Holy Week is upon us. To get into the mood of the season, I decided to buckle down and continue reading ‘Crossing the Threshold of Hope’ by the late Pope John Paul the Great. As I have mentioned in my previous post, his book is a treasure trove of insights into the Christian, Catholic Faith.
So before I forget these insights, I’d like to share them with you, even if we belong to different faiths. Some points are universal and we can all agree on these.
John Paul the Great and His Conviction
I’ve come to realize one more thing about his work – he brings to life Jesus, God, and makes you realize how intimate he knows Him. John Paul’s passion is to let us know the Love of the Father through His begotten Son. It’s his personal knowledge, personal love, of God that permeates the book and give it its convincing power.
John Paul the Great is our Pope – my wife and I. He was the pope for almost 27 years of our lives, and he became pope on our birth year. His life and mission has come to portray his love for the Father and for sharing the Father’s love for humanity. He advocated social justice in the countries he visited and was instrumental in leading the world to prayer. These two works I suspect aided in the downfall of communism.
He was a man with unwavering conviction and during the times that he lived, became one of humanity’s greatest Guidestone* in an era of great uncertainty.
Read the book. I recommend that you don’t go through it in one sitting. It’s a relatively easy read (thoguh a Latin dictionary may come in handy).
Salvation = Love
In a couple of chapters in his book, John Paul the Great expounds on the centrality of salvation in the Christian Faith. That this salvation comes from love, of God wanting to commune with his creation, and uniting it back to Him. Salvation can not come without Love. It is not enough to detach yourself from the world and seek out a personal salvation apart from everything. It is completed in seeking out to commune with the Creator.
Today, on Good Friday, we commemorate this act of salvation – an act that culminates in the sacrifice of a Life, that all others may live. Jesus, in His total obedience to the Father, became subject to the mockery and injustice of this world. This world that he came to save, became the source of His suffering. But it did not deter Him from His mission of saving humanity. It did not extinguish His love for us.
Because humanity is worth saving. Because you are worth everything to Him.
Hope on the Youth
I love how John Paul the Great described youth:
“What is youth? it is not only a period of time that corresponds to a certain number of years, it is also a time given by Providence to every person and given to him as a responsibility. During that time, he searches, like the young man in the Gospel, for answers to the basic questions; he searches not only for the meaning of life but also for a concrete way to go about living his life.” – p.120-121
I’m now 29 (argh!). and I feel so old. Tired, perhaps worn out from the constant day-to-day battle of living. But reflecting on where I am now, I smile. Yes, this has been where I wanted to be, to live – with a loving wife and kid, with the necessities to live by, and even a wee bit more to enjoy some of life’s pleasures. But I cannnot credit all that I have become to my own efforts. For back then, when I was younger, I’ve made a choice to allow God to work into my life.
What was my tipping point? World Youth Day, 1995. In the presence of Pope John Paul and in communion with all the other young people of the Philippines and the World, I saw hope. Hope that there can be a better furutre. Hope that springs eternal, as tenacious as life itself. From then on, I knew God has led me – led me to a community of believers, The Lord’s Flock Catholic Charismatic Community, and then, led me on to discover life, and have it abundantly; Of joy in finding my soulmate where He had appointed it to be**. And of knowing that yes, He is there – by your side, ready to talk whenever you need a companion, a guide.
Pope John Paul the Great is the Pope of the Youth. His ability to reach out to the youth is explained by his approach. He is more interested in what the youth has to say to him, rather than what he has to say to them. Isn’t this what we always wanted when we were young? TO be listened to and believed. To know someone was there to consider your thoughts and views, instead of imposing their own ideas. To let you explore yourself, find out who you really are, and celebrate that.
Wow.
I can’t claim I’m still in that time period. Maybe it has passed, and I hope I’ve taken account of that resposibility. There is but one goal now – to know this truth about youth, and to be guided by it, to realize it in others, and to know how to cultivate it and share its passion so that once again, we can be young.
That’s the task I now have for our young Matthew. It’ll be a couple of years more… I’ll try – we’ll try - to prepare for it the best we can.
A Blessed Holy Week to everyone!
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* In reference also to the 3-D strategy game Homeworld from Sierra and Relic Entertainment. The Guidestone was instrumental in guiding the Exiles back to their Homeworld. (okay, so the gamer in me tries to come out once in a while…)
** At the UP Chapel, at or near the Blessed Scrament, my hiding place with God. (It was then located at the left side of the altar, now it has been moved to a level below).
