(An excerpt from a homily preached by Pope Saint John Paul II in Lesotho, in 1988):
In the Gospel of this feast we are witnesses of a unusual conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. The conversation takes place at night because Nicodemus, a prominent Jew, went to talk with Christ under the cover of darkness. Christ leads this man, a teacher, to the very heart of the mystery revealed by God. It is the mystery of the Son of God who descended from heaven and, as the Son of Man, accomplished the messianic mission among the people of Israel.
This mission was directed towards “the lifting
