Did John Paul Mimic
the Footsteps of Christ?
While we do not necessarily agree with his handling of the Church in administrative affairs (as he is the most “democratic” pope in Catholic history), no one who truly believes cannot see the Hand of Mercy in John Paul II’s handling of the Church’s spiritual affairs.
In the spiritual realm, he is truly our Holy Father, for he is the “Divine Mercy” pope.
And just as Jesus, the God of Divine Mercy, had to walk in the unmerciful affairs of the temporal world, John Paul II has had to walk a similar tightrope.
We believe this shows us just how close we are to the end of Church history as we have known it the last 2,000 years. God, we believe, is slowly turning the page from the Sorrowful Mysteries to the Glorious Mysteries.
And the Jubilee Year was a sign of that page-turning.
In this Year of the Rosary, the greatest Rosary warrior on Earth is John Paul II. And it is the Rosary that will turn the page faster for us, if we want.
And this is just one of the many reasons why John Paul is “Mary’s pope.”
As Mary’s pope, it is by Divine Providence that Karol Woytyla was made pontiff to accomplish what we believe is the most significant aspect of his papacy: the reconciliation of the Catholic Church to the world. For Mary is the Mother of Reconciliation.
In the Great Jubilee Year of Divine Mercy, we believe that the task of reconciliation was a direct inspiration from the Virgin Mary — the Mother of Mercy — to the pontiff. It was part of God beginning the turning of the page from the Sorrowful to the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary on Earth as it is in Heaven.
In the Jubilee Year, as one recalls, John Paul II went around the world and did not ask for forgiveness regarding Catholic dogma — which, as inspiration from the infallible Holy Spirit, is infallible — instead, he asked for forgiveness in regard to Catholic history — which, made up of fallible human beings over the course of two millennia, is fallible.
And when we ask the Lord for forgiveness, what does Jesus do?
He forgives, of course.
But while the head of the Catholic Church asked the world for forgiveness, it was not a two-way street.
Instead, the pope walked the walk of Christ in His Passion.
John Paul II mimicked — whether he knows it or not — the steps Christ took on His journey to Calvary. Forgiving, but not always being forgiven.
Here, in a look back at the amazing accomplishments of John Paul in Y2K, is a comparison as we head toward Passion Week of the pope’s walk in the Footsteps of Christ.
Is there a correlation between John Paul II’s walk in the Jubilee Year and the Footsteps of Christ? Compare the monthly events of John Paul’s walk vs. the events in the Last Week of Jesus’ Life and judge for yourself.
* December 1999 (the beginning of the Jubilee Year)
-- John Paul: was greeted as a king opening Jubilee Year Doors throughout Rome.
-- Jesus: was greeted as King entering into Jerusalem.
* January 2000
-- John Paul: concerns for his journey to Iraq mount due to conspiratorial threats against the pontiff’s life.
-- Jesus: concerns for His life mount as conspirators begin to set a trap to arrest our Lord before the High Holy Day.
* February 2000
-- John Paul: intensely prays to God the Father on Mt. Sinai on the first leg of his Jubilee Journey.
-- Jesus: intensely prays to God the Father in Gethsemane on Mt. Olivet on the first leg of His Passion journey.
-- John Paul: schismatic Eastern Church refuses to pray with the pope during his visit to St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mt. Sinai.
-- Jesus: Apostles fall asleep and do not pray with Jesus on Mt. Olivet.
* March 2000
-- John Paul: the people of Israel are torn over the pope’s visit.
-- Jesus: the people of Israel are torn over the Lord’s Kingship.
* April 2000
-- John Paul: becomes the first pope to conduct Mass with bishops he appointed in the Upper Room where Jesus held His Last Supper.
-- Jesus: the Lord conducts the first Mass with the first bishops He appointed in the Upper Room.
-- John Paul: renews the consecration of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ and anchors the Church to the Eucharist in the Upper Room.
-- Jesus: instituted the consecration of bread and wine into His Body and Blood and focused the Church on the Eucharist for the first time in this room.
-- John Paul: the pope is cursed and crucified by orthodox Israelites over his pleas for forgiveness.
-- Jesus: was cursed and Crucified by the religious rulers of Israel while pleading with His Father to forgive mankind.
-- John Paul: vilified in Israel for not using the world “Holocaust” in his plea for forgiveness.
-- Jesus: His Sacrifice ended the Holocaust (burnt offering) of the Temple.
-- John Paul: places a prayer in the only remaining wall of the Temple in Jerusalem.
-- Jesus: predicted the destruction of the Temple and the raising up of the true Temple, His Body.
-- John Paul: stated that every step of his Jubilee pilgrimage, “Mary has been with us.”
-- Jesus: shared each step of His Jerusalem journey with His Mother.
Is there a correlation?
Not only do we believe so, but the most critical factor is that never in the history of the Church has a pontiff mimicked the Walk of Christ in the Holy Land.
What does it mean?
God never does anything by accident.
We can only hope and pray that it means God — who is taking the suffering of John Paul II as He did His Son’s for the sake of mankind — will soon turn His Master Page from the Sorrowful to the Glorious Mysteries.
Perhaps that is why John Paul II was inspired again to declare the 3rd year of the 3rd Millennium the Year of the Rosary.
With the Mysteries of Light, let us usher in the Light of Christ the King and plead with God that the end of the Year of the Rosary will mark the end of the Sorrowful Mysteries and the beginning of the Glorious!
© 2003 Agnus Dei Presents!
