Today is the 15 year anniversary of the death of Saint John Paul II, a man of tremendous hope and courage in the most difficult of times. Today in particular lets remember this beloved saint. Pope John Paul II (18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church for 27 years (between 1978 and 2005), being the second-longest serving Pope in modern history after Pope Pius IX.
Below are just a few of his beautiful quotes from over the years:
"Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song."
"Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."
"As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live".
"Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought."
"The human being is single, unique, and unrepeatable, someone thought of and chosen from eternity, someone called and identified by name."
“The future starts today, not tomorrow.”
“Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself.”
“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.”
“Darkness can only be scattered by light, hatred can only be conquered by love.”
“The most beautiful and stirring adventure that can happen to you is the personal meeting with Jesus, who is the only one who gives real meaning to our lives.”
“The worst prison would be a closed heart.”
Saint John Paul II, then Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, attended that Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1976, and prophetically proclaimed these prophetic words:
"We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has ever experienced. I do not think that the wide circle of the American Society, or the whole wide circle of the Christian Community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-church, between the gospel and the anti-gospel, between Christ and the antichrist. The confrontation lies within the plans of Divine Providence. It is, therefore, in God's Plan, and it must be a trial which the Church must take up, and face courageously."
These are definitely difficult times for our whole world right now with this global pandemic, but there is a reason why God picked you to be living right now during these times.
Great saints are made during the biggest trials. Let us all remember the great Saint John Paul II, be courageous soldiers for Christ, and never, ever give up hope. We were all born for these times and with our faith in God, courage, hope and prayer, we can do this! Be not afraid!
https://landoflarry.com/
your artistry Larry. I remember getting a D in art in grade school.....a grade I could not argue with because it was very evident, even to me as a child, that drawing a "stick figure" was the extent of my artistic expression!
