A decade ago ...

A decade ago, I remember exactly where I was.  My household at Franciscan University had been planning our once-a-semester retreat for weeks on the weekend of April 1-3.  On Saturday afternoon we were sitting on couches reflecting on something or distractedly attempting to listen to a talk when one girl received a phone call we had all been dreading.  

"He's gone," she barely whispered.

The crying commenced.  The praying continued.  And the sudden feeling of being orphaned, bewildered and lost began.

At 3:37 pm in Ohio (9:37 pm at the Vatican), the only Pope we had known in our lifetime died.  Ten years later, we have officially recognized John Paul II as a saint, as the cries of Santo Subito at his death and funeral predicted.  

We knew it was going to happen.  In fact, the day before, the most horrifying way to hear the news came on Fox News when a producer of some sort screamed that the Pope had died when her microphone was inadvertently audible on air.  It was a mistake.  He was not dead, but for several minutes dozens of students huddled around the small television screen mourning his life prematurely.  When we learned that it was all a mistake, that he was still living, we stood on the boundary of waiting to mourn again and hoping that somehow a miracle would occur.

But the next afternoon, hearing, "He's gone," jolted us to the reality that John Paul's race really was over.  He was no longer our Pope.  Now he was our intercessor.

It seems impossible that it has really been ten years since St. John Paul II went "to the house of the Father."  Yet here we are reflecting on the passage of time and the ever-strong intercession and inspiration of our Polish pontiff.  

As I've mentioned before, my blog writing is on hiatus as I devote more time to a writing project, but I couldn't let this day go by without a brief reflection.

My reflection on John Paul, "Remembering the Pope of the Family" can be read at Time for the Family.

And if you'd like to read a beautiful tribute to the particular influence of St. John Paul II on one young woman's life, read what Jenny Uebbing has to say in her piece, "He moved me."

St. John Paul II, pray for us.

Christmas gift list ... or should I say book list

It's been awhile since I've offered a Theology of the Body-inspired Christmas list for those of you looking for gift ideas (whether for friends and family or for your own wish list).  This year, though, I've seen sufficient new material to warrant a new post.  I try to stick with new resources, though a few other ideas might pop up in the list.

First up, we have Prof. Stanislaw Grygiel's "Discovering the Human Person: In Conversation with John Paul II."  The "in conversation" phrase seems to be applied rather liberally to biographies and studies of saints, but this particular book is written by a student and friend of the late Holy Father.  I have not read the book yet but was able to hear some of Prof. Grygiel's reflections in person at the John Paul Institute in Washington, DC.  He always had beautiful insights to share, and left us in awe of his personal experiences with the late Holy Father.


While we're on the subject of St. John Paul, I'd highly recommend Jason Evert's St. John Paul the Great: His Five Loves  Or, for about triple the cost of one book, purchase 32 copies in paperback to give to all of your friends.  Leave a copy on a coffee shop table with a note to anyone who would like to take it.  It's a different kind of biography -- a collection of verified stories of JPII that give fresh insight into who he was and what he loved.  My copy is quite underlined and asterisked. 


These Beautiful Bones: An Everyday Theology of the Body by Emily Stimpson didn't come out this past year, but made its debut late enough in 2013 to warrant a mention.  What a beautiful book!  Emily Stimpson is a gifted writer, with words simply flowing from her pen in such a way as to captivate the reader with her beauty, humor and insight.  Her book seeks to go beyond the idea that Theology of the Body is "just about sex" and instead to challenge us all to see how we can live TOB more fully in other areas of our lives (manners, what we eat, how we work, etc.).  It's the perfect book for the TOB aficionado and the person who has never heard of Theology of the Body.  All will find insight, challenge and beauty.  

Another book that I have not yet read but which looks quite promising is Anthony Esolen's Defending Marriage: Twelve Arguments for Sanity.  I've long found Prof. Esolen's writing to be engaging, witty and enlightening, and I have no doubt his reflections on this important matter will not disappoint.  
 

