TESTIMONIES OF SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS FROM LUBLIN
Open the door to Christ!
There is a time in life when a person very seriously begins to think about his/her future, when he/she is looking for a door to go on the other side and start the next stage of his/her life. For me, St. John Paul II became such a door of hope. One day I read the words of the Holy Father which he said on October 22, 1978, during the inauguration Mass at the beginning of His Pontificate: “Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ. To his saving power open the boundaries of States, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization and development. Do not be afraid. Christ knows “what is in man”. He alone knows it.”
And then, I realized that the door opens not only from the outside, but also from the inside, in my heart. From that moment on, John Paul II has become a part of my heart, my life, and my plans for the future. I opened my heart even further to the Lord Jesus and his Gospel. And, so in my life a wonderful journey to the Lord God began based on the footsteps of John Paul II. I thought to myself, “It will be beautiful in your life, it must be beautiful in your life. Just put on your shoes comfortably, because you have a long way to go, your entire life.”
I am currently a fellow (doctoral student) of the John Paul II Foundation. It’s a great and amazing honor for me. I try every day to open the door of my heart to Christ. I am grateful to the Lord God for the gift of life and holiness of John Paul II, for the gift of the Foundation, and the scholarship program, and for benefactors, through which I can benefit from this wonderful heritage. I express my gratitude with prayers.
Viyaleta Khviatskovich
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You have to demand from yourself!
I wholeheartedly thank the Lord God for the gift of the life and holiness of John Paul II. For us, the people of Central and Eastern Europe, the election of Karol Wojtyła as Pope and His long-standing Pontificate was important to regain political and religious freedom in our countries, although it is still under threat. I am a relatively young person and I did not have a chance to meet John Paul II in person. However, I draw from the richness of His teaching, in which so much is devoted to the care of young people. Many times, in His homilies, He encouraged us to be faithful to Christ and the Church.
One of the John Paul II’s most important messages to young people was made in the request-appeal delivered on Jasna Góra in 1983: “You must demand of yourselves, even if others would not demand of you!”. The words of the Holy Father delivered in 1987 on Westerplatte, are also very poignant: “Each of you, my young friends, will find in life some personal “Westerplatte.” Some measure of tasks that have to be undertaken and fulfilled. Some rightful cause for which one cannot avoid fighting. Some duty, or necessity, which one cannot shun. From which one cannot desert. Finally, some order of truth and values, which must be held and defended, like this Westerplatte, within oneself and around oneself.” Certainly, there are a lot of such quotes. I try to discover them and bring them into my own life.
I give thanks to St. John Paul II for the gift of the Foundation and the scholarship program, in which I can shape my intellect, personality, and faith. Thank you for the World Youth Day, in which I had the opportunity to participate in 2016, in Krakow. This meeting had a huge impact on my choices.
I trust that my life is and will be the best thanksgiving to St. John Paul II for His boundless love for the world, the Church, and the young people.
Teresa Nohal
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Young people, you are my hope!
I thank the Lord God for I am living in the times marked by St. John Paul II. I am proud to come from the part of Europe where the future Pope was born. I realize that every Governor of Christ on earth is the head of the entire Church, but I find John Paul II, the Pope from behind the Iron Curtain, as our Pope, who has become the most effective shield against communism. As my Pope, who reminded us, young people, so many times: “You are the future of the world; you are the hope of the Church. You are my hope.”
For me, Saint John Paul II is a Man with a great heart, an extraordinary intellect, and a very deep faith. Already, in his lifetime he was considered a saint, and during the funeral the faithful demanded his immediate canonization. John Paul II was able to unite the nations and hearts of different peoples and races. He was able to immediately forgive his would-be killer Ali Agcy, already on the way to the hospital. His death was a huge loss for everyone. A world without His smile, kind words, will never be the same again.
On the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Founder of our Foundation, I would like not only to mention John Paul II, his pastoral teaching, but above all I would like to give thanks to the Lord God for the gift of the Pope from Poland, from Wadowice, “where it all began”. For introducing the world and the Church into the third millennium of Christianity, pleading that it be a time of “civilization of love”, rejecting the destructive “civilization of death.”
I also feel connected with the Polish Pope through the Foundation, which gives me the opportunity to rediscover the life and teaching of St. John Paul II. As a scholarship recipient of this Foundation, I will try to make the most of my stay in Poland and studies at the Catholic University of Lublin, so that I will never again “fear youth and deep desires, happiness, truth and lasting love” (John Paul II).
Saint John Paul II, teach us true hope. This hope which “does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5, 5). Teach us faith and love, which “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor 13:7). Lead us to Jesus Christ and advocate for us at God’s throne. Saint John Paul II – pray for us!
