The following prayer service was prepared by Pax Christia Metro New York.A Tribute to Pope John Paul II
Introduction: On April 2nd, Pope John Paul II gracefully made his final journey to God, leaving behind a legacy of peacemaking, justice seeking, and forgiveness. This prayerful tribute draws from his many inspired writings and invites us to carry on his mission of peace. When you pray it, whether alone or in community, know that you are praying in solidarity with many other peacemakers throughout Pax Christi Metro New York.
Opening Prayer: “To Mary, the Light of Hope” by Pope John Paul II
Immaculate Heart of Mary, help us to conquer the menace of evil, which so easily takes root in the hearts of people today, and whose immeasurable effects already weigh down upon our modern world and seem to block the paths toward the future.
From famine and war, deliver us.
From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from every kind of war, deliver us.
From sins against human life from its very beginning, deliver us.
From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the children of God, deliver us.
From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both national and international, deliver us.
From readiness to trample on the commandments of God, deliver us.
From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of God, deliver us.
From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us.
From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us.
Accept, O Mother of Christ, this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual human beings, laden with the sufferings of whole societies. Help us with the power of the Holy Spirit to conquer all sin: individual sin and the “sin of the world,” sin in all its manifestations. Let there be revealed once more in the history of the world the infinite saving power of the redemption: the power of merciful love. May it put a stop to evil. May it transform consciences. May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of hope. Amen.
Readings:
During his pontificate, Pope John Paul II consistently called on world leaders to solve their differences through diplomacy rather than resorting to violence. (from PCUSA’s Statement on the Death of the Pope)
On January 13th, 2003, he addressed the Diplomatic Corps, saying, “’NO TO WAR!’ War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity. International law, honest dialogue, solidarity between States, the noble exercise of diplomacy: these are methods worthy of individuals and nations in resolving their differences….the solution will never be imposed by recourse to terrorism or armed conflict, as if military victories could be the solution.”
As the leader of the world’s one billion Catholics, Pope John Paul II frequently addressed the connection between faith and justice, calling on Christians and all people of good will to work together to overcome the grave social evils of our time. (from PCUSA’s Statement on the Death of the Pope)
In his Lenten message of 2004, he wrote, “Alongside children, Jesus sets the ‘very least of the brethren’: the suffering, the needy, the hungry and thirsty, strangers, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. In welcoming them and loving them, or in treating them with indifference and contempt, we show our attitude toward him, for it is in them that he is particularly present.”
Pope John Paul II saw peacemaking as an urgent task for everyone….He called on everyone to make “gestures of peace.” (from Pax Christi International’s Statement on the Death of the Pope)
His World Day of Peace message in 2003 stated, “Gestures of peace spring from the lives of people who foster peace first of all in their own hearts. They are the work of the heart and of reason in those who are peacemakers (cf. Mt 5:9). Gestures of peace are possible when people appreciate fully the community dimension of their lives, so that they grasp the meaning and consequences of events in their own communities and in the world. Gestures of peace create a tradition and a culture of peace.”
In every crisis Pope John Paul appealed to all sides for dialogue and reason to prevail over violence. (from Pax Christi International’s Statement on the Death of the Pope)
Three days after the horrific attacks in the United States on September 11th, 2001, he declared, “In the face of such unspeakable horror we cannot but be deeply disturbed. I add my voice to all the voices raised in these hours to express indignant condemnation, and I strongly reiterate that the ways of violence will never lead to genuine solutions to humanity’s problems.”
A month later, after an Israeli military operation killed more than 20 Palestinians in six towns, he proclaimed, “In the name of God I repeat once again: Violence is for everyone only a path of death and destruction that dishonors the holiness of God and the dignity of the human being.”
Throughout the Iraq War, Pope John Paul preached peace and promoted education for peace.
He cried out: “…at the beginning of the New Year 2004, peace remains possible. And if peace is possible, it is also a duty! …. What remains now is to work to ensure that the ideal of a peaceful coexistence, with its specific requirements, will become part of the consciousness of individuals and peoples. We Christians see the commitment to educate ourselves and others to peace as something at the very heart of our religion. For Christians, in fact, to proclaim peace is to announce Christ who is “our peace” (Eph 2:14); it is to announce his Gospel, which is a “Gospel of peace” (Eph 6:15); it is to call all people to the beatitude of being “peacemakers” (cf. Mt 5:9).
And on January 1st, 2005, the Pope continued his emphatic message of peace saying, “Peace is a good to be promoted with good….Moral good [in particular] is born of love, shows itself as love and is directed towards love….Christian love, which in the Gospel is the living source of moral goodness, leads even to the love of one’s enemies….Christians must be convinced witnesses of this truth. They should show by their lives that love is the only force capable of bringing fulfillment to persons and societies, the only force capable of directing the course of history in the way of goodness and peace.”
Conclusion drawn from Pax Christi International’s Statement on the Death of the Pope
With such a passion for peace, it is no surprise that Pope John Paul II held Pax Christi in high regard. At an audience in 1995 marking the 50th anniversary of Pax Christi International, he said, “Movements like yours are precious. They help draw people’s attention to the violence which shatters the harmony between human beings which is at the heart of creation. They help to develop conscience, so that justice and the search for the common good can prevail in the relations between individuals and peoples.”
Members of Pax Christi will continue to do that and to make Pope John Paul’s heartfelt prayer their own: “Hear my voice, for it is the voice of the victims of all wars and violence among individuals and nations…Hear my voice, for I speak for the multitudes in every country and every period of history who do not want war and are ready to walk the road of peace.”
Closing Reflection, “A conversation with God begins” by Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II)
in Easter Vigil & Other Poems translated by Jerzy Peterkiewicz
The human body in history dies more often and earlier than the tree.
Man endures beyond the doors of death in catacombs and crypts,
Man who departs endures in those who follow.
Man who follows endures in those departed.
Man endures beyond all coming and going
in himself
and in you.
The history of men, such as I, always looks for the body you will give them.
Each man in history loses his body and goes towards you.
In the moment of departure
each is greater than history
although but a part
(a fragment of a century or two,
merged into one life).
Final Blessing
May the Holy Father rest now in God’s peace. May the Catholic Church build on his work for peace and justice. And may he bless our efforts to promote the Peace of Christ wherever we are.
This tribute was prepared by Pax Christi Metro New York
371 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10014
212-420-0250; nypaxchristi@igc.org; www.nypaxchristi.org
