Pope John Paul II Quotations

Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.

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.

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.

Wars generally do not resolve the problems for which they are fought and therefore... prove ultimately futile.

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 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.

Humanity should question itself, once more, about the absurd and always unfair phenomenon of war...

As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.

Love is never defeated, and I could add, the history of Ireland proves it.

Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.

I kiss the soil as if I placed a kiss on the hands of a mother, for the homeland is our earthly mother. I consider it my duty to be with my compatriots in this sublime and difficult moment.

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.

I hope to have communion with the people, that is the most important thing.

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.

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.

I have a sweet tooth for song and music. This is my Polish sin.

From now on it is only through a conscious choice and through a deliberate policy that humanity can survive.

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.

Social justice cannot be attained by violence. Violence kills what it intends to create.

There are people and nations, Mother, that I would like to say to you by name. I entrust them to you in silence, I entrust them to you in the way that you know best.

Stupidity is also a gift of God, but one mustn't misuse it.

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.

The great danger for family life, in the midst of any society whose idols are pleasure, comfort and independence, lies in the fact that people close their hearts and become selfish.

Science can purify religion from error and superstition. Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes.

Violence and arms can never resolve the problems of men.

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.

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.

You are our dearly beloved brothers, and in a certain way, it could be said that you are our elder brothers.

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.

The United Nations organization has proclaimed 1979 as the Year of the Child. Are the children to receive the arms race from us as a necessary inheritance?

You are priests, not social or political leaders. Let us not be under the illusion that we are serving the Gospel through an exaggerated interest in the wide field of temporal problems.

The cemetery of the victims of human cruelty in our century is extended to include yet another vast cemetery, that of the unborn.

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.

The Rosary is a prayer both so humble and simple and a theologically rich in Biblical content. I beg you to pray it.

Let us remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm, and look forward to the future with confidence.

On my knees, I beg of you to turn away from the paths of violence and to return to the path of peace. Those who resort to violence always claim that only violence brings about change. You must know there is a political, peaceful way to justice.

Jesus himself has shown us by his own example that prayer and fasting are the first and most effective weapons against the forces of evil.

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.

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.'

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 ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being.

The way Jesus shows you is not easy. Rather, it is like a path winding up a mountain. Do not lose heart! The steeper the road, the faster it rises towards ever wider horizons.

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 own 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 n the light of truth, and we come to know the fullness of the Gospel with all is promise and life.

I plead with you--never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.

...Be holy men and women! Do not forget that the fruits of the apostolate depend on the depth of the spiritual life, on the intensity of prayer, of continual formation and sincere adhesion to the directives of the Church.

Nobody is so poor he has nothing to give, and nobody is so rich he has nothing to receive.

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.

My desire is for the young people of the entire world to come closer to Mary. She is the bearer of an indelible youthfulness and beauty that never wanes. May young people have increasing confidence in her and may they entrust their lives to her.

The distinctive mark of the Christian, today more than ever, must be love for the poor, the weak, the suffering.

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.

You must be strong, dear brothers and sisters. You must be strong with the strength that comes from faith.

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 Jesus.

Are you capable of risking your life for someone? Do it for Christ.

Love between man and woman cannot be built without sacrifices and self-denial.

Life with Christ is a wonderful adventure.

You, too, be courageous! The world needs convinced and fearless witnesses. It is not enough to discuss, it is necessary to act!

The poor of the United States and of the world are your brothers and sisters in Christ. You must never be content to leave them just the crumbs from the feast. You must take of your substance, and not just of your abundance, in order to help them. And you must treat them like guests at your family table.

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.

The world looks to the priest, because it looks to Jesus! No one can see Christ; but everyone sees the priest, and through him they wish to catch a glimpse of the Lord! Immense is the grandeur of the Lord! Immense is the grandeur and dignity of the priest!

Truth can never be confined to time and culture; in history it is known, but it also reaches beyond history.

What really matters in life is that we are loved by Christ and that we love Him in return. In comparison to the love of Jesus, everything else is secondary. And, without the love of Jesus, everything is useless.

Do not forget that true love sets no conditions; it does not calculate or complain, but simply loves.

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.

The problem of pornography is that it does not reveal too much of a woman but too little.

Your faith will help you realize that it is Jesus Himself Who is present in the Blessed Sacrament, waiting for you and calling you to spend one special specific hour with Him each week.

The only way to peace is forgiveness.

An important day in a young person's life is the day on which he becomes convinced that Christ is the only Friend who will not disappoint him, on which he can always count.

Freedom is not the ability to do anything we want, whenever we want. Rather, FREEDOM is the ability to live responsibly the truth of our relationship with God and with one another.

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!

A nation that destroys its own people is a nation without hope.

Confession is an act of honesty and courage - an act of entrusting ourselves, beyond sin, to the mercy of a loving and forgiving God.

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.

Allow the light and the healing presence of Christ to shine brightly through your lives. In that way, all those who come in contact with you will discover the loving kindness of God.

The Eucharist is the heart of the Church. Where Eucharistic life flourishes, there the life of the church will blossom.

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.

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.

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.

God is Love. We eventually have to ask ourselves the question; why was Love nailed to a cross?

What have I done with my baptism and confirmation? Is Christ really at the center of my life? Do I have time for prayer in my life? Do I live my life as a vocation and mission?

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.

Real love is demanding. I would fail in my mission if I did not tell you so. Love demands a personal commitment to the will of God.

The future starts today, not tomorrow.

Offer Christ your heart in meditation and personal prayer which is the foundation of the spiritual life.

Never tire of firmly speaking out in defense of life from its conception and do not be deterred from the commitment to defend the dignity of every human person with courageous determination. Christ is with you: be not afraid!

Bless, O Lord of the centuries and the millennia, the daily work by which men and women provide bread for themselves and their loved ones. We also offer to your fatherly hands the toil and sacrifices associated with work, in union with your Son Jesus Christ, who redeemed human work from the yoke of sin and restored it to its original dignity.

The truth is not always the same as the majority decision.

From this moment on, live the Eucharist fully; be persons for whom the Holy Mass, Communion, and Eucharistic adoration are the center and summit of their whole life.

If you want peace, work for justice. If you want justice, defend life. If you want life, embrace truth.

By dialogue, we let God be present in our midst, for as we open ourselves to one another, we open ourselves to God.

Take heart young people! Christ is calling you and the world awaits you! Remember the Kingdom of God needs your generous and complete dedication.

If He asks much of you, it is because He knows you can give much.

Each individual in fact has moral responsibility for the acts which he personally performs; no one can be exempted from this responsibility, and on the basis of it everyone will be judged by God himself.

The worst prison would be a closed heart.

Each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ.

Love demands a personal commitment to the will of God.

The Church imposes nothing; she only proposes, she proposes like a lover to the beloved.

We must understand that in order 'to do', we must first learn 'to be', that is to say, in the sweet company of Jesus in adoration.

Do you think that there can be anything greater than to bring Jesus to people and people to Jesus?

Life is entrusted to man as a treasure which must not be squandered, as a talent which must be used well.

How beautiful is the family that recites the Rosary every evening.