Pope John Paul II was beatified today!!!!! I thought I would share some quotes from him. He was truly a hero. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"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." ~Blessed Pope John Paul II
“Only the human person, created in the image and likeness of God, is capable of raising a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to the Creator. The earth, with all its creatures, and the entire universe call on man to be their voice.”
“Prayer can truly change your life. For it turns your attention away from yourself and directs your mind and your heart toward the Lord. If we look only at ourselves, with our limitations and sins, we quickly give way to sadness and discouragement. But if we keep our eyes fixed on the Lord, then our hearts are filled with hope, our minds are washed in the light of truth, and we come to know the fullness of the Gospel with all its promise and life.”
“When we realize that God’s love for us does not cease in the face of our sin or recoil before our offenses, but becomes even more attentive and generous; when we realize that this love went so far as to cause the passion and death of the word made flesh who consented to redeem us at the price of His own blood, then we exclaim in gratitude: “Yes the Lord is rich in mercy,” and even: “The Lord is mercy.”
“It must be emphasized that the most precious result of the forgiveness obtained in the sacrament of Penance consists in reconciliation with God, which takes place in the inmost heart of the son who was lost and found again, which every penitent is.. But it has to be added that this reconciliation with God leads, as it were, to other reconciliations which repair the breaches caused by sin. The forgiven penitent is reconciled with himself in his inmost being, where he regains his own true identity. He is reconciled with his brethren whom he has in some way attacked and wounded. He is reconciled with the Church. He is reconciled with all creation.”
“God’s merciful love regenerates every human being; it is by accepting the gift of mercy from the risen Lord that we can build a reconciled world, truly open to the horizons of life, of full and deep joy in the Triune God. After Easter, man is no longer a being for death, but a being for life. The abyss of death has been destroyed by the risen Christ’s explosion of life.”
“Reconciliation is not weakness or cowardice. On the contrary, it demands courage and sometimes even heroism; it is victory over self rather than over others. It should never be seen as dishonor. For in reality it is the patient, wise art of peace.”
“The Church entrusts to young people the task of proclaiming to the world the joy which springs from having met Christ. Dear friends, allow yourselves to be drawn to Christ; accept His invitation and follow Him. Go and preach the good news that redeems; do it with happiness in your hearts and become communicators of hope in a world which is often tempted to despair.”
“Authentic love is not a vague sentiment or a blind passion. It is an inner attitude that involves the whole human being. It is looking at others, not to use them but to serve them. It is the ability to rejoice with those who are rejoicing and to suffer with those who are suffering. It is sharing what one possesses so that no one may continue to be deprived of what he needs. Love, in a word, is the gift of self.”
“When one reasons calmly and keeps the ideal in mind, it is not difficult to agree that the permanence of the marriage bond springs from the very essence of love and the family. We love on another truly and absolutely only when we love forever, in joy and in sorrow, in good times and bad.”
“Above all, love is greater than sin, than weakness, than the “futility of creation,” it is stronger than death; it is a love always ready to raise up and forgive, always ready to go to meet the prodigal son...In man’s history this revelation of love and mercy has taken a form and a man: that of Jesus Christ.”
“Uniting ourselves with Mary, a pilgrim in the faith, we are strengthened in the conviction that every second of life is a precious moment of grace that teaches us to welcome Christ as our sure hope.”
“From Mary, we learn to surrender to God’s will in all things. From Mary, we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary, we learn to love Christ, her Son and the Son of God.”
“God calls everyone to holiness, but without forcing anyone’s hand. God asks and waits for man’s free acceptance. In the context of this universal call to holiness, Christ then chooses a specific task for each person and if He finds a response, He Himself provides for bringing the work He has begun to completion, ensuring that the fruit remains.”
“Prayer joined to sacrifice constitutes the most powerful force in human history.”
