On Friday night the Pope was told that many thousands − many of them young people − had flocked to Rome to be with him in his time of dying. He apparently struggled to say, "I have looked for you. Now you have come to me." In what were possibly the last words of this Pope who has written and spoken so much, he ably summed up his entire life and mission. For 84 years this man went and looked for people. He looked for them, for each and every one of us, to come to the Lord. His heart burned with love for God and for all people to share in God's love. That is precisely the same desire of the heart of Christ, the Lord to whom he led us.
It is from this longing for all to be united with God that this Pope must be understood. It is this longing, this love that propelled his desire for unity. It is this longing which inspired the Pope's desire for peace. It is the reason he traveled the world and the reason we will miss him so much.
Those of us who have loved this man so much find his death a hard thing to bear and deeply feel the loss of his comforting presence. We know that he will be with us still and the Lord to whom he led us will not leave us orphans. The mission of the Church goes on, the quest continues − the quest to bring every human person to the Lord.
Perhaps the words spoken of him when he was first elected Pope still say it best. In October of 1978 a French reporter sent a now famous wire back home: "This is not a Pope from Poland. This is a Pope from Galilee." John Paul II is first and foremost a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is said of him that he believes with every fiber of his being that Jesus Christ is the answer to the question that is every human life.
He has indeed looked for us and now the whole world has come to him. Even if for just a moment, the whole world paused and watched a hero be called home. Perhaps even more so though, it is true that for 84 years he looked for the Lord, and now the Lord has come to him. He searched for the Lord, longed to do His will, and sought for all people to share in God's love. Now the Lord has come to Him, and the choirs of Heaven rejoice. We weep because he has gone home - but thanks to him, each one of us has been brought closer there too.
Spring Break
