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A Sign of Contradiction
El lector tiene en sus manos un libro de las que expuso el entonces cardenal Wojtyla en los ejercicios espirituales que dio al papa Pablo VI y a los prelados de la Curia romana en la cuaresma de 1976. Pero el interés de estas páginas rebasa la circunstancia que les dio alcanza a todo creyente que busca alimento del alma y se esfuerza por encarnar en su vida la fe y la esperanza cristianas, y llega además a cuantos desean sinceramente —incluso desde las fronteras de la duda o la negación— descubrir a Dios en el mundo, en la historia y en su propia existencia. Desde el principio, el hilo conductor de estas meditaciones es el misterio de Cristo como «signo de contradicción».
238 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
About the author
Pope John Paul II
1,054 books665 followersSaint Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus II), born Karol Józef Wojtyła was elected Pope at the Conclave of 16 October 1978, and he took the name of John Paul II. On 22 October, the Lord's Day, he solemnly inaugurated his Petrine ministry as the 263rd successor to the Apostle. His pontificate, one of the longest in the history of the Church, lasted nearly 27 years.
Driven by his pastoral solicitude for all Churches and by a sense of openness and charity to the entire human race, John Paul II exercised the Petrine ministry with a tireless missionary spirit, dedicating it all his energy. He made 104 pastoral visits outside Italy and 146 within Italy. As bishop of Rome he visited 317 of the city's 333 parishes.
He had more meetings than any of his predecessors with the People of God and the leaders of Nations. More than 17,600,000 pilgrims participated in the General Audiences held on Wednesdays (more than 1160), not counting other special audiences and religious ceremonies [more than 8 million pilgrims during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 alone], and the millions of faithful he met during pastoral visits in Italy and throughout the world. We must also remember the numerous government personalities he encountered during 38 official visits, 738 audiences and meetings held with Heads of State, and 246 audiences and meetings with Prime Ministers.
His love for young people brought him to establish the World Youth Days. The 19 WYDs celebrated during his pontificate brought together millions of young people from all over the world. At the same time his care for the family was expressed in the World Meetings of Families, which he initiated in 1994. John Paul II successfully encouraged dialogue with the Jews and with the representatives of other religions, whom he several times invited to prayer meetings for peace, especially in Assisi.
Under his guidance the Church prepared herself for the third millennium and celebrated the Great Jubilee of the year 2000 in accordance with the instructions given in the Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio adveniente. The Church then faced the new epoch, receiving his instructions in the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio ineunte, in which he indicated to the faithful their future path.
With the Year of the Redemption, the Marian Year and the Year of the Eucharist, he promoted the spiritual renewal of the Church. He gave an extraordinary impetus to Canonizations and Beatifications, focusing on countless examples of holiness as an incentive for the people of our time. He celebrated 147 beatification ceremonies during which he proclaimed 1,338 Blesseds; and 51 canonizations for a total of 482 saints. He made Thérèse of the Child Jesus a Doctor of the Church.
He considerably expanded the College of Cardinals, creating 231 Cardinals (plus one in pectore) in 9 consistories. He also called six full meetings of the College of Cardinals. His most important Documents include 14 Encyclicals, 15 Apostolic Exhortations, 11 Apostolic Constitutions, 45 Apostolic Letters. He promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the light of Tradition as authoritatively interpreted by the Second Vatican Council. He also reformed the Eastern and Western Codes of Canon Law, created new Institutions and reorganized the Roman Curia.
In the light of Christ risen from the dead, on 2 April 2005 at 9.37 p.m., while Saturday was drawing to a close and the Lord's Day was already beginning, the Octave of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday, the Church's beloved Pastor, John Paul II, departed this world for the Father. On April 1, 2011, he was raised to the glory of the altars and on April 27, 2014 canonized.
Driven by his pastoral solicitude for all Churches and by a sense of openness and charity to the entire human race, John Paul II exercised the Petrine ministry with a tireless missionary spirit, dedicating it all his energy. He made 104 pastoral visits outside Italy and 146 within Italy. As bishop of Rome he visited 317 of the city's 333 parishes.
He had more meetings than any of his predecessors with the People of God and the leaders of Nations. More than 17,600,000 pilgrims participated in the General Audiences held on Wednesdays (more than 1160), not counting other special audiences and religious ceremonies [more than 8 million pilgrims during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 alone], and the millions of faithful he met during pastoral visits in Italy and throughout the world. We must also remember the numerous government personalities he encountered during 38 official visits, 738 audiences and meetings held with Heads of State, and 246 audiences and meetings with Prime Ministers.
