Pope St. John Paul II reflects on the goodness and value of the human person—you!
In our bodies, we are a mere speck in the vast created universe, but by virtue of our souls, we transcend the whole material world. I invite you to reflect on what makes each one of you truly marvelous and unique. Only a human being like you can think and speak and share your thoughts in different languages with other human beings all over the world, and through that language express the beauty of art and poetry and music and literature and the theater, and so many other uniquely human accomplishments. And most important of all, only God’s precious human beings are capable of loving. —Homily at Central Park, 1995
Life is a talent entrusted to us so that we can transform it and increase it, making it a gift to others. No man is an iceberg drifting on the ocean of history. Each one of us belongs to a great family [with his or her] own place and own role to play. Selfishness makes people deaf and dumb; love opens eyes and hearts, enabling people to make that original and irreplaceable contribution which, together with the thousands of deeds of so many brothers and sisters, often distant and unknown, converges to form the mosaic of charity which can change the tide of history. —Message for World Youth Day, 1996
Each of us is an individual, a person, a creature of God, one of his children, someone very special whom God loves and for whom Christ died. This identity of ours determines the way we must live, the way we must act, the way we must view our mission in the world. We come from God, we depend on God, God has a plan for us—a plan for our lives, for our bodies, for our souls, for our future. This plan for us is extremely important—so important that God became man to explain it to us. —Meeting with Youth, New Orleans, 1987.
Adapted from Pope John Paul II: In My Own Words, compiled and edited by Anthony Chiffolo
(Liguori Publications, 2005), 813771. To order, visit Liguori.org or call 800-325-9521.