Sermon of Father Jay Scott Newman - "Open Wide the Doors to Christ"

Sermon of Reverend Jay Scott Newman
 
Pastor

St. Mary's Catholic Church

Greenville, South Carolina

May 1, 2011

The Beatification of Pope John Paul II

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, 1 May 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Six years ago we gathered in this Square to celebrate the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Our grief at his loss was deep, but even greater was our sense of an immense grace which embraced Rome and the whole world: a grace which was in some way the fruit of my beloved predecessor’s entire life, and especially of his witness in suffering. Even then we perceived the fragrance of his sanctity, and in any number of ways God’s People showed their veneration for him. For this reason, with all due respect for the Church’s canonical norms, I wanted his cause of beatification to move forward with reasonable haste. And now the longed-for day has come; it came quickly because this is what was pleasing to the Lord: John Paul II is blessed!

In Thanksgiving for the Beatification of Blessed John Paul the Great

"This is the day which the Lord hath made: let us be glad and rejoice therein!"   And what a great day this is for Poland and for all the universal Church; and  how fitting it is to begin the beautiful month of Mary with the Feast of Divine Mercy and the Beatification of Blessed John Paul the Great.  May the divine grace that flows through the Mother of Mercy and through Saint Faustina, Blessed John Paul, and their homeland, protect Poland,  make our Church holy, and renew the face of the earth.

Soprano Brittany Mruczek performs the Marian hymn "Czarna Madonna" in Polish and English with musical accompaniment by The New Horizons and harmony vocals by Mary Lou Wyrobek.

On this earth there is a place
Where every soul wants to return.
For there reigns the Queen of Poland,
On her face two cuts are seen.
Ever gentle as she gazes, almost begging one and all, 

That they ask for her protection with this call:

Refrain:

Madonna, O Black Madonna,
How good to be your child.
O hide us, dear Black Madonna,
In your heart, so meek and mild.

Pope John Paul II - A Saint for Our Times

Sunday’s Beatification Will Be of a Holy Pope Who Began the Fightback Against the Smoke of Satan

It will take 100 years to recover from the 1960s and 70s: but John Paul set us back on course
 

From The Catholic Herald (UK)

By William Oddie

We have short memories; we take our recent history too easily for granted. Few people, it seems – at least among those who imply that the problems we still face as a Church were actually Pope John Paul’s fault – remember the state of the Catholic Church at the end of the reign of the unhappy Pope Paul VI, during which forces of disintegration were unleashed within the Church which brought it to the edge of losing all credibility as a defender of basic Christian orthodoxy.

This work of darkness was brought about, not by the Council itself, but by some of those, certainly, who had attended it. It was certainly not the work, as some still confidently claim, of a liberal pope: for if Pope Paul was such a convinced liberal, what about Humanae Vitae? What happened during his pontificate was clearly far from his intention. At a homily he preached in 1972, he is reported as saying, now famously, that he had “believed that after the Council would come a day of sunshine in the history of the Church. But instead there has come a day of clouds and storms, and of darkness … And how did this come about? We will confide to you the thought that … there has been a power, an adversary power. Let us call him by his name: the devil. It is as if from some mysterious crack… the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God.”

Pope John Paul II to be Beatified May 1

Pope Benedict has set the beatification of Pope John Paul II for May 1.  The following video describes preparations that are already underway to move his body to a new chapel in Saint Peter's Basilica.

Vatican: Pope May Approve John Paul II's Beatification This Week

From Adnkronos

Pope Benedict XVI only needs to sign a document authorising the beatification of his Polish predecessor, John Paul II. Beatification is a major step towards sainthood.

That document may be presented on Saturday to the pontiff after a miracle attributed to the late Pope John Paul II was approved by both the medical and theological consultants for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints earlier in January, the Vatican said on Wednesday.

The consultants confirmed that French nun Marie Simon-Pierre was miraculously cured of Parkinson's disease through the intercession of John Paul II, who also suffered from Parkinson's and died aged 84 on 2 April 2005. 

One miracle is required for beatification and two are needed for sainthood. 

Prefect of the Causes for Saints, Angelo Amato, is due to present the committee's findings to Benedict on Saturday. If he signs a decree acknowledging the miracle as expected, the pontiff then sets a date for the beatification ceremony, most likely to be held this year.