His love for young people brought him to establish the World Youth Days. The 19 WYDs celebrated during his pontificate brought together millions of young people from all over the world. At the same time his care for the family was expressed in the World Meetings of Families, which he initiated in 1994. John Paul II successfully encouraged dialogue with the Jews and with the representatives of other religions, whom he several times invited to prayer meetings for peace, especially in Assisi.
Under his guidance the Church prepared herself for the third millennium and celebrated the Great Jubilee of the year 2000 in accordance with the instructions given in the Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio adveniente. The Church then faced the new epoch, receiving his instructions in the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio ineunte, in which he indicated to the faithful their future path.
With the Year of the Redemption, the Marian Year and the Year of the Eucharist, he promoted the spiritual renewal of the Church. He gave an extraordinary impetus to Canonizations and Beatifications, focusing on countless examples of holiness as an incentive for the people of our time. He celebrated 147 beatification ceremonies during which he proclaimed 1,338 Blesseds; and 51 canonizations for a total of 482 saints. He made Thérèse of the Child Jesus a Doctor of the Church.
He considerably expanded the College of Cardinals, creating 231 Cardinals (plus one in pectore) in 9 consistories. He also called six full meetings of the College of Cardinals. His most important Documents include 14 Encyclicals, 15 Apostolic Exhortations, 11 Apostolic Constitutions, 45 Apostolic Letters. He promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the light of Tradition as authoritatively interpreted by the Second Vatican Council. He also reformed the Eastern and Western Codes of Canon Law, created new Institutions and reorganized the Roman Curia.
In the light of Christ risen from the dead, on 2 April 2005 at 9.37 p.m., while Saturday was drawing to a close and the Lord's Day was already beginning, the Octave of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday, the Church's beloved Pastor, John Paul II, departed this world for the Father. On April 1, 2011, he was raised to the glory of the altars and on April 27, 2014 canonized.
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April 2, 2021
This book is a retreat that St. John Paul gave to Pope Paul VI. I read and meditated through this book as a lenten practice, which I now intended to do annually — it is that good. It is well to remember Simeon’s prophecy that Jesus would be a sign of contradiction. That prophecy came true in Jesus’ time and continues to come true in ours.
July 22, 2026
1. Introductory Address
Wojtyła introduces the retreat by reflecting on the Church's task in the modern world. Christ remains the decisive answer to humanity's deepest questions despite growing secularism.
2. God of Infinite Majesty
God is infinitely holy, transcendent, and worthy of worship.
Modern people often lose their sense of God's greatness, leading to a diminished understanding of themselves.
3. God of the Covenant
God is not distant but enters into a covenant relationship with humanity. Throughout Scripture, God faithfully pursues His people despite their repeated failures.
4. The Ways of Denial
Wojtyta examines the many ways people reject God-not only through explicit atheism but also through indifference, pride, and practical materialism.
5. Meditation on the Joyful Mysteries
The Joyful Mysteries reveal God's humility in the Incarnation.
Mary's "yes" to God becomes the model of faithful obedience and openness to grace.
6. The God Who "Cannot Deny His Own Self"
God is perfectly faithful because His nature is truth and love.
Human beings may be unfaithful, but God never abandons His promises.
7. He Who Is Gift and the Source of All Giving
Everything begins with God's self-giving love. Human generosity reflects the divine life because we are created in God's image.
8. The Price of Redemption
Salvation was purchased through Christ's Passion and death.
The Cross reveals both the seriousness of sin and the immeasurable depth of God's love.
9. Meditation on the Sorrowful Mysteries
The Passion is contemplated as the center of salvation history.
Christians are invited to unite their own suffering with Christ's sacrifice.
St Augustine wrote: "amor meus - pondus meum" (my weight is my love). Here we have, clearly defined, the meaning to be derived from contemplation of the cross of Christ. Love not only uplifts us, takes us out of ourselves; it also lays burdens on us. And perhaps the burdens tell us more about love than do the moments of ecstasy and spiritual élan. "Amor meus - pondus meum". That is why Jesus said: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me" (Mk 8,34). And he said even more: "He who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me" (Mt 10,38). When he spoke those words nobody foresaw that this "great prophet" (cf Lk 7,16) would be burdened with his own cross on which he would die, thus putting the seal on the truth of what he said.
10. "Scio enim quod redemptor meus vivit" ("I Know That My Redeemer Lives")
Drawing from Job, Wojtyła reflects on hope in the living Redeemer. Faith in Christ overcomes despair and the fear of death.
11. The Bridegroom Is With You
Christ is the Bridegroom who gives Himself completely to His Church. Christian joy flows from His abiding presence among His people.
