It’s definitely not a happy time in the Roman Catholic Church. While it’s certainly not a dramatically sad time in our Church’s history, there is a universal feeling of mourning that has accompanied the death of Pope John Paul II.
You could easily flip on the television and watch the excellent coverage of the Pope’s life and death on any of the news stations, so there’s no need to go into any of that here. But think about some of the things that this man did in his life…
He survived Nazi Germany and defiantly held prayer sessions underground while Poland was occupied.
He helped to break the back of communism and totalitarianism.
He visited something like 120 countries in the past 26 years to spread the word of the Church. One hundred and twenty countries! I haven’t even been out of one!
He was universally regarded as the most viewed man in the history of the world (i.e. he has been seen by more eyes than anyone else who ever lived).
At the age of 84 – with Parkinson’s and while gravely sick – he continued to practice his faith and perform his duties up until 72 hours before he fell deathly ill. He appeared at his window to bless the faithful this past Wednesday.
The man spoke 16 languages! In a time when people are divided over how to speak English, he spoke SIXTEEN languages!
He traveled something like 750,000+ miles in the past 26 years.
He was shot by a terrorist in an assassination attempt…and after healing from the wound he forgave the terrorist for trying to kill him.
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