THE COMMANDMENTS ARE THE WAY FOR ALL PEOPLE

VATICAN CITY, JUN 6, 1999 (VIS) - After lunch at the bishop's residence in Pelplin, the Holy Father travelled from the city's heliport to the airport of Elblag, a distance of 55 kilometers. There, at 5:30 p.m., he presided at the devotions in honor of the Most Sacred Heart Of Jesus.

"We have come here today," the Pope said in his homily, "to contemplate the love of the Lord Jesus, His goodness which is compassionate towards every person; to contemplate His Heart blazing with love for the Father, in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Christ loves us and reveals His Heart to us as the fount of life and holiness."

John Paul II recalled that God the Father, "the supreme law giver, has inscribed on the human heart the whole order of truth. This order determines what is good, provides a foundation for the moral order and constitutes the basis of the dignity of man created in God's image. The commandments were given for the good of mankind, for man's personal good and the good of family and society. They are truly the way for all people. The material order by itself is not enough. It must be completed and enriched by the supernatural order."
"The temptation to organize the world and one's own life without God or even in opposition to God, without His commandments and without the Gospel, is a very real temptation and threatens us too. When human life and the world are built without God, they will eventually turn against man himself."

The Holy Father explained that "sin pits itself against God's love for us and turns our hearts away from Him. ... We must be constantly aware of this great evil, we must constantly cultivate the subtle sensitivity and clear consciousness of the seeds of death contained in sin. This is what is commonly known as the sense of sin," and, "the more profound this awareness of union with God - strengthened by a persons sacramental life and by sincere prayer - the clearer the sense of sin is. ... We must truly form our humanity in the image and likeness of God, to become people who love the law of God and want to live according to it."

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Holy Father travelled by helicopter to Lichen where he spent the night in a residence near the Shrine of the Madonna.

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