12. Christ "Fully Reveals Man to Man Himself"
One of the book's central chapters. Only by looking at Christ can we understand human dignity, freedom, and destiny. This theme later became a hallmark of John Paul Il's papacy.
13. Meditation on the Glorious Mysteries
The Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost, Assumption, and Coronation reveal humanity's ultimate destiny: sharing in God's glory.
14. The Mystery of Man: Truth
Human beings are made to seek truth. Rejecting objective truth leads to confusion and loss of authentic freedom.
Today man is being deprived of his right above all to the truth which affects his inmost being, the realm of his conscience and his relationship with God: this occurs when there is discrimination against this truth in its societal aspects. On this point we can learn a great deal from the conciliar Declaration Dignitatis humanae. What is at issue between the unjust civil power and the individual believer is not so much the faith itself - the truth cherished unseen in the heart of the believer - as the outward profession of that faith, the public witness to it. There is no lack of people determined at all costs to drive the divine truth underground into the catacombs, determined to deprive it of its public witness dimension, the dimension that is man's by right. There is real tragedy in situations which deny man the right to bear witness to the divine truth and at the same time force him to profess beliefs that fail to tally with - even flatly contradict - his own deepest convictions: man is thus forced to live a lie.
15. The Mystery of Man: Priesthood
Every baptized Christian shares in Christ's priestly mission by offering his or her life to God. Wojtyła also reflects on the unique vocation of ordained priests.
”The truth is that the imbalance from which the present-day world suffers has links with the graver imbalance inherent in the heart of man. For within man himself many elements conflict with one another. On the one hand he experiences in a number of ways his limitations as a created being, while on the other hand he is aware of being boundless in his aspirations and of being called to a higher life. Charmed by many different attractive possibilities, he is always obliged to choose some and reject others. Furthermore, being weak and sinful, he often does what he would rather not do and fails to do what he would prefer to do” (Gaudium et spes, n.10).
“True freedom... is to the highest degree a sign of the dıvine image in man. God willed to leave man ‘in the hands of his own counsel,’ so that he might spontaneously seek his creator and attain freely, through adherence to him, to full and lessed perfection. Hence man’s dignity requires him to act in accordance with conscious and free choices, to be motivated and guided by his personal convictions and not by blind impulse or external pressure” ( Gaudium et spes, n.17).
The human will - or rather the human heart - impels man to be “for others,” to have generous relationships with others. It is in this that the essential structure of personal and human existence consists. Man exists not merely “in the world,” not merely “in himself;” he exists in relationship, in self-giving. Only through disinterested giving of himself can man attain to full discovery of himself. More than anything else the priesthood, linked with celibacy by Gospel precepts and centuries-old tradition, gives expression to this truth about man. The priesthood in particular is the form of self-expression of the man for whom the world's ultimate meaning can be found only in the dimension of the transcendental: in turning towards God who, as the fulness of personal Being, in himself transcends the world. Without relationship and without self-giving, the whole of human existence on earth loses its meaning. "What is the real worth of all these victories achieved at such great cost? ... What is there to come after this present life?" (Gaudium et spes, n.10), asks the Pastoral Constitution. Surely every thinking man asks the same questions. If this ultimate relationship, this prospect for man "beyond this world" is lacking, then all the achievements of civilisation, all the progress made in culture, science and technology will lead only to man's ruin.
16. The Mystery of Man: Conscience
Conscience is not simply personal preference but the inner capacity to recognize moral truth. It must be formed according to God's law.
”In the depths of his conscience man discovers a law he has not made for himself but which he must obey, a law which always calls on him to love and do good and shun evil, and which when necessary speaks clearly to his heart and says: do this; shun that. The fact is that man has within his heart a law written by God; man's dignity lies in obedience to it, and he will be judged accordingly. Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of man, where he finds himself alone with God, whose voice can be heard in his inmost being. ... The more an upright conscience prevails the more persons and social groups move away from blind caprice and seek to conform to the objective norms of morality. Often conscience errs through invincible ignorance without thereby losing its dignity. But this cannot be said of any man who makes little or no effort to seek what is true and good, or of a conscience that becomes almost blinded as a result of sin that is habitual” (Gaudium et spes n.16).
17. The Prayer in Gethsemane
Jesus' prayer before His Passion perfectly unites obedience and freedom. Christians learn to trust God's will even amid suffering.
18. Mysterium Mortis (The Mystery of Death)
Death is both the consequence of sin and the doorway to eternal life through Christ. The Resurrection transforms the meaning of death.
19. The Way of Purification
Christian life is an ongoing process of conversion and sanctification. Through repentance and grace, believers become more fully conformed to Christ.
20. The Glory of God Is Man Alive
Borrowing a famous phrase from St. Irenaeus, Wojtyta argues that God's glory is revealed when human beings live according to their true vocation in Christ.
