Monday, October 20, 2014

10/22/2014 – Wednesday of 29th week in Ordinary Time – St John Paul II – Luke 12:39-48, Ephesians 3:2-12

       In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul talks about the grace of God, of how it should be open to all.  It does not matter if we are Gentile or Jew  -  God offers us his grace and his salvation.  With his grace, we can draw ever closer to the Lord on our journey.
       Today, we celebrate the memorial of Pope John Paul II – now St John Paul II.  Many of us here can probably remember when Karol Wojtyla, the Archbishop of Krakow, Poland, was selected as the new pope in 1978.  He was the first non-Italian pope selected in 455 years.  When he came out to the crowd in St Peter’s square, he proclaimed: “Do not be afraid. Open, I say open wide the doors for Christ.”  As Paul proclaimed that God’s grace is open to all, we saw John Paul II living this proclamation in his pontificate, visiting 124 countries, some of which had very small Catholic populations.  He proclaimed God’s grace to the world in the international day of prayer for world peace in Assisi, Italy in 1986 in the hometown of the famous proclaimer of God’s peace, St Francis of Assisi.  No only did he invite the leaders of the major Christian denominations, but also those of other world religions, such as Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam.  We remember Pope Paul II in many ways, in the grace and dignity in which he forgave the man who tried to assassinate him in 1981, in the way he helped bring about the fall of the Communist regimes in many countries of Central and Eastern Europe. 
       In the Gospel, we are reminded that we do not know the hour when the master will return, the time when we will be required to give an accounting of the way we have managed the gifts God has given us.   May St John Paul II be an example of holiness for us, an example of someone who felt God’s grace working in his life and responded with courage and zeal.  Yes, let us open the doors to Christ. 

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