Hello.
So sorry about sending out Monday’s message to you today. Yes, I hit the wrong key and off it goes into the wild blue yonder.
Today we remember someone we all knew about. John Paul II. John Paul took his name after John Paul I who died only some 30 days after being elected to the Papacy.
St. John Paul was a theologian and teacher. He was fond of the arts and participate in the plays put on by at the college where he taught. He leaves us a great deal of his writings and quotes which have been used in many a sermon and in many writings by other spiritual writers.
Today he leaves us this message which I believe to be pertinent to our time. We know that we are going through a very shaky time. With the mid-terms upon us, the possibility of the “changing of the guard” in Washington, what John Paul tells us might just give all the little extra support we need. He says, “I Plead with you — never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.”
It is obvious that he is telling us that the Father is always watching over each one of us. As we read in the Gospel of Matthew10:29, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s will.” And as the English mystic Julian of Norwich reminds us, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”
Peace and All Good,
Fr. Vinnie, osf and the
Bros and Srs of the
Franciscan House of Prayer.