21. Via Crucis (The Way of the Cross)
The Christian journey follows Christ's path through suffering to resurrection. Discipleship requires perseverance, sacrifice, and hope.
22. Conclusion
Wojtyta concludes by returning to the book's central message:
Christ remains the "sign of contradiction." Every age must choose whether to accept or reject Him, and the Church must proclaim Him with confidence.
Wojtyła introduces the retreat by reflecting on the Church's task in the modern world. Christ remains the decisive answer to humanity's deepest questions despite growing secularism.
2. God of Infinite Majesty
God is infinitely holy, transcendent, and worthy of worship.
Modern people often lose their sense of God's greatness, leading to a diminished understanding of themselves.
3. God of the Covenant
God is not distant but enters into a covenant relationship with humanity. Throughout Scripture, God faithfully pursues His people despite their repeated failures.
4. The Ways of Denial
Wojtyta examines the many ways people reject God-not only through explicit atheism but also through indifference, pride, and practical materialism.
5. Meditation on the Joyful Mysteries
The Joyful Mysteries reveal God's humility in the Incarnation.
Mary's "yes" to God becomes the model of faithful obedience and openness to grace.
6. The God Who "Cannot Deny His Own Self"
God is perfectly faithful because His nature is truth and love.
Human beings may be unfaithful, but God never abandons His promises.
7. He Who Is Gift and the Source of All Giving
Everything begins with God's self-giving love. Human generosity reflects the divine life because we are created in God's image.
8. The Price of Redemption
Salvation was purchased through Christ's Passion and death.
The Cross reveals both the seriousness of sin and the immeasurable depth of God's love.
9. Meditation on the Sorrowful Mysteries
The Passion is contemplated as the center of salvation history.
Christians are invited to unite their own suffering with Christ's sacrifice.
St Augustine wrote: "amor meus - pondus meum" (my weight is my love). Here we have, clearly defined, the meaning to be derived from contemplation of the cross of Christ. Love not only uplifts us, takes us out of ourselves; it also lays burdens on us. And perhaps the burdens tell us more about love than do the moments of ecstasy and spiritual élan. "Amor meus - pondus meum". That is why Jesus said: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me" (Mk 8,34). And he said even more: "He who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me" (Mt 10,38). When he spoke those words nobody foresaw that this "great prophet" (cf Lk 7,16) would be burdened with his own cross on which he would die, thus putting the seal on the truth of what he said.
10. "Scio enim quod redemptor meus vivit" ("I Know That My Redeemer Lives")
Drawing from Job, Wojtyła reflects on hope in the living Redeemer. Faith in Christ overcomes despair and the fear of death.
11. The Bridegroom Is With You
Christ is the Bridegroom who gives Himself completely to His Church. Christian joy flows from His abiding presence among His people.
12. Christ "Fully Reveals Man to Man Himself"
One of the book's central chapters. Only by looking at Christ can we understand human dignity, freedom, and destiny. This theme later became a hallmark of John Paul Il's papacy.
13. Meditation on the Glorious Mysteries
The Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost, Assumption, and Coronation reveal humanity's ultimate destiny: sharing in God's glory.
14. The Mystery of Man: Truth
Human beings are made to seek truth. Rejecting objective truth leads to confusion and loss of authentic freedom.
Today man is being deprived of his right above all to the truth which affects his inmost being, the realm of his conscience and his relationship with God: this occurs when there is discrimination against this truth in its societal aspects. On this point we can learn a great deal from the conciliar Declaration Dignitatis humanae. What is at issue between the unjust civil power and the individual believer is not so much the faith itself - the truth cherished unseen in the heart of the believer - as the outward profession of that faith, the public witness to it. There is no lack of people determined at all costs to drive the divine truth underground into the catacombs, determined to deprive it of its public witness dimension, the dimension that is man's by right. There is real tragedy in situations which deny man the right to bear witness to the divine truth and at the same time force him to profess beliefs that fail to tally with - even flatly contradict - his own deepest convictions: man is thus forced to live a lie.
15. The Mystery of Man: Priesthood
Every baptized Christian shares in Christ's priestly mission by offering his or her life to God. Wojtyła also reflects on the unique vocation of ordained priests.
”The truth is that the imbalance from which the present-day world suffers has links with the graver imbalance inherent in the heart of man. For within man himself many elements conflict with one another. On the one hand he experiences in a number of ways his limitations as a created being, while on the other hand he is aware of being boundless in his aspirations and of being called to a higher life. Charmed by many different attractive possibilities, he is always obliged to choose some and reject others. Furthermore, being weak and sinful, he often does what he would rather not do and fails to do what he would prefer to do” (Gaudium et spes, n.10).
