Archbishop Mokrzycki is convinced that John Paul II liked Christmas not only because of the sentimental memories of childhood. Not only because he missed the Christmas tree and nativity scene and that he liked to sing Christmas carols. But because the Holy Father liked to waste time with Christ – he says. He liked to be close to Him. And, he felt a bond with Him, which made him very emotional at the thought of God, who becomes a man and weeps placed in a manger, because they did not want Him anywhere. He loved, sympathized, and wanted to cuddle to his heart little Jesus. Like any child; especially those who have not experienced the love, those that suffers. Therefore, in the Letter to Children, the Pope wrote that in events related to Christmas, the fate of children around the world can be recognized. (…) “People who are destined to go to heaven are simple like children” – John Paul II wrote to his small friends – “and like children are full of trust, rich in goodness and pure. Only people of this sort can find in God a Father and, thanks to Jesus, can become in their own turn children of God.” The Pope pointed out the enormous power of the child’s prayer, which should be a model for adults; simple and trusting. “Totus Tuus”. John Paul II was like a child in his prayers – says Archbishop Mokrzycki. He trusted and confided to the end to Jesus and His Mother. Maybe that’s why his joy also had something of a child. And, we say today that at Christmas he enjoyed like a child. He had such a laughing, playful look of a little boy who only aged out a little. And, who is just waiting for a Christmas tree to appear in the house, for a moment to look into the manger, for all these deliciousness prepared by nuns for the Christmas Eve supper.
With the permission of Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki, “A place for everybody”
‘Znak’ Publishing House, Krakow 2013
