SCCR Parish Blog

  Today is the feast day of Pope St. John Paul II, one of the longest-reigning popes and of course well remembered in the lifetimes of all Catholics middle-aged or older. He was truly an astonishing man and an inspiration to so many priests ordained in the last generation, including myself.  I have vivid memories of reading his encyclical letter on the sacredness of life while just a sophomore in high school and being astounded at the depth and beauty of his Catholic faith.  He was a prodigious writer whose letters will be studied for many many decades to come.  But more than just a scholar, he traveled to every corner of the globe fearlessly to bring the Gospel message to a hungry world. In a time of tremendous confusion wrought by the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council, he promulgated the first universal Catechism written in centuries, which largely put an end to that confusion. He courageously stood up to the Soviet empire which tried to enslave his beloved P...

  Old age creeps up on you.  I was surprised to note that the assassination attempt on Pope St. Paul II was 40 years ago from yesterday.  I remember it like it was yesterday, even though I was only a young teen at the time. It's worth reading that story and passing it on to your children and grandchildren.  It is an astonishing story about how one of the greatest of popes was almost miraculously spared from death (he credits the Blessed Virgin Mary,  Our Lady of Fatima) and an extraordinary story of forgiveness:  the saintly pope went out of his way to visit his would-be assassin in prison, embrace him, and forgive him as soon as he recovered (photo above).  I know that St. John Paul inspired a great many priests of my generation, including myself, to follow his footsteps into the holy priesthood. Here's just a brief excerpt from a short story on this event by Russell Shaw of the Our Sunday Visitor weekly magazine.  There is one other twist to thi...