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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.

-Pope John Paul II

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The Greatest Deception, And

Pope John Paul II

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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.

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Catholic Education Aims Not Only To Communicate Facts But Also To Transmit A Coherent, Comprehensive Vision Of Life, In The Conviction That The Truths Contained In That Vision Liberate Students In The Most Profound Meaning Of Human Freedom.

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Truth Must Be The Foundation Stone, The Cement To Solidify The Entire Social Edifice.

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.

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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.

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Our Relationship

Relationship With God

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Christ Remains Primary In Your Life Only When He Enjoys The First Place In Your Mind And Heart. Thus You Must Continuously Unite Yourself To Him In Prayer.... Without Prayer There Can Be No Joy, No Hope, No Peace. For Prayer Is What Keeps Us In Touch With Christ.

The Question Confronting The Church Today Is Not Any Longer Whether The Man In The Street Can Grasp A Religious Message, But How To Employ The Communications Media So As To Let Him Have The Full Impact Of The Gospel Message.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Cross Means There Is No Shipwreck Without Hope; There Is No Dark Without Dawn; Nor Storm Without Haven.

It Can Therefore Be Said That, From The Viewpoint Of The Doctrine Of The Faith, There Are No Difficulties In Explaining The Origin Of Man In Regard To The Body, By Means Of The Theory Of Evolution.

Theory Of Evolution

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.

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.

Art Has A Unique Capacity To Take One Or Other Facet Of The Message And Translate It Into Colors, Shapes And Sounds Which Nourish The Intuition Of Those Who Look And Listen.

The Fear Of Making Permanent Commitments Can Change The Mutual Love Of Husband And Wife Into Two Loves Of Self-two Loves Existing Side By Side, Until They End In Separation.

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.

Yes, The Civilization Of Love Is Possible; It Is Not A Utopia. But It Is Only Possible By A Constant And Ready Reference To The "father From Whom All Fatherhood And Motherhood On Earth Is Named," From Whom Every Human Family Comes.

Interdependence Must Be Transformed Into Solidarity Based Upon The Principle That The Goods Of Creation Are Meant For All. That Which Human Industry Produces Through The Processing Of Raw Materials With The Contribution Of Work Must Serve Equally For The Good Of All.

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.

Have No Fear Of Moving Into The Unknown.

Fear Of The Unknown

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.

He Was Alone In His Wonderment, Amoung Creatures Incapable Of Wonder --for Them It Was Enough To Exist And Go Their Way.

The Cemetery Of The Victims Of Human Cruelty In Our Century Is Extended To Include Yet Another Vast Cemetery, That Of The Unborn.

Before Our Eyes We Have The Results Of Ideologies Such As Marxism, Nazism And Fascism, And Also Of Myths Like Racial Superiority, Nationalism And Ethnic Exclusivism. No Less Pernicious, Though Not Always As Obvious, Are The Effects Of Materialistic Consumerism, In Which The Exaltation Of The Individual And The Selfish Satisfaction Of Personal Aspirations Become The Ultimate Goal Of Life. In This Outlook, The Negative Effects On Others Are Considered Completely Irrelevant.

Darkness Can Only Be Scattered By Light, Hatred Can Only Be Conquered By Love.

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

Contraception Contradicts The Full Truth Of The Sexual Act As The Proper Expression Of Conjugal Love.

Euthanasia Is A Grave Violation Of The Law Of God, Since It Is The Deliberate And Morally Unacceptable Killing Of A Human Person.

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

The Gospel Must Not Be Kept Hidden Because Of Fear Or Indifference. It Was Never Meant To Be Hidden Away In Private. It Has To Be Put On A Stand So That People May See Its Light And Give Praise To Our Heavenly Father.

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

As Believers, How Can We Fail To See That Abortion, Euthanasia And Assisted Suicide Are A Terrible Rejection Of God's Gift Of Life And Love? And As Believers, How Can We Fail To Feel The Duty To Surround The Sick And Those In Distress With The Warmth Of Our Affection And The Support That Will Help Them Always To Embrace Life?

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

To Reach Peace, Teach Peace.

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.

This Is No Time To Be Ashamed Of The Gospel. It Is The Time To Preach It From The Rooftops.

The Rosary Is My Favorite Prayer. A Prayer So Simple And So Rich; From Deepest Heart, I Exhort All To Recite It.

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

If Development Is The New Name For Peace, War And Preparations For War Are The Major Enemy Of The Healthy Development Of Peoples. If We Take The Common Good Of All Humanity As Our Norm, Instead Of Individual Greed, Peace Would Be Possible.

