May 18 - Birthday of Pope St. John Paul II

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

How interesting that Pope St. John Paul II’s Birthday should fall on this date - so close to the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima! It seems significant to me also that he was born on this optional Memorial of Pope St. John I who was a martyr. The Mass readings for both the Monday of the Sixth week of Easter and the Optional Memorial for Pope John I are beautiful so I’ll post some parts of both to hear and to ponder in our hearts…

From today’s Gospel:
Jesus said to His disciples:
“When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to Me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with Me from the beginning.

“I have told you this so that you may not fall away.
They will expel you from the synagogues;
in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you
will think he is offering worship to God.
They will do this because they have not known either the Father or Me.
I have told you this so that when their hour comes
you may remember that I told you.” (Jn 15: 26-16A)
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First Reading, from the Optional Memorial of St John 1, Pope and Martyr:
The Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the source of God’s creation, says this:

'"Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
then I will enter his house and dine with him
and he with Me.
I will give the victor the right to sit with Me on my throne,
as I Myself first won the victory
and sit with My Father on His throne.

Whoever has ears ought to hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.’" ( Rv. 3:14b, 20-1)
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Repsonsorial Psalm is the Good Shepherd Psalm 23
Alleluia Verse: “**I call you My friends, says the Lord, **
For I have made known to you all that the Father has told Me.” (Jn 15:15)

Gospel:
An argument broke out among the Apostles
about which of them should be regarded as the greatest.
Jesus said to them,
“The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them
and those in authority over them are addressed as ‘Benefactors’;
but among you it shall not be so.
Rather, let the greatest among you be as the youngest,
and the leader as the servant.
For who is greater:
the one seated at table or the one who serves?
Is it not the one seated at table?
I am among you as the One Who serves.
It is you who have stood by Me in My trials;
and I confer a kingdom on you,
just as My Father has conferred one on Me,
that you may eat and drink at My table in My Kingdom;
and you will sit on thrones
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
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Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your Faithful; kindle in us the Fire of Your Love. Jesus, Meek and humble of Heart, make our hearts like Yours. Mary, humble Mother of the Church, pray for us.
 
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Dear Gio,

Thanks for your reply - I believe dear Pope St. John Paul II is indeed praying for us, with all the hosts of heaven, Jesus and Mary leading in the intercessions before our Father!

Let us join with them, today and every day in Praise and Thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father Who loved us so much He gave His Only Begotten Son to us through Mary, that by the Life and Death, Resurection and ascension of Jesus we might be saved from eternal death and enter into Eternal Life!
 
Yes, indeed, it is the 100th birthday of Saint Pope John Paul II the Great. The man was a saint. Miracles have come through him.

Vatican page link: John Paul II

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)
 
Dear Stoplooklisten,

Thank you for your reply, the picture of Pope St. JPII and the link to the Vatican page. He is one of the most ardent of Marian Saints, along with St. Louis de Montfort, whose book on 'True Devotion to the Virgin Mary", St. John Paul II read in his youth. JPII’s Papal Motto was “Totus Tuus” – from the words of St; Louis de Montfort.

It is worth noting that in his own book, “Crossing the Threshold of Hope”, St.JPII wrote that his reading of St Louis de Montfort’s “True Devotion” was a turning point in his young life. I believe Pope St. John Paul II was able to encourage many young people (and older persons as well as well) to grow in their devotion to Mary by his words and example.

Mary Queen of the Clergy, pray for priests, deacons and seminarians that they too may bless in special ways the people they are called to serve now and always.
 
Dear Stephie,

Thanks again for your faith-full and loving “heart” – not unlike our dear Pope St. JPII whose birthday we celebrate today, you continue to appreciate Mary, our Mother, given to us by Jesus from His Cross.

I’m wondring how many churches will have May crownings now that several Bishops are allowing limited numbers of people to participate in daily and Sunday Masses.
 
This morning’s Patrick Madrid show had a lot of reflection on Pope St. John Paul Ii.

I would like to see more May crownings. We have a nice Marian grotto just outside our Adoration Chapel. We still have (limited) access.
 
