Throughout Advent, the Holy Father ate less than usual. At breakfast, he gave up cold cuts. Archbishop Mokrzycki mentions that this Papal’s Advent fasting came as a surprise to him. After all, he was already old, sick, he says. He didn’t have to. Others didn’t. But, in this symbolic way he wanted to show God how important He is to him and how much he is waiting for His Son. There was something touching about it. “Faith without works is dead” – the Pope was saying after Saint James. Most likely this fasting was supposed to be one of the works that enliven faith. He spoke of Advent as “a call to revive hope.” “Life would be empty if there was no Advent” – he argued. And he explained that: “it is waiting for someone who brings us a gift of Himself.” This anticipation for someone very important apparently could be felt in the Papal apartments. The Archbishop does not know how to call it, but he mentions that from the moment the Advent wreath appeared in the library where John Paul II was taking the audience, the atmosphere became more festive. It was the first Christmas symbol – he says. It was often a gift from someone from Germany. For us, this tradition is not so much alive. It’s still more Evangelical than Catholic custom. I remember Cardinal Ratzinger saying that it was German. A few twigs of fir, ribbons, a few small glass ball ornaments sometimes. And, four candles; each for one Sunday of Advent. The Advent wreath witnessed the pre-Christmas audiences; among them also the one, which Archbishop Mokrzycki remembered particularly well. When the Christmas tree stood in the library, apparently more brave guests could not resist the temptation to take a glass ball ornament from it as a souvenir. They always asked for the consent of the Holy Father, recalls the Archbishop. –And, he always agreed. He was very generous – he laughs. – I remember once such a group of thirty people, I do not remember from where, but not from Poland, from abroad. And, they literally left this Christmas tree bare without any decorations. The first person inspired the rest. And, so everyone took this Papal glass ornament as a souvenir. I remember that Tobiana (the closest sister, a nun of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who was with John Paul II from the beginning of his episcopal ministry in Krakow) was furious, because the sisters had to decorate the Christmas tree again. We all laughed a lot. The Holy Father laughed, too. Luckily, they had more glass ornaments. The Holy Father was receiving a lot of glass ornaments for Christmas from all parts of the world. But, about glass ornaments and Christmas tree we will talk later.
With the consent of Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki – “Place for everyone”
Znak Publishing House, Kraków 2013.
