A Sunday Thought About Our Two New Saints
It's the Sunday after Easter Sunday. In the old calendar, this Sunday is called "Low" Sunday; in the new, it's Divine Mercy Sunday. The latter - Divine Mercy Sunday - was instituted by John Paul II, of happy memory (an old but apropos phrase used to describe the deceased). He recognized and honored the writings and devotion of a Polish nun to the Divine Mercy of Jesus, Sister (now Saint) Faustina Kowalska.
But whether we attend Mass today in observance of Low Sunday (in the Extraordinary Form) or of Divine Mercy Sunday (in the Ordinary Form), we Catholics today unite in recognizing two Pope Johns who today will be proclaimed saints: John XXIII and John Paul II.
John XXIII called for and presided over Vatican Council II until his death. His successor, Paul VI, saw the Council through to its conclusion. John Paul I succeeded Pope Paul and so named himself John Paul in recognition of both John XXIII and Paul VI, who by the time of his death, witnessed a Church that began to fracture into various "camps." Many blame Pope Paul for this fracturing, believing that he ought to have more vigorously opposed the dissident modernists who tried to turn the Church into an institution of their own design, rather than the Church founded by Jesus Christ. These people feel he was too weak. I have relatives and friends who think this of Pope Paul.
John Paul II succeeded John Paul I, and took his name from JP I. For his part, John Paul II has been accused of being too "authoritarian" in his leadership of the Church. I have relatives and friends who think this of Pope John Paul II. On the other hand, some of them believe JP II should have taken a stronger stand in opposing the modernists and their "innovations." They think his inattention to the administration of the Church allowed the liturgical abuse "crisis" to spin out of control. Some wanted him to more aggressively push the "reforms" of Vatican II; others to more aggressively endorse the Extraordinary Form of the Latin rite Mass.
While it's true that you rarely hear much of this sort of criticism John XXIII - the "good" pope as he was and is known - I'm sure you could find a clique in our Holy Church who wring their hands when they hear his name, believing that had he not called for a Vatican Council, somehow all would be like it was in the good old days, whatever they mean by that, and that our Church would be one big happy, holy family and...well, you get the point here.
All I can say is you can't win when you're pope these days.
Look, let's not let ourselves be drawn into these disputes and divisions that it seems Catholics never tire of creating and pursuing. How about we simply unite ourselves today to Holy Mother Church in recognizing our new saints. Push off to the side all distractions and simply thank God that you live in a time where not one, but two popes will be canonized on the same day. This is a great blessing from God. Deo Gratias!
Pope Saint John XXIII and Pope Saint John Paul II, pray for us.
But whether we attend Mass today in observance of Low Sunday (in the Extraordinary Form) or of Divine Mercy Sunday (in the Ordinary Form), we Catholics today unite in recognizing two Pope Johns who today will be proclaimed saints: John XXIII and John Paul II.
John XXIII called for and presided over Vatican Council II until his death. His successor, Paul VI, saw the Council through to its conclusion. John Paul I succeeded Pope Paul and so named himself John Paul in recognition of both John XXIII and Paul VI, who by the time of his death, witnessed a Church that began to fracture into various "camps." Many blame Pope Paul for this fracturing, believing that he ought to have more vigorously opposed the dissident modernists who tried to turn the Church into an institution of their own design, rather than the Church founded by Jesus Christ. These people feel he was too weak. I have relatives and friends who think this of Pope Paul.
John Paul II succeeded John Paul I, and took his name from JP I. For his part, John Paul II has been accused of being too "authoritarian" in his leadership of the Church. I have relatives and friends who think this of Pope John Paul II. On the other hand, some of them believe JP II should have taken a stronger stand in opposing the modernists and their "innovations." They think his inattention to the administration of the Church allowed the liturgical abuse "crisis" to spin out of control. Some wanted him to more aggressively push the "reforms" of Vatican II; others to more aggressively endorse the Extraordinary Form of the Latin rite Mass.
While it's true that you rarely hear much of this sort of criticism John XXIII - the "good" pope as he was and is known - I'm sure you could find a clique in our Holy Church who wring their hands when they hear his name, believing that had he not called for a Vatican Council, somehow all would be like it was in the good old days, whatever they mean by that, and that our Church would be one big happy, holy family and...well, you get the point here.
All I can say is you can't win when you're pope these days.
Look, let's not let ourselves be drawn into these disputes and divisions that it seems Catholics never tire of creating and pursuing. How about we simply unite ourselves today to Holy Mother Church in recognizing our new saints. Push off to the side all distractions and simply thank God that you live in a time where not one, but two popes will be canonized on the same day. This is a great blessing from God. Deo Gratias!
Pope Saint John XXIII and Pope Saint John Paul II, pray for us.
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