At 11:30am this morning, in the Consistory Hall at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the members of the John Paul II Foundation.
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am very happy to welcome you. This occasion coincides with the thirty-fifth anniversary of your activity, which allows you to take account of the work that has been accomplished and at the same time to look toward the future with new goals and objectives. I cordially greet you, beginning with your President, Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko, who I thank for the words with which he introduced this meeting. I also greet Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, who I believe knew Saint John Paul II well enough!
The goal of your Foundation is to support initiatives in the areas of education, culture, religion and others inspired by the figure of Saint John Paul II, whose liturgical memorial will be observed tomorrow. Your work now spans various countries, especially in Eastern Europe, and many students ave benefited from your support in order to complete their studies. I encourage you to continue in your commitment to promoting and supporting initiatives that benefit younger generations, so that they will be able to face the challenges of life, always animated by evangelical sensitivity and a spirit of faith. Formation for youth is an investment in the future: may young people never be robbed of their hope for the future!
The Jubilee Year that we are soon completing has inspired us to reflect and to meditate on the greatness of Divine Mercy at a time when mankind, due to advances in various fields of technology and the sciences, tends to feel self-sufficient, as though he were free from any superior authority, believing that everything depends on his own efforts. Instead, as Christians, we are aware that everything is a gift from God, and true wealth is not found in money, which indeed can make us all slaves, but rather in the love of God which makes us free.
I still have vivid memories of my trip to Poland earlier this year, where I experienced the joy of faith during the World Youth Day. The Polish land has had two great figures in Saint Faustina Kowalska and Saint John Paul II, both of them were apostles of Divine Mercy. The holy Pope said in his Encyclical Dives in misericordia: Especially through His lifestyle and through His actions, Jesus revealed that love is present in the world in which we live - an effective love, a love that addresses itself to man and embraces everything that makes up his humanity. This love makes itself particularly noticed in contact with suffering, injustice and poverty - in contact with the whole historical "human condition," which in various ways manifests man's limitation and frailty, both physical and moral (DM, 3). Saint Faustina, in her Diary, wrote an exhortation addressed to her by the Lord Jesus: My daughter, observe my merciful heart and reproduce it in your heart and in your actions its piety, so that you yourself, who proclaim my mercy to the world, may be enflamed by it (Diary, 1688).
Thinking of the words and above all of the exemplary lives of these two luminous witnesses continually inspires your generous commitment. May the Virgin Mary, our Merciful Mother care for you and accompany you. I willingly bless all of you and your families as well as your community; and I ask you please to pray for me. Thank you.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
addressed to members of the John Paul II Foundation
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am very happy to welcome you. This occasion coincides with the thirty-fifth anniversary of your activity, which allows you to take account of the work that has been accomplished and at the same time to look toward the future with new goals and objectives. I cordially greet you, beginning with your President, Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko, who I thank for the words with which he introduced this meeting. I also greet Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, who I believe knew Saint John Paul II well enough!
The goal of your Foundation is to support initiatives in the areas of education, culture, religion and others inspired by the figure of Saint John Paul II, whose liturgical memorial will be observed tomorrow. Your work now spans various countries, especially in Eastern Europe, and many students ave benefited from your support in order to complete their studies. I encourage you to continue in your commitment to promoting and supporting initiatives that benefit younger generations, so that they will be able to face the challenges of life, always animated by evangelical sensitivity and a spirit of faith. Formation for youth is an investment in the future: may young people never be robbed of their hope for the future!
The Jubilee Year that we are soon completing has inspired us to reflect and to meditate on the greatness of Divine Mercy at a time when mankind, due to advances in various fields of technology and the sciences, tends to feel self-sufficient, as though he were free from any superior authority, believing that everything depends on his own efforts. Instead, as Christians, we are aware that everything is a gift from God, and true wealth is not found in money, which indeed can make us all slaves, but rather in the love of God which makes us free.
I still have vivid memories of my trip to Poland earlier this year, where I experienced the joy of faith during the World Youth Day. The Polish land has had two great figures in Saint Faustina Kowalska and Saint John Paul II, both of them were apostles of Divine Mercy. The holy Pope said in his Encyclical Dives in misericordia: Especially through His lifestyle and through His actions, Jesus revealed that love is present in the world in which we live - an effective love, a love that addresses itself to man and embraces everything that makes up his humanity. This love makes itself particularly noticed in contact with suffering, injustice and poverty - in contact with the whole historical "human condition," which in various ways manifests man's limitation and frailty, both physical and moral (DM, 3). Saint Faustina, in her Diary, wrote an exhortation addressed to her by the Lord Jesus: My daughter, observe my merciful heart and reproduce it in your heart and in your actions its piety, so that you yourself, who proclaim my mercy to the world, may be enflamed by it (Diary, 1688).
Thinking of the words and above all of the exemplary lives of these two luminous witnesses continually inspires your generous commitment. May the Virgin Mary, our Merciful Mother care for you and accompany you. I willingly bless all of you and your families as well as your community; and I ask you please to pray for me. Thank you.
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