Pope John Paul II Quotes

The most urgent task is that of the biblical and liturgical formation of the people of God.

Oh what people of God we ought to be; and grace can make us so!

God will bring people and events into our lives, and whatever we may think about them, they are designed for the evolution of His life in us.

It may be a procession of faithful failures that enriches the soil of godly success. Faithful actions are not religious acts. They are not even necessary actions undertaken by people of faith. Faithful actions, whether they are marked by success or they end in failure, are actions that are compelled by goodness.

...religion either produces the very best people or the very worst.

Relationships are the Holy Spirit's laboratories in which He brings together people who have the maximal opportunity for mutual growth.

People can totally tell if you adjust notes even slightly, and I know how important it is to be able to wear the exact fragrance you're attached to. So for me, it was all about reinventing the bottle. I've grown so much in the last 10 years - emotionally, spiritually, and artistically - and I wanted that to show in the new design.

If we forgive other people, our hearts are made fit to receive forgiveness.

God uses prayer to educate His people and to produce holiness of character in them.

People who are crucified with Christ have three distinct marks: 1. they are facing only one direction, 2. they can never turn back, and 3. they no longer have plans of their own.

There is a succession of experiences which together constitute the educational and developmental ripening of the learner, according to the Sufis. People who think that each gain is the goal itself will freeze at any such stage, and cannot learn through successive and superseding lessons.

If evils increase, the devotion of the People of God should also increase.

The church is, above all, a place to receive grace: it brings forgiven people together with the aim of equipping us to dispense grace to others.

For God loves saving, not condemning, and therefore He is patient with bad people, in order to make good people out of bad people.

Growth in grace is one way to be happy in our religion. God has wisely linked together our comfort and our increase in holiness.

The Lord blesses people who bless others, and He gives grace to those who focus on the things that please Him.

You do not have to be in a church to be saved, but to continue in the things of God, you must be in some type of fellowship with other Christian people.

What God requires of us he himself works in us, or it is not done. He that commands faith, holiness, and love, creates them by the power of his grace going along with his word, that he may have all the praise.

... learning humility is a prerequisite for grace.

We view Sufism not as an ideology that molds people to the right way of belief or action, but as an art or science that can exert a beneficial influence on individuals and societies, in accordance with the needs of those individuals and societies ... Sufi study and development gives one capacities one did not have before.

The Buddha also counseled the monks and nuns to avoid wasting any precious time by engaging in idle conversation, oversleeping, pursuing fame and recognition, chasing after desires, spending time with people of poor character, and being satisfied with only a shallow understanding of the teaching.

God teaches us to love by putting some unlovely people around us.

The central problem is always in the midst of the people of God, not in the circumstances surrounding them.

Why is it that sometimes our prayers seem not to be answered? This is a manifestation of the Buddha's wisdom, so that we can deepen our prayers, become stronger people, live more profound lives and secure deeper, more lasting good fortune. If our slightest prayer was answered immediately, we would become lazy and degenerate. And we could not hope to build a life of great dignity and substance.

Our weaknesses are not as negative as we may believe. They make us rely upon God's grace and power for greater Christlikeness and ministry.