Each day of Lent (minus Sundays) we’ll bring you words of wisdom from spiritual guides.
8. Pope John Paul II: Giving of yourself
“It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). What we have here is not simply a moral exhortation, or a command that comes to us from without. The inclination to give is rooted in the depths of the human heart: Every person is conscious of a desire to interact with others and everyone finds fulfillment in a free gift of self to others.
When believers respond to the inner impulse to give themselves to others without expecting anything in return, they experience a profound interior satisfaction.
The efforts of Christians to promote justice, their commitment in defense of the powerless, their humanitarian work in providing bread for the hungry, and their care for the sick by responding to every emergency and need draw their strength from that sole and inexhaustible treasure of love which is the complete gift of Jesus to the Father.
(This is from 2003. Read Pope Benedict XVI’s message for lent for 2010 here.)
Find spiritual advice for Lent from other guides in 40 days to a new you.
