“You are not who they say you are – let me remind you who you are “ St. John Paul II
St. John Paul II radiated God’s Love because there was no resistance between him and God – he gave a great resounding “yes” to the Holy Spirit.
Do not be afraid!!! This was the key message of this great Pope, one he began his papacy with.
St. John Paul II worked tirelessly for his native Poland to be freed from the shackles of the Soviet Union and communism. Joining in this great battle, President Reagan famously said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
The popes and President’s work to free Poland (and the world from the fear of communism) is a great “parable” of sorts for our lives. We need to work tirelessly as well to remove the shackles with which this world tries to to hold us.
Remove the blocks – “tear down the walls” – leave behind all and step into God. Each time we turn back to God for forgiveness and mercy, each time we pick up our Bible, each time we read the words of our saints, we chip away at this Great Wall between God and us.
We all have great walls we’ve been building our whole lives. We love our world and sins. Many we declare as I desire able but in the privacy of our mind and heart, we fight to hold onto them. We fail to see the log in our own eye that is blinding us because despite its pain, we’re comfortable in it.
The “walls” (sin) we’ve built up can make us complacent to a lifestyle. We must tear down these walls to see and get close to God. Then, the “walls” are a gift, for they open our eyes to that compliancy and help us see the true freedom when the walls tumble down. Be honest with yourself and with God. repent. Be a saint! You can be a saint now. Tear down the walls, remove the resistance.
Your sins, your past, none of it matters – it is and can be forgiven- say yes to Jesus. Do you believe that your “yes” to God matters? I say, little “yes” can be multiplied like the loaves and the fishes. Jesus shows us in Mark 6:30-44, Matthew 14:13-21 that He can do miraculous things with very little.
I look back at my first, half-hearted “yes”, I honestly didn’t even realize it was a “yes” to trust God until nearly a decade later. I knelt beside my dad’s casket in tears and remember saying, “I’ll see you again.” Not a big deal for someone with faith, but at that hour, I had no faith. I was not following God nor talking to Him or listening to Him and certainly not “wasting my time” going to Mass. But, there I was saying to Jesus, “I believe.” I was repeating Martha’s word from John 11:24, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” This essentially, unintended yes, the least I could possibly offer God in that dark moment was all Jesus needed. With this profession of faith in His resurrection, Jesus could begin to multiply my yes and feed my soul.
It doesn’t take much. Just give Jesus all that you have and let Him do the rest. God the Father created you to be a saint, “a great saint” as St. Theres of Lisieux said. Jesus died on the cross to wash you in His purifying Blood to draw you into sanctity and the Holy Spirit cleanses you in His Holy Fire. You just need to trust and believe.
Raise up from the dead Your people O Lord, call their name and bring them to back fuller life in You!
“Be who god created you to be and you’ll set the world on fire” – St. Catherine of Sienna