Pope remembers John Paul II, guide in the faith, prophet of hope, passionate witness
Vatican City (AsiaNews) -- An "unreserved and unsparing" love for Christ, "which overflowed into every region of the world," a "unreserved spending of himself," a "dimension of universality:" in speaking of John Paul II this afternoon, on the second anniversary of his death, Benedict XVI used concepts evoking greatness and abundance.
On the day also marking the completion of the first phase of Pope John Paul's cause for beatification, which the Diocese of Rome was able to carry out very rapidly, the "Sainthood Now" crowds returned to Saint Peter's Square: at least 30,000 people, in the afternoon of a working day, applauded at each mention of his name, forcing Benedict XVI to pause repeatedly during the homily.
They were a reminder of the silent crowds, moved and prayerful on that luminous night, in which, as Benedict XVI recalled today, the "dimension of universality," given by God to Pope Jean Paul II, "reached the widest expansion." A death which "the entire world experienced with unparalleled attention."
Together with them, Benedict XVI recalled the 27 years in which John Paul II was "father and sure guide in the faith, zealous pastor and courageous prophet of hope, tireless witness and passionate servant of God's love."
There were some forty Cardinals around the altar today. President Lech Kaczynski of Poland was there, as well as diplomats and politicians. There was also Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, the 46-year-old French nun, whose recovery from Parkinson's disease is the miracle attributed to Karol Wojtyla's intercession. The "family" was also there: the Polish nuns, the late Pope's butler, Angelo Gugel, the then commander of the pontifical security guards, the absolutely trustworthy Camillo Cibin, who was at his side on every trip and visit, in Rome, in Italy and in the world. And, of course, Stanislaw Dziwisz, today cardinal of Krakow, for 40 years John Paul II's personal secretary, who celebrated mass this morning in the Vatican Grottos and, after this evening's rite, returned to the late Pope's tomb to recite the Rosary along with 100 Italian youths.
From the altar, Pope Benedict, who had worked with John Paul II for 23 years, gave more than one personal touch to the homily which took its cue from the Gospel account of the anointing of Jesus by Mary of Bethany. "For us, gathered in prayer in memory of my venerated Predecessor," he said, "Mary of Bethany's gesture of anointing is rich with spiritual echoes and suggestiveness. It evokes the luminous witness that John Paul II offered of his unreserved and unsparing love for Christ. "The house", that is the Church, "was filled with the fragrance" of his love. To be sure, those of us near him benefited, and we thank God for this, but even those who knew him from afar enjoyed this, because Pope Wojtyla's love for Christ overflowed, we could say, into every region of the world, so strong and intense was it. Were not the esteem, respect and affection that believers and non-believers expressed for him upon his death an eloquent testimony of this?"
"It is so true," he added, "the intense and fruitful pastoral ministry, and even more the calvary of the final moments, and the serene death of our beloved Pope, made it so that men of today could know that Jesus Christ was his 'everything.' The fruitfulness of this testimony, we know, depends on the Cross. In Karol Wojtyla's life, the word "cross" was not just a word. He knew pain and death from as far back as his childhood and youth. As priest and as Bishop, and especially as Supreme Pontiff, he took very seriously Christ's last call to Simon Peter, on the shores of the sea of Galilee: "Follow me...You follow me." (Gv 21:19,22). Particularly with the slow but unrelenting progression of his illness, which little by little stripped him of everything, his existence became entirely an offering to Christ, living announcement of his passion, in the faith-filled hope of ressurection."
"His pontificate," he went on to say, "played out under the banner of "prodigality", of generously and unreservedly spending himself. What moved him if not the mystical love for Christ, for Him who, on October 16, 1978, had him called, in the words of protocol: 'Magister adest et vocat te - The Master is here and he is calling you'? On April 2, 2005, the Master returned, this time without intermediaries, and called him to take him home, to the house of the Father. And he, yet again, promptly replied with his intrepid heart, and whispered: "Let me go to the Lord" (cfr S. Dziwisz, A Life with Karol). He had been preparing himself a long time for this final encounter with Jesus, as the various versions of his Will attest. During the long pauses in his private Chapel, he would speak with Him, totally abandoning himself to His will, and he would entrust himself to Maris, repeating the Totus tuus."
"'Servant of God': this he was and this we now call him in the Church, as the cause for his beatification quickly moves forward, with the diocesan inquiry on his life, virtues and reputation of holiness having concluded today. 'Servant of God': a particularly appropriate title for him. The Lord called him to His service on the path of the priesthood and opened increasingly wide horizons for him as he went along: from his Diocese to the Universal Church. This dimension of universality reached the widest expansion at the moment of his death, an event which the entire world experienced with unparalleled attention."
Two years ago, celebrating John Paul II's funeral, the then Cardinal Ratzinger said he was certain that, from the house of the Father, he was watching over Saint Peter's Square; today he said that "from the house of the Father - we are certain - he does not cease to accompany the Church along its way."
.png)
