Feast of St. John Paul II

October 22, 2014

Wednesday, October 22nd is the Feast of St. Pope John Paul II. How cool is it to have a saint that we watched on television? It gives me hope!

Thought I would share a few fun facts about St. John Paul II. Some of these come from one of CPLC Office Manager Jackie Crawford’s favorite books –Jason Evert’s Saint John Paul the Great: His Five Loves. Thanks, Jackie!

When Karol Wojtyla was fifteen, a friend playfully pointed a gun at him, not knowing it was loaded. The gun went off and barely missed him!
Karol was a playwright, poet and an actor. He belonged to an underground theatre group during the Nazi occupation. If he’d been caught, he would have been sent to Auschwitz.
He became an expert in the writings of St. John of the Cross and the Carmelite mystical tradition. He wanted to join the Carmelites, but his Cardinal said he should finish what he started, so he stayed in the seminary.
He earned two doctorates – one in philosophy and one in theology – and was fluent in several languages, including Latin.
He confessed to writing poetry during sessions of Vatican II.
The communist government in Poland wanted him to become Archbishop of Krakow, and vetoed all the other candidates!
When he was a bishop in Poland under the communists’ rule, he evaded the secret police to have a private meeting with the archbishop. Later on, he would sneak out of the Vatican, often to go the mountains or go skiing.
He was elected Pope on October 16th, Feast day of Margaret Mary Alacoque.
St. John Paul II said the happiest day of his life was the day he canonized Sister Faustina.

Here’s a prayer written by St. Pope John Paul II:

O God, You are our Creator. You are good and Your mercy knows no bounds. To You arises the praise of every creature. O God, You have given us an inner law by which we must live. To do Your will is our task. To follow Your ways is to know peace of heart. To You we offer our homage. Guide us on all the paths we travel upon this earth. Free us from all the evil tendencies which lead our hearts away from Your will. Never allow us to stray from You. O God, judge of all humankind, help us to be included among Your chosen ones on the last day. O God, Author of peace and justice, give us true joy and authentic love, and a lasting solidarity among peoples. Give us Your everlasting gifts. Amen!

- Susan Platt
Prayer, Civic Action & Outreach Director
40 Days for Life-Dallas Director
Catholic Pro-Life Committee of North Texas