On Fridays, especially lately, his health condition suddenly was getting worse. Unexpectedly, he experienced severe pains, very strong, but he endured them patiently. He was saying that suffering make sense, and he not only spoke, but realized in life this truth that was not easy to accept. Thus, what he wrote in his apostolic letter “Salvifici Dolores”, he drew from his personal experience.
Then other episodes, other situations that made you think. Man remained wordless, full of amazement, full of questions. Those who had the opportunity to meet the Holy Father said they felt close to God. Suggestion? Perhaps, but it is true that this has happened many times. One evening, a three-generation Jewish family living in the United States was invited to dinner with the Holy Father. There was a lady, doctor of philosophy, came one of her sons and grandchildren. At one point, one of his grandchildren said, “I feel God’s presence here. Can I sing?” And he sang; first one song in Hebrew, then the other in English.
Sometimes bishops sent to the Vatican certificates of miracles received through the intercession of Pope Wojtyła. But he carefully was avoiding these things. He didn’t want to hear about them. He said that if graces were obtained, if miracles had happened, it was all the work of God, not man. In fact, people – not just Catholics, not just Christians – considered him holy. And, they considered him holy not only because of what he had done as Pope, not only because of so many pro-Prophetic gestures, but above all, because of how he faced suffering, illness, and eventually death.
With the permission of Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz – “At the side of the Saint”
St. Stanislaw BM Publishing House, Krakow 2013
