Day 3, Novena to Mary Immaculate, Star of Hope. Prayer by Blessed John Paul II. Quote from Benedict XVI's encyclical on hope, Spe Salvi: "I think that in this very precise and permanently valid way, Augustine is describing man's essential situation, the s

Day 2, Novena to Mary Immaculate, Star of Hope. Prayer by Blessed John Paul II. Quote from Benedict XVI's encyclical on hope, Spe Salvi: "The First Letter to the Corinthians (1:18-31) tells us that many of the early Christians belonged to the lower social

Day 1, Novena to Mary Immaculate, Star of Hope. Prayer by Blessed John Paul II. Quote from Benedict XVI's encyclical on hope, Spe Salvi: "We see how decisively the self-understanding of the early Christians was shaped by their having received the gift of

Day 9, Novena to Bl John Paul II - Pope Benedict XVI, at JPII's beatification: ""In his Testament, the new Blessed wrote: “When, on 16 October 1978, the Conclave of Cardinals chose John Paul II, the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, said to me

Day 8, Novena to Bl John Paul II - Pope Benedict XVI, at JPII's beatification: "Today’s second reading also speaks to us of faith. Saint Peter himself, filled with spiritual enthusiasm, points out to the newly-baptized the reason for their hope and their

Day 7, Novena to Bl John Paul II - Pope Benedict XVI, at JPII's beatification: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (Jn 20:29). In today’s Gospel Jesus proclaims this beatitude: the beatitude of faith. For us, it is particula

Day 6, Novena to Bl John Paul II - Cardinal Ratzinger, at JPII's funeral: "Divine Mercy: the Holy Father found the purest reflection of God’s mercy in the Mother of God. He, who at an early age had lost his own mother, loved his divine mother all the more

Day 5, Novena to Bl John Paul II - Cardinal Ratzinger "He interpreted for us the paschal mystery as a mystery of divine mercy. In his last book, he wrote: The limit imposed upon evil "is ultimately Divine Mercy" (Memory and Identity, pp. 60-61). And refle

Day 4, Novena to Bl John Paul II - Cardinal Ratzinger, at JPII's funeral: "Follow me! Together with the command to feed his flock, Christ proclaimed to Peter that he would die a martyr’s death. With those words, which conclude and sum up the dialogue on l

Day 3, Novena to Bl John Paul II - Cardinal Ratzinger, at JPII's funeral: "Follow me! In October 1978 Cardinal Wojtyla once again heard the voice of the Lord. Once more there took place that dialogue with Peter reported in the Gospel of this Mass: "Simon,