That was exactly fifteen years ago. It was Saturday. At seven o’clock in the morning Cardinal Jaworski, metropolitan of Lvov crowned the image of Our Lady of Częstochowa, which now is here in the Vatican. And, then in the evening around 9 p.m., we were kneeling around John Paul II’s bed. It was dark, but the Pope was perfectly visible. When he left, when the transition from this world to the meeting with the merciful God took place, at one point Father Stanisław, Secretary of John Paul II, stood up, lit the light and intoned the hymn “We glorify You, God.”
I thought that he was crazy… The world was not yet aware that the Pope has died… But, when the next phrases of the hymn began to sound: “We glorify You, God; the entire earth is worshiping You”, we all stood up and understood that we thank God for the Holy One. We thank God, for this man who has become proof of God’s existence for twenty-seven years. We sang “Te Deum” – “We praise You, God”… And, then the words of John Paul II came to me. The words which today sound in a special way when we have the pandemic in the world. “Open the door to Christ. Don’t be afraid!”; “Go out into the deep water! Have the courage, go out into the depth!”
John Paul II died, that is, he lives… That is why we are here at his grave today. And today, words flow from this tomb to the entire world – “I am the Resurrection and life. Do not be afraid. Come to me all those who are tired and burdened and I will comfort you.”
Then, came the next days until the burial. Together with Archbishop Marini, who is present here today, and who was then a master of liturgical ceremonies, we laid the body of John Paul II under this altar, on which we will, in a moment, celebrate the Eucharist. He became the altar for the celebration of the Eucharist. Holy, it is the one who speaks even after his death. Because he’s alive! And, for this special day, a psalmist tells us what to do. When the world stopped 15 years ago due to the death of John Paul II. When the world knelt. When the world started to cry.
Today is a similar situation – the world has stopped. You just need to kneel. You just have to cry. And, the rest is suggested by a psalmist from today’s Liturgy: “Think of the Lord and His power.” Stop thinking about trivial things. Do not think of yourself, because thinking about yourself always ends in sin. Thus, the psalmist calls: “Think of the Lord and His power. Always seek His face. He, the Lord, is our God. His judgments cover the whole world.” It is not enough to stop. It is not enough to kneel. You have to rise up and see. You have to hear what Jesus says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Amen
