A Papacy Remembered

After many years of faithful ministry, Pope John Paul II has crossed "the threshold of hope." May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

He will leave behind many words and deeds worth remembering. I often use the following quote from his book Crossing the Threshold of Hope:

"At the end of the second millenium, we need, perhaps more than ever, the words of the Risen Christ: 'Be not afraid!' . . . [Our] conscience needs to grow in the certainty that Someone exists who holds in His hands the destiny of this passing world; Someone who holds the keys to death and the netherworld; Someone who is the Alpha and the Omega of human history—be it the individual or collective history. And this Someone is Love—Love that became man, Love crucified and risen, Love unceasingly present among men. It is Eucharistic Love. It is the infinite source of communion. He alone can give the ultimate assurance when He says ‘Be not afraid!’"


Please join us on Sunday, April 10th at 9:15 am, when I will present a special Adult Forum in the Parish Hall at S. Alban's on the Papacy. We will look at the history of that institution and the legacy of this particular pope. We'll also examine the hot and cold history between the papacy and the Ecclesia Anglicana.

"O God, our heavenly Father, who didst raise up thy faithful servant Karol Wojtyla to be a bishop and pastor in thy Church and to feed thy flock: Give abundantly to all pastors the gifts of thy Holy Spirit, that they may minister in thy household as true servants of Christ and stewards of thy divine mysteries; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen." [Book of Common Prayer, p. 197]