The Pilgrim's Way: A Great Gift

As we prepare for the feast of Saint John Paul II, we invite you to continue on this pilgrimage through our permanent exhibit, A Gift of Love: The Life of Saint John Paul II. 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 at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine.

This week we will explore the eighth gallery: A Great Gift. This gallery covers the end of St. John Paul II’s life, and it invites pilgrims to reflect on two themes in his teachings: the gift of the Eucharist and the renewal of the priesthood.

The Eucharist is the greatest of gifts, for through it the Incarnation is made present to all mankind. It is the gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Connected with this, is the gift of the priesthood. Priests give up everything for the Gospel, and so the priesthood is a form of union with Christ's sacrificial gift of Himself to the Church and to the world.

Papal Intentions For June

As the month of June begins, let us remember Pope Francis’s intentions in our prayers.

His universal intention for the month is for immigrants and refugees, that they “may find welcome and respect in the countries to which they come.”

The Holy Father also asks us to pray for vocations, or more specifically, “that the personal encounter with Jesus may arouse in many young people the desire to offer their own lives in priesthood or consecrated life.”

So let us join Pope Francis in praying for immigrants, refugees, and vocations this month.

Saint John Paul II, Pray for Us!

Papal Intentions for November

The Holy Father’s general intention for the month of November is that “…priests who experience difficulties may find comfort in their suffering, support in their doubts, and confirmation in their fidelity.”

His mission intention is that, “…as fruit of the continental mission, Latin American Churches may send missionaries to other Churches.”

Let us pray with Pope Francis this month, and let us especially be attuned to whether God is asking us to be an answer to this prayer to comfort, support, and affirm our priests.

Papal Intentions for May

This month, let us join Pope Francis in praying for administrators of justice, that they “may act always with integrity and right conscience.”

Let us also pray for our seminaries, especially those of mission churches, that they “may form pastors after the Heart of Christ, fully dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel.”

May Thy priests be faithful guardians of Thy Church

May Thy priests be faithful guardians of Thy Church, as John was of Mary, whom he received into his house. Taught by this loving Mother who suffered so much on Calvary, may they display a mother’s care and thoughtfulness towards Thy children. May they teach souls to enter into close union with Thee through Mary who, as the Gate of Heaven, is specially the guardian of the treasures of Thy Divine Heart.

-St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Today the Church celebrates the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which means it is also the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of the Clergy. St. Thérèse of Lisieux, who was proclaimed a Doctor of the Universal Church by Blessed John Paul II in 1997, prayed especially for priests during her brief time here on Earth. All members of the Church are encouraged to do the same—to pray especially for the sanctity of our priests, our shepherds in the faith.

In a letter to priests from the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza stresses that priests must be “ministers of sanctification.” He writes:

This is our wonderful destiny: we cannot be sanctified without working on the holiness of our brothers, and we cannot work on the holiness of our brothers unless we have first worked on and continue to work on our own holiness.

We are greatly affected by the holiness of our priests—we go to them for the Sacraments, for guidance, and for help in times of need. Unfortunately, the faults of just one priest can drive people away from the Church and bring shame upon the entire priesthood. In his 2002 Letter to Priests, Blessed John Paul II addressed this issue in light of recent scandals amongst the clergy:

Priests just keep getting younger…

‘Tis the season for ordinations, and what a season it has been! According to a survey from the Georgetown University-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, the “2012 priesthood ordination class continues a six-year trend towards younger priests.” Two-thirds of the men ordained this year are between the ages of 25 and 34!

When speaking to the priests, religious, and seminarians in Malawi in May 1989, Blessed John Paul II said:

In a special way I commend to you young men the closing words of this evening’s Gospel: “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). Yes, the gift of a vocation to the priesthood is not something you seek for yourselves. It has nothing to do with status or privilege as the world understands these things. Your great privilege will be to lay down your lives with Christ the eternal priest if you are truly called to this vocation. May God help each of you to discern His will so that you too may “Go out to bear fruit, fruit that will last.”

Congratulations to all of our new priests, and thank you. We will keep you in our prayers here at the Blessed John Paul II Shrine. 

Vocations and peace

Pope Benedict XVI gave the Church two important messages this week.

This past Sunday was World Day of Prayer for Vocations, and during his Regina Coeli address the Holy Father spoke of the importance of vocations and how vital it is that young men and women be attentive to God’s call. He said:

We are afraid to listen to the voice of the Lord because we believe it can detract from our freedom. The truth is that each of us is the fruit of love; the love of our parents, of course, but also and more profoundly the love of God. ... When we become aware of this our lives change; they become a response to that love which is greater than any other, and thus our freedom is fully realised.

Pope Benedict also sent a message to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences for their Eighteenth Plenary Session, which met in Rome this past week. The Holy Father lauded the Academy for choosing to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Blessed John XXIII’s Encyclical Pacem in Terris, which was very important to the Church’s social doctrine. He focused on forgiveness in particular, writing:

The notion of forgiveness needs to find its way into international discourse on conflict resolution, so as to transform the sterile language of mutual recrimination which leads nowhere. If the human creature is made in the image of God, a God of justice who is “rich in mercy” (Eph 2:4), then these qualities need to be reflected in the conduct of human affairs.

These two messages don’t seem to connect. But in both cases, Pope Benedict XVI shows that a better understanding of God’s love can help us to better live out God’s call—specifically in our own vocations and generally in our love for others.