Denver was blessed in 1993 by the visit of St. John Paul II for World Youth Day. Countless individuals were inspired in their faith by his words, presence, and example. After all, it’s not every day that the Pope comes to your backyard! Over the almost 30 years since, his wisdom continues to resound. When you’re pope for 27 years and write scores of exhortations, letters, constitutions, and more, you’re sure to drop some spiritual wisdom along the way! Check out some of our favorite nuggets from this incredible saint!
Happy feast day! St. John Paul II, pray for us!
“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.”
“Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.”
“Stupidity is also a gift from God, but one mustn’t misuse it.”
“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and Alleluia is our song.”
“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.”
“The Eucharist is a never-ending source of missionary and apostolic dynamism for the Christian family.”
“Wherever people are suffering, make it your task to serve them.”
“It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you.”
“The saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the Church’s history.”
“There is nothing more man needs than Divine Mercy – that love which is benevolent, which is compassionate, which raises man above his weakness to the infinite heights to the holiness of God.”
“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 born for us, and does not now bear with us.”
“Jesus is living next to you, in the brothers and sisters with whom you share your daily existence.”
“Nobody is so poor he has nothing to give, and nobody is so rich he has nothing to receive.”
“And on the far side of every cross we find the newness of life in the Holy Spirit, that new life which will reach its fulfillment in the resurrection. This is our faith. This is our witness before the world.”
“If He asks much of you, it is because he knows you can give much.”