“Totally Yours”. That was the motto of Bl. John Paul. It described his personal consecration to the Virgin Mary. It is from a prayer by St. Louis de Montfort who wrote extensively about Mary. The whole prayer is translated: “I belong entirely to you, and all that I have is yours. I take you for my all. O Mary, give me your heart.”
Now Bl. John Paul is totally ours as well. He will be canonized April 27, 2014 along
with his predecessor Bl. John XXIII. For
many growing up in the eighties, nineties, and all the way to 2005, John Paul
was our pope. He spoke to us from his
heart. He guided us through his
encyclicals and teachings and the Catechism
of the Catholic Church. He showed us
the way to holiness by the beatification of 1,340 people and the canonization
of 483 saints. He helped us to live in
faith, hope, and live by establishing World Youth Day. He brought about a new world by helping to
free Europe from communism. He taught us
dignity by his suffering and death. He
left us a legacy of a true understanding of being authentically human by giving
us Theology of the Body.
Bl. John Paul gave himself utterly and completely to God and
now God has given him back to us. When
we read his great social justice encyclicals, On Human Work, On Social
Concern, and On the Hundredth Anniversary,
we learn of the message of human dignity, solidarity, concern for the poor, and
the right to life. He wrote The Gospel of Life to warn against the
culture of death that permeates our society today. He wrote The
Splendor of Truth and Faith and
Reason to guide us in right thinking and the right use of philosophy. Perhaps the greatest philosopher the papacy
has ever known, he will be for many the greatest pope we have ever loved.
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