Favorite Quotes of John Paul II

On the Rosary:

Pope John Paul II Praying the Rosary

Pope John Paul II in the Rosarium Virginis Mariae writes:

In the spiritual journey of the Rosary, based on the constant contemplation – in Mary’s company – of the face of Christ, this demanding ideal of being conformed to him is pursued through an association which could be described in terms of friendship. We are thereby enabled to enter naturally into Christ’s life and as it were to share his deepest feelings. In this regard Blessed Bartolo Longo has written: “Just as two friends, frequently in each other’s company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding familiar converse with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, by meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, we can become, to the extent of our lowliness, similar to them and can learn from these supreme models a life of humility, poverty, hiddenness, patience and perfection.”

On the Cross:

"There is no evil to be faced that Christ does not face with us. There is no enemy that Christ has not already conquered. There is no cross to bear that Christ has not already borne for us, and does not now bear with us."

On the Family:

"As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live."

"Marriage is an act of will that signifies and involves a mutual gift, which unites the spouses and binds them to their eventual souls, with whom they make up a sole family - a domestic church. "

On Love:

"Do not forget that true love sets no conditions; it does not calculate or complain, but simply loves."

"Darkness can only be scattered by light, hatred can only be conquered by love. "

To Young People:

"Do not be afraid to be the Saints of the New Millennium, if you become who you are you will set the whole world on fire"(John Paul II World Youth Day 2000)

The Pope's last audible words, on hearing tens of thousands of young people singing in St. Peter's Square as he lay in his deathbed, Friday, April 1, 2005: "I sought you out and now you come to me. Thank you."

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Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul’s birthday was May 18th and I began to reflect on some of his writings.  I began to think back to World Youth Day 1993.  I was 17 years old and had traveled from Boston to Denver to join young people from around the world.

As many years have passed since this trip I wanted to again hear the words of Pope John Paul II to us on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.  I re-read the homily he gave that day and a phrase took hold of me “Woe to you if you do not succeed in defending life”. John Paul goes on to say, “The Church needs your energies, your enthusiasm, your youthful ideals, in order to make the Gospel of life penetrate the fabric of society, transforming people's hearts and the structures of society in order to create a civilization of true justice and love. Now more than ever, in a world that is often without light and without the courage of noble ideals, people need the fresh, vital spirituality of the Gospel”.

JPII rosaries in hand landing at World Youth Day 1993

“Do not be afraid to go out on the streets and into public places, like the first Apostles who preached Christ and the Good News of salvation in the squares of cities, towns and villages. This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel, (cf. Rom 1: 16). It is the time to preach it from the rooftops (cf. Mt 10:27). Do not be afraid to break out of comfortable and routine modes of living, in order to take up the challenge of making Christ known in the modem "metropolis". It is you who must "go out into the byroads" (Mt 22:9) and invite everyone you meet to the banquet which God has prepared for his people. The Gospel must not be kept hidden because of fear or indifference. It was never meant to be hidden away in private. It has to be put on a stand so that people may see its fight and give praise to our heavenly Father” (cf. Mt 5:15-16).

In many ways I have felt the intercession of Bl. John Paul II in the work of the children’s rosary.  I have called upon his help reminding him I was one of the young people he commissioned.  As a legacy of his papacy I want to draw attention to his call to young people.  Pope John Paul repeats the words of the great Apostle Paul, "Woe to me if I do not evangelize" (1 Cor 9:16).  It is my prayer that the Holy Spirit will take hold of each one of us and in a special way all the members of the Children’s Rosary and give us the courage and strength to evangelize.  Let it be the Spirit of Truth which speaks through us.   By bringing back prayer to our families may we  truly hear to the core of our being the Words, "I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly" (Jn 10:10) As the Vicar of Christ on earth Pope John Paul speaks strong words “Woe to you if you do not succeed in defending life”.  Through the children’s rosary Our Lady comes to us as a mother who cares for all of her children and she does not want to see any of us lost.  With her gentle hand on our shoulder may we heed the words of Bl John Paul and assume our role as protector of life and evangelist of the Gospel. Amen.

Prayer of Pope John Paul II

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God smiles on us

Today the Lord smiled upon the children's rosary.  The rose which the children planted in the rose garden outside the chapel of St. Thomas on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima twinkled this day with a perfect blossom.  Light rain fell on the delicate petals but each one shown with beauty and elegance just as Our Lady appeared to the children of Fatima.

