Today is the feast of the well-loved pope in the history of the Church, St. John Paul II. His name made a great impact not only to Catholics but to all people from different religions. Karol Józef Wojtyla was born on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland. His mother died when he was nine years old, and his older brother Edmund died when he was 12. It was a difficult period for him, but he accepted the loss with strong faith in God. He was very athletic and loved to ski and to swim. When he was in college, he took up theater and poetry.
During the German occupation of Poland, the schools were closed, but he decided to enter the seminary and studied secretly under the archbishop of Krakow. He finished his religious studies, and he was ordained in 1946. He was faithful in his priestly ministry and succeeded to become a bishop in 1958 and the archbishop of Krakow in 1964. Pope Paul VI made him a cardinal in 1967.
He made history in 1978 when he became the first non-Italian pope in more than 400 years of Catholicism. During his papacy, he was loved by young people all over the world and was an advocate of family life. He was very influential to world leaders and different religious leaders. In fact, he started the World Youth Day and the gathering of all-faith leaders in Assisi. Pope John Paul II, at the age of 84, died on April 2, 2005 at his Vatican City residence. More than 3 million people waited in line to say good-bye to their beloved, John Paul. On April 8, 2005, during his funeral at St. Peter’s Square, thousands of people cried out loud in unison: “Santo Subito.” It means in Italian, “make him immediate saint.” Barely five years after, on July 5, 2013, it was announced by the Church that Pope John Paul II would be declared a saint. Pope Francis elevated him to the altar of the Lord as one of the officially canonized Saints of the Catholic Church on April 27, 2014. He was the pope I met when I was in the seminary during his first visit to the Philippines on February 1980.
God wants us to bear much fruit on earth like the ordinary people who became Saints of the Church. Our main purpose is to find life in God and pray for our healing and conversion. However, we need our community of faith to help us in that growth. In Ephesians 4:11-13, Paul speaks about the “building up of the Body of Christ,” which we belong to as believers.
In today’s gospel, Jesus tells a parable to point to the unlimited mercy and patience of our God. He gives us more time to bear many fruits. “If not, you can cut it down,” which is clear that words like these are not coming from a vindictive God, but rather is a wake-up call to realize the limits of life. Everything here on earth has an end, and therefore we must be aware of life’s fragility and its limited dimensions.
Let us be serious in our discernment to live our faith and to be true and faithful living members of Christ’s Mystical Body.
St. John Paul II, pray for us.
Fr. Arlon, osa