For the newly expecting couple, "Gift of Joy: The Blessing of the Child in the Womb" is excellent.  The actual blessing is not in the book.  Instead, co-authors Archbishop Joseph Kurtz and Msgr. Brian Bransfield introduce parents more fully into comprehending the mystery they are living while awaiting the birth of their child.  



I'm sure there are plenty of other items I could add, though I risk not posting this until it's too late to purchase these books in time for Christmas.  For the Theology of the Body or St. John Paul II fans in your life, chances are likely that at least one of these items is not yet in their possession.

Happy gift-giving and receiving!

Cardinal Dolan on who we are

Cardinal Dolan has a gift for making seemingly overwhelming concepts make sense.  He recently took the phrase "image and likeness of God" and explained in the Our Sunday Visitor what this means for daily life.  As the late Fr. Richard Hogan liked to say, "You were made in the image and likeness of God.  Now act like it."

I invite us to see who we are: At the core of our being, each one of us has the identity of being a child of God, made in his image and likeness, redeemed by the precious blood of his Son, Jesus, and destined to enjoy eternity with him in heaven. That’s who we are. As Pope St. John Paul II taught, “being is more important than having and doing.”

It’s not just that I’m made in God’s image and likeness, but that every human person is as well, thus deserving dignity and respect. This is our belief in the Imago Dei (“Image of God”) central to Judeo-Christian revelation, cherished by other creeds as well.As Christians, however, we have to ensure that this truth of our faith doesn’t somehow make us the center of the world. There is a heavy stress today on individualism: my needs, my wants, my career, my sexual preferences, my convenience and my time are most important. But being made in the image and likeness of God means that God happens to be the center of the world!

If we properly understand who we are in God’s eyes, and in relation to other creatures and all of creation, we will sense that there are certain duties and obligations that simply flow from who we are.

Read the rest here.

What to read about the Extraordinary Synod

Now that the Extraordinary Synod has come to a close (and we have another year to wait until the Ordinary Synod), there are plenty of articles circulating with commentaries, interviews and summaries of the event.  Here are a few that I have found particularly interesting:

- "Archbishop Kurtz on synod and next steps" (video)

- Fr. Raymond de Souza, "Never too late to listen to Pope Benedict XVI"

- Fr. Raymond de Souza, "Eleven Ways the Synod Failed Pope Francis' Vision"

- George Weigel, "An extraordinary Synod, indeed"

- Mark Brumley, "Synod Suprise"

Happy first feast day of *Saint* John Paul II!

"Well done, good and faithful servant!"

36 years ago today!

I can never get enough of this video!  It was 36 years ago that we received our first non-Italian pope in 455 years.

What kind of movies did St. John Paul II watch?

Well, apparently, he watched "The Princess Bride."

The New York Post (via Catholic Vote) just wrote this:

Of all the fans who have professed undying love for “The Princess Bride,” there’s one star Cary Elwes never expected to hear from: Pope John Paul II.

Elwes briefly met His Holiness at the Vatican in 1988, a year after the movie was released. After posing for a quick photo, the pontiff turned to the actor and asked if he was the one from “The Princess and the Bride.”

Elwes was so startled, he could barely speak. “Yes,” he answered.

“Very good film. Very funny,” the pope said.

“I mean, what are the chances of that?” Elwes tells The Post. “‘Inconceivable’ was what went through my mind.”

Read more here.

Quote book

"I have been able to celebrate Holy Mass in chapels built along mountain paths, on lakeshores and seacoasts; I have celebrated it on altars built in stadiums and in city squares... This varied scenario of celebrations of the Eucharist has given me a powerful experience of its universal and, so to speak, cosmic character. Yes, cosmic! Because even when it is celebrated on the humble altar of a country church, the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world. It unites heaven and earth. It embraces and permeates all creation. The Son of God became man in order to restore all creation, in one supreme act of praise, to the One who made it from nothing." -- St. John Paul II

Come hear Archbishop Kurtz, president of the USCCB, at Ruah Woods' banquet!

