I remember where I was when I received the news… standing in line for confession at St. Victor’s Catholic Church in West Hollywood, CA.
I remember musing over all of the ways that one life had impacted my own… starting with the very fact that I was going to confession. Who knows if I would have returned to the Church, and to the practice of the faith, without the witness of John Paul II? Who would have taught me about the great gift of Divine Mercy, if he had not promoted the devotion? Who would have taught me about the dignity of all human life, the morality of human acts, God’s plan for human love, etc., if not for Papa? The debt of gratitude I owed to this bold, warm, vibrant witness descended on me in that moment and gave special significance to my preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation that night.
All of my posts from April of 2005 may be found here.
John Paul II, pray for us.