Pope John Paul II, (Karol Wojtyla) the Pole who survived the horrors of World War Two, the Nazi invasion of his country, the dark years of communism, an assassination attempt, and yet always managed to remain optimistic.

A selection of his wisdom, memorable quotes:

“The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through. I do not think that wide circles of the American society or wide circles of the Christian community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“Let us remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm, and look forward to the future with confidence.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“Prayer can truly change your life. For it turns your attention away from yourself and directs your mind and your heart toward the Lord. If we look only at ourselves, with our own limitations and sins, we quickly give way to sadness and discouragement. But if we keep our eyes fixed on the Lord, then our hearts are filled with hope, our minds are washed in the light of truth, and we come to know the fullness of the Gospel with all its promise and life.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“If you want peace, work for justice.
If you want justice, defend life.
If you want life, embrace truth.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“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 borne for us, and does not now bear with us.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“If He asks much of you, it is because He knows you can give much.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil with evil.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“The greatest deception, and the deepest source of unhappiness, is the illusion of finding life by excluding God, of finding freedom by excluding moral truths and personal responsibility.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“Do not be afraid to be holy! Have the courage and humility to present yourselves to the world determined to be holy, since full, true freedom is born from holiness.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“Faced with today’s problems and disappointments , many people will try to escape from their responsibility. Escape in selfishness, escape in sexual pleasure, escape in drugs, escape in violence, escape in indifference and cynical attitudes. I propose to you the option of love, which is the opposite of escape.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“It’s better to cry than be angry, because anger hurts others while tears flow silently through the soul and cleans the heart.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“Allow the light and the healing presence of Christ to shine brightly through your lives. In that way, all those who come in contact with you will discover the loving kindness of God.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“Do not forget that true love sets no conditions; it does not calculate or complain, but simply loves.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“The Lord has given you a heart open to great horizons; do not be afraid to commit your life completely to the service of Christ and His Gospel! Listen to Him as He says again today: ‘The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“Catholic education aims not only to communicate facts but also to transmit a coherent, comprehensive vision of life, in the conviction that the truths contained in that vision liberate students in the most profound meaning of human freedom.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“Deepen your knowledge of Jesus which ends loneliness, overcomes sadness and uncertainty, gives real meaning to life, curbs passions, exalts ideals, expands energies in charity, brings light into decisive choices. Let Christ be for you the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“Even if the forces of darkness appear to prevail, those who believe in God know that evil and death do not have the final say.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son Jesus.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“Love between man and woman cannot be built without sacrifices and self-denial.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“You, too, be courageous! The world needs convinced and fearless witnesses. It is not enough to discuss, it is necessary to act!” ~ Pope John Paul II

“Christian holiness does not being sinless, but rather it means struggling not to give in and always getting up after every fall.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“We are all one family in the world. Building a community that empowers everyone to attain their full potential through each of us respecting each other’s dignity, rights and responsibilities makes the world a better place to live.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“If you really wish to follow Christ, if you want your love for him to grow and last, then you must be faithful to prayer. It is the key to the vitality of your life in Christ. Without prayer, your faith and love will die. If you are constant in daily prayer and in the Sunday celebration of Mass, your love for Jesus will increase. And your heart will know deep joy and peace, such as the world could never give.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“Have no fear of moving into the unknown.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“People are made for happiness. Rightly, then, you thirst for happiness. Christ has the answer to this desire of yours. But he asks you to trust him.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“Do you think that there can be anything greater than to bring Jesus to people and people to Jesus?” ~ Pope John Paul II

“The problem of pornography is that it does not reveal too much of a woman but too little.” ~ Pope John Paul II

“Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” ~ Pope John Paul II

Be not afraid. Open wide the doors to Christ (on his election Oct 16,1978)

Physical condition or advancing of age are not obstacles to a perfect life. God does not look at external things but at the soul (on his 83rd birthday in 2003)

You have to admire my loyalty (to medical staff at Rome Gemelli hospital, where he was admitted in 1994 for the sixth time to repair a broken thigh bone)

The Pope cannot remain a prisoner of the Vatican. I want to go to everybody… from the nomads of the steppes to the monks and nuns in their convents…I want to cross the threshold of every home ( to reporters)

Is it not Christ’s will that this Pope, this Slav Pope, should manifest at this precise moment of the spiritual unity of Europe? (during his 1979 visit to Poland)

No to war! War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity – (to diplomats on January 13,2003 ahead of the Iraq war.)

Violence never again! War never again! Terrorism never again! In the name of God, may every religion bring upon the earth justice and peace, forgiveness and life. Love- (addressing a special peace meeting in Assisi in 2002, after the September 11 attacks against the United States)

Things really have to change here (delivering a public lecture on inequality to a stony faced President Jean-Claude Duvalier in Haiti in 1983)

God once said ‘Do not kill’. No human group, Mafia or whatever, can trample on this most sacred law of God – (denouncing the Mafia during a trip to Sicily in 1993)

Christians and Muslims – generally we have understood each other badly. Sometimes in the past we have opposed each other and even exhausted ourselves in polemics and wars. I believe God is calling us today to change our old habits. (during a visit to Casablanca, Morocco in 1985)

You are our dearly beloved brothers, and in a certain way it could be said that you are our elder brother – (addressing Jews during the historic visit to Rome’s synagogue in 1986)

He was never a Christian, and he never pretended to be a Christian, but I learned a lot from him – (speaking of Mahatma Ghandi during a visit to India in 1986)

To this day, Auschwitz does not cease to admonish, reminding us that anti- Semitism is a great sin against humanity (speaking of the Nazi death camp in his 1994 book -Crossing the Threshold of Hope)

People need to know that there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young – (addressing US cardinals at a crisis meeting in April 2002 on child sex scandals involving US priests)

I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful (from a 1994 letter confirming the ban on women priests)

A nation that kills its own children has no future – (referring to Poland’s 1996 debate about liberalizing abortion)

It is not possible for us to avoid all criticism nor is it possible for us to please everyone (during a trip to the US in 1979)

It has never been easy to accept the Gospel teaching in its entirety and it will never be – (addressing American Catholics in the United States in 1987)

“I plead with you–never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.” ~ Pope John Paul II