Oct-22 Feast of Pope St. John Paul II
October 22: Feast of Pope St. John Paul II
Karol Józef Wojtyła was born just over a century ago, on May 18, 1920 in Wadowice (near Kraków), Poland. Young Karol lost his mother Emilia a month before his ninth birthday. When he was only 12 years old, his brother Dr Edmund died of scarlet fever serving patients suffering from that dreaded disease. A childhood friend named Szczepan Mogielnicki told one news source that "Karol lost his childhood at 12, when he lost his brother... There was no youthful folly in him. Even when he played sports, he was very concentrated, but of course, he had a lot of passion. He was a very noble person, and he expressed things in a very noble way, but there was no folly." The elder Karol sewed his son's clothing and watched over his studies. He taught him to be self disciplined and to work hard. He was deeply devoted to raising the son he loved. Another friend recalls entering the small apartment and finding father and son playing soccer with a ball made of rags. Karol credited his Catholic faith to the influence of his beloved father.
Karol endured the 1939 Nazi’s occupation of Poland, working hard for 4 years as a quarry labourer in the day and then night shifts at the Solvay chemical factory. It was then he clandestinely studied for the priesthood at the seminary of Krakow, run by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha. After the Second World War, he continued his studies in theology at Kraków’s Jagiellonian University and was ordained priest in 1946, he was immediately sent to Rome where he earned a doctorate in theology. In 1964 Pope Paul VI appointed him archbishop of Krakow - the youngest bishop in the history of Poland, and later in 1967 a full cardinal. On October 16, 1978 he was elected the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years, taking the name of his short-lived, immediate predecessor Pope John Paul. He was formally installed as the 264th Pontiff on October 22nd 1978 - hence his feast day is celebrated today and not on the day of his death as is normally the case! He served for 27 years, taking the Episcopal motto, “Totus Tuus – I am completely yours.”
Aware of his role as primarily a spiritual, rather than political, leader, Pope JPII had an immense impact on the world of affairs. In his June 1979 visit to his native Poland, he eschewed critiquing the Communist regime, choosing instead to talk about the unique Polish culture, about what made Poland Poland. And at the center of that, of course, in addition to a distinctive history, and distinctive language, distinctive literature — the intensity of Poland's thousand year old Catholic faith. It kindled a revolution of conscience which gave birth to the Solidarity Party in Poland and made possible the nonviolent revolution of 1989 and accelerated the collapse of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe without massive bloodshed.
His love for young people led him to establish World Youth Day, celebrated 19 times during his pontificate, which attracted millions of young people from all over the world. Pope JPII ignited a spontaneous rapport with young people. For example, on his first visit to the United States in October 1979, he wooed tens of thousands of teenagers at Madison Square Garden in New York City. With school bands blaring popular music, he rode the “popemobile” up and down the aisles, greeting the kids and touching their outstretched hands. A riot of cheers echoed in the hall. At one point the youth began to chant “John Paul II, we love you!” The Pope, smiling broadly, responded with, “woo-hoo-woo, John Paul II, he loves you.” This cheer sums up one reason why young people rallied around him: He won their affection because they could feel his love for them. Pope JPII earned the confidence of youth because he took them seriously. They sensed that he understood their concerns. He challenged them to give their lives to Christ. He appealed to their high ideals, inviting them to take a lead in the New Evangelization.
In 1987, Pope JPII shared these thoughts with young people in Los Angeles, "I am often asked, especially by young people, why I became a priest. Maybe some of you would like to ask the same question. Let me try briefly to reply. I must begin by saying that it is impossible to explain entirely. For it remains a mystery, even to myself. How does one explain the ways of God? Yet, I know that, at a certain point in my life, I became convinced that Christ was saying to me what he had said to thousands before me: 'Come, follow me!'
Pope JPII undertook 104 apostolic journeys visiting 129 countries during his time as Pope. He was seen in person by more people than anyone else in human history. Pope JPII brought the Catholic Church to the world as the second-longest serving pontiff (after Pius IX who was Pope for 31 years 1846-1878), and was beloved for it.
JPII promoted ecumenical and interfaith initiatives, especially the 1986 Day of Prayer for World Peace in Assisi. He visited Rome’s main synagogue and the Western Wall in Jerusalem; he also established diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Israel. He improved Catholic-Muslim relations, and in 2001 visited a mosque in Damascus, Syria. Throughout his pontificate, Pope JPII guided and prepared the Church to celebrate the Great Jubilee, a celebration of the mercy of God and the forgiveness of sin, which began with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica. Eight million pilgrims came to Rome to pray during the Year 2000, as the Church and the whole of humanity passed into the third millennium since the birth of the Redeemer.
