One Year Ago Today

Unveiling the sign of the newly named Saint John Paul II National Shrine during the April 27, 2015 ceremony.

April 27^th marks the anniversary of Saint John Paul II’s canonization, which was a time of great excitement at the Shrine last year.  We hosted an all-night vigil with a Eucharistic procession, live entertainment, and a viewing of the canonization in Rome. We also unveiled our “Saint John Paul II National Shrine” signage and followed this with Mass and veneration of the great saint’s relics.

It was a joyous day that we remember fondly, and we hope that you will join us today in our reminiscing. We also suggest reflecting upon Pope Francis’s words about Sts. John XXIII and John Paul II at their canonization Mass:

In these two men, who looked upon the wounds of Christ and bore witness to his mercy, there dwelt a living hope and an indescribable and glorious joy (1 Pet 1:3,8). The hope and the joy which the risen Christ bestows on his disciples, the hope and the joy which nothing and no one can take from them. The hope and joy of Easter, forged in the crucible of self-denial, self-emptying, utter identification with sinners, even to the point of disgust at the bitterness of that chalice. Such were the hope and the joy which these two holy popes had received as a gift from the risen Lord and which they in turn bestowed in abundance upon the People of God, meriting our eternal gratitude. 

St. John Paul II, on this anniversary of your canonization, we thank God for you, and we ask you to remember us in your prayers!

1 Day Until Canonization

Jesus dwells among the men and women “honored with the name of Christian” (cf. Lumen Gentium, n. 15). All are able to meet him in the Scriptures, in prayer and in service of their neighbors….it is becoming every day a more urgent duty to repair the scandal of the division among Christians, strengthening unity through dialogue, prayer in common and witness. It is not a matter of ignoring differences and problems in the detachment of a lukewarm relativism; that would be like covering the wound without healing it, with the risk of interrupting the journey before reaching the goal of full communion.

-Blessed John Paul II, Message to Young People for the 12th World Youth Day

Today we conclude our novena by remembering the souls who have become lukewarm. Let us pray our chaplet, bringing these souls to Jesus and immersing them in the ocean of His mercy. 

2 Days Until Canonization

May you have a great “thirst” to save souls, helping every brother and sister to discover the “not yet” and the eternal “life above” towards which we are all journeying. The eternal future is built here and now, in time with our daily efforts.

-Blessed John Paul II, 2002

Today we continue our novena by remembering the souls who are detained in purgatory. Let us pray our chaplet, bringing these souls to Jesus and immersing them in the ocean of His mercy. 

3 Days Until Canonization

…in giving birth to Jesus, the Blessed Virgin gave the world the supreme Witness of God's merciful love. In this plan of salvation she was not a mere instrument, but indeed a docile cooperator: divine Mercy finds perfect resonance in Mary. In her Immaculate Heart, God's tenderness, his desire to forgive sinners and the throbbing of his fatherly compassion are fittingly reflected.

Mary's motherhood was fulfilled on Calvary where divine Mercy accomplished the supreme act of Redemption in Christ's sacrifice on the Cross. At that tragic and glorious hour, Mary became the Mother of Mercy forever.

-Blessed John Paul II, 1999 

Today we continue our novena by remembering the souls who especially venerate and glorify Christ’s Divine Mercy. Let us pray our chaplet, bringing these souls to Jesus and immersing them in the ocean of His mercy. 

4 Days Until Canonization

How important children are in the eyes of Jesus! We could even say that the Gospel is full of the truth about children. The whole of the Gospel could actually be read as the “Gospel of children.”

-Blessed John Paul II, Letter to Children

Today we continue our novena by remembering the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. Let us pray our chaplet, bringing these souls to Jesus and immersing them in the ocean of His mercy. 

5 Days Until Canonization

Protect your Church and the Successor of Peter,
to whom you, Good Shepherd, have entrusted
the task of feeding your flock.
Grant that the Church…may flourish
and grow richer in the fruits of holiness.

Teach us to love your Mother, Mary,
as you loved her.
Give us strength to proclaim
your word with courage
in the work of the new evangelization,
so that the world may know new hope.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of America,
pray for us!

-Blessed John Paul II, Ecclesia in America

Today we continue our novena by remembering the souls of those who have separated themselves from the Church. Let us pray our chaplet, bringing these souls to Jesus and immersing them in the ocean of His mercy. 

6 Days Until Canonization

Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it. 

