Towards sanctity in the new world – JPII

Next morning at 7:30 am, after having unsuccessfully tried to get a train ticket, I stand outside the car rental agency waiting for them to open. At 8 am, with a change of clothes, sandwiches for the way and my little Schönstatt flag, Valerie my girlfriend and myself are on the road 916 kms away from Rome.

The role he played in the lives of millions of people…

Valerie is the only person I know who loves traveling more than I do and I am happy she puts little restrain to my impulsive and sudden “great” ideas. So just before leaving I bought an issue of Le Figaro that talks about the life and work of John Paul II for her to read on the way. Despite of course having heard of the man, she had little knowledge about who he was and the role he played not only in history but also in the lives of millions of people around the world. Valerie, although being born and raised a Catholic, as most Swiss I know she has little interest in religion, more questions about God than those I can answer and quite a negative view of the Church. Since we have been together (even if the local priest is not very helpful…) she accompanies me to mass every Sunday and tries to understand why it is I have a little “baby Jesus” (the MTA) and other “religious stuff” in my room (my room Shrine). So along the way she read through the whole magazine, every so often making surprised remarks and asking me if I knew or had heard of this or that detail of Karol Wojtyla’s life.

Do you feel it?

We arrived to Rome little before 6pm after seen hundreds of cars and buses coming from Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Having never been to Rome we were marveled by the splendor of the city and how much history lay before our eyes. For the first and only time we managed to walk around Saint Peters square where thousands of people were already settled with sleeping bags, flags, images and big smiles. As we slowly moved through the crowd trying to take in everything that surrounded us, I turned to Valerie at one moment and asked her: “Do you feel it?”, she simply replied: “Yes, I can’t explain it”. I was happy at the sight of several Mexican flags along the way, to which I would yell “Viva Mexico” and get an automatic “Viva” in response from my fellow countrymen so far away from home. Images of John Paul II could be seen in every lamppost throughout Rome. Large screens and speakers had been set all around the Vatican where large crowds would already gather around to watch a video made for the occasion. Churches were open until late at night offering mass in several languages. Large groups of Polish young and not so young people could be seen every few minutes. The traffic was in total chaos due to the crowds walking in the middle of the street, yet little or no complaints could be heard from the affected drivers. Among the people we met that night was a small group from Madrid that was accompanied by a priest who had worked with and was friends with Father Jose Maria García. The world is indeed a small place.

Why thousands came to Rome

Arriving next morning at 6am to Saint Peter’s and having tried through every possible entry, we discovered it was already impossible to get in. During about an hour we slowly moved forward towards one of the screens set next to the Vatican Museum until about 8am when there for no more possibility to move in any direction and we simply decided to stay put and enjoy the company of a group from Puerto Rico who had traveled to Rome for the occasion. Armed with only my JMJ 2005 t-shirt, a little Schönstatt flag and my Himmelwarts, I struck great conversations with every person around us. Sharing experiences, anecdotes, songs and prayers the next few hours passed relatively quickly. Valerie kept on remarking on how many people there were and how peacefully they all kept moving along through the crowd trying to find the best possible spot. She would listen in awe when people told her they had traveled from other continents or for several days to be there and the reason they had done so.

That through Schönstatt “…the wide halls of the Holy Church be filled again”

Exactly at 10am the celebration began with a wave of applauses by the crowd at the sight of Benedict XVI. As the life of Karol Wojtyla was being read, I would hear all around me sighs and tears. I could not look around nor take any more pictures, being completely drawn by what was in front of me. What I was living filled my eyes with tears and my heart with joy, for which I do not have words to describe… and as the crowd around me slowly vanished with the silence of prayer and the sound of hymns, I prayed. I prayed so that Schönstatt may continue into the new century with “The hand on the pulse of time and the ear on the heart of God” and that through Schönstatt “…the wide halls of the Holy Church be filled again.” I prayed so that I may be some day back in the same spot, celebrating the beatification of Father Kentenich.

Revolutionaries

I come from a country where given its culture; it is still relatively easy to enflame the spirit of young people with the strength of the MTA. Yet for the past couple of years that I have lived in Europe, I look around me and see youth and faith drifting farther apart. Finding either the extreme of ultraconservative Christians or the simple indifference of those as Valerie. As we drove back the same day, we reflected on what we had lived and its impact. I do not think this experience has transformed her, but maybe opened a small door that will lead some day to our MTA. John Paul II, as Father Kentenich, were revolutionaries that remained close and understood the hearts of people, knowing how to lead them towards God. Let us pray that their legacy may allow those who follow to do the same.