AN OFFER NOT FOR REJECTION
FR. IRENEUSZ SKUBIŚ
Nine years ago the contemporary saint – John Paul II was dying. The whole world was flabbergasted at that time. We knew that the Pope was passing away but we wanted to push away that moment and we cordially wished the Holy Father his health. And the hour of death arrived, and the world start crying. Why was it crying? Because the saint man was dying and we were feeling that holiness, the man, at whom even atheists were looking with great respect and love. We saw that he was looking at us very carefully, looking into our eyes, somehow he was scrutinizing his interlocutors. People still remember these meetings with John Paul II which had already been called meetings with the saint. Because they met not only a saint man, full of love and wisdom but they also felt that his attitude towards everyone was full of God,. These were meetings with the man who was full of Eucharist, holy presence of God.
Today St. John Paul II is arriving at his homeland which is in a different phase of its history. He loved it a lot, therefore, he cared about his compatriots, their better life. So, he taught, asked and convinced. We can ask: What have we done with the gift from John Paul II? What have we done with the unrepeatable atmosphere which he always created when he was arriving at his homeland? How to sum up our conscience which he was building with love for so many years? Are we faithful at all to the excellent look of wise and good eyes of John Paul II?....Because where the man meets with greatness, he must do some summary and ask questions: what does this greatness mean to me? what influence does it have on me? what does the reality look like, which I should make better? Otherwise the bitter reflection would be righteous which was expressed by the Holy Father, following Jesus quoting the words of the prophet Isaah (see Mt 15.8): “Doesn’t this people worship me only with their mouths”…
Proclaiming somebody as a saint is the biggest prize which the man can receive, the biggest award of life, the biggest thing of the human greatness. Therefore on these last days before the greatest victory of John Paul II, we should be aware that ‘noblesse oblige’ greatness which came to our nation and Poland through John Paul II, is obliging. It obliges us towards Europe and the world to give a testimony of good life, testimony of faithfulness to God and following His commandments. So, we should normally be embarrassed that in our local communities there is still echo of demons raised by the IV Department of the former Interior Ministry, that the party which spread so much hatred towards God and the Church in the homeland of John Paul II, gains quite good results against the forthcoming elections. And also because there is so little prayer in us for our brothers, sons and daughters who do not want to understand that ‘Homeland is a great collective duty’, as great Cyprian Kamil Norwid noted.
It seems that facing the canonization of blessed John Paul II, today Poland needs a prayer remunerating for homeland, especially the one of the rosary, needs repentance and constant request to God for freeing many children from the burden of sins which carry godless and destructive feature to its groups and all of us.
I hope that the forthcoming canonization will help our nation realize the fact that we are brothers of John Paul II – a man full of God – as he wrote it once himself. It also wants to give us an offer today which should be an offer not for rejection.
(AA)
"Niedziela" 14/2014