Today (October 22), we commemorate St. John Paul II on his feast day. He had a beautiful way about him, his joy and spontaneity were motivating and captivating. It was easy to be enamored by him. He joyfully lived out and loved our faith with great and bold conviction.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said it best, “Everyone knows John Paul II: his face, his characteristic way of moving and speaking; his immersion in prayer and his spontaneous cheerfulness. Many of his words have become indelibly engraved in our memories, starting with the passionate cry with which he introduced himself to the people at the beginning of his pontificate: ‘Open wide the doors to Christ, and be not afraid of him!’ Or this saying: ‘No one can live a trial life; no one can love experimentally.’ An entire pontificate is condensed in words like these. It is as though he would like to open the doors for Christ everywhere and wishes to open up to people the gate that leads to true life, to true love.”
He had a deep devotion to our Blessed Mother. In his apostolic letter “Rosarium Virginis Mariae”, Pope John Paul II wrote about how the Rosary had the power to bring forth a “harvest of holiness” and how it helps to “proclaim Christ” to the world. He also promised that: “The revival of the Rosary in Christian families … will be an effective aid to countering the devastating effects of [the] crisis typical of our age.”
The venerable Patrick Peyton was known as the “Rosary priest,” and popularized the phrase, “The family that prays together, stays together.” To carry out his mission, this past Sunday, a few East Lake families were able to attend the Family Rosary Rally held at Notre Dame College Prep hosted by Holy Cross Family Ministries. St. JP II was the patron saint of World Youth Day, families young Catholics, Poland and Catholic sports! How fitting it was to celebrate his feast day in the coming days and come together to pray the rosary on the Legacy football field and have students represent their schools in their school sports uniforms. We were proud to see East Lake Alumni represent Lola Keller (Class of ’21), Teresa Keller (Class of ’22), and Kevin Murphy (Class of ’22), take part in the procession, the choir and during the decades of the rosary. It was a wonderful joy to see so many families come together on a beautiful, clear day in honor of our Blessed Mother.
Fr. Tim Anastos is a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the assistant chaplain at the St. John Paul II Newman Center at the University of Illinois–Chicago. At the end of the rally, he gave a reflection. He reinforced the importance and power of the rosary. It’s not simply a set of memorized prayers, but rather a relationship with our mother. It was an invitation to think about how Jesus invites us into a life with him. Fr. Tim allowed us to reflect on what Mary needed to do to become worthy to carry’s God’s will. He reminded us that she only needed to say, “Yes, ” nothing more, nothing less.
May we all answer his call with a convicted and resounding, “Yes!” as our Blessed Mother and St. John Paull II did.
