He was born in 1920 as Karol Wojtyla in Wadowice, Poland. And he has quite a life story.
With a lot of famous people, I became only aware of their stories and significant contributions in the world upon hearing news reports of their deaths. But that was a trend that started to change, for with John Paul II, I became fully aware of his story in October 2003, when he marked the 25th year of his pontificate.
He certainly took the papacy into an enhanced role. He took an active role in standing against communism. He also traveled all over the world, meeting with the masses and reaching out to embrace the people in a whole new way. (Much of this came in the wake of Vatican II and the changes in brought about in the Roman Catholic Church. St. Pope John XXIII was the one who convened the conference. While I am not as familiar with his life story, I know that my experiences in the Roman Catholic Church have been shaped by what he did.)
The one thing that really stands out to me about St. Pope John Paul II is the way he displayed a profound respect for humanity.
One of the first stories I encountered about him, a few years before his Silver Jubilee, was about the attempt on his life in 1981. Some time after he had been wounded in an assassination attempt, he went to the prison where his would-be assassin was being held to meet with him, to offer him forgiveness. That is a powerful example of what forgiveness means in the life of faith.
This was one of the stories featured in a movie that came out on CBS not long after his death in 2005. But there was another story in the movie that stood out to me even more, which happened earlier in his life. In the midst of World War II, when the Nazis controlled Poland, and placed restrictions on church practices, Karol Wojtyla decided to become a priest. He and his fellow seminarians had to study for the priesthood in secret because the Nazis forbid ordinations.
The movie shows a scene where he and his friend are out at night, sneaking around, though I don't fully remember why. Karol is shown stooping over a Nazi soldier, asking God to offer him forgiveness as the guard lay dying, having been mortally wounded by his friend with a knife. The friend did this, reasoning the soldier was in the way of what they were doing.
Then, Karol rebukes his friend for what he did. His friend retorts that the two he killed were Nazis. Karol replies, "They were human beings." That scene struck me in a deep way: to think that even in a harrowing time as this, Karol could see past the evil connotation of these Nazi guards, and see them as fellow human beings, who deserved respect and the love of God.
That inspired me to want to cultivate a deeper respect and love for fellow people, seeing them as God sees them, through the eyes of faith.
The movie shows a scene where he and his friend are out at night, sneaking around, though I don't fully remember why. Karol is shown stooping over a Nazi soldier, asking God to offer him forgiveness as the guard lay dying, having been mortally wounded by his friend with a knife. The friend did this, reasoning the soldier was in the way of what they were doing.
Then, Karol rebukes his friend for what he did. His friend retorts that the two he killed were Nazis. Karol replies, "They were human beings." That scene struck me in a deep way: to think that even in a harrowing time as this, Karol could see past the evil connotation of these Nazi guards, and see them as fellow human beings, who deserved respect and the love of God.
That inspired me to want to cultivate a deeper respect and love for fellow people, seeing them as God sees them, through the eyes of faith.
So we give thanks to God now that Pope John Paul II shines Above as a great example for us as, having been declared a Saint in the presence of God Almighty.
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