Reverend Monsignor Peter J. Vaghi

Chaplain of the John Carroll Society

Happily, the world has been preoccupied with the image, the writings, the activities and voice of our beloved John Paul II since his death into new life this past Saturday, that “newness of life” referred to in the second reading tonight from St. Paul. He has been called the extraordinary Pope, the great communicator, the moral “reference” for our world, the “greatest Christian witness of the 20th century,” even John Paul the Great. This 263rd successor to St. Peter, this Pope whose papacy was the third longest in history, this son of Poland, speaks to so many of us fundamentally, however, as a shepherd of souls, after the example of the Good Shepherd, a shepherd who was consumed with a zeal for souls.

Of all the information that has been communicated to us, I would like to focus briefly on three aspects of his incredible life, three keys to understanding the genius and unique love and spirituality of this Pope who sought to be our friend and brother-- John Paul as a man of prayer, a man of intellect and a man of action.

First, John Paul -- a man of prayer. Above all other qualities, his prayerfulness, his otherworldliness, was at the very heart of his person, his deep personal and daily life of prayer, his love of Jesus and His Blessed Mother. Everything he said and did--even his death and dying-- seemed to be marked by a certain serenity and tranquility, all marks of a special relationship with God. It is a quality which is rarely mentioned, perhaps because the life of intense prayer for the contemporary person seems to elude most of us as we live in the midst of daily busyness and rush. By contrast, John Paul was totally absorbed in communion with God. So often we would see him with his eyes closed in meditation. In fact, it was the source of his intense energy, a spiritual energy. This kind of prayer, often six hours daily, made possible the tiring papal audiences and trips, the myriad commitments and gave him a unique equilibrium and balance required to guide and shepherd such a diverse church in a challenging world.

I would say that his prayer was at the basis of his life. John Paul called us to pray. He challenged us to a life of holiness, to see holiness as a vocation. He encouraged us in a love for the Eucharist culminating in this Year of the Eucharist. He would write that Sunday Mass actually defines us as Catholics. In his private chapel, I once had the privilege of concelebrating Mass with him. As I walked into that small chapel, I watched him at prayer early in the morning, prior to Mass, in his chair and heard the groaning sound which was characteristic of his prayer. He was totally oblivious to those of us in the room. It was the mark of a mystic. On every trip, as he entered the various churches around the world, he would go immediately to the Blessed Sacrament for a prayerful visit before he did anything else. A reporter wrote this week: “He made holiness buzz.”

Second, John Paul-- a man of intellect. A phenomenologist, theologian, playwright, poet and author! His writing desk was placed in his chapel next to the Blessed Sacrament. His intellectual life was a direct product of his life of prayer. It was in the chapel where he did his writing. 100,000 written pages in a papacy of 26 and one half years! 14 encyclicals, 14 apostolic exhortations, 42 apostolic letters, five books, thousands of letters and homilies and audience talks, a new catechism for the church, a theology of the body, a revision of the codes of canon law for both the latin and eastern churches! In all his writings, his primary legacy was as authentic interpreter of the great work of the Vatican Council. He was a faithful teacher of the faith. He helped us see the faith in light of the perennial challenges of contemporary and secular life always providing “reasons” for our hope. It was as if he were responding over and over again to the angel of the Lord in tonight’s first reading releasing the apostles from jail telling them to: “Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life,” the life of faith.

At the heart of his theology was his preoccupation, if you will, with the human person, with our human dignity, and how it is that Christ uniquely unlocks the meaning of each one of us, each of us made in the image and likeness of God and recreated in the passion, death and resurrection of Christ of which we share by virtue of our baptisms. It is Jesus Christ alone who deciphers the human condition, our condition, the mystery of man--man who lives, who suffers, who works, who uses reason, who has faith, who is in need of love, who is loved by God, who Himself loves and ultimately man who dies. His life’s work is the study and reflection on that great line from the Vatican Council that: “The truth is that only in the mystery of the Incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light.” GS 22

Third and finally, John Paul--a man of action. I speak not of blind action but courageous action which stems directly from his prayer, an action which seeks concretely to live out an energetic and contemporary witness to the Gospel--above all--the Gospel of Life even and particularly as he advanced in years. He called it the “new” evangelization, an outreach for souls, often counter-cultural in tone, which characterized his 104 pastoral visits outside Italy (five of which were in the continental United States), his 143 trips within Italy and nearly 700 within the city of Rome. Included were visits to 301 of the 325 parishes in Rome in addition to religious institutes, universities, seminaries, hospitals, prisons and schools. For two decades, World Youth days were synonymous with his special love for young people around the world and their love for him. His advocacy for the poor of the third world is well respected as was his significant role in helping to liberate Eastern Europe and his own homeland of Poland where he played a pivitol role in the collapse of communism.

How can we forget his commitment to interfaith dialogue with other Christians and non-Christians? There was a special opening to our Jewish brothers and sisters--the opening of diplomatic relationship with the state of Israel, his dramatic visits to the Roman synagogue, Auschwitz and the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Then there was the opening of relations with the Palestinian Authority and his visit to a mosque. At the beginning of the pontificate, the Holy See had diplomatic relations with 85 countries. By the end, that number increased to 174 countries including the United States.

Or how can we forget the “forgiveness” he preached and lived by visiting a Roman jail and his would-be assassin forgiving him? As if to give a concrete picture to holiness, he canonized 483 men and women and beatified 1339--more than all his predecessors combined. Bold, innovative and courageous action for the faith!