The Pope In DC

All human beings ought to value every person for his or her uniqueness as a creature of God, called to be a brother or sister of Christ by reason of the Incarnation and the universal Redemption. For us, the sacredness of human life is based on these premises. And it is on these same premises that there is based our celebration of life—all human life. This explains our efforts to defend human life against every influence or action that threatens or weakens it, as well as our endeavors to make every life more human in all its aspects.

And so, we will stand up every time that human life is threatened. When the sacredness of life before birth is attacked, we will stand up and proclaim that no one ever has the authority to destroy unborn life. When a child is described as a burden or is looked upon only as a means to satisfy an emotional need, we will stand up and insist that every child is a unique and unrepeatable gift of God, with the right to a loving and united family. When the institution of marriage is abandoned to human selfishness or reduced to a temporary, conditional arrangement that can easily be terminated, we will stand up and affirm the indissolubility of the marriage bond. When the value of the family is threatened because of social and economic pressures, we will stand up and reaffirm that the family is “necessary not only for the private good of every person, but also for the common good of every society, nation and state.” When freedom is used to dominate the weak, to squander natural resources and energy, and to deny basic necessities to people, we will stand up and reaffirm the demands of justice and social love. When the sick, the aged or the dying are abandoned in loneliness, we will stand up and proclaim that they are worthy of love, care and respect.

-Saint John Paul II, Homily at the National Mall, 1979

The Christian Home

The Holy Family by Giorgione, 1500

When I think of Christian homes, I like to imagine them as being full of the light and joy that were in the home of the Holy Family. The message of Christmas is heard in all its forcefulness: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will." "And may the peace of Christ triumph in your hearts," writes the Apostle. It is a peace that comes from knowing that our Father God loves us, and that we are made one with Christ. It results from being under the protection of the Virgin, our Lady, and assisted by St. Joseph. This is the great light that illuminates our lives. In the midst of difficulties and of our own personal failings, it encourages us to keep up our effort. Every Christian home should be a place of peace and serenity. In spite of the small frustrations of daily life, an atmosphere of profound and sincere affection should reign there together with a deep-rooted calm, which is the result of authentic faith that is put into practice.

-Saint Josemaría Escrivá, Christ is Passing By

St. Josemaría Escrivá, canonized by our beloved St. John Paul II, please join us in praying for a greater respect for the sacrament of marriage in America today, especially as we prepare for Domestic Church Day.

Join Us For Domestic Church Day

The future of the world and of the Church passes through the family.   

-St. John Paul II

In preparation for the World Meeting of Families, which will take place in Philadelphia this coming September 22 to 25, the Saint John Paul II National Shrine invites families to a Domestic Church Day on Saturday, June 27, 2015. This will be a day of pilgrimage for families in order to strengthen their marriages and grow the bond of their love. It will include a barbecue picnic and lawn games on the beautiful shrine grounds. Priests will be available to hear confessions, and the shrine will hold a unique ceremony during which couples can touch their wedding rings to a first class relic of St. John Paul II. The day will conclude with a vigil Mass in the shrine’s chapel. See our website for more details.

Saint John Paul II, Pray for Us! 

The Family, A Communicating Community

Visitation, Fra Angelico, 1434

This past Sunday, the Church celebrated the 49^th World Communications Day. In his message for the occasion, Pope Francis explored the theme, “Communicating the Family: A Privileged Place of Encounter with the Gift of Love.”

According to the Holy Father, “it is in the context of the family that we first learn how to communicate.” As can be seen in the story of the Visitation, we first learn to communicate in the womb, “where we begin to familiarize ourselves with the outside world within a protected environment, with the reassuring sound of the mother’s heartbeat.”

We continue to do this in our families, where we learn to accept each other’s differences, to speak the language that we receive from those who came before us, and most importantly, to pray. Even more specifically,

…we learn to embrace and support one another, to discern the meaning of facial expressions and moments of silence, to laugh and cry together with people who did not choose one other yet are so important to each other. This greatly helps us to understand the meaning of communication as recognizing and creating closeness. When we lessen distances by growing closer and accepting one another, we experience gratitude and joy.

In the family we learn to go beyond ourselves and to open our doors to others. We also experience our own limits and the limits of others. We learn to respect one another, to apologize, and to forgive. We learn how to become a “force for dialogue and reconciliation in society,” Pope Francis writes.

Heal Our Wounds

The present-day Church seems to repeat with ever greater fervor and with holy insistence: “Come, Holy Spirit!” Come! Come! “Heal our wounds, our strength renew; On our dryness pour your dew; Wash the stains of guilt away; Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray.”

            -Saint John Paul II, quoting the Sequence for Pentecost

This weekend, a unique experience will be offered for those who carry with them the pain of their parents’ divorce. If you find yourself in this situation, consider joining us at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine. If you do not carry this burden, tell a friend who does, and please pray for all of those on this Recovering Origins retreat.

Saint, John Paul II, Pope of the Family, Pray for Us!  

The Prototype For All Families

Through God's mysterious design, it was in that family that the Son of God spent long years of a hidden life. It is therefore the prototype and example for all Christian families. It was unique in the world. Its life was passed in anonymity and silence in a little town in Palestine. It underwent trials of poverty, persecution and exile. It glorified God in an incomparably exalted and pure way. And it will not fail to help Christian families—indeed, all the families in the world—to be faithful to their day-to-day duties, to bear the cares and tribulations of life, to be open and generous to the needs of others, and to fulfill with joy the plan of God in their regard.

-Saint John Paul II

On this solemnity of the Holy Family, please join us in saying this prayer as we prepare for the eighth World Meeting of Families.

The Popes In The City Of Brotherly Love

Coverage from Saint John Paul II's 1979 visit to the
United States is featured in our permanent exhibit.

Last week, Pope Francis officially announced his intention to visit the United States! The Holy Father will join the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia next fall. Details for his trip will not be released until spring or summer of 2015, but the Pope will most likely participate in the meeting’s closing events.

Saint John Paul II started the World Meetings of Families, and he was also the last pope to visit Philadelphia. More than a million people came out to see him during his visit in 1979. In his homily at Logan Circle, the late Holy Father said:

How then can a Christian, inspired and guided by the mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption of Christ, strengthen his or her own values and those that are embodied in the heritage of this nation? ...These values are strengthened: when power and authority are exercised in full respect for all the fundamental rights of the human person, whose dignity is the dignity of one created in the image and likeness of God; when freedom is accepted, not as an absolute end in itself, but as a gift that enables self-giving and service; when the family is protected and strengthened, when its unity is preserved, and when its role as the basic cell of society is recognized and honored.

During his time in Philadelphia, St. John Paul II spoke of the importance of the family. Next fall, Pope Francis will do the same.

Please join us in saying this prayer as we prepare for the eighth World Meeting of Families. Let us also ask the meeting’s co-patron, St. John Paul II, and Blesseds Luigi and Maria Quattrocchi on this day of their feast, to pray for us.