Blogs » Flotsam and Jetsam » Memories of John Paul II

Subscribe


 
Memories of John Paul II
By Riverboat in Flotsam and Jetsam
April 30, 2011

Image

In just a few hours, Pope John Paul II will be beatified, joining another larger-than-life figure in my own lifetime to find a place on the calendar for veneration - Mother Teresa.

When I first heard Karol Wojtyla's name, I was stunned over the choice of a Pole. His very first words when he appeared on the balcony in Rome was an apology if he mispronounced your - OUR, he corrected himself - language. You gotta love a guy who wants to do his best for thousands of his adoring Roman fans. Italians instinctively love the guy in white, and the reaction of the crowd dispelled any doubt that they'd be less enthused about a Polish guy in place of an Italian. They just went nuts!

In the months to come, we would enjoy watching him shooshing down the Alps with skis. He was a large figure, muscular with slathers of theological and pastoral training and the bulliest of bully pulpits. If he was shy as a priest, bishop and cardinal, he had a good way of hiding it. His training as an actor no doubt enabled him to play the biggest part of a lifetime.

He was always there for Poland during the Communist crackdown. He stood side-by-side with Lech Walesa and Solidarnosc, and faced down the bullies who could not get rid of him, even after hiring an assassin to do their dirty work. He had something they didn't have - the courage and tenacity that comes from possessing truth. Ronald Reagan had it exactly right when he called the Soviet Union an evil empire. Sophisticates laughed at this simplistic characterization. Who's laughing now?

Everywhere he went – and he went everywhere! - he received tumultuous welcomes, particularly his native Poland.

Memories include him sitting in a jail cell with Mehmet Ali-Agca. Old pals, you'd think. Except he was the same guy who fired a gun at him at point-blank range. Then he stood next to that measly little Polish communist dictator Jaruzelski who was shaking like a dog passing peach pits. There was also the image of him on his visit to Nicaragua, standing over and scolding yet another Communist - this one in clerical garb. Of course, I could not leave out the time my wife and I had the opportunity to see him lead the Mass in San Antonio in 1987.

Near the end, footage showed the Holy Father trying to release doves through his window, but they evidently liked it better in his room. Standing next to him were two cherub-cheeked children who were having a good laugh about it. So was the Pope, although it was hard to tell through the pain of Parkinson's Disease.

One Friday I had come home for lunch. The TV in the living room was on, and I could hear one louder in the bedroom. I glanced at the set and saw the news was all about John Paul II. She was crying in the next room. The news was grim. His kidneys had failed and he was expected to pass away any moment. There were no confirmed accounts. EWTN, however, had a number after his "dash." Mother Angelica wouldn't lie, would she? The next day, of course, the world would know that the man from a far country had gone to a far better place.

Losing this Pope was like losing a limb. He was so much a part of the background of my life and what I believe in.

Comments


  • xring xring Report a ViolationReport a Violation
    permalink

    Thanks Riverboat. He truly was an inspiration. I believe that he will go down in history as one of the greatest Popes in history, and we are blessed to be around to see his beatification.
    X

    May 1, 2011 at 8:28 a.m.

  • maryann maryann Report a ViolationReport a Violation
    permalink

    Thanks, RB, for this remembrance.

    JPII was truly a father figure to me. Tomorrow is indeed a happy, happy day.

    May God's blessing come upon the world tomorrow in a special way. I think it will be a day that begins an outpouring of great graces and blessings. My family and I are getting ready!

    April 30, 2011 at 7:56 p.m.