The Catholic Defender: Freedom isn’t Free/America, Freedom always comes at a high price, Pray for America and the whole world
- Donald Hartley
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Pope Saint John Paul II On Our Pilgrimage to Eternity, “The more ready you are to give yourself to God and to others, the more you discover the authentic meaning of life.” “Never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged.
"The Rosary is my favorite prayer. A marvelous prayer! Marvelous in its simplicity and in its depth . . . the simple prayer of the Rosary beats the rhythm of . . . human life!" ,Pope St John Paul II.
Pope St. John Paul II chose as his apostolic motto “Totus tuus,” – totally yours. The motto is drawn from St. Louis Marie de Montfort, who prayed that he would “belong entirely” to the Blessed Virgin—because becoming a son of the Blessed Virgin Mary would strengthen him as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
"Anything done for another is done for oneself." "Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought." "I have looked into your eyes with my eyes. I have put my heart near your heart."
"When the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, ... so that we might receive adoption as sons" (Gal 4:4-5).
We praise you, God, we acclaim you as the Lord. O everlasting Father, all the world bows down before you.... Have mercy on us Lord, have mercy on us. In you we put our trust: We shall not be put to shame.
Amen!
And so she calls us. She not only calls us to be converted: she calls us to accept her motherly help to return to the source of Redemption.
— St. John Paul II, Homily, May 13, 1982
On the Cross, Christ said: “Woman, behold, your son!”
With these words he opened in a new way his Mother’s heart. A little later, the Roman soldier’s spear pierced the side of the Crucified One. That pierced heart became a sign of the redemption achieved through the death of the Lamb of God.
St. John Paul II, “Mary’s Message of Love,” homily (May 13, 1982)
The pope assured us that Mary is acutely aware and that she calls us to conversion. But, not only that: she wants us to accept her motherly help.
Dear Jesus and Our Lady of Fatima, please help me to open my heart to God’s graces this Advent. Help me also to be attentive — to stay awake — to open my heart to the stranger in my midst who needs my help. Our Lady of Fatima and St. John Paul II, please pray for me.
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