43 Pope John Paul II won a war with the love of God

“That he could bring down that Iron curtain without firing a single bullet and forgive the man who tried to kill him, just by showing the love of God and respecting the human person, he changed world history.” – Charles Johnston on John Paul II

Charles Johnston is a father and husband in Phoenix, Arizona. His conversion journey has taken years, as he felt God pulling him toward His Church but he resisted until he couldn’t take it anymore. He gave in and fell in love with His Church.  He blogs for ‘Now that I’m catholic.wordpress.com’

In this episode, Charles talks about St. John Paul II.
He explains:
-How the Pope was the right man for the job at the right time
-His role in bringing down the Iron Curtain
-Why he insisted on preserving human dignity
-What we can learn from his prayer life, his devotion to Mary and his ability to forgive.

Pope St. John Paul II on Marriage and Family

John Paul II is almost everybody’s favorite Pope. His encyclicals like Familiaris Consortio speaks about building a domestic church.

Marriage is an act of will that signifies and involves a mutual gift, which unites the spouses and binds them to their eventual souls, with whom they make up a sole family – a domestic church.

John Paul II

Charles readily agreed to talk about John Paul II when I listed him. He’s one of the contemporary saints whose spiritual achievements are vast and words sound almost prophetic to me. We laughed about several things in this episode, but quite frankly the reality is not as funny. Whether that is the breakdown of society or of the family. There’s plenty to learn from his life, his focus on prayer, his spirtual contemporaries in Mother Teresa, Joseph Ratzinger and others, and his love for the rosary and the chaplet of the Divine Mercy.

He was a man quite ahead of his time with his eye on the horizon. Like him, you can also tell that our focus is back on the Eucharist, it’s something we’re all so passionate about. This month has been about marriage and there’s nothing better than reading one of Pope John Paul’s documents on marriage and human sexuality.

Pope John Paul II and the New Evangelization

Well, you saw the new law that the state of New York has passed. Read it word for word, so you know how grave the situation is. In our parish, there’s already talk of how to change our prayers to reflect the needs of the hour. Charles mentioned Ireland and quite frankly I agree when he says, imagine what 1.2 billion praying Catholics can achieve.

I would even go so far and add, imagine if all Christians added to the mix prayed for one cause, be it the pro-life movement or for families, we could do so much. God tells Ezekiel in 22:30 (NRSV), “And I sought for anyone among them who would repair the wall and stand in the breach before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.”

The new evangelization that Pope John Paul II spoke about was going back to the already evangelized areas. Wherever you are serving in whatever ministry, no matter how bleak it may seem, put out into the deep. Take courage from John Paul II’s own words.

Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence.

John Paul II

Charles also recommended reading The President, the Pope, And the Prime Minister: Three Who Changed the World.

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Anniversary Giveaway

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