As many of you know, I have a deep love for Bl. JPII the Great. But why? The short answer is that I wouldn't be who I am if JPII had not opened wide the doors of his heart to God's grace and shared it with the world. He has been a spiritual father to me in a profound way. Millions of people throughout the world feel the same way - he wasn't just a public world figure for us - he was really our 'papa'. When I think of JPII I find the communion of saints to be incredibly tangible because I never once met him or saw him in person, and yet I feel as though he is near me with the guiding hand of a father telling me not to be afraid to follow Christ.
In Bl. John Paul II we see that by God's grace it really is possible for one man to change the world. Because of his fiat to God, he affected change on the world stage, such as the role he played in the fall of Communism, etc; but through his witness God has changed the world of individual hearts. There are estimates that over 1-2 million people were at the beatification this weekend - but that only scratches the surface of the lives he affected. How many people could not be in Rome but have been changed by his witness, writings and preaching? Bl. John Paul II the Great is absolute proof that when we offer ourselves totally to the service of the Lord, God will produce abundant fruit.
Bl. JPII finally held us to a higher standard - he knew that only in Christ can we find true happiness and when he looked at the world he saw it wallowing in mediocrity - degrading itself into something ugly and despairing. His was a voice that called us to something greater - reminding us of who God made us to be - that we are made to be beautiful and holy - that hope must not die and in Christ we can have the abundant life for which we are searching. Echoing the very words of Christ from the Gospels, he reminded us not to be afraid to follow Jesus, to take up our crosses and embark on this journey and adventure of life in the Spirit.
The Church gives us saints and blesseds as examples to follow in being disciples of Jesus. Let us not miss this opportunity to learn from Bl. JPII how to make a sincere gift of our lives to Christ and others, how to suffer well for the salvation of souls, how to uphold the dignity of all human life and put simply - how to love.
By his witness of faith, love and apostolic courage, accompanied by great human charisma, this exemplary son of Poland helped believers throughout the world not to be afraid to be called Christian, to belong to the Church, to speak of the Gospel. In a word: he helped us not to fear the truth, because truth is the guarantee of liberty. To put it even more succinctly: he gave us the strength to believe in Christ, because Christ is Redemptor hominis, the Redeemer of man....My own service was sustained by his spiritual depth and by the richness of his insights. His example of prayer continually impressed and edified me: he remained deeply united to God even amid the many demands of his ministry. Then too, there was his witness in suffering: the Lord gradually stripped him of everything, yet he remained ever a “rock”, as Christ desired. His profound humility, grounded in close union with Christ, enabled him to continue to lead the Church and to give to the world a message which became all the more eloquent as his physical strength declined. In this way he lived out in an extraordinary way the vocation of every priest and bishop to become completely one with Jesus, whom he daily receives and offers in the Church. Blessed are you, beloved Pope John Paul II, because you believed! Continue, we implore you, to sustain from heaven the faith of God’s people.As this quote from Pope Benedict's homily suggests, Bl. JPII the Great truly took on the role that Christ offered him in being Peter, rock, to us for so many years. Through the intercession of Bl. Pope John Paul the Great and our Blessed Mother, Queen of Heaven, may we grow in holiness and become who we are - sons and daughters of the King. Totus Tuus Maria.
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