"N'ayez Pas Peur!"

by Pope John Paul II

French

373 pages, Paperback

First published January 30, 2006

About the author

Saint 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.

Reviews

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be Not Afraid is another volume in the Classic Wisdom Collection. The foreword contains a very brief biography and introduction to Pope John Paul II before he was pope, as well as some of his essential writings while pope. The chapters of the book, like other books from the Classic Wisdom Collection, contains excerpts from the writings and talks of the specific figure, in this case Pope John Paul II. Some of the topics contained in this book have to do with Divine Mercy, message for Young People, the Eucharist, and the Gospel of Life. There is something for everyone in this book though, as there are twenty-four chapters.

I particularly enjoyed reading the section on the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary. In his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, which was given in 2002, Pope John Paul II gave the Catholic world five extra mysteries of the Rosary. He said, "Each of these mysteries is a revelation of the Kingdom now present in the very person of Jesus." He then elaborated on the significance of each of the five new mysteries. Re-reading these words brought me back to the very beginning of my Catholic life. I was just embarking on the RCIA program at the parish right up the street from where I lived. In a way, reading these words again felt like finding an old letter or email from a friend you haven't heard from in years. You read the words, and they now speak to you with a deeper and more beautiful meaning.

If you are looking for an easy and approachable method to reading Pope John Paul II, I highly recommend Be Not Afraid. Since Pope John Paul II was a philosopher, sometimes his words weren't easy to understand, but that is not true of this book. Hopefully, it will encourage you to pick up his other writings and read or re-read them. Another book in this Classic Wisdom Collection series I'm looking forward to reading is Secret to Happiness, which contains wisdom from Pope John XXIII. I haven't had the chance to read his words before, so that seems very exciting to me.

[Neil Crowle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great collection. It gave me excellent material I can use.

[Erik]

Recommended by James Schall in Another Sort of Learning, Chapter 17, as one of Ten Books on Grace and Thought.