The Pilgrim's Way: Beginning

Here at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine, we are devoted to building and preserving a place of encounter with Christ. We invite visitors to participate in liturgical prayer, in the veneration of Saint John Paul II’s relics, and ultimately in the universal call to holiness. According to Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, this Shrine is “a gift of the Knights of Columbus to the Church as a dedicated place of conversion, communion, and solidarity that advances the new evangelization now and in the future.”  

One way we do this is through our permanent exhibit, A Gift of Love: The Life of Saint John Paul II. Through this exhibit, we invite pilgrims to immerse themselves in the life, papacy, and teachings of John Paul II. We have already seen pilgrims walk away with hearts changed by this display of the late Holy Father’s saintly life, and each day it inspires in us a call to live as Christ’s disciples, just as John Paul II did.

As we prepare for the feast of St. John Paul II, we invite you to join us here on Open Wide the Doors as we explore this exhibit in depth. We hope you will walk through each of the nine galleries with us, so that you can get a taste of the spiritual and informational journey that awaits you here.

St. John Paul II's Response To Secularism

St. John Paul II at World Youth Day in Denver, CO, 1993 (CNS / Joe Rimkus Jr.)

Earlier this month, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson wrote a column on the Church’s response to the challenge of secularization. In the article, he draws from the “prophetic wisdom” of Saint John Paul II on marriage:

St. John Paul II spent his entire life confronting secular atheism — often in its most virulent and violent forms. The claim of these totalitarian systems was essentially the same: The answer to man’s problems will come in the events of social, economic and political change, whether realized by Hitler’s Thousand Year Reich or Marx’s workers’ paradise.

John Paul II responded to the challenge of secularism on many levels. But most notably he responded to this challenge in his prophetic ministry to married couples and families.

See the Knights of Columbus site for more.

Saint John Paul II, Pray for Us!

St. Kateri Relic To Be Placed In Altar At Shrine

Last month, the Knights of Columbus donated $600,000 for the renovation and upkeep of Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine, the birthplace of St. Kateri Tekakwitha. At the time, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson was presented with a first-class relic of the Native American saint. This relic will be placed in an altar here at the Shrine, as we continue to construct our new worship space.

Kateri Tekakwitha was beatified by Saint John Paul II in 1980, and she was later canonized by Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI. On the occasion of her beatification, John Paul II said:

All of us are inspired by the example of this young woman of faith who died three centuries ago this year. We are all edified by her complete trust in the providence of God, and we are encouraged by her joyful fidelity to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. In a true sense the whole Church, together with you, declares in the words of Saint Paul: “Glory be to him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine, glory be to him from generation to generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever.”

The Church has declared to the world that Kateri Tekakwitha is blessed, that she lived a life on earth of exemplary holiness and that she is now a member in heaven of the Communion of Saints who continually intercede with the merciful Father on our behalf.

Her beatification should remind us that we are all called to a life of holiness, for in Baptism God has chosen each one of us “to be holy and spotless and to live through love in his presence.” Holiness of life - union with Christ through prayer and works of charity - is not something reserved to a select few among the members of the Church. It is the vocation of everyone.

My brothers and sisters, may you be inspired and encouraged by the life of Blessed Kateri. Look to her for an example of fidelity; see in her a model of purity and love; turn to her in prayer for assistance. May God bless you as he blessed her. May God bless all the North American Indians of Canada and the United States.

The Church actually celebrated St. Kateri’s feast last week. Let us ask her to pray for us, that we may live out our vocations to holiness as she did.

I Have Searched For You, Now You Come To Me

More than 1,000 pilgrims joined us for the feast of Saint John Paul II last Wednesday! The day’s celebrations included multiple Masses and community prayers, veneration of our first class relic of St. John Paul, and the opening of our new permanent exhibit, A Gift of Love: The Life of Saint John Paul II.

Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, celebrated the second festal Mass. In his homily he said:

This great Holy Father was so close to the family of the Knights of Columbus. How much he loved us; how well he knew us; how constantly he encouraged us! Now in the Providence of God and thanks to the vision of our Worthy Supreme Knight, we are able to transform this building from a center to a shrine, a place of grace and holiness, truth and love, …not only, as it were, to repay St. John Paul II for his kindness to us but much more so, to proclaim the message of his life and pontificate within the Church and before the world.