-Blessed John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis

On this Easter Monday, we continue our novena by remembering all of those who do not believe in God and those who do not yet know Jesus. Let us pray our chaplet, bringing these souls to Jesus and immersing them in the ocean of His mercy. 

7 Days Until Canonization

Christ came to bring joy: joy to children, joy to parents, joy to families and to friends, joy to workers and to scholars, joy to the sick and to the elderly, joy to all humanity. In a true sense, joy is the keynote of the Christian message and the recurring motif of the Gospels. Recall the first words of the angel to Mary: “Rejoice, O full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1: 28). And at the birth of Jesus, the angels announced to the shepherds: "Listen, I bring you news of great joy, joy to be shared by all people” (Lk 2: 10). Years later as Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a colt, “the whole group of disciples joyfully began to praise God at the top of their voices. ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord’!” (Lk 19: 37-38). We are told that some Pharisees in the crowd complained, saying: “Master, stop your disciples.” But Jesus answered:  “I tell you, if they were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Lk 19 :39-40).

Are not those words of Jesus still true today? If we are silent about the joy that comes from knowing Jesus, the very stones of our cities will cry out! For we are an Easter people and “Alleluia” is our song.

-Blessed John Paul II, 1979

On this Easter Sunday, we continue our novena by remembering all devout and faithful souls. Let us pray our chaplet, bringing these souls to Jesus and immersing them in the ocean of His mercy. 

8 Days Until Canonization

We pray to you for our
brothers and sisters who have
answered "yes" to your
call to the priesthood,
to the consecrated life and
to the missions.

May their lives be renewed day by
day, to become a living Gospel.

Merciful and holy Lord,
continue to send new laborers
into the harvest of your Kingdom!

Assist those whom you call
to follow you in our day;
contemplating your face,
may they respond with joy
to the wondrous mission
that you entrust to them
for the good of your People
and of all men and women.

                 -Blessed John Paul II, 2004

Today, we continue our novena by remembering the souls of priests and religious. Let us pray our chaplet, bringing these souls to Jesus and immersing them in the ocean of His mercy. 

9 Days Until Canonization

Good Friday is a day of mystery in the Church. We mourn on this day, yet we know that the sadness in Christ’s suffering leads to great joy. We remember Christ’s trials, yet we do so in anticipation of his glorious Resurrection. We fast and abstain, yet we do so knowing that the feasting will come soon. This is the mystery of Christ’s mercy, which seems to shine most beautifully when humanity is at its worst.

Today we are nine days away from Divine Mercy Sunday, and we embark on a period of time in which Jesus asks us to pray a novena to His Divine Mercy for all souls. This devotion to Jesus’s Divine Mercy is something that Blessed John Paul II promoted during his pontificate, and he officially declared the Second Sunday of Easter to be “Divine Mercy Sunday” throughout the Church. He providentially passed away during the vigil of this feast, and next Sunday we will celebrate the Divine Mercy of the Lord with his canonization.

Because of his devotion to Jesus’s Divine Mercy, we at the Shrine decided that it would be appropriate to prepare for Blessed John Paul II’s canonization by praying the Divine Mercy Novena Jesus shared with St. Faustina Kowalska. For the next 9 days, we will pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, offering up our prayers for the different souls that Jesus instructed us to remember.

So for Day 1, we begin by reflecting: 

Christ - the very fulfillment of the messianic prophecy - by becoming the incarnation of the love that is manifested with particular force with regard to the suffering, the unfortunate and sinners, makes present and thus more fully reveals the Father, who is God “rich in mercy.”

-Blessed John Paul II, Dives in Misericordia

Today, we begin our novena by remembering all of mankind, especially all sinners. Let us pray our chaplet, bringing these souls to Jesus and immersing them in the ocean of His mercy. 

For The Good Of Man

Our times have great need of an act of witness openly expressing the desire to bring nations and regimes closer together, as an indispensable condition for peace in the world. Our times demand that we should not lock ourselves into the rigid boundaries of systems, but seek all that is necessary for the good of man, who must find everywhere the awareness and certainty of his authentic citizenship. 

-Blessed John Paul II, 1979

Check out this Catholic News Agency article for the story of Blessed John Paul II’s role in the fall of the Soviet Union.

Blessed John Paul II, as we countdown to your canonization, please pray for peace and unity in our world! 