Victoriia Gurska
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Love to the end
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of St. John Paul II,I would like to sincerely give thanks to the Holy Father for the fact that during his life he addressed every person with such love, especially young people. He hinted to young people how beautifully and fruitfully live through the time of youth. He, who spoke to young people during his earthly pilgrimage: “You must demand of yourselves, even if others would not demand of you!” today speaks to us from the House of the Father, telling us to make the most of the time of youth, which is God’s invaluable gift. John Paul II taught us through the example of his life that one must constantly pray and trust in God’s Mercy, especially in difficult times, such as in the era of the current corona pandemic. We constantly need to thank the Lord God for the gift of such great Shepherd, who, like Jesus Christ, did not hesitate to expose his life in defense of his beloved sheep.
Thank you, St. John Paul II, for the gift of the Foundation and the scholarship program in which I participate. I am convinced that thanks to the values I gain in Lublin, I will be able beautifully shape my adult life.
Olga Sydora
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Karol – a man who became Pope
Who is John Paul II for me? A Holy Father or maybe Karol Wojtyła, the man who became Pope? I know that this question corresponds to the title of the popular movie from 2005 about John Paul II, directed by Giacomo Battiato: “Karol: A Man Who Became Pope.”
However, I could not ask my question differently, because by watching this film as a child, I met St. John Paul II for the first time.
I remember, how honestly I was crying looking at the story of His life. Even then, as a child, I was convinced of His holiness. For me in this movie Karol Wojtyła, John Paul II, was the love itself, the very good. I did not need to know whether the Church would ever consider him holy or not, whether a certain number of miracles would happen at his grave or not; for me, a child, He was already a holy man.
For the second time I watched the same movie on the train, many years later. With a group of friends we went to Kiev to admire the wonderful sacred art of this city and to pray in the St. Sophia Cathedral. On the way back, we watched the movie about John Paul II. Tears were going down from my eyes. I cried with regret that there are so few such wonderful people in the world. I cried that John Paul II had already gone to the House of the Father, and I will never see Him again, that I will not be able to listen to His wise, loving homilies. That people will forget him, and He was so wonderful.
Preparing a paper on Christian values in the family in my last class of high school, I borrowed a book from the library with John Paul II’s citations. Reading this book, I was full of admiration for the man who was on earth, but his thoughts were already in heaven, as… he was a saint. And, then again I very much regretted that he died, that I had no opportunity to be close to Him, to meet him personally, and He will not be the Pope during my adult life.
Then, my life went relatively calm. I was preparing for the baccalaureate exam. What was my surprise when in April I “accidentally” encountered in the Internet the information about the John Paul II Foundation Home, which offers scholarships to study at the Catholic University of Lublin to young people from the East. Then, the image of the man from the movie, my Holy Pope, took on an even deeper meaning for me.
Watching this movie years ago, could I have imagined that over time the main character would become such a close person to me and that he would play such an important role in my life? Reading his homilies and regretting that he is no longer among us, could I think that He had not really died, that He LIVES in his deed, that is, in His Foundation and the scholarship program? Saint John Paul II changed my life and He is still changing it. The memory of Him will never go away, for He lives and is present everywhere.
Everything he did during His life was good, beautiful, and noble, as it was the fruit of His deep union with God and the total entrustment to the Mother of God, through his Totus Tuus Maria. Saint John Paul II will forever remain in my memory, thanks to the teaching included in the numerous Encyclicals, Exhortations, Constitutions and Apostolic Letters, and homilies. He will remain in my memory because he was a holy man.
Mariana Horodytska
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You do not live, you do not love, you do not die to test it
A few days ago, the letter of the retired Pope Benedict XVI was issued on the occasion of the impending anniversary of the birth of St. John Paul II. In this Letter, among other things, we can read such reflection of the Holy Father: ” The word “saint” indicates God’s sphere and the word “great” the human dimension. A holy man is the one who leads away from himself and lets us see and recognize God.”
Thank you, John Paul II, for the example of your holiness, which leads to the knowledge of the true God. Thank you for not focusing all your attention on yourself, but for focusing our attention to the direction that leads to God.
I also thank you for the Foundation, the Foundation Home in Lublin, and the scholarship program, thanks to which I could deepen my knowledge and shape my personality. I would like to thank you especially for the words you have said once and which have fallen so deep into my heart: “You do not live, you are not love, you do not die to test it”
Holy Father, lead us through the paths of our life to heaven, to holiness.
Fr. Roman Broda
