Pope's life and death

SQUEEZED like a lemon, giving his last drop up to the end, Pope John Paul II faced and embraced death in the manner befitting the Christian ideal spelled out by Jesus himself when he said:

"I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again." (Jn 10,17-18)

Years before his transit to heaven came on April 2, bent and twisted, trembling and stuttering because of his many ailments, John Paul II talked about his death, saying he was looking forward to it.

But he continued to work, never allowing himself to be pitied. To other elderly people, he is a reminder that they still have an important role to play and cannot and should not be contented with a passive life.

He lived to the full what he preached with so much passion and forcefulness. What a man! I imagine that only grace and his generous correspondence to it could explain this phenomenon.

Of course, in his case he was aware that he was the Vicar of Christ, a father to all Catholics here on earth. He knew he was not just a president or a CEO who may resign or retire because of old age or infirmity.

Thus, when some people suggested that he retire and have a well-deserved rest, he clearly said he would rather hold on until God would bring him back to him.

And when it came, he went quietly, even smiling and joking. One anecdote has it that one of the people who saw him in his dying moments heard the Holy Father telling him, "And what makes you think you will outlive me!"

He repeated the word "Amen, amen," to signify his total obedience to God's will, conforming his will to God's, that indeed his end has come. That's how our death should be -- it should be both in God's time and in our own will.

Death has to be welcomed, embraced. No use running away from it, since it will always come. And when it comes, we know it is God's will and that it is the best hour, in spite of its horrible manner and timing as seen by our human eyes.
In death, as he was in his whole life, John Paul II offers us a tremendous example of love and generosity, faith and total self-giving. This combination can explain the courage and serenity he had when death finally knocked for him.

Some of us may say he was like that because he was a very tough man, forged by a long history of suffering. Maybe so. In fact, certainly so -- to some extent. But definitely it was his faith, his deep, authentic spirituality that has made him embrace death the way he did. It was his love for the Cross that made him behave the way he did.

One time, while considering why Our Lord seemed to be giving him many sufferings in spite of his many activities carried solely in God's name, he came to the conclusion that Our Lord wanted to conform him more to Jesus through the Cross.

His death capped a life full of total self-giving. Just judging from what we could see and hear about him, with all those trips that he made, writings, interventions, etc., he gave his all.

We need to study and go deeply into many of his writings, in fact, into his whole thought, because he was a Shepherd who was not only tremendously charismatic. He was also immensely substantial.

Gifted with a brilliant mind, he managed to make the richness of the Christian faith accessible theologically, and thus in a more systematic and scientific way.

This lent the faith, supernatural and mysterious as it is, the capacity to be spread out more widely, to be more understood and transmitted more effectively. It made the faith impact on the different aspects of our lives in a more detailed and practical way.

Thus, we have a wealth of useful doctrine in the area of spirituality, Church life, family life, business, politics and the whole gamut of our social life. We need to study all this.

In this way, we truly honor him, not only in his phenomenal death, but most especially in his very enriching life.