Last night my family and I had the incredible opportunity to venerate the 1st class relic of St. Pope John Paul II.
It was a night that I will not soon forget. St. JPII was so instrumental in my conversion to the catholic faith. His witness as a Priest, Bishop, Cardinal and Pope was beyond incredible. His intimate prayer life and mysticism inspired deeper prayer in my life. More than anything his writings changed my heart and help me develop and cultivate a sincere respect, devotion and love for the Human Person. This devotion to the dignity of the human person is the driving force in my life. Every book or article I write, every talk I give has at it's core this often looked over truth of the Catholic Faith. To me the Catholic Faith, the realities of Redemption, Sin, Virtue all take their inherent meaning from the dignity in which we were created.
That is why I fight as passionately as I do for all that the church teaches. NOTHING that degrades the dignity with which we were created in is good enough for the human heart. Nothing in this world can satisfy the great thirst which we have for God. Only the truth of God, the Love of God revealed to us in the Incarnate Word, perpetuated through the teachings and Sacramental work of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church can give us that which we long for with every fiber of our being.
Such is our great dignity, to be created in the Image and Likeness of God.How often do we settle for so much less than what we were created to encounter and experience? JPII answered this question for me.
Last night I was finally able to "meet" one of my heroes. To hold him, to press his body to my heart, to express in one deep sigh every sentiment of respect and love and admiration I have ever felt for this man. I was beyond tears, beyond emotion, I was recollected yet lost in the reality of this great opportunity. It was but a moment but it remains with me to this very moment. I have never forgotten any word of his I was privileged to read. I will never forget this moment I was able to spend alone with him. He and I, together in an embrace. I had waited 13 years to have this moment with him. And I was not disappointed. I'd like to think he was not either.
“Real love is demanding, I would fail in my mission if I did not tell you so. Do not be afraid of the demands of true love. It’s beauty lies precisely in its demands." St. John Paul II
It was a night that I will not soon forget. St. JPII was so instrumental in my conversion to the catholic faith. His witness as a Priest, Bishop, Cardinal and Pope was beyond incredible. His intimate prayer life and mysticism inspired deeper prayer in my life. More than anything his writings changed my heart and help me develop and cultivate a sincere respect, devotion and love for the Human Person. This devotion to the dignity of the human person is the driving force in my life. Every book or article I write, every talk I give has at it's core this often looked over truth of the Catholic Faith. To me the Catholic Faith, the realities of Redemption, Sin, Virtue all take their inherent meaning from the dignity in which we were created.
That is why I fight as passionately as I do for all that the church teaches. NOTHING that degrades the dignity with which we were created in is good enough for the human heart. Nothing in this world can satisfy the great thirst which we have for God. Only the truth of God, the Love of God revealed to us in the Incarnate Word, perpetuated through the teachings and Sacramental work of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church can give us that which we long for with every fiber of our being.
Such is our great dignity, to be created in the Image and Likeness of God.How often do we settle for so much less than what we were created to encounter and experience? JPII answered this question for me.
Last night I was finally able to "meet" one of my heroes. To hold him, to press his body to my heart, to express in one deep sigh every sentiment of respect and love and admiration I have ever felt for this man. I was beyond tears, beyond emotion, I was recollected yet lost in the reality of this great opportunity. It was but a moment but it remains with me to this very moment. I have never forgotten any word of his I was privileged to read. I will never forget this moment I was able to spend alone with him. He and I, together in an embrace. I had waited 13 years to have this moment with him. And I was not disappointed. I'd like to think he was not either.
“Real love is demanding, I would fail in my mission if I did not tell you so. Do not be afraid of the demands of true love. It’s beauty lies precisely in its demands." St. John Paul II
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