In The Places Where God Pitched His Tent

We are less than two weeks away from the canonization of Blessed John Paul II, and only a few months away from opening the exhibit of his life and legacy at the Blessed John Paul II Shrine. As we prepare here, especially during this Holy Week, we thought it would be appropriate to reflect upon one of the most important moments in the late Holy Father’s papacy: his pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Blessed John Paul II’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land was a key part of the Jubilee Year celebrations in 2000. It was also part of a bigger desire of his to visit the “‘places’ in which God has chosen to ‘pitch his tent’ among us”:

I have a strong desire to go personally to pray in the most important places which, from the Old to the New Testament, have seen God's interventions, which culminate in the mysteries of the Incarnation and of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ.

This desire was fulfilled in March of that year, when John Paul II made this pilgrimage for the entire Church.

His pilgrimage began symbolically with honoring Abraham in Rome, and it continued on to Mount Sinai where the Holy Father meditated upon those moments in the Old Testament linking the Church with the ancient people of the Covenant. There he spoke of “the Law of life and freedom,” and how, through “revealing himself on the Mountain and giving his Law, God revealed man to man himself.”

Preparing For The Canonizations

This past week, the Vatican released details on its digital platform for the canonizations of Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II. See this article for more information on how they plan to communicate with the faithful as they prepare for the canonizations. This information includes logistical details about the ceremonies, how people can access news regarding the celebrations, and even spiritual reflections on the legacies and saintliness of these two Popes.

Those of you who haven’t made plans for the canonizations yet are welcome to join us at the Blessed John Paul II Shrine for the celebration. We have a number of events planned, including Mass, Adoration, multiple opportunities for the veneration of our Blood Relic of Blessed John Paul II, musical entertainment, and a canonization viewing party. Check out our Schedule of Events for more details.

Blessed John Paul II, as we prepare for your canonization, pray for us! 

Self-Gift In Toronto

Even during his last years on earth, when he suffered through illness and old age, Blessed John Paul II continued to give himself. Although travelling takes much energy and mobility, the late Holy Father continued to make his rounds throughout the globe, visiting his people and showing them his love.

One trip he didn’t miss was his pilgrimage to Canada for the 17^th World Youth Day. Here, through his witness and through his words, he encouraged young people to embrace their own character of giftedness and to live lives of service to God and to the world.

In his main homily, Blessed John Paul II said:

The world you are inheriting is a world which desperately needs a new sense of brotherhood and human solidarity. It is a world which needs to be touched and healed by the beauty and richness of God's love. It needs witnesses to that love. The world needs salt. It needs you - to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. 

… Salt seasons and improves the flavor of food. Following Jesus, you have to change and improve the "taste" of human history. With your faith, hope and love, with your intelligence, courage and perseverance, you have to humanize the world we live in, in the way that today's Reading from Isaiah indicates: "loose the bonds of injustice ... share your bread with the hungry ... remove the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil.... Then your light shall rise in the darkness" (Is 58, 6-10). 

The late Holy Father sheds light on the gifts that each of these young people possesses, and speaks of the necessity of their sharing these gifts with the world in order to make it more human. It is in sharing our gifts that we can add good taste and good flavor to human history, Blessed John Paul II says. 

Celebrating The Canonizations

Catholic News Agency recently reported that millions are expected to travel to Rome for the canonizations of Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II on April 27.

Those who cannot make the trip are welcome to join us at the Blessed John Paul II Shrine for the weekend of the canonization. We have a number of events planned, including Mass, Adoration, multiple opportunities for the veneration of our Blood Relic of Blessed John Paul II, musical entertainment, and a canonization viewing party. Check out our Schedule of Events for more details.

Blessed John Paul II, as we prepare for your canonization, pray for us! 

The Sanctity Of Blessed John Paul II

In a recent interview, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI paid tribute to his predecessor, Blessed John Paul II:

[The idea] that John Paul II was a saint came to me from time to time, in the years of my collaboration with him, ever clearer. Naturally, one must first of all keep in mind his intense relationship with God, his being immersed in communion with the Lord, of which he hardly spoke. From here came his happiness in the midst of the great labors he had to sustain, and the courage with which he fulfilled his task at a truly difficult time.

John Paul II did not ask for applause, nor did he ever look around, concerned about how his decisions were received. He acted from his faith and his convictions and he was ready also to suffer the blows.

The courage of the truth is in my [judgment] the criterion of the first order of sanctity.

Only from his relation with God is it possible to understand his indefatigable pastoral commitment. He gave himself with a radicalism which cannot be explained otherwise.