Pilgrims who visited the Saint John Paul II National Shrine last week heard this message as they walked through our exhibit on the life and legacy of the late Holy Father. They also learned more about John Paul II from Most Rev. Mieczysław Mokrzycki, former personal secretary to the great saint.

Pope Francis Is Walking The Walk

Pope Francis has only occupied the Chair of St. Peter for four weeks, and he’s already taken the world captive by his life and ministry. What is it about the Supreme Pontiff that attracts so many people?

By now, the answer to this question is pretty obvious: The man walks the walk.

Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, noted that Pope Francis expresses a "unique solidarity with the poor and those in need." We’ve seen this in many of his actions so far, particularly in his washing the feet of young prisoners on Holy Thursday.

While these simple acts of charity are intended to help the least of our brothers and sisters, Pope Francis is also helping us to understand how it is we are called to live the life of Christ. He recognizes and accepts the love God has for him, and in sharing that love he bears good fruit, drawing the flock towards the Good News.

We Aren’t the Only Ones Preparing for the Synod

Here on Open Wide the Doors, we have been preparing for the upcoming Synod on the New Evangelization by working through the Lineamenta and Instrumentum Laboris for the council.

But we aren’t the only ones curious and excited about the Synod.

Fr. James Wehner, rector of Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, wrote about why the Synod and the New Evangelization are important for U.S. Catholics.  Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, says he will focus on promoting the role of the family and the laity in the New Evangelization while at the Synod. U.S. Catholic shared a story about the record number of women named for the Synod. And Pope Benedict XVI reminded bishops before the Synod that they are to be “bold heralds of the New Evangelization.”

And do not forget St. John of Avila and St. Hildegard of Bingen, who will be proclaimed as Doctors of the Universal Church during the opening Mass for the council.

Our hearts are ready, oh God, our hearts are ready! Your Church is ready for this Synod on the New Evangelization and for the inspiration of the Your Holy Spirit.

The Communion of Marriage and Family

Carl Anderson, the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, gave an incredible address at the 50^th International Eucharistic Congress in Ireland last week. As a husband and a father, he spoke on the theme of Exploring and Celebrating the Communion of Marriage and Family.

“It is easy to see that the Eucharist is central to the life of a priest,” Anderson said. “But it is no less central and vital to the life of a lay person. Without the Eucharist, our communion with others is cut off from what sanctifies it, for ‘it is through the Eucharist that Christ guides our lives and builds our communities of love, understanding and mercy.’”

For more on how the Eucharist sanctifies the family and helps build a “civilization of love,” read the full testimony here.

Religious Liberty at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast

The theme for the 8th Annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast this year was “Religious Liberty: Threatened at Home & Abroad.” The breakfast, held just a stone’s throw away from the Blessed John Paul II Shrine in Washington D.C., featured an excellent lineup of speakers—Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United Nations; Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus; and Mother Agnes, Superior General of the Sisters of Life.

Mr. Anderson gave an especially powerful speech in which he encouraged American Catholics to stand together for religious liberty. “If we do so,” Anderson said, “then we will make possible the next great awakening in America that will bring us closer to building that culture of life and that civilization of love about which John Paul II so often spoke.”

Pope Benedict XVI spoke of another response to persecution last week during his Wednesday catechesis:

After the arrest and release of Peter and John, the community joined in prayer and “the place where they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness” (v. 31). This prayer shows the unity of the early community, which asks only to proclaim the word of God fearlessly in the face of persecution. It seeks to discern present events in the light of God’s saving plan and the fulfilment of prophecy in the mystery of Christ. It also begs God to accompany by his power the preaching of the Gospel. May this prayer of the early Church inspire our own prayer.

Let Catholics today unify, then, and pray for the strength and courage to proclaim God’s Word in the public square and truly build a culture of life and love.

More on the New Evangelization

Two new additions have been made to the New Evangelization pages on the Blessed John Paul II Shrine website.

In last month’s edition of Columbia Magazine, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson wrote a piece about the New Evangelization and how we are called to be missionaries in our families and communities.

Cardinal Dolan also gave an address during the Day of Prayer and Reflection of the College of Cardinals. In it he shares a seven step strategy of evangelization that will help defeat the “towering challenge” of secularism in our world.