Testimony of Hope

Testimony of Hope: The Spiritual Exercises of Pope John Paul II by Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, Pauline Books and Media, 2000.


Continuing on with the previous post.

"'I left everything to follow Jesus, because I love the defects of Jesus.'

The publicity manager of a company or someone running an election campaign prepares a precise program, which includes many promises.

Nothing of the kind for Jesus! His publicity campaign, judged with a human eye, is doomed to failure.

Jesus promises trials and persecutions for those who follow him.

To his disciples who have left everything for him, he does not guarantee food or lodging, but only a share in his own way of life.

To a scribe who wants to join him as a follower, Jesus responds, 'Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head' (Mt. 8:20).  . . .

The disciples had faith in this risk-taker. For 2000 years, and until the end of the world, the multitudes following Jesus will never be exhausted. It is sufficient to look at the saints of every age. Many of them belong to his blessed association of risk-takers--with no address, with no telephone, with no fax machine!"