His commitment was tireless, and not only in the great trips, whose programs were dense with appointments from beginning to end, but also day after day, beginning with the morning Mass until late at night. During his first visit to Germany (1980), for the first time I had a very concrete experience of this enormous commitment. So during his stay in Munich, I decided he should take a longer break at midday. During that interval he called me to his room. I found him reciting the Breviary and I said to him: “Holy Father, you should rest”, and he said: “I can do so in Heaven.”

Only one who is profoundly filled with the urgency of his mission can act like this.

Pope Benedict’s words give us one more reason to be grateful for the upcoming canonization of the late Holy Father.

Blessed John Paul II, Pray for Us! 

A Journey Of Gift

Today the Church embarks on the liturgical season of Lent.  In his last Lenten message, Blessed John Paul II wrote that during Lent, “a spiritual journey is outlined for us that prepares us to relive the Great Mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Christ.”

During his last Lent here on earth, the late Holy Father experienced this journey in a unique way. As his health failed, he suffered much like Christ did in preparation for death. The debilitating effects of Parkinson’s disease, the wounds from the assassination attempt, multiple surgeries, and the loss of his voice humbled him before the world and before God.

Even as he aged and became more vulnerable due to sickness, Blessed John Paul II never hid himself from the world. As he wrote in his final message for Lent, “reaching old age is a sign of the Most High’s gracious benevolence.” Longevity is a “special divine gift.”

He continued:

If growing old, with its inevitable conditions, is accepted serenely in the light of faith, it can become an invaluable opportunity for better comprehending the Mystery of the Cross, which gives full sense to human existence.

Made For Each Other

The “Sexual Revolution” of the 1960's introduced many errors into modern thought. Blessed John Paul II recognized this before his papacy, and once he became Pope he made it a priority to address new challenges in the area of sexual ethics.

So early in his papacy, the late pontiff introduced what we now call the Theology of the Body, a series of 129 general audience addresses given over four years.

Blessed John Paul II began his first address with a scriptural reflection, leading into an analysis of Eve’s creation in Genesis 2. He shows that this story of woman’s creation underscores that male and female are created equal in dignity. Adam and Eve shape one another’s identity. As the Catechism puts it, “Man discovers woman as another ‘I,’ sharing the same humanity” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 371).

Due to this shared dignity, Blessed John Paul II later writes: “Authentic conjugal love presupposes and requires that a man have a profound respect for the equal dignity of his wife.” Man “is called upon to develop a new attitude of love, manifesting toward his wife a charity that is both gentle and strong like that which Christ has for the Church” (Familiaris Consortio, 25).

The Patron Saint of World Youth Days

Pope Francis made an exciting announcement in his 2014 World Youth Day message:

We have seen, then, that the Beatitude of the poor in spirit shapes our relationship with God, with material goods and with the poor. With the example and words of Jesus before us, we realize how much we need to be converted, so that the logic of being more will prevail over that of having more! The saints can best help us to understand the profound meaning of the Beatitudes. So the canonization of John Paul II, to be celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter, will be an event marked by immense joy. He will be the great patron of the World Youth Days which he inaugurated and always supported. In the communion of saints he will continue to be a father and friend to all of you.

Our beloved Blessed John Paul II will be the patron saint of World Youth Days! This is just one more reason to look forward to his canonization on Divine Mercy Sunday. If you haven’t already, check out the Blessed John Paul II Shrine’s schedule for the canonization weekend.

Blessed John Paul II, Pray for Us!

The Unbreakable Alliance

In a marriage a man and a woman pledge themselves to one another in an unbreakable alliance of total mutual self-giving. A total union of love. Love that is not a passing emotion or temporary infatuation, but a responsible and free decision to bind oneself completely, “in good times and in bad,” to one’s partner. It is the gift of oneself to the other. It is a love to be proclaimed before the eyes of the whole world. It is unconditional.

Blessed John Paul II preached these words during his Apostolic Journey to Great Britain in 1982. The sanctity of marriage is something that the late Holy Father often promoted and communicated, due to modern cultural attacks on the family as well as the family’s importance in society and to the Church as a whole.

In that same homily, John Paul II said that, to be capable of married love “calls for careful preparation from early childhood to wedding day. It requires the constant support of Church and society throughout its development.” When he was Archbishop of Kraków, he responded to the Polish regime’s efforts to undermine marriage and family life by organizing intensive courses on marriage preparation and family life issues and spreading them throughout the Archdiocese. These courses were for clergy members and lay people alike. Even before that, Blessed John Paul II dedicated much of his time during his years as a priest working with young people in order to prepare them for marriage and family life.