+ (Before the gospel) Today we have the memorial of St John Paul II, one of the most influential saints of modern time. St Paul tells us today to allow Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith. So let us take a moment to be aware of our need for God’s loving forgiveness in our lives.
(After the gospel) Today’s gospel I find to be one of the most difficult. Jesus asking his disciples: “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division” seems so contrary to his call to be persons of peace. It does help us to face divisions in our hearts and relationships. His laying down his life for us was to heal all the divisions in our hearts so that we might truly love one another.
St John Paul II worked hard all his life to heal the divisions within his own country of Poland caused by Communism. It is said that “His unwavering support of Poland’s Solidarity Movement.. helped weaken and eventually collapse the Soviet regime in Easter Europe.”
He visited over 100 countries and was probably the most traveled pope in all of history. He reached out to the young creating the World Youth Day and worked hard to improve relations with Jewish, Muslim and other religious communities. He survived an assassination attempt in 1981, later meeting his attacker in prison to forgive him. Let us pray to him that we too may be persons of an abiding faith, so as to heal divisions that are harmful in our lives and in our world of today.
Eph 3:14-21; Luke 12:49-53