The Way, The Truth, And The Life

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. 
You have faith in God; have faith also in me. 
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way.” 
Thomas said to him, 
“Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?” 
Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. 
No one comes to the Father except through me.”

-John 14: 1-6

The Conscience Of The Manager

In the spirit of St. John Paul II’s social encyclical Centesimus Annus, Pope Francis made remarks last week about the importance of solidarity and subsidiarity. As a challenge to those who work in business, the Holy Father said:

The conscience of the manager is the existential place in which this search takes place. In particular, the Christian entrepreneur must always measure the reality in which he works with the Gospel; and the Gospel requires him to make the human person and the common good his first priority, and to do his part to ensure there are opportunities for work, for dignified work. Naturally this 'enterprise' cannot be implemented in isolation, but rather in collaboration with others who share the same ethical foundation, and seeking to widen the network as far as possible.

Pope Francis encouraged those who work in business to seek nourishment from the Church in order to bring Catholic social principles about in their own field.

St. John Paul II, pray for us, especially all business owners, that they may truly live out the Gospel in the workplace. 

Testimony to Divine Mercy

During our Divine Mercy Sunday Mass of Thanksgiving for the Canonization of St. John Paul II, the shrine’s Chaplain Fr. Gregory Gresko gave a beautiful homily that touched on the life and legacy of the late Holy Father. He said:

Wherever he went, Saint John Paul II testified to the truth and power of building the civilization of God’s Love – a society filled with Charity in Truth, founded upon the communion between God and man, and man alongside his neighbor in Christ. John Paul II testified to the real possibility of man’s living in this love, to the degree that man allows himself to be embraced by God’s Divine Mercy and, having been transfigured by this all-merciful Love that pours endlessly from the Heart of Jesus, carries that Divine Mercy into his every relationship – within his family home, throughout his working relationships, in every encounter with his fellow man.

This great testimony of our beloved John Paul II is something that we continue to remember and reflect upon here at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine as we proceed with work on our permanent exhibit celebrating the Holy Father’s life and legacy, slated to open this summer.

For the full text of Fr. Gresko’s homily, see our site.

Saint John Paul II, Pray for Us! 

It Is Jesus

It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.

-Saint John Paul II

We Are Pilgrims, Not Vagabonds

This past Sunday, Pope Francis visited the Polish national church in Rome. During Mass said in thanksgiving for the canonization of Saint John Paul II, the Holy Father said:

The Polish people know well that, in order to enter into glory, one must needs pass by way of the passion and the cross – and [the Polish people] know this, not because they have studied it, but because they have lived it. 

St. John Paul II...as a worthy son of his earthly homeland, followed this way – he followed it in an exemplary manner.

St. John Paul II, pray for us, that we may not live as vagabonds, but instead follow the way of Christ. 

Mary, Mother of Hope

During this month of Mary, Pope Francis asks us to pray that she, the Star of Evangelization, “may guide the Church in proclaiming Christ to all nations.”

Saint John Paul II carried a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother with him throughout his life, his ministry, and his pontificate. His papal motto, totus tuus, was symbolic of his entrusting all to the Mother of God, who he believed to be the surest way to Christ.

In his Mulieris Dignitatem, Saint John Paul II allowed his love for Mary to inspire his reflection on the dignity and vocation of women. If we measure the dignity and vocation of every human being by each one’s capacity to live in union with God, then the Mother of Jesus is “the most complete expression of this dignity and vocation.” He writes:

Mary attains a union with God that exceeds all the expectations of the human spirit. It even exceeds the expectations of all Israel, in particular the daughters of this Chosen People, who, on the basis of the promise, could hope that one of their number would one day become the mother of the Messiah. Who among them, however, could have imagined that the promised Messiah would be “the Son of the Most High?” On the basis of the Old Testament's monotheistic faith such a thing was difficult to imagine. Only by the power of the Holy Spirit, who “overshadowed” her, was Mary able to accept what is “impossible with men, but not with God” (cf. Mk 10: 27).

Mary’s union with God, something that was beyond all thought and expectations, should give us hope in the most difficult task of evangelization. What seems like a losing battle in our culture today becomes already a victory if we think of what was possible for her and what was made possible through her.

So with Pope Francis, let us turn to the Mother of Hope this month, asking for her powerful intercession in the quest of proclaiming the Gospel to all nations. 

Whoever Believes In The Son

The one who comes from above is above all.

The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things.
But the one who comes from heaven is above all.
He testifies to what he has seen and heard,
but no one accepts his testimony.
Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.
For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God.
He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.
The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life,
but the wrath of God remains upon him.

-John 3:31-36

St. Joseph the Worker, Pray for Us!