Are you coming to hear Archbishop Kurtz at Ruah Woods' fifth annual banquet?  It promises to be a wonderful evening. 

What's going to happen at the Extraordinary Synod in October?

With all of the recent hype and speculation about the upcoming Extraordinary Synod on the Family, you would think the doctrines of the Catholic Church are about to change. Reading the just-released "Instrumentum Laboris" -- a summary of the world's bishops' reflections on the status of marriage and the family today -- gives a different picture. Here's my take at Aleteia.

Just to get you started:

The world’s bishops have taken stock of today’s cultural landscape with respect to marriage and the family and have found a serious lack of understanding–and therefore, living–of the Church’s teaching. It comes as no surprise to those in the trenches, (or even to those who just pick up a newspaper occasionally). We’ve all seen headlines about the legalization of same-sex “marriage.” We’ve all observed a blasé attitude toward marriage among family, friends, neighbors or colleagues, attitudes that non-judgmentally condone contraception, cohabitation and divorce. But for the Church’s hierarchy to acknowledge the difference between the faith and how it’s lived is an important admission. 

There are plenty of questions regarding who might be to blame–Are parents catechizing their children? Were the parents ever formed? Are priests preaching or advising properly in confession? Are bishops promoting defense of the family as a priority? Are marriage preparation programs adequate?


The tone of the document, however, is not to find a scapegoat; it is to acknowledge that something must be done. The victims of our marriage-destructive culture are many and are identified in the document–children of divorce, single mothers, spouses remaining faithful to wedding vows though separated, abused women and children, those living in canonically irregular situations and so forth. The document reveals that the bishops are aware of the grave challenges now facing the world and of the way these challenges converge and relate to the family, the fundamental cell of society.

Read the rest here.

World Youth Day's long-reaped fruits

I still remember the shock of the difference between Toronto, Canada and Cologne, Germany's World Youth Days.  The first was such a brilliant celebration, excellently executed, with a million young people joining St. John Paul II for his final World Youth Day.  But the second seemed flat, in my eyes.  The event took place in three different cities, limiting the amount of time the pilgrims were together.  Pope Benedict did not ride through the crowds for his entrance, but rather on a boat on the Rhine, which was difficult to see.  At the time, I was disappointed in my second World Youth Day experience.

Pope Benedict XVI at World Youth Day in Madrid.

But then we were participating in the walking pilgrimage to the all night vigil in Cologne, when I noticed the locals watching from their windows and porches.  They saw hundreds of thousands of young people from throughout the world making their way to an evening with the Holy Father.  They saw faith and sacrifice and trust and solidarity.

And then I realized -- the Germany World Youth Day was not for us, the pilgrims, in the way that Toronto's event had been.  No, this World Youth Day was for Germany.  This was a gift to a country whose faith was fading, an invitation to a greater love and joy.

So, when I saw the "First Things" headline, "Is Spain Regaining Its Faith?  And Why Isn't Anyone Else," I knew the answer had to involve, at least in part, World Youth Day.  The event was held there in 2011.  It was to be Pope Benedict XVI's final one.  It wasn't like Toronto's, at least for me, (though, admittedly, I was now a chaperone, not a soon-to-be freshman in college), but the streets of secular Spain were teaming with youth, the subways and buses were filled with song.  As we hiked to the field for the overnight vigil, generous Spaniards maneuvered their shower heads out their windows to offer some cool relief from the blazing sun.  


World Youth Day is the gift that keeps on giving.  Denver is a city transformed by Pope John Paul II's visit in 1993.  The cities chosen cannot just be the best logistical location for massive crowds.  The cities chosen become centers of renewal.  And these cities on a hill, popping up around the world, will undoubtedly contribute to the re-evangelization of many people, families and nations. 

Why is JPII a saint?

Are you coming to Camp Echo?

Karol Wojtyla visited Cincinnati?

I don't remember ever hearing about such a visit, but the Catholic Telegraph provides a few details in an article here.  When I was confirmed on Divine Mercy Sunday at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral many years ago, I had no idea that St. John Paul II had been there!

