Pope John Paul II - John Paul II: Lessons for Living

JOHN PAUL II

Other Loyola Press books by John Paul II

Go in Peace: A Gift of Enduring Love

JOHN PAUL II

Edited by Joseph Durepos

xi

1. A Hidden Treasure, an Open Book

2. Humanity's Destiny

3. Immersed in This World

4. Providence

5. Faith and Reason

6. Humanity's Future

7. Every Life Is a Gift

8. To Enter Many Hearts

9. Hidden

10. Prophets of Life

11. Witnesses of Hope

12. Faith Is Demanding

13. What Does Christ Truly Ask of Us?

14. A Woman's Role in the Family

15. God Comes to Us

16. The First School of Peace

17. The Gift of Peace

18. Beyond Justice

19. All the Gold in the World

20. Contribute Something

21. The Harmony of Creation

22. A Genuine Contemplation

23. A Moral Logic

24. The Longing for Freedom

25. The Mystery of God

26. Reading History

27. An Infinite Value

28. The Rule of Freedom

29. The Cornerstone

30. The Last Times

31 The Living Presence

32. The Firstfruits of the Church

33. Lasting Peace

34. A Radical Conversion

35. Justice

36. The Measure with Which We Shall All Be Judged

37. An Act of Love

38. A Healing of Memories

39. The Freedom We Yearn For

40. The Bond

41. Absolute Trust

42. Learning the Father

43. The Center

44. The Breath of the Divine Life

45. Life Is a Talent

46. The Reflection of the Creator

47. Bodies and Souls

48. The Mosaic of Charity

49. The Mystery of Grace

50. In Search of Us

51 The Meaning of the Redemption

52. Authentic Freedom

53. The Life of God

54. True Life

55. The Church's Function

56. Christ the Teacher

57. The Teacher Who Will Come Again in Glory

58. The Gospel of Life

59. Who You Really Are

60. The True Face of Jesus Christ

61. How Does Jesus Send Us?

62. Seek Jesus

63. A Mark of His Passing

64. Let Your Soul Be Ready

65. A God Who Reveals Himself

66. The New Beginning

67. Be Humble

68. May Our Faith Be Strong

69. Active Faith

70. Faith Is a Decision

71. Fiat in Faith

72. Abandon Oneself

73. Invisible Grace

74. Joined Together

75. Catechesis

76. The Heart of Catechesis

77. Life of the Faithful

78. Laborers in His Vineyard

79. The Will of the Lord

80. Discerning God's Call

81. Doing What God Wants

82. Every Area of Our Lives

83. Embracing the Beatitudes

84. Turning to the Bible

85. One of Our Deepest Needs

86. Trusting Abandonment

87. Prayer and Action

88. In, but Not Of

89. Finding Meaning

90. Necessary Detachment

91. Fasting

92. Subject to Temptation

93. Carrying the Cross

94. Opening Our Hearts

95. The Reality of Suffering

96. Earthly Suffering

97. Suffering as Offering

98. To God for Guidance

99. To the Spirit

100. ThatThey MayAll Be One

he magnitude of John Paul II's accomplishments, and the sheer volume of his writings, can obscure a crucial fact about him. Within this great man - world statesman, theologian, philosopher, church leader-beats the heart of a pastor. John Paul II knows something about how men and women can find God. He understands much about how the power of God can he released in our lives. His supreme desire is that we come to embrace a faith that transforms the way we live, the way we relate to other people, the way we work.

This little book compiles John Paul II's essential pastoral wisdom. These are his most succinct and heartfelt thoughts about how we can draw closer to God and live as faithful, forceful Christians in a world that presents many challenges. I have made these selections from the pope's extensive writings and arranged them according to broad themes. Read these words from one of the church's greatest pastors. Ponder them. Let them penetrate your heart. They will draw you closer to God, because God is in them.

Joseph Durepos

Lord, reveal to all of us the interior world of the soul, the hidden treasure within us, the luminous castle of God. Make the exterior world preserve the imprint of the Creator, and may it be an open book that speaks to us of God.

Humanity's destiny is written in the heart and mind of God, who directs the course of history. The Father puts in our hands the task of beginning to build here on earth the Kingdom of heaven that the Son came to announce and which will find its fulfillment at the end of time.

We live in history, side by side with our peers, sharing their worries and hopes. We cannot escape into another dimension, ignoring the tragedies of our era, closing our eyes and our hearts to the anguish that pervades life. On the contrary, we are immersed in this world every day, ready to hasten to wherever there is a brother or sister in need of help, a tear to be dried, a request for help to be answered.

The world and the events of history cannot be understood without professing faith in the God who is at work in them. Faith sharpens the inner eye, opening the mind to discover the workings of providence in the flux of events.

Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth. God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth-to know Himselfso that by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.

Humanity's future depends on people who rely on the truth and whose lives are enlightened by lofty moral principles that enable their hearts to love to the point of sacrifice.

Stand up for the life of the aged and the handicapped; stand up against attempts to promote assisted suicide and euthanasia. Stand up for marriage and family life. Stand up for purity. Resist the pressures and temptations of a world that too often tries to ignore a most fundamental truth: that every life is a gift from God our Creator and that we must give an account to God of how we use it, either for good or evil.

Like Mary, we must allow the Holy Spirit to help us become intimate friends of Christ. Like Mary, we must put aside any fear in order to take Christ into the world in whatever we do-in marriage, as single people in the world, as students, as workers, as professional people. Through us, Christ wants to go to many places in the world and to enter many hearts.