[speaking Of Marriage And Family] In This Entire World There Is Not A More Perfect, More Complete Image Of God, Unity And Community. There Is No Other Human Reality Which Corresponds More, Humanly Speaking, To That Divine Mystery.

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.

Everybody That Is Just Is Called To Form Part Of The Kingdom Of Heaven-whether They Be Buddhas, Jews, Or Atheists-as Long As They Are Good.

By The End Of This Decade We Will Live Under The First One World Government That Has Ever Existed In The Society Of Nations ... A Government With Absolute Authority To Decide The Basic Issues Of Human Survival. One World Government Is Inevitable.

World Government

Love Consists Of A Commitment Which Limits One's Freedom - It Is A Giving Of The Self, And To Give Oneself Means Just That: To Limit One's Freedom On Behalf Of Another.

Apart From The Mercy Of God, There Is No Other Source Of Hope For Mankind.

Look, I Can Surely Say By Now That I've Got The Antibodies To Communism Inside Me. But When I Think Of Consumer Society, With All Its Tragedies, I Wonder Which Of The Two Systems Is Better.

For 2,000 Years, The Church Has Been The Cradle In Which Mary Places Jesus And Entrusts Him To The Adoration And Contemplation Of All Peoples. May The Humility Of The Bride Cause To Shine Forth Still More Brightly The Glory And Power Of The Eucharist, Which She Celebrates And Treasures In Her Heart. In The Sign Of The Consecrated Bread And Wine, Christ Jesus Risen And Glorified, The Light Of The Nations, Reveals The Enduring Reality Of His Incarnation. He Remains Living And Real In Our Midst In Order To Nourish The Faithful With His Body And Blood.

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.

This Worship, Given Therefore To The Trinity Of The Father And Of The Son And Of The Holy Spirit, Above All Accompanies And Permeates The Celebration Of The Eucharistic Liturgy. But It Must Fill Our Churches Also Outside The Timetable Of Masses. Indeed, Since The Eucharistic Mystery Was Instituted Out Of Love, And Makes Christ Sacramentally Present, It Is Worthy Of Thanksgiving And Worship. And This Worship Must Be Prominent In All Our Encounters With The Blessed Sacrament, Both When We Visit Our Churches And When The Sacred Species Are Taken To The Sick And Administered To Them

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.

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

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

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.

I Hope That Your Example Attracts Many Souls To The Adoration Of Jesus Christ Who Is Present On The Altar To Be Of Comfort And Hope To Those Who Confide In Him With Faith And Love; They Look On Him As The Emmanuel, God With Us, Who Wished To Dwell Amongst Us: His Heart In Our Heart

Respect For Life And For The Dignity Of The Human Person Also Extends To The Rest Of Creation, Which Is Called To Join Man In Praising God.

None Are So Poor That They Have Nothing To Give...and None Are So Rich That They Have Nothing To Receive.

It Would Be A Sad Thing If The Religious And Moral Convictions Upon Which The American Experiment Was Founded Could Now Somehow Be Considered A Danger To Free Society.

Humanity Should Question Itself, Once More, About The Absurd And Always Unfair Phenomenon Of War, On Whose Stage Of Death And Pain Only Remain Standing The Negotiating Table That Could And Should Have Prevented It.

No One Else Can Want For Me. No One Can Substitute His Act Of Will For Mine. It Does Sometimes Happen That Someone Very Much Wants Me To Want What He Wants. This Is The Moment When The Impassable Frontier Between Him And Me, Which Is Drawn By Free Will, Becomes Most Obvious. I May Not Want That Which He Wants Me To Want - And In This Precisely I Am Incommunicabilis. I Am, And I Must Be, Independent In My Actions. All Human Relationships Are Posited On This Fact.

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.

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.

...all That Is Carried Along By The Stream's Silvery Cascade, Rhythmically Falling From The Mountain, Carried By Its Own Current-- Carried Where?

Life Is Entrusted To Man As A Treasure Which Must Not Be Squandered, As A Talent Which Must Be Used Well.

Sensitivity To The Immense Needs Of Humanity Brings With It A Spontaneous Rejection Of The Arms Race, Which Is Incompatible With The All Out Struggle Against Hunger, Sickness, Under-development And Illiteracy.

The Rosary Is My Favorite Prayer.

The History Of Mankind, The History Of Salvation, Passes By Way Of The Family.

Science Can Purify Religion From Error And Superstition. Religion Can Purify Science From Idolatry And False Absolutes.

