Common Grounds


The Evangelical Pope | It’s All About Humility and Love

December 12, 2022

Living Words from John Paul II

Edited by Abraham A. van Kempen

 

Published Sunday, 11 December 2022


Each week we let Saint Pope John Paul II share meaningful signposts to spark socio-economic resolves through justice and righteousness combined with mercy and compassion; in short, love.

 

 

               1 1-2 From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our ears, saw it with our own eyes, and verified it with our own hands.

               The Word of Life appeared before our eyes; we saw it happen!

 

               And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.

 

               __ 1 John 1: 1-2 (Message Translation MSG)

 


The Vatican, 21 December 1988 | We instinctively seek happiness, which is natural. But do we always know where the true joy is? Young people, do you know? What about the adults? Do you know?

 

We Christians know where true joy is, in communion with God and with brothers and sisters. In the opening of our minds and hearts to the arrival of God among us on Christmas, God becomes man. He is born like any other child on earth, poor among the poor, needy among the needy.

 

The highest God humbles himself to the utmost. Without losing his infinite dignity, he takes our boundless wretchedness and makes it his own.

 

Behind this, God hides his divinity.

 

Extracted from (translated from Italian):

 

Giovanni Paolo II, Udienza Generale Mercoledì, 21 Dicembre 1988.


https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/it/audiences/1988/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_19881221.html