Remember: Christ is calling you; the Church needs you; the Pope believes in you and he expects great things of you.
Pope John Paul IRead
What a mistake those who do not hope make! Judas made a huge blunder the day in which he sold Christ for 30 denarii, but he made an even bigger one when he thought that his sin was too great to be forgiven. No sin is too big: any wretchedness, however great, can always be enclosed in infinite mercy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of hope and the belief in forgiveness, no matter the magnitude of one's sins.
Pope John Paul I reflects on the profound mistake of losing hope, especially in the context of forgiveness. He illustrates this with the story of Judas, who betrayed Christ for monetary gain, but highlights that Judas's true error was believing that his betrayal was so severe that it could not be forgiven. This underscores a fundamental belief in the mercy and compassion that is available to everyone, regardless of their past actions.
Themes
HopeForgivenessMercySinRedemption
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about overcoming personal struggles, one might quote this to emphasize the importance of hope.
More from Pope John Paul I
All quotes →The priestly vocation is essentially a call to sanctity, in the form that derives from the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Sanctity is intimacy with God; it is the imitation of Christ, poor, chaste and humble; it is unreserved love for souls and self-giving to their true good; it is love for the church which is holy and wants us to be holy, because such is the mission that Christ has entrusted to it. Each one of you must be holy also in order to help your brothers pursue their vocation to sanctity.
Pope John Paul IRead
If someone had told me I would be Pope one day, I would have studied harder.
Pope John Paul IRead
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