Six years ago we were in the Plaza to celebrate the funeral of Pope John Paul II. The pain of his loss was deep, but greater still was the sense of immense grace that surrounded Rome and the world, grace was the result of a lifetime of my beloved predecessor and, especially, his testimony on suffering .
that day I perceived the perfume of holiness, and the People of God manifested in many ways his reverence for him. So, I wanted to due respect for the rules of the Church, the cause of his beatification proceed with reasonable promptness. And behold, the awaited day has come, has come early because they wanted the Lord: John Paul II is blessed.
This is the second Sunday of Easter, the Blessed John Paul II dedicated to Divine Mercy. That is why he chose this day for celebration today, because my predecessor, thanks to a providential plan, gave up his spirit to God precisely in the afternoon of the vigil of this feast. Also, today is the first day of May, the month of Mary, and is also the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker.
These elements contribute to enrich our prayer, help us we still wandered in time and space. In contrast, how different is the feast in heaven with the angels and saints. And yet, there is one God, and Christ the Lord who, as a bridge linking the earth and sky, and we feel at this moment closer than ever, participating in the Heavenly liturgy.
are those who believe without seeing "(Jn 20, 29). In today's Gospel, Jesus utters this blessing: the blessing of faith. We are concerned in a particular way, precisely because we are gathered to celebrate a beatification, and even more so because today was beatified Pope, Successor of Peter, called to confirm the faith of the brothers. John Paul II is blessed by his faith, strong and generous apostolic. Immediately recall another beatitude: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because you is not revealed no flesh and blood, but my Father in heaven" (Mt 16, 17). What is what the heavenly Father revealed to Simon? Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. By this faith becomes Simon "Peter" the rock on which Jesus builds his Church. The eternal bliss of John Paul II, the Church must proclaim the joy of today is included in these words of Christ: "Blessed, you, Simon" and "Blessed are those who believe without seeing." This is the blessedness of faith, John Paul II also received from God the Father as a gift for the edification of the Church of Christ.
But our thoughts turn to another beatitude, that the gospel above all else. Is that of the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redeemer. She, who had conceived Jesus in her womb, St. Elizabeth says, "Blessed are you who believed that what you said the Lord would be fulfilled" (Lk 1, 45). The bliss of faith has its model in Mary, and we all rejoice that the beatification of John Paul II takes place on the first day of the month of Mary, under the maternal gaze of one who, with his faith, said the faith of Apostles, and continually maintains the faith of his successors, especially those who have been called to the chair of Peter. Mary does not appear in the narratives of the resurrection of Christ, but their presence is as hidden in all parts: she is the Mother to whom Jesus entrusted each of the disciples and the entire community. In particular, we note that the effective presence and Mary's mother has been recorded by St. John and St. Luke in the contexts that precede the gospel of today and the first reading in the narrative of the death of Jesus, where Mary appears at the foot of the cross (cf. Jn 19, 25), and the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, that the present among the disciples gathered in prayer in the Upper Room (cf. Acts. 1, 14).
also the second reading today speaks of faith, and it is Peter who writes, full of spiritual enthusiasm the newly baptized indicating the reasons for hope and joy. I am pleased that in this passage, early in his first letter, Peter is not expressed in a hortatory way, but indicative, writes this: "Therefore rejoice," and adds: 'You have seen Jesus Christ, and love him, not see, and believe in him and rejoice with joy unspeakable and transformed, thus achieving the goal of your faith, your own salvation "(1 Pt 1, 6.8-9). Everything is in the indicative because there is a new reality created by the resurrection of Christ, a reality accessible to the faith. "It is the Lord who has done," says the Psalm (118, 23) - has been is wonderful, "before the eyes of faith.
Dear brothers and sisters, now shines before our eyes, under the full spiritual light of the risen Christ, loved and venerated figure of John Paul II. Today, his name is added to the multitude of saints and blessed that he proclaimed during his nearly 27 years as pontiff, recalling strongly the universal vocation to the high measure of Christian life, holiness, as stated in the conciliar Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium.