“True freedom... is to the highest degree a sign of the dıvine image in man. God willed to leave man ‘in the hands of his own counsel,’ so that he might spontaneously seek his creator and attain freely, through adherence to him, to full and lessed perfection. Hence man’s dignity requires him to act in accordance with conscious and free choices, to be motivated and guided by his personal convictions and not by blind impulse or external pressure” ( Gaudium et spes, n.17).
The human will - or rather the human heart - impels man to be “for others,” to have generous relationships with others. It is in this that the essential structure of personal and human existence consists. Man exists not merely “in the world,” not merely “in himself;” he exists in relationship, in self-giving. Only through disinterested giving of himself can man attain to full discovery of himself. More than anything else the priesthood, linked with celibacy by Gospel precepts and centuries-old tradition, gives expression to this truth about man. The priesthood in particular is the form of self-expression of the man for whom the world's ultimate meaning can be found only in the dimension of the transcendental: in turning towards God who, as the fulness of personal Being, in himself transcends the world. Without relationship and without self-giving, the whole of human existence on earth loses its meaning. "What is the real worth of all these victories achieved at such great cost? ... What is there to come after this present life?" (Gaudium et spes, n.10), asks the Pastoral Constitution. Surely every thinking man asks the same questions. If this ultimate relationship, this prospect for man "beyond this world" is lacking, then all the achievements of civilisation, all the progress made in culture, science and technology will lead only to man's ruin.
16. The Mystery of Man: Conscience
Conscience is not simply personal preference but the inner capacity to recognize moral truth. It must be formed according to God's law.
”In the depths of his conscience man discovers a law he has not made for himself but which he must obey, a law which always calls on him to love and do good and shun evil, and which when necessary speaks clearly to his heart and says: do this; shun that. The fact is that man has within his heart a law written by God; man's dignity lies in obedience to it, and he will be judged accordingly. Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of man, where he finds himself alone with God, whose voice can be heard in his inmost being. ... The more an upright conscience prevails the more persons and social groups move away from blind caprice and seek to conform to the objective norms of morality. Often conscience errs through invincible ignorance without thereby losing its dignity. But this cannot be said of any man who makes little or no effort to seek what is true and good, or of a conscience that becomes almost blinded as a result of sin that is habitual” (Gaudium et spes n.16).
17. The Prayer in Gethsemane
Jesus' prayer before His Passion perfectly unites obedience and freedom. Christians learn to trust God's will even amid suffering.
18. Mysterium Mortis (The Mystery of Death)
Death is both the consequence of sin and the doorway to eternal life through Christ. The Resurrection transforms the meaning of death.
19. The Way of Purification
Christian life is an ongoing process of conversion and sanctification. Through repentance and grace, believers become more fully conformed to Christ.
20. The Glory of God Is Man Alive
Borrowing a famous phrase from St. Irenaeus, Wojtyta argues that God's glory is revealed when human beings live according to their true vocation in Christ.
21. Via Crucis (The Way of the Cross)
The Christian journey follows Christ's path through suffering to resurrection. Discipleship requires perseverance, sacrifice, and hope.
22. Conclusion
Wojtyta concludes by returning to the book's central message:
Christ remains the "sign of contradiction." Every age must choose whether to accept or reject Him, and the Church must proclaim Him with confidence.
December 22, 2021
What a lovely Advent read!
Originally presented as a series of meditations for a 1976 Lenten retreat for cardinals and Pope Saint Paul VI, Karol Wojtyła (Pope Saint John Paul II) sets out to re-present the Gospel anew for these learned men of the faith by focusing on Christ as the Sign of Contradiction who speaks directly into the desacralized world.
Outside the beauty of the language itself in leading the reader through the life of Christ and its implications for our own human dignity, for how that dignity is irrevocably connected to our call to holiness, and for how "a sign of contradiction"sums up "the whole truth about Jesus Christ, his mission, and his Church" (211), the two things I loved most about this book were (1) how Wojtyła wove in meditations on the mysteries of the most Holy Rosary, on the prayer at Gethsemane, and on the Stations of the Cross and (2) how much he wrote about his experience as a pastor of the people in Poland. The former were delicious prayer breaks in the midst of heady and philosophical chapters while the latter were so charming and helped to place this Giant of the Faith into space and time as a priest and bishop of his native land. You really begin to see why Poland, in her many trials and heartbreaks under the Nazis and then the communists, is a living sign of contradiction in the continent of Europe. While many former satellites of the USSR emerged from behind the Iron Curtain with the faith of the people stolen and torn asunder, Poland dared to declare - in 1979 and through the decades since - "We want God!" This "vast planet of tombs," Wojtyła notes, constantly begets new graves under the ancient curse - becoming, as he writes, "more and more a burial ground in which man who emerged from dust returns to dust." "Nonetheless," he declares with the voice of a man who saw the worst of humanity play out in his homeland and found the courage to turn toward the Good, "all who look to the tomb of Jesus Christ live in resurrection hope." The Cross, of course, is the great sign of contradiction - speaking against the values of the world, the human understanding of love and justice, and speaking life into the void of death itself.
A manger in a stable in Bethlehem held more love than the whole world could contain. A battered Cross on Calvary held more justice than all the people of all time could bear. An empty tomb outside the walls of Jerusalem held more joy than humanity could ever understand. All praise to our good and gracious God who speaks His benediction in the form of contradiction.
Originally presented as a series of meditations for a 1976 Lenten retreat for cardinals and Pope Saint Paul VI, Karol Wojtyła (Pope Saint John Paul II) sets out to re-present the Gospel anew for these learned men of the faith by focusing on Christ as the Sign of Contradiction who speaks directly into the desacralized world.
Outside the beauty of the language itself in leading the reader through the life of Christ and its implications for our own human dignity, for how that dignity is irrevocably connected to our call to holiness, and for how "a sign of contradiction"sums up "the whole truth about Jesus Christ, his mission, and his Church" (211), the two things I loved most about this book were (1) how Wojtyła wove in meditations on the mysteries of the most Holy Rosary, on the prayer at Gethsemane, and on the Stations of the Cross and (2) how much he wrote about his experience as a pastor of the people in Poland. The former were delicious prayer breaks in the midst of heady and philosophical chapters while the latter were so charming and helped to place this Giant of the Faith into space and time as a priest and bishop of his native land. You really begin to see why Poland, in her many trials and heartbreaks under the Nazis and then the communists, is a living sign of contradiction in the continent of Europe. While many former satellites of the USSR emerged from behind the Iron Curtain with the faith of the people stolen and torn asunder, Poland dared to declare - in 1979 and through the decades since - "We want God!" This "vast planet of tombs," Wojtyła notes, constantly begets new graves under the ancient curse - becoming, as he writes, "more and more a burial ground in which man who emerged from dust returns to dust." "Nonetheless," he declares with the voice of a man who saw the worst of humanity play out in his homeland and found the courage to turn toward the Good, "all who look to the tomb of Jesus Christ live in resurrection hope." The Cross, of course, is the great sign of contradiction - speaking against the values of the world, the human understanding of love and justice, and speaking life into the void of death itself.
A manger in a stable in Bethlehem held more love than the whole world could contain. A battered Cross on Calvary held more justice than all the people of all time could bear. An empty tomb outside the walls of Jerusalem held more joy than humanity could ever understand. All praise to our good and gracious God who speaks His benediction in the form of contradiction.
June 15, 2014
A Saint and genius speaks ... what can I say?
July 21, 2024
THE LAST BOOK WRITTEN BY KAROL WOJTYLA, SHORTLY BEFORE BECOMING POPE
This book was first published in 1977 (when he was still Karol Józef Wojtyla). The book consists of 22 addresses given to a Lenten Retreat in March 1976 to (then-Pope) Paul VI and his co-workers. The title of the book is based on Luke 2:34, where Simeon told Joseph and Mary that the birth of the baby Jesus would result in the "fall and the rising of many in Israel, and as a sign of contradiction..."; Wojtyla later stated that those words "sum up most felicitously the whole truth about Jesus Christ, his mission and his Church." (Pg. 197)
He wrote of the world as "a terrain for struggle between man and God, for the created being's defiance of his Creator. This is the great drama of history, myth and civilization." (Pg. 32) He wonders, "might not the... temptation of man lie in precisely this, that man should believe himself alone?" (Pg. 35)
He argues that underlying the truth about man professed by the Church is the conviction that man cannot be "reduced" to matter alone. "If he has mastery over matter, he has it solely thanks to the 'spiritual element' (cf. Rom 8:23) which is inherent in him and which expresses itself in his knowledge and freedom..." (Pg. 139) Concerning the "explanation" of hell, he suggests that "The whole inner experience of conscience is certainly relevant... hell is not simply the state of having to endure the pangs of a remorseful conscience but also the mystery of being in a state of separation from God." (Pg. 177-178)
Meditating on the 10th of the 14 stations of the cross, he wrote, "With every wound, every spasm of pain, every wrenched muscle, every trickle of blood, with all the exhaustion in its arms, all the bruises and lacerations on its back and shoulders, this unclothed body is carrying out the will of both Father and Son... when it is stripped naked and subjected to torture, when it takes upon itself the immeasurable pain of humanity defiled and profaned." (Pg. 192)
The Pope continued writing books during his papacy, of course; but this one is all the more interesting for being his last one prior to being elected Pope.
