After the celebratory feast
on Easter Sunday, the faithful were gifted with the sainthood of two men who
had differing paths, yet have contributed to Catholicism remaining as a
vanguard against the changing morals of modern times.
St John XXIII through
Vatican Council II made the Mass speak in many languages and allowed people to
actively participate. St John Paul II, in his long period of papacy, was a
pilgrim pope who tirelessly brought the Gospel to the four corners of the world
and touched the young through the World Youth Day. He was also the pope who canonized as saints
the most number of holy people and martyrs in the Church’s history.
There have been issues
regarding the canonization of the two popes, not just on the speed of the
process, but also on their teachings and legacies. But one writer said,
“Without assessing those objections, it’s worth noting that whenever a pope is
beatified or canonized, Vatican officials insist it’s not tantamount to a
declaration that every policy choice during their papacy was beyond reproach.
It’s rather a statement that despite their human failures, they strove to live
a holy life worthy of imitation.”
Let us rejoice and be glad
for our new two saints. Let us make them our models for even with their human
weaknesses, they offered their lives fully for Christ. I hear St John XXIII
and St John Paul II resonate what St Paul told the Corinthians, “Be imitators
of me as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1).
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