St.Pope John Paul II
Pope 1920-2005
There is a temptation which perennially besets every spiritual journey and pastoral work: that of thinking that the results depend on our ability to act and to plan...but it is fatal to forget that "without Christ we can do nothing". (cf. Jn 15:5)
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It is prayer which roots us in this truth. It constantly reminds us of the primacy of Christ and, in union with him, the primacy of the interior life and of holiness.
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As the millennium begins, allow the Successor of Peter to invite the whole Church to make this act of faith, [Duc in altum] which expresses itself in a renewed commitment to prayer.
Novo Millennio Ineunte, par. 38
Duc in altum = Put out into the deep
Linda - December 26, 2021. After 4 weeks of Advent musings on passages from Novo Millennio Ineunte, we now end our series with another text from the same document which wraps everything up quite nicely. In our life of intimacy with the Lord, it's very clear that our starting place is the firm belief that without grace from the Lord, we can do absolutely nothing. Furthermore, St. John Paul II makes it clear that it's in prayer that we come to realize this truth and that we also come to realize another truth; the primacy of Christ and the primacy of the interior life and of holiness.
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Since we've been married, Marcel and I have always given first place to our life of prayer done in quiet and solitude. And even though we have yet to attain to the heights of holiness, we still strive to reach that ideal, which we are told, is possible for every man and woman in Christ! Please Lord get us there by your grace! And may you bring multitudes to embrace a life of holiness and prayer! We hope that you, the reader, are one of these people who aspire to these heights and we hope that if we don't meet you on earth, we will one day meet in heaven and declare the glories of Our Lord together!