My Pope

I want to write something more about what it means to me that Pope John Paul II is being canonized–will have been canonized, by the time this posts.

I want to say something about what this Pope meant to my generation, what it meant to grow up a “JPII Catholic.” I could point out that he was elected a mere two years before I was born, and died the month I gave birth to my first child, his funeral the same weekend as my son’s baptism.

I could say something about falling in love with my Pope when I was four years old, and never falling out of love with him. About being the only 8 year old of my acquaintance with a collection of papal memorabilia. About reading and re-reading the fabulous adventure story of the life of Karol Wojtyla.

I could talk about the revelation of his words, his thoughts. About Gaudium et Spes 24, and personalism, and Dives in Misericordia, and delighting in the way my beloved Pope quoted my beloved Newman over and over. Delighting in the way his delight shone through, his passion for Christ which filled him and overflowed into everything he said and taught.

Or I could talk more about World Youth Day in Toronto and how the spirit of the man shone through the feeble frame of his body, how his words bridged the gap of years and spoke directly to us, the young, like water to parched soil.

I could try to describe how Pope John Paul II’s last days swirled around me as I nursed my infant son. His illness hung over us like a coming shadow. But, somehow, his death and funeral came with a lightness and a joy that seemed incomprehensible.

Except it wasn’t, and it isn’t incomprehensible.

I have always felt, always known that the Pope loved me. And I loved him like another grandparent, a beloved mentor, and an understanding friend.

With his death, I understood; I hadn’t lost my Pope. He still loved me. Only now, he could love me more fully, more intimately, more perfectly aligned with God’s intimate and eternal love for each of us.

JPII, we love you! And we know you love us more.

Ora pro nobis!