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.

Plunged In God

Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, Archbishop of Kraków and former secretary to Blessed John Paul II, was recently interviewed about the late Holy Father and what it was like to work closely with him. He shared incredible stories about the Pope’s prayer life:

…the Holy Father never celebrated the Holy Mass without earlier morning preparation. He did this meditation for at least 15 minutes. And he never left after the Holy Mass without his thanksgiving. Besides – he did not talk with people before the Holy Mass. When we were going with visits or for celebrations, silence had to be before the Holy Mass, ‘silentium,’ concentration, he was getting prepared for a meeting with Lord during the Holy Mass. After the Holy Mass it was similar…

Indeed, as I said, the Holy Father used to look for secluded places for contact with God. From time to time we tried to give him an occasion to go away to spend time with nature. In the beginning he did not talk with people accompanying him, but he was plunged in God, admiring the Creator through creations. He was an artist, a man sensitive to beauty. The beauty of nature helped him to meet with God. Everybody who looked from a distance, not to disturb him, were under impression of his prayer and unity with God. 

When he was younger – because later his older age and illnesses came – [he] prayed a lot when lying in the form of the cross either on the floor of the chapel on Franciszkańska Street in Kraków or in Rome. We used to leave him discreetly, but we heard him speaking to God quietly – it was a dialogue with Eucharistic Christ. We heard him praying in the intention of problems, countries where he travelled, their inhabitants. After all he often repeated that the prayer, hands raised upwards are the most important action for the Pope.

Cardinal Dziwisz shares more about Blessed John Paul II’s prayer life and other activities in the interview. These stories speak to the humility and holiness of our beloved Holy Father, and they confirm that he truly lived as a member of the Communion of Saints. 

The Franciszkanska 3

Last week, papal biographer George Weigel wrote a column about the “Franciszkanska 3” chapel in the Archbishop of Kracow’s residence. 

This chapel is deeply connected to Blessed John Paul II’s life and ministry. It was where he was ordained, it was where he began his days while he was archbishop of Cracow, and it was the first place he ran to after hearing of the death of his predecessor John Paul I.

Check out Weigel’s article on First Things.