All members of the People of God, bishops, priests, deacons, laity, religious, we journey towards our heavenly homeland, where we preceded the Virgin Mary, associated with so singular and perfect the mystery of Christ and the Church. Karol Wojtyla, first as auxiliary bishop and then archbishop of Krakow, he participated in Vatican II and dedicated to Mary knew that the last chapter of the document on the Church meant bringing the Mother of the Redeemer as image and model of holiness for all Christians and for the whole Church. This theological vision is what the Blessed John Paul II found a young man and then maintained and deepened throughout her life.
Virgen de Guadalupe
This vision is summarized in the biblical image of Christ on the cross, and their feet Mary his mother. An icon is in the Gospel of John (19, 25-27) and was synthesized in the Episcopal and later papal coat of Karol Wojtyla, a cross of gold, an 'em' down, right, and the motto "Totus tuus", which corresponds to the famous expression of St. Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort, in which Karol Wojtyla found a fundamental principle in their life: "Totus tuus ego sum et omnia mea tua sunt. Accipio Te in mea omnia. Praebe cor tuum mihi, Maria-I am all yours and all I have is yours. You are my everything, O Mary, lend me your heart. " (Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, n. 266).
The new Blessed wrote in his will: "When, on October 16, 1978, the conclave of cardinals chose John Paul II, the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski told me:" The task of the new pope will be to introduce the Church into the Third Millennium. " He added: "I once again express gratitude to the Holy Spirit for the great gift of Vatican II, for which, together with the whole Church, especially with all the Bishops, I am indebted. I am convinced that for a long time to come the new generations will turn to the riches that this Council of the twentieth century has given.
As a bishop who participated in the conciliar event from the first day to the last, I wish to entrust this great patrimony to all those who are and will be called to apply. For my part, I thank the eternal Shepherd who has allowed me to serve this very great cause during all the years of my pontificate. " And what is this "cause"? Is the same as John Paul II said in his first Mass in St. Peter's Square, with the memorable words: "Fear not! ! Open, even more so, open wide the doors to Christ! ". What the newly elected Pope called on all he himself carried out in the first person to Christ opened society, culture, political and economic systems, investing with the strength of a giant force that came from God, a trend that could seem irreversible.
In his testimony of faith, love and apostolic courage, together with a great humanity, this exemplary son of the Polish Nation helped Christians around the world to not be afraid to be called Christians, belong to the Church talk about the Gospel. In a word: it helped to not be afraid of the truth, because truth is a guarantee of freedom. Still more in short: we back the strength to believe in Christ because Christ is Redemptor hominis, Redeemer of man: the subject of his first encyclical and thread of all others.
Karol Wojtyla ascended the throne of Peter carrying the deep reflection on the confrontation between Marxism and Christianity, centered in man.
His message was this: the man is the way of the Church, and Christ is the way of man. With this message, which is the great legacy of Vatican II and its "boat", the Servant of God Pope Paul VI, John Paul II led the people of God to cross the threshold of the Third Millennium, thanks Christ, he could just be called "Threshold of Hope." Yes, he, through the long preparation for the Jubilee, gave the Christians a renewed orientation towards the future, the future of God, transcendent with regard to history, but also affects the story. That burden of hope that somehow was given to Marxism as the ideology of progress, he legitimately claimed for Christianity, restoring the true face of hope, to live in history in a spirit of "Advent", a personal and community focused on Christ, the fullness of man and fulfilling its desire for justice and peace.
I finally give thanks to God through personal experience that allowed me to collaborate for a long time with the Blessed Pope John Paul II. He had already had occasion to meet him and to rectify, but since 1982, when I called to Rome as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for 23 years could be near him and worship him increasingly. Spiritual depth and richness of his insights held my service. The example of his prayer has always impressed me and built, he immersed himself in the encounter with God, even amid the many occupations of his ministry. And later, his witness in suffering: the Lord was slowly stripping all, yet he was always like a "rock" as Christ intended.
His deep humility, rooted in the intimate union with Christ, let him continue to guide the Church and give the world an even more eloquent message, just as his physical strength would decrease. Thus, he made an extraordinary way the vocation of every priest and bishop, being one with the Jesus to that routinely receives and gives in the Eucharist.
Blessed are you, our beloved Pope John Paul, because you have believed! We pray that you continue from heaven holding the faith of the People of God. Amen.
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