The children's rosary asked Jesus to give a gift to Our Blessed Mother on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima.  The gift was that a 1,000 families would begin family prayer for each petal that forms on each blossom of the Peace rose that we planted for His mother.  Yesterday the children and I admired three buds just beginning to open.  Today 5 were visible.  The bud that I had suspected might open today still held tight together but a more interior one shown fully open.  It was a wonderful example of how Our Lord surprises us with beauty where you aren't expecting it.

The Lord would bring together many pieces which only He could have done.  Several weeks ago we had decided to offer one Mass a week for renewal of family prayer.  When we called one of the only Masses that was available this week was the 8:00AM today.  Last Wednesday a spontaneous call to the principal of the the St. Thomas elementary school would develop into the children's rosary giving the second grade class Bibles this very morning.  In addition the principal of the school had also planned a May crowning of Mary this morning.  At the end of Mass today a friend approached me.  Her daugher had recently joined the childrens rosary and received a Bible on Divine Mercy Sunday.  She said that as a result of the prayers of the children's rosary she had begun family prayer in her home.  She is mother to five children.  My heart smiled to see the work the Lord was doing.  A small prayer by St.Teresa of Avila comes to mind:

Let nothing disturb you.

Let nothing dismay you.

All things are passing.

God never changes.

Patience attains all that it strives for.

Who has God lacks nothing.

God alone suffices.

Our Lady's Rose Begins to Open

Children's Rosary planting a Rose on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima

Last Sunday on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima the children’s rosary planted a rose in honor of Our Lady.  It was also Mother’s Day.  We asked Jesus that as a gift to His mother would He grant us that one thousand families would begin family prayer for every petal that forms on each blossom of the rose.  We also asked Him that the rose bloom continuously.  The rose which was selected was a peace rose as Our Blessed Mother is the Queen of Peace.  Today as the children and I walked to Mass we approached the small rose garden outside the chapel.  Alina my daughter who is eleven took a picture of the rose bush we planted last weekend.  There were three blossoms just beginning to open.  

Peace Rose Planted for Our Lady

This was such wonderful timing as the second grade class at St. Thomas Apostle School will be receiving Read Aloud Bibles tomorrow. This is a special gift in honor of their First Communion.  Each Bible that will be given out has a Saint written on the inside of the cover.  That Saint was asked through an individual 9 day novena to choose a family to lead in their spiritual journey.  As the children’s rosary is dedicating this year to renewal of family prayer it is our hope that these children will begin to read these Bibles with their parents.  We also included in each Bible our children’s rosary novena with a new Saint.  Each child has been asked to pray this nine day novena for another family.  In two weeks Bibles will be given to the 5th graders at St. Thomas as graduation gifts and the prayers the second graders say will help their fellow school mates renew family prayer in their homes.  

Bibles the children's rosary is giving out

Lord you have promised that "if you ask anything of the Father, He will give it to you in My Name". (John 16:23) I know Lord that you are faithful to the words you have spoken to us.  Please Father in the Name of Jesus your Son send the Holy Spirit to blow through the families of the children’s rosary, the families receiving Bibles and the families we will never meet spread across the globe.  May a Spirit of Truth and prayer descend upon them and a overwhelming desire to begin family prayer in their homes. Just as a rose blossom opens may the hearts of our children and parents open to the Love of Our Lord. May we carry light where there is darkness. May renewal of family prayer blanket our tired world.  We thank you and in all things Your Will Be Done. Amen

The Holy Name of Jesus

"Holy Father, protect them"

In the Gospel today Jesus is preparing to leave His apostles.  He will no longer be able to protect and care for them as he had done while they walked together.  As a parent cares for his children Jesus beseeches His own Father to care and protect them once He is no longer there. “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.  While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me”.(John 17:11-12)

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.(John 17:15-19)

Just as a parent sending their child off to school has a few parting words of advice, Jesus also tries to help us.  What is one of the last things a parent says to their child as they leave them.  Most often it is if you have a problem call me.  As the most perfect of parents Jesus says the same thing. Jesus gives us many ways to sanctify ourselves such as the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Spirit, and reading of The Word of God.  However, He knows that we will stumble as all children do.  He does not want us to be lost to the evil one as He says in the gospel today.  Therefore when we are in trouble we have only to say His Name.  In the gospel yesterday Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, He will give it to you in My Name". (John 16:23) We can say only one word and blessings and protection are poured down upon us.  The word that we should say is Jesus. 

