Pope John Paul II and Suffering: Video, Quotes



“In the light of Christ’s death and resurrection, illness no longer appears as an exclusively negative event,” he said. “[R]ather, it is seen as...an opportunity ‘to release love..., to transform the whole of human civilization into a civilization of love’ (Apostolic Letter Salvifici doloris, #30)” (#3).

Prayer

“Grant, O Lord of Life, that we may... savor every season of our lives as a gift filled with promise for the future.

“Grant that we may lovingly accept your will, and place ourselves each day in your merciful hands.

“And, when the moment of our definitive ‘passage’ comes, grant that we may face it with serenity, without regret for what we shall leave behind. For in meeting you, after having sought you for so long, we shall find once more every authentic good which we have known here on earth, in the company of all who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith and hope.


“Mary, Mother of pilgrim humanity, pray for us ‘now and at the hour of our death.’ Keep us ever close to Jesus, your beloved Son and our brother, the Lord of life and glory. Amen” (18)

~ From Pope John Paul II's “Letter to the Elderly", 1999

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