John Paul II's favorite Italian dessert was ...

Gelato!  Yes, JPII particularly enjoyed ice cream.  Read all about how he filled his ice cream cravings in this Aleteia article.

Quote book

"In seeking the deepest roots of the struggle between the 'culture of life' and the 'culture of death,' we cannot restrict ourselves to the perverse idea of freedom mentioned above.  We have to go to the heart of the tragedy being experienced by modern man: the eclipse of the sense of God and of man, typical of a social and cultural climate dominated by secularism, which, with its ubiquitous tentacles, succeeds at times in putting Christian communities themselves to the test.  Those who allow themselves to be influenced by this climate easily fall into a sad vicious cycle: when the sense of God is lost, there is also a tendency to lose the sense of man, of his dignity and his life; in turn, the systematic violation of the moral law, especially in the serious matter of respect for human life and its dignity, produces a kind of progressive darkening of the capacity to discern God's living and saving presence." -- SAINT John Paul II (Evangelium Vitae #21)

THE canonization

In just 13 hours, the canonization Mass for John Paul II and John XXIII will begin in Rome.  What an exciting moment!  Bl. John Paul II died on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday (liturgically it was already Divine Mercy Sunday because Evening Prayer had been said) nine years ago.  St. Peter's Square filled with pilgrims who held tearful vigil, waiting for the great doors of the papal apartment to be shut and the lights to be extinguished as a sign that their beloved papa had gone to his eternal home.  And when he did, the chanting began: Santo Subito!  Sainthood now!

Nine years is a relatively short time to pass between one's death and his canonization.  St. Peter's Square is filling once again (just take a look at #2popesaints on Twitter for some updates) with pilgrims who are holding joyful vigil waiting for the banner of John Paul II's face to be unfurled from the balcony of the great basilica as a sign that the Church has great confidence that their beloved papa is in his eternal home.

I was at John Paul II's beatification and can only imagine the excitement of standing in the Square for his canonization.  There is something so beautiful about the public recognition of someone's courageous holiness.  It's a special thanksgiving to God for the life of a man who transformed the world in ways we may not fully realize.  

Fun facts about JPII

Bl. John Paul II will be Saint John Paul II in just four days!!  

Chastity Project has this list of "21 Awesome Facts You Didn't Know About JP2" on their site.  It's a fun read!  Among others:

9. He pulled a couple James Bond moves to evade the secret police

When he was a bishop in Poland during the communist reign, the secret police were constantly keeping tabs on him and trying to study him (by the time he became pope, they had amassed 18 cartons of reports on him.)
Once, when the archbishop needed to have a secret meeting with Karol, Karol’s chauffeur pulled a little traffic weaving stunt which cut off their pursuer’s line of sight; Karol swapped cars without them knowing, and was able to meet with the archbishop in peace.
The government also bugged the bishops’ residence with listening devices, which Karol knew about and so he played off of it.  He would talk extra loud when he wanted them to hear something, and would save the private conversations for his secret wilderness excursions.

Read them all here. 

Quote book

"True love, love that is interiorly full, is one in which we choose a person for his own sake; thus in it a man chooses a woman and a woman a man not merely as a 'partner' for sexual life, but as a person to whom he or she wants to give his or her life." -- Bl. John Paul II in "Love and Responsibility"

Quote book

Quite possibly the most succinct, poignant definition of the new evangelization I have ever heard:

"What's new about the new evangelization? I'll tell you what's new about it.  It's intended for the baptized.  In other words, we're not targeting the pagans with the new evangelization.  We're talking about those who have actually been baptized and confirmed and perhaps married in the Church.  That's what John Paul II had in mind with the new evangelization.  Doesn't it occur to anybody that that is an extraordinary admission by a pope?  That that vast number of those who claim to be Catholic are themselves sacramentalized but not evangelized?" -- Al Kresta on "Kresta in the Afternoon" on October 21, 2013