I started writing this post on Wednesday this week, which was the feast day of Pope St. John Paul II. We had an order priest visiting this week with a couple of Sisters from SOLT. The priest gave an excellent homily to our school kids and the adults who were there. He spoke about three things he took away from Pope St. John Paul II.
The first was his admonition to “be not afraid’, words that were frequently used by Jesus as well. We are all called to mission by Christ. That mission can take many different forms but it can be unsettling to know our Lord is asking us to do some particular thing. A great line about this comes from Cardinal John Henry Newman, who I just wrote about a couple of weeks ago. There is a prayer from Newman that includes the lines “God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next…” so as JP II, and Jesus, said, be not afraid.
Next the homilist said “you are loved”. It’s a powerful thing to consider that the God of the universe loves us, individually, when we all question at some point at least, if we deserve that and if it’s really true. JP II tells us that yes, we really are loved by God, individually, personally, in ways we may not always understand. We have a special value as we were all made in God’s image and likeness. We were wonderfully made as the psalmist wrote. To be able to do the things we are asked to do it’s helpful to be able to rest in God’s love and know we are special to Him.
Finally, the homilist talked about JP II’s call to us that we all have a mission. Being Christian isn’t just about our own salvation. It’s about the salvation of the world. For most of us it begins with us and extends first to those closest to us, but eventually that mission takes us out into the deep waters of knowing, loving, and serving others, maybe some of whom we don’t particularly like or agree with their lifestyle. We are to see Christ in others as we make Christ present to them. Acknowledging and accepting our mission is an important part of being Christian.
As we reflect on the leadership of Pope St. John Paul II I hope you’ll think about these things and how they might apply to you.
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace, Bob
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