Last rites declaration of Ioannes Paulus PP. II (Karol Wojtyla)
Ioannes Paulus PP. II
Nationalism, capitalism, and hoarding. The idea of every nation
should be forgot, price should be struck from the commons, and
princes should be seen for the devils they are. The sins include
our church, secret societies, and other religions which make of
the spirit of God a divide."
Last rites declaration of Ioannes Paulus PP. II (Karol Wojtyla)
2nd April 2005
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nothing about it. "No, but I blame them for having made, not this choice,
but a choice; for again both he who chooses heads and he who chooses tails
are equally at fault, they are both in the wrong. The true course is not to
wager at all."
Yes; but you must wager. It is not optional. You are embarked. Which will
you choose then? Let us see. Since you must choose, let us see which
interests you least. You have two things to lose, the true and the good; and
two things to stake, your reason and your will, your knowledge and your
happiness; and your nature has two things to shun, error and misery. Your
reason is no more shocked in choosing one rather than the other, since you
must of necessity choose. This is one point settled. But your happiness? Let
us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate
these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing.
Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. "That is very fine. Yes, I must
wager; but I may perhaps wager too much." Let us see. Since there is an
equal risk of gain and of loss, if you had only to gain two lives, instead
of one, you might still wager. But if there were three lives to gain, you
would have to play (since you are under the necessity of playing), and you
would be imprudent, when you are forced to play, not to chance your life to
gain three at a game where there is an equal risk of loss and gain. But
there is an eternity of life and happiness. And this being so, if there were
an infinity of chances, of which one only would be for you, you would still
be right in wagering one to win two, and you would act stupidly, being
obliged to play, by refusing to stake one life against three at a game in
which out of an infinity of chances there is one for you, if there were an
infinity of an infinitely