His Love of Christ...

After hearing about the death of the Holy Father, my family and I decided to attend mass at the new Cathedral in St. Louis. Even though my children and I are Eastern Catholics (my wife is Roman), we wanted to unite ourselves in a very direct and specific way with the Archbishop of St. Louis and all the Catholics in the Archdiocese. We first visited the new statue of Pope John Paul II erected in honor of his visit to St. Louis and then proceeded to enter the Cathedral. Near the entrance I was approached by a reporter of the St. Louis Review, the paper of the Archdiocese. He asked me for my reaction about the death of the Holy Father and here is how I responded to him.

I will remember Pope John Paul II first and foremost for his love of Christ. As he stated in his first paragraph of his first encyclical letter, "The Redeemer of Man, Jesus Christ, is the center of the universe and of history." (RH1). He lived his entire life, before and during his pontificate, with Christ always in the center of everything he said or did. This is what makes him "great" and makes him a saint. The second thing that I will remember about the Holy Father was his love for Our Lady. Her yes should be our yes in everything we think and do. Mary is our model for living the faith. She is our model for becoming saints. Pope John Paul II, from the beginning of his pontificate to the end, never stopped talking about Our Lady. Lastly, I will remember the Holy Father for his love of humanity. He had a deep respect for the dignity of man because we are all made "in the image of God." Christ is the one who gives humanity it's deepest meaning. To love ourselves is to love Christ (GS22).