It has been two years since John Paul II died. It seems fitting then that this week’s Living Lives of Loveliness focuses on this great pontiff and his life.
I am old enough to remember when Paul VI died and watched with the rest of the world as John Paul I was selected. I think that was the first time in my memory that I was aware of what the black smoke and the white smoking rising up over the Vatican was all about. When the new pope was selected I remember liking his new name very much because it was a combination and a tribute of sorts to the two popes that had just preceeded him, Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI. That name seemed so fitting and right. When John Paul I died so suddenly and so soon, I wondered how his successor would be able to find a name as good! I needn’t have worried. He chose just the right name to give tribute to all three men, John Paul II. That was the first of many choices that he would make throughout his pontificate that had a way of being just the right thing.
I am also old enough also to remember John Paul the II as a vigorous and young pope! He did things that were exciting and fun. I thought it was wonderful for example that he went sking and that he skiied well! He traveled so much and had so much energy. I remember too what a trim figure he was in his white pontifical garb. He was handsome and charming. He walked with energy and with purpose and I think it was that part of his pontificate that captured the hearts and minds of the young. In those early years, the pope showed the youth that it was okay to have fun, it was okay to be athletic and to do big and exciting things. It wasn’t a choice between holiness and living a vigorous athletic life. Holiness could and should be part of such a life!
The assassination attempt changed things a bit for all of us. John Paul was not as physically active after he recovered from his injuries. But he did not hide either. He continued to embrace his life and his role as leader despite the physical pain and discomfort he endured. He did not live the rest of his life in fear either. He continued to do as much as he could for as long as he could and sometimes took a lot of criticism for it.
As a married woman, I came to appreciate and understand more and more about the church’s beautiful teaching on sexuality, marital love, and the gift of children. John Paul’s pontificate took Humanae Vitae, (which many dissident bishops and theologians tried to sell us as a millstone around the church’s neck and a burden to married couples) and developed it into the inspiring Theology of the Body. The fruits of that will go for generations.
The next part of his pontificate was a study in how to die. Every year he became physically weaker and shakier. Just as he had shown us how to live in youth, he showed us how to age gracefully and in holiness. He gave witness to the truth that aging still has dignity and purpose. In many ways he was a personal pope. We could see our humanity in him. While some mocked and criticized him for staying in the public eye and not retiring and slipping away, John Paul stayed front and center for us to behold his failing body but also his sharp mind and gentle humor. Despite his frailty life was still good. Life is always good.
I sadly read a lot of Protestant blogs express the view that John Paul II’s funeral was a disgrace and an embarrsasment for Christians. From their perspective, he was just a man and we Catholics were making too big a deal of it. Although I understood our differences in perspective on the papacy, I still wondered about that. Afterall, we do honor great men when they die. We honor them for their bravery, for their determination, and for their accomplishments. Throughout his life and papacy John Paul II embodied all of that for us. He lead with strength and fatherly love. I think many of the people that filled St. Peter’s square, or who wept in front of their televisions, simply loved him for that.
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