Memorial Mass in Honor of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II
Homily
Most Reverend Kenneth A. Angell

My brother priests and deacons and my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord:

We gather here this morning in the light of Christ's resurrection from the dead. As a community of faith we rejoice in His victory over sin and death and His invitation for us to share in everlasting life. The joy of Easter however is tempered today with sadness as we remember and pray for our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II.

In many ways the Catholic Church throughout the world is experiencing the sadness that filled the hearts of the disciples of Jesus as they witnessed his death and burial without understanding that He was to rise again. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus we might be wondering what we will do and who we will follow now that our shepherd has died.

In order to answer these questions we must look to the life of Pope John Paul himself. For like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, the Holy Father came to know the Risen Savior in the Scriptures and especially in the breaking of the bread. His heart was burning with a passionate love of Christ and His Church. Through his life, his teaching and example we can also come to this knowledge and love of the Lord.

As we reflect upon his life, and pray for his soul, we can ask the question of the disciples, "Were not our hearts burning within us" as the Holy Father spoke to us on our pilgrim way and broke bread with and for us.

From the very beginning of his Petrine ministry Pope John Paul attempted to share with the entire world, and especially the Church, his conviction of God's love for us, and our dignity as children of God. Through his many encyclicals, apostolic constitutions and other teaching documents he reminded us that every part of our life is meant to be united to the divine. Whether proclaiming the "gospel of life" or the "splendor of truth," whether teaching a theology of the body or the mystery of suffering, whether speaking out on behalf of the poor and downtrodden or calling the powerful to task for ignoring the weak, his words opened up for us all the hidden depths of God's Word. As we heard him preach and teach, our hearts burned within us because he was sharing with us his experience of the Risen Lord and the Church's belief that every life has value.

He broke open the scriptures for us so that the Church might better be able to respond to the modern world. He did not want us to shy away from the challenges of the world, but the "set out into the deep" and proclaim a new evangelization. He opened up the Word of God for us so that we would not need to be afraid of what the world might think of us, nor be afraid to give our lives to the service of the Word made Flesh. He challenged us to remember that by baptism we are all called to preach to the people and testify to the love of God. Finally, as he shared the scriptures with us he reminded us that death does not have the final word, because our God is the God of the living and not the dead. Even in his last hours he called us not to be afraid because God is with us.
Pope John Paul II also shared the message of God's love as he spoke about and celebrated the Eucharist. He reminded us time and time again that the celebration of the Eucharist is the high point of our life of faith. As we gather around this sacred table the sacrifice of our Savior is made present, his resurrection is proclaimed and we are nourished by His Body and Blood as our food and drink. In his last encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia he reminded us that the Church draws its life from Eucharist. He proclaimed a Year of the Eucharist to remind us that we are a Eucharistic people and we come to know the risen Christ as we break bread in a community of faith in union with our priests and bishops. He understood that the Eucharist is a challenge given to us so we might live holy lives and also the source of the grace necessary for this holiness. As Pope John Paul celebrated the Eucharistic Mystery he made it clear that in order to remain close to our Lord, we must remain close to the Eucharist. The Eucharist becomes an intimate encounter with Christ and a source of our salvation.

So do not let the sorrow of Pope John Paul death overwhelm the truth he proclaimed time and time again, that our God has conquered sin and death.

Were not our hearts burning within us as this incredible man of faith spoke to us and opened our minds to the scriptures and broke the bread of life for us? Thanks be to God who has given him and all of us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ and calls us to eternal life.

April 8, 2005 -St. Joseph Co-Cathedral