In a certain sense, today we have come to him, praying near his tomb in the church where he celebrated the Eucharist many times during his twenty-seven years of his pontificate and proclaimed the word of God addressed to the entire Church. The holy Pope first of all led people to Christ. He persuaded and encouraged us not to be afraid and to open wide the doors to the Savior of the world, who alone has the words of eternal life.
Today, the Holy Father would say to each of us the same thing as we read from the Apostle Paul’s Letter to Timothy: “But you, man of God, avoid all this. Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Tim 6:11-12).
These last words we refer today to John Paul II. Before the entire Church and the world, “before many witnesses”, he bore extraordinary witness to God and to man called to eternal life. With this truth, he reached the farthest corners of the world as a fervent and credible apostle of Jesus Christ and His Gospel, presenting Him as “the blessed and only Ruler, king of kings and Lord of rulers”, to whom “honor and eternal power” (1 Tim 6:15-16). With no army or weapons other than the weapons of love, proclaiming the truth about God and man and his dignity as a child of God, John Paul II made an indisputable contribution to the overthrow of the godless and inhuman communist system, enslaving people and nations, trying to deprive them of the most important hope that they were created and called to a life that would have no end.
John Paul II left us a legacy inspired by the Foundation bearing his name. This legacy consists of his teaching, contained in countless catechesis, homilies, speeches and important documents of the pontificate in the form of encyclicals, letters and apostolic exhortations and published books. In all these works is contained the spirit and wisdom of the Pope, who helps us to look at the things of God and man. That is why it is worth reaching creatively to his texts in order to face new challenges and questions posed by man living in the twenty-first century in the light of the truth contained in them.
Vatican City, St. Peter’s Basilica, September 25, 2022
