Unknown - Pope John Paul II (In My Own Words)

POPEJ OHN P AUL II

I N M Y O WN W ORDS

M EMORIAL E DITION
1920-2005

Compiled and edited by
Anthony F. Chiffolo

Compilation copyright

1998, 2005 by Anthony F. Chiffolo

www.liguori.org

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

John Paul II, 1920

In my own words / Pope John Paul II; compiled and edited by Anthony F. Chiffolo. 1st ed.

p. cm.

ISBN 0-7648-0264 (hc); 978-0-7648-1377-1 (pbk)

1. John Paul II, Pope, 1920Quotations. 2. Christian lifeCatholic authors. I. Chiffolo, Anthony F., 1959. II. Title.

BX1378.5.J574 1998

282dc21 98-7743

The editor and publisher gratefully acknowledge permission to reprint/reproduce copyrighted works granted by the publishers/sources listed on pages 11516.

Printed in the United States of America
09 08 07 06 05 6 5 4 3 2
Paperback edition 2005

Friends: I greet you and
all those dear to you, I bless you and
I encourage you not to
grow faint as you travel
the right road.

G REETING , S OUTH B RONX , 1979

Who among us has not been touched in some small way by Pope John Paul II, has not seen on television his celebration of the Mass or read in the newspapers his statements about various current issues or simply heard news of his travels? He was, perhaps, the most visible pope the Catholic Church has ever had. Wherever he appeared, he was greeted with the adulation normally accorded pop stars or royalty. Perhaps this is because he was The Pilgrim Pope, the most widely traveled pope in the history of the papacy. Speaking many different languages and motoring around in his popemobile, he was the first to bring the popes love to people across the globe. Indeed, he was the first pope ever to have visited a number of countries, including Cuba.

Born Karol Wojtyla on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland, Pope John Paul II studied literature and drama in Krakw. During the Nazi occupation he worked in a stone quarry and a chemical plant, and he also began studying secretly for the priesthood in 1942.

He was ordained in 1946 and then earned a doctorate in theology at the Angelicum in Rome. Afterward, from 1948 to 1951, he served as a parish priest in Krakw, then spent a year studying philosophy at the Jagiellonian University. From 1952 to 1958 he taught social ethics at the Krakw seminary, and he also served as professor at the University of Lublin.

Consecrated auxiliary bishop in Krakw in 1958 and archbishop in 1964, Karol Wojtyla attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council. He is said to have written Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, and to have played a prominent role in the formulation of Dignitatis Humanae, the Declaration on Religious Liberty. And his apologetic of the traditional Catholic teaching about marriage, Love and Responsibility, inspired Pope Paul VI to rely extensively on Archbishop Wojtylas counsel during the writing of Humanae Vitae. Following the council, Karol Wojtyla was appointed cardinal in 1967.

As bishop and then as cardinal in Krakw, Karol Wojtyla provided inspirational leadership to Polish Catholics during the atheistic Communist regime, championing human rights and humankinds need to seek and know God. His support of Solidarity and fervent opposition to Communism hastened its downfall in Europe.

Karol Wojtyla was elected pope on October 16, 1978the first non-Italian pope in more than four hundred years. To emphasize his commitment to continue the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, he took the names of his predecessors: John, Paul, and John Paul. He was the 262nd successor of Saint Peter.

As pope, John Paul II traveled around the world to meet and teach and minister to millions of Catholicsin locations as diverse as cathedrals, baseball stadiums, schools, and soup kitchens. But Pope John Paul II was much more than a jet-setting celebrity. During the course of his papacy he emerged as perhaps the worlds most important moral leader, unafraid to testify to the truth in both word and deed. He wrote myriad letters, addresses, and encyclicals to the bishops, priests, and faithful of the Church, emphasizing the sacredness of life, the splendor of truth, and the love of God, as the selections in this collection demonstrate. He also authorized the preparation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the first universal catechism to be issued in more than four hundred years, to make the doctrines of the Church known in modern terms to a worldwide audience.

But what made Pope John Paul II such a beloved leader was the constancy of his example. He spoke what he knew to be true, whether at Mass in Yankee Stadium or addressing the General Assembly at the United Nations. Wherever he traveled, he took time to prayespecially the rosaryand he shared his prayers with millions via television and radio, as well as videocassettes and audio recordings. Each place he visited he consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. And he continually demonstrated the true meaning of love, even forgiving the man who wounded him during an unsuccessful assassination attempt.

Thus when he asserted, Jesus is a demanding friend, or explained, Love is the gift of self, or advised, Be faithful to your daily prayers, or exhorted, Do not be afraid! it was clear that his were not empty words, for they rose out of his lived experience. And trusting these admonitions, we come to trust the popes greatest message, words so many find so hard to believe: God loves you. It was this message, so eloquently and often expressed, that enabled him to touch the hearts of millions.

Pope John Paul II entered into eternal rest on April 2, 2005.

A FC

We must go to this Child, this Man,
the Son of God, at whatever inconvenience,
at whatever risk to ourselves, because to know
and love him will truly change our lives.

H OMILY AT C ENTRAL P ARK , 1995

L ife is one of the most beautiful titles which the Bible attributes to God. He is the living God.

M ESSAGE TO P ONTIFICAL A CADEMY
OF S CIENCES , 1996

G od created man as rational and free, thereby placing Himself under mans judgment. The history of salvation is also the history of mans continual judgment of God. Not only of mans questions and doubts but of his actual judgment of God.