Each week we let Saint Pope John Paul II share meaningful signposts to spark socio-economic resolves through justice and righteousness combined with mercy and compassion; in short, love.

 

            “Jesus told this simple story … I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of(John 10: 9-16 Message Translation).

 

Berlin 23 June 1996 | The new house of Europe that we are talking about needs a free Berlin and a free Germany. Above all, it requires the air to breathe and open windows to enter the spirit of peace and freedom. Not least because of this, Europe needs door openers, i.e., people who protect freedom through solidarity and responsibility.

To the Berliners and all Germans, I call out:

            Do not extinguish the spirit! Keep this Gate open for you and all people!

            Keep it open through the spirit of love, through the spirit of justice, and the spirit of peace!

            Keep the Gate open by opening your hearts!

Walls and deadly borders separated people. In November 1989, the Brandenburg Gate witnessed the multitude who shook off the yoke of oppression.

               The impassable Brandenburg Gate separated a nation.

               When the Gate finally opened, it became a symbol of unity and fulfillment of free self-determination.

               The Brandenburg Gate has become the Gate of freedom.

May this appeal also reach those peoples who have been, to this day, denied the right to self-determination. There are many for whom the fundamental freedoms of the person – freedom of belief, conscience, and political freedom – are not guaranteed.

                There is no freedom without truth.

                There is no freedom without solidarity.

                There is no freedom without sacrifice.

                There is no freedom without love.

Berlin is a vibrant and creative city. Diverse traditions and practices of life come together here. Berlin is a city of culture and art, film and museums, a place of exchange and communication. The expressiveness of these forms of human culture is very important to me, as it is the gift to use our powers to continue and concretize the divine creation.

The ‘soul’ of the civilization of love is the culture of freedom.

When one has the experience of love, he also has the experience of freedom. In love, man transcends himself. He lets go. He cares about the other because he wants the life of the other to succeed. This is how the barriers to self-centeredness fall and how one finds joy in working together for higher goals. Respect the inviolable dignity of every human being, from the first moment of his earthly existence to the last breath! Remember again and again the realization that your Basic Law puts in front of all other declarations: Human dignity is inviolable! Free yourselves to freedom in responsibility! Open the gates to God!

To all of you who hear me now, I announce: The fullness and perfection of this freedom has a name: Jesus Christ. He is the one who testified: I am the door. In him, access to the fullness of life and liberty is opened for people (John 10: 9-16 Message Translation).

He is the one who makes a man free by driving the darkness out of the human heart and revealing the truth. He completes his path as our brother and his solidarity with us in giving his life for us. In this way, he sets us free from sin and death. He lets us see his face, the face of our true brother, in our neighbor. He shows us the face of the Father and becomes the bond of love for all.

God bless Berlin, God protect Germany!

 Excerpted from:

Pastoralbesuch in Der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (21.-23. Juni 1996), Abschiedszeremonie  Ansprache von Johannes Paul II,  Brandenburger Tor (Berlin), Sonntag, 23. Juni 1996 

https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/de/speeches/1996/june/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19960623_berlino.html