Homily Feast of St. John Paul II (2020)
Homily Feast of St. John Paul II (2020)
I was a seminarian in 1978. Pope Paul VI had died, and we anticipated who the new Pope would be. I remember how the news traveled around the seminary that October, the new Pope had been elected. We all went to the television room to see who it would be. We expected an Italian Pope like the popes that had been elected for centuries.
Before Karol Woytyla came out on the balcony to bless the crowd in St. Peter’s square his name was shared. People in the crowd at St. Peter were incredulous as were the people in our seminary television room. How could this be? A new precedent had been set. The Pope did not need to be Italian. When the Pope appeared, I remember his first words as do many others. “Do not be afraid.”
He certainly did not seem to be afraid. He seemed fearless as he fought to bring down the iron curtain. It has been said that without the papacy of John Pau II the Soviet Union would never have ended. Perhaps he was the right Pope at the right moment in history.
Another quote from John Paul II has come back to me a lot these last few months as we have debated about personal freedom. He was certainly an admirer of the United States, but he also saw the flaws in our society. When he arrived in the United States in 1995, he said, “Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having he right to do what we ought.”
We have a lot of people espousing personal freedom these days as they do not take precautions to stop the spread of COVID. Pope John Paul would say that our personal freedoms do not supersede the moral principle of the common good.
John Paul II struggled with the reality of sin as we all do. It is said that he celebrated reconciliation almost every day. He tried to do the right thing. That was his goal, and it should be ours.
Reflection Questions:
- How do if exercise the freedoms I enjoy? Have always looked out for the needs of others?
- John Paul II admitted to being a sinner and needing forgiveness was that a good thing for a Pope to do?
Dear Parishioner,
In 1980 I had the pleasure of traveling to Rome as a graduate student. I only stayed the month of January. One of the things that was most impressive was attending an audience with John Paul II. He was a relatively young man at that time. I remember him briskly walking up and down the aisle of the audience hall and climbing up and down some portable stairs to bless the thousands of people that had gathered. He spoke to us in many different languages.
Behind the pope was a great sculpture Christ rising from the grave. Pope John Paul II slowly lost his vigor. He understood his papacy was temporary. He always tried to point to the Risen Christ. Jesus, he knew, lives forever. There is the messenger and there is the message. John Paul tried always to focus on the message of Jesus.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark