Last week, we gathered for Mass on the feast day of a saint who lived about 450 years ago, St. Teresa of Avila. Today we celebrate a saint who lived and died not 450 years, but just 25 years ago, Pope St. John Paul II.
Not all Popes are saints and not all saints are Popes, but Pope John Paul II was one of the holiest men who lived in the last 100 years, and one of the great Popes of history.
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, in Washington D.C. 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 wrote more than any other Pope, 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 Pope 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. You 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.
As holy Pope John Paul, did as the Lord commanded Peter in the Gospel today: he fed the flock of Jesus, the Church—he was an excellent holy leader, and his example reminds us that we too need to seek to be as holy as we possibly can through lives of prayer, service, study, worship, virtue, and good works in wherever we find ourselves—as a teacher, a student, a priest.
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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