GRdirector

Suzanne Haugh has worked as a Catholic journalist for over 11 years. She lives in Louisville, KY, with her husband of 17 years and their three children.

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Six years ago at Pope John Paul II’s funeral the crowd in St. Peter’s Square shouted, “Santo subito!” meaning, “Sainthood now!” They are one step closer to making that wish come true. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints approved a miracle attributed to John Paul II, and he will be beatified on May 1^st as part of the canonization process leading to sainthood. Once beatified, the Church is acknowledging John Paul II’s entrance into heaven.  He is given the title “blessed” and can intercede for us all who pray in his name.

This recent news brings to mind my personal experiences with Pope John Paul II. I was lucky enough to be in his presence twice. The first time was in Rome with my family and we were fortunate enough to share in mass on Pentecost Sunday 2000 with him. The second was in 2002 at World Youth Day in Toronto.

World Youth Day was an incredible experience for many reasons. There is absolutely nothing like seeing young people on fire for their faith. Canada welcomed pilgrims, including myself, from around the globe with open arms. We were encouraged to follow the theme, “you are the salt of the earth … you are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-14), not just during the week of the event, but to take that fire in our hearts home with us.

The last night of WYD we all gathered around in a huge open area in Downsview Park in Toronto to welcome the pope, shouting, “JP2, we love you!” As the sun fell, the thousands of Catholics gathered lit candles and listened to the Pope’s words, “Look to Jesus, the living One, and repeat what the Apostles asked: ‘Lord, teach us how to pray’. Prayer will be the salt that gives flavor to your lives, and leads you to Him, humanity’s true light.”  It was an extraordinary and a beautiful sight to behold.

That night, we slept outdoors in our sleeping bags, our travel backpacks beside us like true pilgrims on a journey, eagerly awaiting the pinnacle of World Youth Day, the Eucharistic celebration of Mass with the Pope.  The peaceful night was disrupted by a violent storm wake up call.

I remember vividly the aggressive winds shaking the barriers of the park, hurriedly covering our backpacks so our belongings weren’t ruined. Huge raindrops splattered across us as the morning came. The storm ripped off part of the roof of the stage where the altar was and all of us pilgrims encamped in the park tried to figure out how best to prepare for Mass. My group  found plastic “fences” and managed to create a sort of cave with our ponchos. We sat there, completely drenched, huddled underneath our make-shift shelter.  Soaking wet, shivering, and I’m not going to lie, a little frightened, I sat there praying silently, begging for the storm to be over. How could God make this happen on the final day of our trip when we were here serving Him?

The time came for Mass to begin. Although the storm almost prevented the papal helicopter from taking off, John Paul II made it to the large field to celebrate the Eucharist with us at his final World Youth Day.  As Mass began, the storm let up. The pope spoke, and the winds stopped. During the homily I sat there in complete and utter awe.  The sun was shining through the clouds and I remember thinking, THIS man is holy.

I had heard the lyrics to the WYD theme song, “Light of the World” by Rev. Joseph Tap Tran, dozens of times on that trip, but it didn’t truly become prevalent in my being until that moment. “Together, let us stand against the storm and in the heart of night be the watchers of the morn. The light of the world, the salt of the earth, we scatter the darkness, when love becomes our way.”

The pope truly embodied Christ’s love through everything. He LITERALLY brought forth light for us that morning. The love for Christ exuding from the pope, broke through the darkness and into our hearts that morning. John Paul II’s homily called us to break through the darkness of the world and to be a beacon of light, “Listen to the voice of Jesus in the depths of your hearts! His words tell you who you are as Christians. They tell you what you must do to remain in His love. But Jesus offers one thing, and the ‘spirit of the world’ offers another…the ‘spirit of the world’ offers many false illusions and parodies of happiness. There is perhaps no darkness deeper than the darkness that enters young people’s souls when false prophets extinguish in them the light of faith and hope and love. The greatest deception, and the deepest source of unhappiness, is the illusion of finding life by excluding God, of finding freedom by excluding moral truths and personal responsibility.” (http://www.wf-f.org/WorldYouthDay02.html)

At 16, as high school threatened to take me further into the secular world and away from my faith these words resonated with me. At 24, the words of John Paul II couldn’t be more relevant in my life today. We are called to have hope through the storm. To be the light that steals the darkness away. And if we sit huddled together, frightened and soaking wet, begging for the storm to be over, let us remember that Jesus IS the light of the world. He has the words of life. As Pope John Paul II said, “you must keep alive the memory of the words of life which He spoke, the marvelous works of mercy and goodness which He performed. You must constantly remind the world of the ‘power of the Gospel to save’ (Romans 1:16).”

Blessed Pope John Paul II, pray for us.