The Primordial Model Of The Family Is To Be Sought In God Himself, In The Trinitarian Mystery Of His Life. The Divine "we" Is The Eternal Pattern Of The Human "we", Especially Of That "we" Formed By The Man And The Woman Created In The Divine Image And Likeness... Man Is Created "from The Very Beginning" As Male And Female: The Life Of All Humanity - Whether Of Small Communities Or Of Society As A Whole - Is Marked By This Primordial Duality.

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

If You Want Peace, Work For Justice. If You Want Justice, Defend Life. If You Want Life, Embrace Truth.

Stupidity Is Also A Gift Of God, But One Mustn't Misuse It.

While In Some Cases The Damage Already Done May Well Be Irreversible, In Many Other Cases It Can Still Be Halted. It Is Necessary, However, That The Entire Human Community - Individuals, States And International Bodies - Take Seriously The Responsibility That Is Theirs.

The Purpose Of Art Is Nothing Less Than The Upliftment Of The Human Spirit.

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

Never Again War! Never Again Hatred And Intolerance!

Furthermore, Because God Created It, The Human Body Can Remain Nude And Uncovered And Preserve Its Splendour And Its Beauty.

Once The Truth Is Denied To Human Beings, It Is Pure Illusion To Try To Set Them Free. Truth And Freedom Either Go Together Hand In Hand Or Together They Perish In Misery.

To Predispose Our Mind To Welcome The Lord Who, As We Say In The Creed, One Day Will Come To Judge The Living And The Dead, We Must Learn To Recognize Him As Present In The Events Of Daily Life. Therefore, Advent Is, So To Speak, An Intense Training That Directs Us Decisively Toward Him Who Already Came, Who Will Come, And Who Comes Continuously.

Intense Training

The Measure Of Your Success Will Be The Measure Of Your Generosity.

Your Generosity

Only A Socially Just Country Has The Right To Exist.

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.

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.

For By His Incarnation The Son Of God United Himself In A Certain Way With Every Man. He Labored With Human Hands... And Loved With A Human Heart. Born Of Mary The Virgin, He Truly Became One Of Us.

But Sometimes It Is Necessary To Do That Which Is Too Much.

Inspirational Cancer

Lord Jesus, Who In The Eucharist Make Your Dwelling Among Us And Become Our Traveling Companion, Sustain Our Christian Communities So That They May Be Ever More Open To Listening And Accepting Your Word. May They Draw From The Eucharist A Renewed Commitment To Spreading In Society, By The Proclamation Of Your Gospel, The Signs And Deeds Of An Attentive And Active Charity

You Must Be Strong, Dear Brothers And Sisters. You Must Be Strong With The Strength That Comes From Faith.

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.

To Maintain A Joyful Family Requires Much From Both The Parents And The Children. Each Member Of The Family Has To Become, In A Special Way, The Servant Of The Others.

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.

A Community Needs A Soul If It Is To Become A True Home For Human Beings. You.. The People Must Give It This Soul.

Nobody Is So Poor He Has Nothing To Give, And Nobody Is So Rich He Has Nothing To Receive.

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

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

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

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.

True Living Is Not Found In One's Self Or In Things. It Is Found In Someone Else, In The One Who Created Everything That Is Good, True, And Beautiful In The World. True Living Is Found In God And You Discover God In The Person Of Jesus Christ.

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".

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.

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.

Our Future On This Planet, Exposed As It Is To Nuclear Annihilation, Depends One One Single Factor: Humanity Must Make A Moral About-face.

Hands Are The Heart's Landscape.

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

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.

Yes, The South-becoming Always Poorer-and The North-becoming Always Richer ...richer, Too In The Resources Of Weapons With Which The Superpowers And Blocs Can Mutually Threaten Each Other. In The Light Of Christ's Words (mt. 25), This Poor South Will Judge The Rich North. And The Poor People And Poor Nations-poor In Different Ways, Not Only Lacking Food, But Also Deprived Of Freedom And Other Human Right-will Judge Those People Who Take These Goods Away From Them, Amassing To Themselves The Imperialist Monopoly And Political Supremacy At The Expense Of Others.

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

The Only Struggle Which Religions Can Justify, The Only Struggle Worthy Of Humans, Is The Moral Struggle Against Humanity's Own Disordered Passions, Against Every Kind Of Selfishness, Against Attempts To Oppress Others, Against Every Type Of Hatred And Violence.

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

That Is The Dignity Of America, The Reason She Exists, The Condition Of Her Survival, Yes, The Ultimate Test Of Her Greatness: To Respect Every Human Person, Especially The Weak And Most Defenseless Ones, Those As Yet Unborn.

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