmospheric Systems, Turned Luxuriant Areas Into Deserts And Undertaken Forms Of Unrestrained Industrialization, Degrading That 'flower Bed'-which Is The Earth, Our Dwelling Place.

To Humanity, Which Sometimes Seems To Be Lost And Dominated By The Power Of Evil, Selfishness And Fear, The Risen Lord Gives The Gift Of His Love Which Forgives, Reconciles And Reopens The Soul To Hope.

Let Us Not Accept Violence As The Way Of Peace. Let Us Instead Begin By Respecting True Freedom: The Resulting Peace Will Be Able To Satisfy The World's Expectations, For It Will Be A Peace Built On Justice, A Peace Founded On The Incomparable Dignity Of The Free Human Being.

When We Go Before Jesus In The Blessed Sacrament We Represent The One In The World Who Is In Most Need Of God's Mercy." We "stand In Behalf Of The One In The World Who Does Not Know Christ And Who Is Farthest Away From God And We Bring Down Upon Their Soul The Precious Blood Of The Lamb.

You Will Reciprocally Promise Love, Loyalty And Matrimonial Honesty. We Only Want For You This Day That These Words Constitute The Principle Of Your Entire Life And That With The Help Of Divine Grace You Will Observe These Solemn Vows That Today, Before God, You Formulate.

Is Not Jesus Pointing To Children Even As Models For Grownups?

The Rosary Is A Prayer Both So Humble And Simple And A Theologically Rich In Biblical Content. I Beg You To Pray It.

Christ Is The Sacrament Of The Invisible God - A Sacrament That Indicates Presence. God Is With Us.

The World [is] Tired Of Ideology [and] Is Opening Itself To The Truth. The Time Has Come When The Splendor Of This Truth Has Begun Anew To Illuminate The Darkness Of Human Existence.

May The Culture Of Life And Love Render Vain The Logic Of Death.

Although I Have Lived Through Much Darkness, I Have Seen Enough Evidence To Be Unshakably Convinced That No Difficulty, No Fear Is So Great That It Can Completely Suffocate The Hope That Springs Eternal In The Hearts Of The Young... Do Not Let That Hope Die! Stake Your Lives On It! We Are Not The Sum Of Our Weaknesses And Failures; We Are The Sum Of The Father's Love For Us And Our Real Capacity To Become The Image Of His Son.

The Eucharist Is The Heart Of The Church. Where Eucharistic Life Flourishes, There The Life Of The Church Will Blossom.

A Process Of Genocide Is Being Carried Out Before The Eyes Of The World.

Modern Society Will Find No Solution To The Ecological Problem Unless It Takes A Serious Look At Its Lifestyle.

Those In Society Who Are In Charge Of Schools Must Never Forget That The Parents Have Been Appointed By God Himself As The First And Principal Educators Of Their Children And That Their Right Is Completely Inalienable.

The Gospel Of Life Is Not For Believers Alone: It Is For Everyone. The Issue Of Life And Its Defense And Promotion Is Not A Concern Of The Christian Alone. Although Faith Provides Special Light And Strength, This Question Arises In Every Human Conscience Which Seeks The Truth And Which Cares About The Future Of Humanity. Life Certainly Has A Sacred And Religious Value, But In No Way Is That Value A Concern Only Of Believers. The Value At Stake Is One Which Every Human Being Can Grasp By The Light Of Reason; Thus It Necessarily Concerns Everyone.

The Obligation To Earn One's Bread Presumes The Right To Do So. A Society That Denies This Right Cannot Be Justified, Nor Can It Attain Social Peace.

Reason And Faith Cannot Be Separated Without Diminishing The Capacity Of Men And Women To Know Themselves, The World And God In An Appropriate Way.

The Dignity Of The Human Person Is A Transcendent Value, Always Recognized As Such By Those Who Sincerely Search For The Truth. Indeed, The Whole Of Human History Should Be Interpreted In The Light Of This Certainty. Every Person, Created In The Image And Likeness Of God (cf. Gn 1:26 28), Is Therefore Radically Oriented Towards The Creator, And Is Constantly In Relationship With Those Possessed Of The Same Dignity. To Promote The Good Of The Individual Is Thus To Serve The Common Good, Which Is That Point Where Rights And Duties Converge And Reinforce One Another.

The Most Generous Choices, Especially The Persevering, Are The Fruit Of Profound And Prolonged Union With God In Prayerful Silence.

If You Really Wish To Follow Christ, If You Want Your Love For Him To Grow And Last, Then You Must Be Faithful To Prayer. It Is The Key To The Vitality Of Your Life In Christ. Without Prayer, Your Faith And Love Will Die. If You Are Constant In Daily Prayer And In The Sunday Celebration Of Mass, Your Love For Jesus Will Increase. And Your Heart Will Know Deep Joy And Peace, Such As The World Could Never Give.

You Made Us For Yourself, Lord, And Our Heart Is Restless Until It Rests In You. In This Creative Restlessness Beats And Pulsates What Is Most Deeply Human - The Search For Truth, The Insatiable Need For The Good, Hunger For Freedom, Nostalgia For The Beautiful, And The Voice Of Conscience.

Artistic Talent Is A Gift From God And Whoever Discovers It In Himself Has A Certain Obligation: To Know That He Cannot Waste This Talent, But Must Develop It.

It Would Appear That, On The Level Of Individual Nations And Of International Relations, The Free Market Is The Most Efficient Instrument For Utilizing Resources And Effectively Responding To Needs.

What Does Our Generation Owe To Generations Yet Unborn? ...there Is An Order In The Universe Which Must Be Respected, And... The Human Person, Endowed With The Capability Of Choosing Freely, Has A Grave Responsibility To Preserve This Order For The Well-being Of Future Generations.

Never Again War! Never Again Hatred And Intolerance!

Even If The Forces Of Darkness Appear To Prevail, Those Who Believe In God Know That Evil And Death Do Not Have The Final Say.

The Greatest Gift You Can Give Your Child Is Another Sibling.

Let Me Go To The House Of The Father.

Famous Last Words

Prayer Finds Its Source In God's Holiness And It Is At The Same Time Our Response To This Holiness.

Utilitarianism Is A Civilization Of Production And Of Use, A Civilization Of "things" And Not Of "persons," A Civilization In Which Persons Are Used In The Same Way As Things Are Used. In The Context Of A Civilization Of Use, Woman Can Become An Object For Man, Children A Hindrance To Parents, The Family An Institution Obstructing The Freedom Of Its Members.

Trending Author

Rosalia De Castro

Christopher Isherwood

Fred F. Fielding

Category