Prayers and Devotions

Here is a treasury of selected passages from the writings and addresses of perhaps the most forceful, charismatic leader of the Catholic Church the world has ever known. This book is, as its editor, Bishop Peter Canisius Johannes van Lierde, suggests, "a harvest from the mind and heart of Pope Wojtyla." And so you will spend a few moments with the Pope each day of the liturgical year through these pages of his reflections. This devotional was prepared to offer the modern reader, engaged with various daily tasks, the opportunity to know and to enter into the heart and mind of Pope John Paul II. His concerns as expressed in these passages include such topics as "Sharing with Others," "To Be in Peace," "Consumer Society" ("Man is created for happiness. Yes! But man's happiness is not identified with enjoyment! In such enjoyment the consumer-oriented man loses the full dimension of his humanity"), "The Great Divine Trial," about the meaning of his near-assassination, "The Christian Family in the Modern World," and "Family Prayer." Through these pages of calm reflection each day, all will find a moment of peaceful repose from the occupations of life.