Dear Stephie,

Yes, I was thinking the same thing about May Crownings – have you asked anyone in your parish if even just a few might be permitted to have a crowning of Mary’s statue? I’m thinking of sending an e-mail to the Parish Office and check if anyone is already planning one. I’ll pray a little more before doing so since there is so much “concern” right now.

Let us pray to the Holy Spirit to kindle the hearts of those in charge! 🙂
 
Dear ontheway1,

Thanks so much for sharing this excellent article from “First Things” by Peter Leithart.

Yes, Pope St. John Paul II was a remarkable Christian Leader and we can be grateful to God to have lived during his time on earth. In a different way but as powerfully we saw also God’s power working through the witness of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

God does “Marvellous Things” as our Mother Mary sang in her Magnificat recorded in Luke’s Gospel - Chapter 1 verses 46 - 55. I once made a retreat on the Gospel of Matthew during which the humble priest who was directing us said often: “Fear not, little flock…” and also reminded us often – “There will be a lot of surprises in heaven.”

My hope is yet to see more saints rise up who love Mary and will fight the battle with her against satan, as Pope St. John Paul II and St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta did – each in a unique way given them by Jesus through Mary and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Thanks again for the article and the links within the article as well, especially JPII’s homily at the 8th World Youth Day, Sunday, 15 August 1993 in Denver. 🙂
 
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Indeed it is his 100th birthday. There is of course a lot of talk about this in Poland (at least from what I am reading and watching).

There was a beautiful mass held on Sunday too. There were some concerns raised in the past about JPII that made me doubt certain aspects of his papacy, such as accusations of his covering up the sexual abuse scandal.

There has recently been an investigation done on that matter, as there indeed was as part of the sainthood process, that confirmed he did not knowingly cover up anything, and hearing about some of the hardships he had to deal with in his life, particularly as a child (but also later on) just reaffirms to me how much of a saint this man is.
 
Dear Polak,

It is amazing how some people will look for “possible flaws” in the lives of others, when there has been so much to the contrary in their lives. I’m grateful subsequent investigations usually do clear up any confusion or questions, but we can be sure, in the end, God will judge each one of us – as only He can!

In the meantime let us by God’s Grace strive to do His Will as the lives of all our saints show us – especially shown in the perfect example of Our Mother Mary who was the first and perfect disciple of Jesus! Looking at her from His Cross Jesus told John as well as all of us: “Behold your Mother”.
 
Dear Cham65 and Inbonum,

Thanks so much for your “hearts”, letting us know your appreciation of Pope St. John Paul II and hopefully in pondering the Readings for Mass today, you were blessed in seeing how important it was for St. JPII to listen to the Scripture and to do the Truth He heard.

I was especially moved byt the words at the end of the First Reading ferom Revelation:
Whoever has ears ought to hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.’ " ( Rv. 3:14b, 20-1)
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It was Pope St. John Paul II who wrote that when John the Apostle Heard Jesus say from His Cross: “Behold Your Mother”, John not only took Mary into his home but into His Life!. Would that every child of God and especially priests, deacons and seminarians would hear those words as deeply in their hearts as Pope St. John Paul II did.

Mary, Queen of the Clergy pray that God may send us Holy Shepherds to lead the Flock.
Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us, your children.
 
MariaChristi said:
'"Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
then I will enter his house and dine with him
and he with Me.
I will give the victor the right to sit with Me on my throne,
as I Myself first won the victory
and sit with My Father on His throne.

Whoever has ears ought to hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.’ "
Click to expand...
This is something that is heart touching to me and what we should think about very often, because Jesus stands on the doors of our hearts, knocking and waiting for us to open those doors and let Him in; those are doors which open from the inside-Jesus isn’t violent, He knocks and waits. Those words changed my life and never ever became boring. Jesus waits for us, He is here, we only need to say “Yes Jesus, come in my heart” and rest is on Him.
Mary Mother of Church and Mediatrix of all graces, pray for us!
 
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Dear EmeraldLady,

Thanks for your “heart”! It is always encouraging to know there are some who continue to appreciate our Mother Mary in a special way! 🙂

By God’s Grace, the birthday and memories of Pope St. John Paul II with his tender and deep devotion to our Mother Mary continues to inspire many of us.
 
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