The last time the school was gathered over in Church we were celebrating the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis lived and died over 800 years ago, yet we celebrate him to this day because of his holiness, his example of love for God, his willingness to bear the sufferings of Jesus in his body and in his life.
Today we celebrate a saint, who lived and died not 800 years ago, but just 16 years ago. He was the Pope at the turning of the 21st century, the Pope for the majority of my life and many of your teachers and parents: Pope John Paul II.
Not every Pope is a saint or will be canonized as a saint. But Pope John Paul II was one of the holiest men who lived in the last 100 years.
He was Pope for 26 years, 5 months, and 17 days, the third longest papacy in history. He traveled the world more than any Pope before or after, visiting 129 countries: he was the first pope to visit the White house. He spoke latin fluently, but could also converse in Slovak, Russian, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Ukrainian, English, and of course, his native Polish.
He had one of the most prolific pontificates in history: publishing, 14 encyclicals, 15 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions, 45 apostolic letters and 28 motu proprios. And he canonized more saints than any other Pope in history. He played a decisive role in the downfall of communism in eastern Europe. The list of accomplishments goes on and on.
And yet, his personal holiness could be felt by those around him. I was in Rome back in 2004, and attended a Mass with John Paul. And, I remember locking eyes with the Pope as he came up the aisle in the procession for Mass, and he looked at me, and smiled at me, and it was like I could see the light of Jesus in him and his deep love of God and for the people of the world. His love for God, his devotion to the Blessed Mother Mary, his love for the Church infused his life and radiated from Him.
Holiness is real, saints are real. And becoming holy, becoming a saint, is the most important thing you could do in life. It’s more important than wealth, riches, fame, popularity. You can be poor as dirt, you can be sick as a dog, but if you are holy, you have everything.
Again, the fact that John Paul was Pope was nothing compared to his holiness. He can be a brilliant scientist or the best athlete or most famous moviestar in the world, but it is all nothing, if you do not have the life of Jesus in you.
This is what Jesus was talking about in the Gospel today. In the Gospel, Jesus says, there are people who are brilliant at predicting the weather, they can look at the sky, and know what kind of weather we are going to have. But it is all a waste of time if you have this great ability, but do not learn the difference between right and wrong, evil and righteousness, and strive to live a life of grace. You can learn to speak all the languages of the world, but if you do not have God’s love in you, you are just going through life making a bunch of noise.
John Paul remained deeply united to God amid the many demands of his ministry, of his life, and in his sufferings. May Pope St. John Paul II, through his heavenly intercession help us to seek the deep union with God through a life of holiness that will make our lives complete for the Glory of God and salvation of souls.
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