Like his friend St. Teresa of Calcutta, JPII occasionally suffered through periods of darkness and doubt. His private diaries, published in 2014, show him agonising about whether he was doing enough to serve God. In addition to spiritual suffering, the Pope endured an assassination attempt by a Turkish terrorist on May 13, 1981, who shot him in the chest— after which he forgave his attacker, and credited Mary’s intercession for his survival. One of the most well-remembered photos of JPII’s pontificate was his one-on-one conversation in 1983, where he personally forgave Mehmet Ali Agca, who had attempted to assassinate him two years earlier. JPII was a man of deep prayer who loved and trusted God, and also had a deep devotion to Mary. The rosary was one of his favorite prayers, and he even gave the Church a new way to contemplate truths about Jesus in the form of the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.
JPII was also a prolific writer; among his principal documents are many treasures of the Church. His writings included 14 encyclicals, 15 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions and 45 apostolic letters in addition to the catechises delivered in the general audiences, lectures and homilies given during his many travels. With his emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he beatified 1,338 people and canonised 482 saints, more than all of the Popes in the last 500 years combined.
On living life in Christ: “We do not pretend that life is all beauty. We are aware of darkness and sin, of poverty and pain. But we know Jesus has conquered sin and passed through his own pain to the glory of the Resurrection. And we live in the light of his Paschal Mystery – the mystery of his Death and Resurrection. We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!” – From an Angelus address in Adelaide, Australia, during JPII’s apostolic journey to the Far East and Oceania (November, 1986).
On persevering with grace: “God’s love does not impose burdens upon us that we cannot carry, nor make demands of us that we cannot fulfil. For whatever He asks of us, He provides the help that is needed.” – JPII from his book “Rise, let us be on our way.”
On hoping in the Lord: “Remember that you are never alone, Christ is with you on your journey every day of your lives! He has called you and chosen you to live in the freedom of the children of God. Turn to him in prayer and in love. Ask him to grant you the courage and strength to live in this freedom always. Walk with him who is ‘the Way, the Truth and the Life’!” – JPII from the 12th World Youth Day in Paris, France (August, 1997).
On forgiveness: “Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil with evil.” – From his message for the celebration of the World Day of Peace (January, 2002).
On marriage: “Love between man and woman cannot be built without sacrifices and self-denial.” – JPII from his book “Love and Responsibility.”
He also experienced other health problems in the form of severe Parkinson’s Disease in the last few years of his life. But he was able to overcome the dark periods through prayer. He knew that suffering was mandatory, because suffering belongs to a higher gospel…what he basically showed was that sacrifice and suffering is redemptive. During his January 1998 trip to Cuba, his gait was slow and at times shuffling, his speech was often slurred and his hand sometimes trembled. Yet there was something beautiful and noble in the Pope’s witness. His courageous perseverance in carrying out his activities as Pope, despite his physical afflictions, is a heart-lifting example for all of us. With his humble, unpretentious and unembarrassed acceptance of suffering, he bore his infirmities as if they were badges of honour and opportunities for imitating the courage of the suffering Christ. With hundreds of thousands of young people beneath the window of the papal apartment keeping candlelight vigil during the Pope’s final agony, JPII whispered in response, “I have looked for you and you have come to me. Thank you.” Pope JPII died during the first vespers of Divine Mercy Sunday, April 2, 2005, at 9:37 p.m., soon after he had uttered his final audible words, “Let me go to my Father’s house.”
More than three million pilgrims traveled to Rome to pay homage to the Pope, some standing in line for over 24 hours to pray in thanksgiving for their beloved Holy Father. The crowd soon broke out into spontaneous chants of "Santo subito" — "make him a saint immediately." Soon after, the 5 year waiting period was waived and his case was put on the fast track. On May 1, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI beatified Pope John Paul II. He was canonized on April 27, 2014 by Pope Francis, making JPII a saint a record nine years after his death.
Today we pray that we remain faithful to Saint John Paul’s valuable legacy and seek his intercession for the strength and courage to live our daily lives true to the word of our Lord Christ.
Additional reading:
https://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/apr/23/pilot-who-flew-pope-john-paul-ii-1979-still-awed-t/
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/44502/the-next-hundred-years-of-st-john-paul-iis-legacy
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