Why He Is a Saint: The Life and Faith of Pope John Paul II and the Case for Canonization Book

I think this book is an informative look at JPII life but since it has a purpose in his canonization as a saint it was two dry at times without a good narrative. It seemed to me at times that the book was more an essay rather than a narrative. But, the essence of who JPII did shine through. He was not only important in the evangelization of the Catholic faith but he was also instrumental geopolitically in bringing down communism from within via peaceful means.

John Paul II was a people person who loved to teach the youth of his parish. He was as equally enthralled by the young with their youthful vigor as he was with intellectual ideas especially as it expressed itself in freedom of worship and religious freedom. He also loved acting and being with people. He always tried to stay grounded by being in touch with his friends from boyhood. His friendship with a Jew and experience in Nazi-occupied Poland led him to bridge the divide between Catholics and Judaism and his general ecumenical outlook. He really had a sense of mission which is important if one wants to do something outside ones comfort zone.

He initially did not want to be bishop because it would take him away from his contact with the youth of his parish. As pope he hated the politics and bureaucracy that came with the position in favor of the people that he wanted to serve. He wanted to continue being the happy go lucky intellectual spiritualist that he was that was increasingly at odds with being head of an organized church. He was also loyal to the priesthood and like to put on a unified front to external threats...(Can this possibly be the reason he did not crack down harder on suspected child abusers? Is it his loyalty to the priesthood or his idealism that someone in the priesthood could possibly not do this?)

With his emphasis of freedom of worship and religious freedom, he became an ardent opponent of totalitarianism with its expression first in Nazism and later Communism. He rightly considered coercion of religion by the state as antithetical to religious freedom. The Polish communist secret police kept tabs on him because he provided an open forum in communist Poland in which open dialogue was encouraged attracting not only Catholics but also anti-communist intellectuals. Through this forum, he was able to organize and concentrate opposition to Polish Communism. I think Reagan was lucky to have John Paul as his ally against Communism. Whereas Reagan showed an external enemy against communism, John Paul worked within Eastern block communist countries such as Poland to weaken communism from within. It took both internal weakening as well as external pressure from without to finally destroy Communism as a force. According to Gorbachev, JPII was the catalyst the destroyed communism from within. Just like a good Christian, he credits the faith of the faithful not himself as the impetus for the demise of communism. Other than their strident opposition to communism, JPII shared with Reagan an inherent trust on the individual as someone that can do the world the greatest good as well as a penchant for discarding monetary cost in favor of completing a mission.

Pope:

As Pope, John Paul sought to modernize the Catholic church in the image of Vatican II thus hiring Benedict as his theological enforcer. Whereas John Paul is the evangelist who ruled with the heart thus attracting converts to the Catholic Church, Benedict is the fundamentalist who seeks to purge the believers from the unbelievers. Because of John Paul's emphasis on engaging the world, he became actively engaged in how the church influences as well as influenced by the outside world via culture. Also in an effort to bring cultural understanding and highlight the faithful's plight, he was a prolific traveler. For example, he imprinted on Pinochet the importance of elections in Chile which the dictator finally acquiesed to. Because he understood that the laity and decentralization of the church was necessary to bring an inside-out evangelical process he created World Youth Day.

Whereas his contribution in the fall of communism is his greatest gift to the World's political sphere, it is his forgiveness of his assassin as perhaps the strongest case for his sainthood. To forgive an assassin who sought your demise must be seen as divinely inspired as his belief that ones suffering has spiritual significance in the greater work of God. It is similar to the idea that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for our sins his sacrifice led to everyone's eternal life. Likewise, once suffering gives energy somewhere else to another in the world to do good. Instead of the assassination crippling him, it made him born again in JC that is he was no longer afraid of death since he was convinced that JC saved him for HIS greater purpose. Another thing favoring his sainthood is his emphasis on ecumenical dialogue with not only diverse members of the Christian faith but also the Jewish and Islamic faiths too.

The chapter of MYSTICISM:

JPII trust God completely and constantly has direct contact with him through prayer. His personal relationship with God directed his compassion toward others and also allowed him to disregard any material comforts in favor of divine comfort. As Pope, he used prayer as spiritual fortification and discernment on actions he took in his day-to-day duties. To him Christian Love was perfectly exemplified through God's Divine Mercy towards us and thus shows his perfect unconditional love so in turn we have to give our unconditional love to others (Charity of Heart) to others.

For him, personal suffering was a way to share in God's suffering on the cross and thus share in his redemption of the world. While I now agree with this view of suffering, I have to make a distinction between God-made suffering which I think takes the form of unexplained diseases and natural disasters and Man-made disasters which is man made violence such as death through war and criminal activities. I think man has a duty to rectify these type of sufferings because in the end it is the Devil behind these types of suffering. JPII took the idea of suffering to share in Jesus suffering to the extreme by the practice of self-flagellation.

I think it is interesting that he canonized multiple saints in order for Catholics to have more people to choose from to emulate as well as to show that the Holy Spirit is active in today in the world.