This book was first published in 1977 (when he was still Karol Józef Wojtyla). The book consists of 22 addresses given to a Lenten Retreat in March 1976 to (then-Pope) Paul VI and his co-workers. The title of the book is based on Luke 2:34, where Simeon told Joseph and Mary that the birth of the baby Jesus would result in the "fall and the rising of many in Israel, and as a sign of contradiction..."; Wojtyla later stated that those words "sum up most felicitously the whole truth about Jesus Christ, his mission and his Church." (Pg. 197)
He wrote of the world as "a terrain for struggle between man and God, for the created being's defiance of his Creator. This is the great drama of history, myth and civilization." (Pg. 32) He wonders, "might not the... temptation of man lie in precisely this, that man should believe himself alone?" (Pg. 35)
He argues that underlying the truth about man professed by the Church is the conviction that man cannot be "reduced" to matter alone. "If he has mastery over matter, he has it solely thanks to the 'spiritual element' (cf. Rom 8:23) which is inherent in him and which expresses itself in his knowledge and freedom..." (Pg. 139) Concerning the "explanation" of hell, he suggests that "The whole inner experience of conscience is certainly relevant... hell is not simply the state of having to endure the pangs of a remorseful conscience but also the mystery of being in a state of separation from God." (Pg. 177-178)
Meditating on the 10th of the 14 stations of the cross, he wrote, "With every wound, every spasm of pain, every wrenched muscle, every trickle of blood, with all the exhaustion in its arms, all the bruises and lacerations on its back and shoulders, this unclothed body is carrying out the will of both Father and Son... when it is stripped naked and subjected to torture, when it takes upon itself the immeasurable pain of humanity defiled and profaned." (Pg. 192)
The Pope continued writing books during his papacy, of course; but this one is all the more interesting for being his last one prior to being elected Pope.
October 25, 2024
Karol Wojtyla’s “Sign of Contradiction,” published in 1977, consists of 22 addresses given to a Lenten Retreat in March 1976 to Pope Paul VI. The title of the book is based on Luke 2:34, predicting that the birth of Jesus may result in the "fall and the rising of many in Israel, and as a sign of contradiction..." In Wojtyla’s thought, this is the salient determinant of the mission of Christ and the Church.
The resonant theme of “Sign” is that modern man’s defiant stance toward the order of being is the source of his distress. Wojtyla described the world as "a terrain for struggle between man and God, for the created being's defiance of his Creator.” With freedom from an objective order, disorder is the only possible end; and, consequently, the destruction of the human person.
Wojtyla decries modern man’s unyielding reliance on science. The belief that man can be reduced to matter alone recalls the philosophical monism of the 19th century. Wojtyla references Aquinas in this respect: wisdom transcends the empirical. Metaphysics is the path to pure wisdom.
Wojtyla’s “Sign” does not conclude in despair, however. Man can eschew the disorientation of the modern world and choose to live in truth. Truth, says the author, has a divine aspect. And, with love, can serve to guide man’s journey toward what is good.
The resonant theme of “Sign” is that modern man’s defiant stance toward the order of being is the source of his distress. Wojtyla described the world as "a terrain for struggle between man and God, for the created being's defiance of his Creator.” With freedom from an objective order, disorder is the only possible end; and, consequently, the destruction of the human person.
Wojtyla decries modern man’s unyielding reliance on science. The belief that man can be reduced to matter alone recalls the philosophical monism of the 19th century. Wojtyla references Aquinas in this respect: wisdom transcends the empirical. Metaphysics is the path to pure wisdom.
Wojtyla’s “Sign” does not conclude in despair, however. Man can eschew the disorientation of the modern world and choose to live in truth. Truth, says the author, has a divine aspect. And, with love, can serve to guide man’s journey toward what is good.
July 3, 2022
I didn’t gain much from the meditations given by then-Cardinal Wojtyla, but maybe that is the downside of reading the transcript of a preached retreat. However, the sainted Holy Father did give a profound reflection on the Via Crucis—the Way of the Cross—which I hope to return to in the Lenten season.
June 13, 2025
Needless to say anything by this man is incredible. His discussion of Guadium et Spes 22 (which is a paragraph he wrote… LOL) is quite incredible. He also slowly meditates on the mysteries of the rosary before taking the reader through the Paschal Mystery.
January 15, 2024
A perfect retreat style book. I recommend it as a helpful guide to a silent retreat where one can reflect on the readings as you progress through the days.
