A giant of faith

A feast of faith, peace and hope, warmed by Rome’s sunshine that dissolved the grey skies of the previous day, as joyous as the time on earth of Karol Wojtyla, removed the veil of sadness oppressing all those who crossed St. Peter’s Square in the last years of his life. Moreover, his image was not to be seen on the Basilica’s central Arcade but further up, on a tapestry where only those who have ascended to the Heavens deserve to be seen. Those blue skies seemed like a miracle, a challenge to daily heart-tormenting afflictions. It was like God’s caress before world tragedies, before peace that nourishes on bombings launched on victims and executioners alike, or before the adverse natural catastrophes intertwined with man’s deeds, an ongoing spiral causing suffering and death. Blessed John Paul II. An island of peace, witnessed by more than a million Christians; a message to the faithful that is being offered also to all men of good will, the most authentic legacy of the new Blessed. The reassuring smile of his image, of his far-looking glance, was mirrored on the faces of the huge crowd of faithful, defeating anxiety whilst evoking his words, urging not to be afraid, confiding in the help and in the mercy of God. It can be said that precisely when John Paul II was being raised to the Altars, he redescended into the world thanks to the perseverance and the determination of his successor and friend Benedict XVI. This was evident to the faithful – and to all those who followed the ceremony with their hearts – who travelled from distant areas of the world to say “I was there!” All of them were summoned by the affection they nurture for the late Pontiff, motivated by the need to experience once more the core of his Magisterium, rejoining him with their hearts. Men and women who met him along world paths, who crossed his glance or who simply fell in love with his words, his gestures, his great humanity. It has often been said that the Church doesn’t create saints. Rather, she unveils existing virtue. Karol Wojtyla communicated his saintliness, he distributed galore all around him. His interlocutors were overcome by it. He was acquainted not only with politics but also with TV, face-book, and the latest trends. He was equally aware of values’ erosion and even disappearance, and to recover the essence of proclamation and bring to the fore the Breath of God that dwells within each human being, imparting it to contemporary society, thus re-evangelising – as echoed by Benedict XVI – culture, society and every human person. A “giant of faith”. His vision of life, his vision of the future of humanity, his openness and self-bestowal to Christ, so as to fear our daily journey no more, was impressed on the faces of the crowd. It is a promise that will hardly wane. The beatification, (and possibly, the upcoming canonization) doesn’t shelve the Magisterium of John Paul II. Rather, it actualizes history. His successor Benedict XVI is its faithful promise: after one thousand years a Pontiff has raised to the Altars his predecessor to the See of Peter. In fact, His Holiness led the solemn ceremony wearing the vestments that had belonged to Pope Wojtyla.Benedict XVI’s emotion was moving, testifying to friendship that bond his life to John Paul II, as said on numerous occasions. The burden he carries has not lessened. Indeed, it has increased. The dangers threatening humanity and the Church have not decreased either. They have grown more insidious. The desert created by sin, by pessimism, that deems evil unavoidable, was conquered by the determined, fearless voice of the Pope, clear as the intensity of his own faith. Against the same demons, the people of God know that they can count on the one who is following in his wake.