The Evangelical Pope | Love One Another!

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.

               "7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." (1 John 4:7). *3

Gatwick International Airport, London, United Kingdom 28 May 1982 | At this moment of history, we stand in urgent need of reconciliation: reconciliation between nations and between peoples of different races and cultures; reconciliation of man within himself and nature; reconciliation among people of different social conditions and beliefs, reconciliation among Christians. In a world scarred by hatred and injustice and divided by violence and oppression, the Church desires to be a spokesman for the vital task of fostering harmony and unity and forging new bonds of understanding and brotherhood. *1

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Jubilee of Government Leaders, The Vatican 4 November 2000 | I think with profound distress of those areas of the world afflicted by endless wars and hostilities, endemic hunger, and terrible diseases. The times in which God has granted us to live are in many ways dark and filled with difficulties, for they are times in which the very future of humanity is at stake in the new millennium opening up before us. In many men and women today, fear and uncertainty prevail: where are we going?; what will be humanity's fate in the next century?; where are the extraordinary scientific discoveries of recent years, especially in the fields of biology and genetics, leading us? We are conscious of being merely at the beginning of a journey, but we do not know where it will take us and whether it will bring benefit or harm to the men and women of the twenty-first century.

Living in these challenging yet wonderful times, we share in the fears, the uncertainties, and the questioning of our contemporaries. Yet, we are not pessimistic about the future. We have the certainty that Jesus Christ is the Lord of history. In the Gospel, we find the light illuminating our way, even in moments of difficulty and darkness. With an act of wholehearted and steadfast faith, renew your fidelity to Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. Make his Gospel the guide of your thoughts and your life. *2 

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Sankt Pölten, Austria 20 June 1998 | Many of our contemporaries have lost God as Father. They do not know the mother tongue of faith.

               Let us try to teach them the alphabet of faith.

               Dedication, service, and charity form part of the fundamental vocabulary that everyone understands.

                A "grammar of life" can be built to help humankind spell out in the Holy Spirit the plan that God has for him. 

Live in deeds what you teach with words. Show that joy is also a fruit of the Spirit. On the third millennium threshold, it is necessary to revive this awareness: Just as God has a plan for each individual, he also has a mission for us.

You are not only administrators of a past legacy; you are also forerunners of the future towards which the Holy Spirit is leading the Church! *3

With an act of wholehearted and steadfast faith, renew your fidelity to Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. Make his Gospel the guide of your thoughts and your life. *2  

Excerpted from:

*1 PASTORAL VISIT TO GREAT BRITAIN, Welcome Ceremony, Address of John Paul II, Gatwick International Airport, Friday, 28 May 1982.

http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1982/may/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19820528_aeroporto-gatwick.html

*2 JUBILEE OF GOVERNMENT LEADERS, Members of Parliament and Politicians, Address of The Holy Father John Paul II, Saturday, 4 November 2000

http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/2000/oct-dec/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20001104_jubil-parlgov.html

*3 APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL IITO AUSTRIA (JUNE 19-21, 1998), Eucharistic Celebration, Homily of Pope John Paul II, Sankt Pölten, Saturday, 20 June 1998.

http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/1998/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19980620_st-polten.html