February 19, 2013
I read this book during the Lenten season as it is made up of 22 addresses given to a Lenten Retreat in March 1976 to (then-Pope) Paul VI and his co-workers. The presenter: Blessed John Paul II, but before he became Pope. He was a bishop at the time of the retreat, and when the reflections were published they became the last published book by Wojtyla before he became Pope.
The title of the book is based on Luke 2:34, where Simeon told Joseph and Mary that the birth of the baby Jesus would result in the "fall and the rising of many in Israel, and as a sign of contradiction..."; Wojtyla later stated that those words "sum up most felicitously the whole truth about Jesus Christ, his mission and his Church." (Pg. 197)
He commented on Luke 2:34 as follows:
Don't these words, spoken at the sight of a little child, bring together in a wonderful synthesis all that has the most profound impact on us and unceasingly perturbs us? Are they not a sign of our own times, or at least the key to understanding the various symptoms displayed by modern life, symptoms with which the Second Vatican Council concerned itself, and the Synod of Bishops too, and which are of continual concern to the Holy See and all bishops together with the People of God? Might not these words be a distinctive definition of Christ and his Church? "The sign of contradiction". . . . May this light give us strength and make us capable of accepting and loving the whole truth of Christ, of loving it all the more as the world all the more contradicts it." (7-8)
This book is wonderful to read during the season of Lent because it is a call to renewal. In the forward to the book, Cardinal Wyszynski says: "Wojtyla does not have in mind social trends and bandwagons upon which Catholics must run after or jump upon; the hopes and joys of mankind bring along as well the dashed hopes and the grief that must come from a life lived without Christ, projects hatched without grace, justice demanded without mercy. Indeed, the human family may wander far from Christ, but then weary of exploring blind alleys, it will come back with renewed hope."
The "renewed hope" comes when Christ reigns over us, which begins "when the temple sacrifice is offered in accordance with the law, and it attains its full realization through the sacrifice on the cross, offered in accordance with an eternal plan of love." (41)
The title of the book is based on Luke 2:34, where Simeon told Joseph and Mary that the birth of the baby Jesus would result in the "fall and the rising of many in Israel, and as a sign of contradiction..."; Wojtyla later stated that those words "sum up most felicitously the whole truth about Jesus Christ, his mission and his Church." (Pg. 197)
He commented on Luke 2:34 as follows:
Don't these words, spoken at the sight of a little child, bring together in a wonderful synthesis all that has the most profound impact on us and unceasingly perturbs us? Are they not a sign of our own times, or at least the key to understanding the various symptoms displayed by modern life, symptoms with which the Second Vatican Council concerned itself, and the Synod of Bishops too, and which are of continual concern to the Holy See and all bishops together with the People of God? Might not these words be a distinctive definition of Christ and his Church? "The sign of contradiction". . . . May this light give us strength and make us capable of accepting and loving the whole truth of Christ, of loving it all the more as the world all the more contradicts it." (7-8)
This book is wonderful to read during the season of Lent because it is a call to renewal. In the forward to the book, Cardinal Wyszynski says: "Wojtyla does not have in mind social trends and bandwagons upon which Catholics must run after or jump upon; the hopes and joys of mankind bring along as well the dashed hopes and the grief that must come from a life lived without Christ, projects hatched without grace, justice demanded without mercy. Indeed, the human family may wander far from Christ, but then weary of exploring blind alleys, it will come back with renewed hope."
The "renewed hope" comes when Christ reigns over us, which begins "when the temple sacrifice is offered in accordance with the law, and it attains its full realization through the sacrifice on the cross, offered in accordance with an eternal plan of love." (41)
April 1, 2014
I would say that while this book was worth my time, it is written in the classic Pope John Paul II academic style which can be a little tedious. It has many excellent insights. One of the main themes of the book is that the mystery of man can only be understood in the mystery of Christ, and vice-versa. It's very pro-Vatican II, and people who hate Vatican II will hate this book. It takes up a number of themes from Vatican II. One thing that I did draw from this book is how the seemingly anthropocentric writings of Vatican II turn out not to be anthropocentric at all. In understanding man, we understand God. I'm glad I read it but I don't think I will be revisiting Sign of Contradiction. It was a retreat preached to Cardinals, and its highly academic style didn't really grab me.
March 28, 2016
Very impressive. Not easy, ya just have to start it and trust The Spirit of God will help ya understand what ya need. Written for a Lenten retreat BEFORE he was pope, the book shows St. Pope John Paul 2 was always the devote to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Also, I had no idea Catholic Church has a constitution. A book on that is next for me, I hope. :-)
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