By Leon Bent –
The universal call to holiness reminds us that we are all called to sainthood. We accomplish this by adopting the mind and heart of Jesus. During this month of October, the Church presents us with a wonderful array of saints. We can get to know these friends of Christ more intimately, and learn valuable lessons from them, by reading their stories and writings.
Pope John XXIII was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State, from 28th October 1958 to his death in 1963; he was canonized on 27th April 2014.
Pope John XXIII was a philanthropist and humanitarian, who was deeply concerned about the state of the world, for which he had great compassion and idealism.
The life of St. John XXIII is a lesson in how obedience and trust in God, lead to an interior peace that is naturally recognized by, and shared with, others”, Pope Francis said. He added: “The whole world recognized Pope John as a pastor and father. A pastor because he was a father.” Blessed John was, and still is, referred to by many, as ‘the “good” Pope,’ His Holiness said, “How wonderful it is to find a priest who is really filled with goodness.”
“Those like me, who are of a certain age, remember well the emotion” surrounding the last days of Pope John’s life in 1963. “St. Peter’s Square became an open-air shrine, day and night welcoming faithful of every age and social condition, in trepidation and prayer for the Pope’s failing health,” Francis said.
In principle, a saint can be defined, or at least described, as one who lives in complete harmony with Divine Will, demonstrating in an outstanding way all the virtues, in particular, humility, charity and heroic suffering. The gentle Pontiff did not see the divine will as associated only with disappointments or disaster or death, as many seemingly pious people tend to do; he viewed it positively; he sought to make his whole life the complete fulfilment of God’s will”.
When Pope John repeatedly stated, however, that God had chosen his humble person for the supreme dignity of the papacy, he did not utter a pious cliché. His humility was of the very substance of his personality. He never forgot his humble beginning in life as a farm boy. Although few people had as great an impact on the 20th century, as Pope John XXIII, he avoided the limelight as much as possible. Indeed, one writer has noted that his “ordinariness” seems one of his most remarkable qualities.
Why was Pope John so popular? The basic explanation is to be found in his outstanding charity. Love begets love: John XXIII charmed people of all nations, races, creeds and walks of life simply because his heart went out to them with great love.
His love for men was Christian charity in its real meaning. Because it was all-embracing, it cut across lines and shattered traditions. Pope John was not able to see why his visits to orphanages, hospitals and prisons in Rome, created a stir in the press: he felt that he was but acting as the Bishop of Rome, in exercising charity toward some of the members of his flock.
It is difficult to think of the great personality of John XXIII without being reminded of his delightful sense of humour. In this he demonstrated that the quest for spiritual perfection does not make one less human, but rather more human, as originally intended by God.
I do not intend to paint Pope John, as a paragon of absolute perfection, for even great saints have faults. He would be the first to admit that he had failings. But whatever his few little failings were, they are almost invisible in the grand design of his greatness.
Pope John was a true peacemaker among national leaders and nations: John XXIII published the encyclical “Pacem in Terris” (“Peace on Earth”), addressed “to all men of good will” and calling on the world’s populations to coexist in harmony.
His sense of God’s Providence made him the ideal person, to promote a new Dialogue with Protestant and Orthodox Christians, as well as with Jews and Muslims.
The buzzword! One of Pope John’s greatest achievements is that, empowered in the Spirit, he offered a crumbling out-of-date Church, a “breath of fresh” air the name and shape of Vatican II…”for the greater glory of God”!
Now, this gold nugget! In his last will and testament, Pope John XXIII wrote: “Born poor, but of humble and respected folk, I am particularly happy to die poor. He went from poverty to the papacy! His was truly “Servant Leadership”!
And, this final flourish! This is Pope John XXIII’s life-lesson – to accept the natural limitations of the world, and its habitants, to make it possible to enjoy life more fully.
Leon Bent is an ex-Seminarian and studied the Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Philosophy, from St. Pius X College, Mumbai. He holds Masters Degree in English Literature and Aesthetics. He has published three Books and have 20 on the anvil. He has two extensively “Researched” Volumes to his name: Hail Full of Grace and Matrimony: The Thousand Faces of Love. He won The Examiner, Silver Pen Award, 2000 for writing on Social Issues, the clincher being a Researched Article on Gypsies in India, published in an issue of the (worldwide circulation) Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, New Delhi. On April, 28, 2018, Leon received the Cardinal Ivan Dias Award for a research paper in Mariology.