JPII, We Love You!

I have been trying to find coverage of the Beatification of Pope John Paul II. I guess I have to be a little more patient.

In the meantime, I found this cute video. I love the way he responded to the media:


I just loved JPII. I remember Toronto, Canada in 2002. He was riding around above us in a helicopter throughout the week leading up to World Youth Day, praying for us all. That really touched me. All of a sudden, the successor of St. Peter was no longer a person far removed. He was and is a person who genuinely cares.

My experience with Blessed John Paul II really helped set the stage for how I experience the Church and the Vatican. I now have a love for the Church that transcends the emotions that I felt at World Youth Day. I don't want to belittle emotional experiences because I think they are necessary for making the first step in anything. I don't think people decide to do things that they feel "just okay" about, unless they are obligated to do them. God knows we need these emotions, so He provides us with "excessive happiness" (to quote the movie Patch Adams).

I love the Church and trust that Christ continues to be at the head of the Church (Catechism of the Catholic Church #792), guiding our pope, Pope Benedict XVI and all of us. I love Pope Benedict XVI, and I invite you all if you aren't already doing so, to keep him in your daily prayers and learn about him. He certainly has a lot of good to offer the Church. My favorite thing that he has written so far is Deus Caritas Est (God is Love). I invite you to read that.

Also, to those of you who live in the United Kingdom, congratulations on the royal wedding! Isn't is great that they got married on the Feast Day of St. Catherine of Siena, who has the same name as Duchess Catherine? I heard that the Anglican archbishop even mentioned the saint at the wedding ceremony!