Pope John Paul II was head of the Catholic Church for 27 years. But that isn’t as impressive as his love for Humanity, for Truth, and for God. In my humble opinion, he was one of the most loving, kind, humble and beautiful beings to ever walk this Earth.

Pope John Paul II

Karol Józef Wojtyła, by his real name, wasn’t just the Pope. He was a man who embraced his humanity and who, through his humility and living example, taught millions of people from all over the world to live with Courage, Love, and Dignity.

I really hope these lessons from Pope John Paul II will inspire you to look deep into the Truth of who you are and become the beautiful, loving, powerful and inspiring being you were created to be.

30 Life-Changing Lessons to Learn from Pope John Paul II

1. Life was entrusted to us as a treasure.

“Life is entrusted to man as a treasure which must not be squandered, as a talent which must be used well.” ~ Pope John Paul II

2. Do not be afraid to take a chance on peace.

“Do not be afraid to take a chance on peace, to teach peace, to live peace…Peace will be the last word of history.” ~ Pope John Paul II

3. Have no fear of moving into the unknown.

“Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence.” ~ Pope John Paul II 

4. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity.

“Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” ~ Pope John Paul II

5. Be amazed at the heights to which you are called. – Pope John Paul II

6. Do not abandon yourself to despair.

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.” ~ Pope John Paul II

7. Human beings are like wine.

“Men are like wine – some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age.” ~ Pope John Paul II

8. Love is the opposite of escape.

“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.” ~ John Paul II

9. The body is capable of making visible the spiritual and the divine.

“The body, in fact, and it alone is capable of making visible that which is invisible; the spiritual and the divine.”

10. It is the duty of every man to uphold the dignity of every woman. ~ Pope John Paul II

11. The love between man and women is built through sacrifice and self-denial.

“Love between man and woman cannot be built without sacrifices and self-denial.”

12. When people close their hearts and become selfish, family life is in danger.

“The great danger for family life, in the midst of any society whose idols are pleasure, comfort, and independence, lies in the fact that people close their hearts and become selfish.”

13. To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children.

“Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others.” ~ Pope John Paul II 

14. As the family goes, so goes the whole world.

“As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.”

15. The worst prison would be a closed heart. ~ Pope John Paul II

16. The right of every person is to be treated with love.

“A person’s rightful due is to be treated as an object of love, not as an object for use.”

“A person is an entity of a sort to which the only proper and adequate way to relate is love.”

17. There is no dignity when the human dimension is eliminated from the person.

“There is no dignity when the human dimension is eliminated from the person. In short, the problem with pornography is not that it shows too much of the person, but that it shows far too little.”

18. When freedom has no purpose, it turns against humanity.

“When freedom does not have a purpose when it does not wish to know anything about the rule of law engraved in the hearts of men and women when it does not listen to the voice of conscience, it turns against humanity and society.”

19. Young people are threatened by the evil use of advertising techniques.

“Young people are threatened… by the evil use of advertising techniques that stimulate the natural inclination to avoid hard work by promising the immediate satisfaction of every desire.”

20. War is a defeat for humanity. ~ Pope John Paul II

“Wars generally do not resolve the problems for which they are fought and therefore… prove ultimately futile.” 

“Humanity should question itself, once more, about the absurd and always unfair phenomenon of war, on whose stage of death and pain only remain standing the negotiating table that could and should have prevented it.”

“Violence and arms can never resolve the problems of men.”

21. Freedom consists in having the right to do what we ought.

“Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.”

22. Do not accept as true freedom that which is only a new form of slavery.

“Pervading nationalism imposes its dominion on man today in many different forms and with an aggressiveness that spares no one. The challenge that is already with us is the temptation to accept as true freedom what in reality is only a new form of slavery.” ~ Pope John Paul II 

23. Social justice cannot be attained by violence.

“Social justice cannot be attained by violence. Violence kills what it intends to create.”

24. A democracy without values easily turns into totalitarianism.

“A democracy without values easily turns into open or thinly disguised totalitarianism.”

25. Science can purify religion from error and superstition. ~ Pope John Paul II

“Science can purify religion from error and superstition. Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes.”

26. None can sense more deeply than artists.

“None can sense more deeply than you artists, ingenious creators of beauty that you are, something of the pathos with which God at the dawn of creation looked upon the work of his hands.” 

27. Stupidity is also a gift of God, but one mustn’t misuse it. ~ Pope John Paul II

28. If there is no love, everything becomes meaningless.

“For no matter how numerous our activities, our ministries, however numerous our concerns, our exertions – if there is no love, everything becomes meaningless.”

29. It’s better to cry than be angry,

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

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

BONUS: Pope John Paul II Quotes

“Friendship, as has been said, consists in a full commitment of the will to another person with a view to that person’s good.”

“The future starts today, not tomorrow.”

“I kiss the soil as if I placed a kiss on the hands of a mother, for the homeland is our earthly mother. I consider it my duty to be with my compatriots in this sublime and difficult moment.”

“You are priests, not social or political leaders. Let us not be under the illusion that we are serving the Gospel through an exaggerated interest in the wide field of temporal problems.”

“The human being is single, unique, and unrepeatable, someone thought of and chosen from eternity, someone called and identified by name.”

** What about you? Out of these many lessons, was there any that touched your heart or caught your attention? If there is, make sure you share your comment in the comment section below 🙂

~love, Luminita 💫

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