Blessed John Paul II: his words on prayer and priestly life

(Vatican Radio) In this programme we bring you Vatican Radio archive recordings of Blessed John Paul II's words in English focusing on prayer and priestly life, as well as the testimony of some of those who witnessed this first hand .

Among them, the late Carmelite Father, Redemptus Valabek, former postulator of the causes of the saints of his Order, who explains why many used to describe John Paul II as being a Carmelite at heart.

Also, Nigerian Cardinal, Francis Arinze, head of the 'Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue' at the time of the remarkable prayer gathering in Assisi. He points to how this Polish Pontiff's call for all to pray was addressed not just to Christians but to non-Christians as well.

In this programme in which you can hear Pope John Paul praying the Our Father we also highlight how this Pope's 's prayer life was inseparable from his priestly vocation. How he often told his friends: "I am first and foremost a priest", reminding them how privileged he was to have this vocation because it allowed him to preside at the Church's most important prayer of all: the Celebration of the Eucharist : "The Eucharist writes the history of human hearts and of human communities.."

Another significant issue dear to Blessed John Paul II touched on in this programme is that of the right to life, as he once said : "All human life from the moment of conception and through all subsequent stages is sacred because human life is created in the image and likeness of God. Nothing surpasses the greatness or dignity of a human person. Human life is not just an idea or an abstraction . Human life is the concrete reality of a being that lives, that acts, that grows and develops: Human life is the concrete reality of a being that is capable of love and of service to humanity".

Listen to this programme presented and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick: