In Case You Missed It

Many things happened last week, as the Church journeyed through Christ’s Passion and Resurrection. We’ve put together a quick recap here, just in case you missed any of the happenings at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine and other John Paul II news.

-Hundreds came to the Shrine on Saturday, March 28, to venerate eight rare relics as part of the Relics of the Passion Prayer Program. See photos here.

-The Shrine took part in a Seven-Church Pilgrimage on Holy Thursday.

-A Knights of Columbus Documentary, John Paul II in America: Uniting a Continent, began airing on national television this past weekend. It will continue to air throughout the month of April. Check the current schedule here.

-There is a beautiful Easter Reflection on the Shrine’s website, as well as reflection for the upcoming Feast of Divine Mercy.

-This Saturday, April 11, Andreas Widmer, author of The Pope and the CEO and former Swiss Guard for Saint John Paul II, will be speaking at the Shrine. After the talk there will be time for veneration of the relics of St. John Paul II, followed by a Vigil Mass of Divine Mercy. 

-Finally, here are a few of our favorite stories from the tenth anniversary of Saint John Paul II’s death:

     St. John Paul II Taught Us That Sanctity Was Possible in the Modern Age

     Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz: St. John Paul II ‘Showed People the Way to Christ’

     Ten years since the death of St. John Paul II

     St. John Paul II and the “Tyranny of the Possible”

St. John Paul II, Pray for Us!

Call Me And Bid Me Come To You

Most often, all that the Pope has in common with the members of the Church is Jesus Christ. Of course, Christ is the strongest bond one could have with another, but it seems that this bond becomes clearer when deeper commonalities are discovered. For example, members of the Society of Jesus probably feel more connected to Pope Francis than to other Popes in the past. 

This is why Blessed John Paul II’s 1999 “Letter to the Elderly” is so powerful for the aged among us. He was 79 years old when he wrote it, therefore in deep solidarity with his readers. His support and guidance are quite meaningful, then, and his experience witnesses well to the Christian approach to old age and dying. John Paul II writes:

I find great peace in thinking of the time when the Lord will call me: from life to life! And so I often find myself saying, with no trace of melancholy, a prayer recited by priests after the celebration of the Eucharist: In hora mortis meae voca me, et iube me venire ad te – at the hour of my death, call me and bid me come to you. This is the prayer of Christian hope, which in no way detracts from the joy of the present, while entrusting the future to God's gracious and loving care.

“Iube me venire ad te!”: this is the deepest yearning of the human heart, even in those who are not conscious of it.

Enjoy this insightful letter, and pass it along to those who need to hear the message. Let it serve as a reminder to those of us who are temporarily young and nondisabled to visit and pray for the elderly.