The devils revealed to Francis of Yepes, the brother of St. John of the Cross, that three things especially torment them.  The first is the Name of Jesus; the second is the name of Mary; and the third, the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

St. Francis of Rome was given the grace to be able to speak to her guardian angel.  When St. Francis pronounced the Name of Jesus, the Angel was radiant with happiness and bent down in loving adoration.  Sometimes the devil dared to appear to her, seeking to scare her and do her harm.  But when she pronounced the Holy Name, he was filled with rage and hatred and fled in terror from her presence. (Excerpt from the Book The Wonders of the Holy Name of Jesus by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan)

As Ascension Thursday is behind us let us never forget the power and protection of the Holy Name of Jesus.  "Each time we say Jesus it is an act of perfect love, for we offer to God the infinite love of Jesus".(Fr. Paul O'Sullivan)  

May the members of the children's rosary and all reading this post receive the Spirit of Truth this Pentecost and a new reverence for the Name of Jesus.  We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen

Novena to The Holy Spirit

Novena to the Holy Spirit

Dearest Holy Spirit, confiding in Your deep, personal love for me, I am making this novena for the following request, if it be Your Holy Will to grant it:(mention your request). 

Teach me, Divine Spirit, to know and seek my last end; grant me the holy fear of God; grant me true contrition and patience. Do not let me fall into sin. Give me an increase of faith, hope and charity, and bring forth in my soul all the virtues proper to my state in life.

Make me a faithful disciple of Jesus and an obedient child of the Church. Give me efficacious grace sufficient to keep the Commandments and to receive the Sacraments worthily. 

Give me the four Cardinal Virtues, Your Seven Gifts, Your Twelve Fruits.
Raise me to perfection in the state of life to which You have called me and lead me through a happy death to everlasting life.
I ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen. 
(novena obtained from EWTN website)

The Friday after Ascension Thursday is the day Mary and the Apostles began the very first novena to the Holy Spirit.  May we too begin a novena this day calling down the Spirit to blow through our hearts, families, and world as it did at the very first Pentecost.  Consider including our Children’s rosary petition in your novena.  Many thanks.

MAY THE CHILDREN’S ROSARY, THEIR FAMILIES, THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH THE CHILDREN’S ROSARY INCLUDING OUR PRIESTS, OUR BISHOP AND OUR HOLY FATHER THE POPE BE THE EXTENDED HANDS OF OUR BLESSED MOTHER AND HER SON.  MAY WE GATHER A GREAT MANY SOULS ESPECIALLY YOUNG PEOPLE FOR THE LORD.  MAY WE EXPERIENCE RENEWAL OF FAMILY PRAYER AND SPREAD IT ACROSS THE GLOBE. IN A SPECIAL WAY WE ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT TO GUIDE EACH ONE OF US ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD.

To become a member of the children's rosary one only has to tell the Lord in their heart of their desire to be a part of our group.  You will then be included in all the novenas being said and all of the rosaries being prayed daily. 

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Today is Ascension Thursday and Jesus was lifted up in a cloud and taken out of site.  The readings and Gospel today speak of the gift Jesus has planned for the apostles.  The gift “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Sama'ria and to the end of the earth."(Acts 1:8)

The Holy Spirit is mentioned 57 times in the Acts of the Apostles.  There our 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit and two are mentioned in todays readings. “The Father of Glory may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him”(Ephesians 1:17) 

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are:

1. Wisdom - Embodying all the other gifts. Wisdom strengthens our faith, fortifies hope, perfects charity, and promotes the practice of the virtues in the highest degree.
2. Understanding - Helps us grasp the meanings of the truths of our holy religion. By faith we know them, by understanding we appreciate and relish them.
3. Counsel - Endows the soul with supernatural prudence, enabling it to judge promptly and rightly what must be done, especially in difficult circumstances.
4. Fortitude - Strengthen us to do the will of God in all things.
5. Knowledge - Enables the soul to evaluate things at their true worth in their relation to God. It shows us the loving care of God even in adversity.
6. Piety - Begets in our hearts a filial affection for God as our most loving Father. Piety finds the practice of religion not a burdensome duty but a delightful service.
7. Fear of the Lord - Fills us with a sovereign respect for God, and makes us dread nothing so much as to offend Him by sin.

But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (Ephesians 4:7-12)

As we near the last week of Easter may we truly enjoy the glory of the Lord and embrace all of the wonderful gifts which the Lord has hand chosen for each one of us.  May we listen to the Lord and follow the inspirations of the Spirit as they lead us.  Amen