Evening of April 19, 1981
I am beginning to grow old, and this is my testimony: we live in a world where anxiety and anguish run deep, and fear lives in every human heart.
I am afraid.
In the face of this violence, we can react in different ways: we throw ourselves into activity, we become aggressive, or we retreat into ourselves and close off.
I know one thing: I have the power to destroy or to give life. I can destroy through my aggression and anger by turning away from others, or I can give life by looking people in the eye, by staying silent, by taking their hand, by smiling and listening, by loving.
When I am tired and discouraged, it is harder to listen to others. I tend to impose myself instead of welcoming them. Inside I am empty, and I cannot listen. I can sing beautiful songs, make lots of noise, but if I feel these empty places and this aggression within me, singing or noise means nothing.
When I see someone in difficulty, their struggle mirrors my own. I begin to discover that we all face the same problem: we struggle to listen and to hold back our selfishness.
At fifty-two, I am learning that when I speak my difficulties to another person, I discover we share the same selfishness—and then we can help each other.
It is so important to have the courage to ask for help.
To give life, we need one another. We need others to break free from our prison, from our shell.
Jesus waits.
Like children, we tell him: "I cannot do this alone. Help me to grow."
Jesus helps us find the meaning of our existence, so we do not live on the margins, on the outside.
God has faith in us. This evening he says to each of us:
"You are my child. I have faith in you."
He wants us to have faith in ourselves. Even the eyes of a child can give us that faith.
Through the gaze of a child or a handicapped person, he can tell us: "I have faith in you"—and in that moment, he heals us.
(from the notes of a participant)
"God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in them."
These words from Saint John were chosen by the Pope for the pilgrims of Fede e Luce and written in his own hand.
Joannes Paulus PP. II Easter 1981