Today is the feast day of St. John Paul II. One of my fondest memories is being on Mass with the pope at the Los Angeles Coliseum during his visit to the United States. All the priests and deacons were seated to the right of the altar and when he processed in he was about 20 feet away from me and Fr. Seamus.
Born with the name Karol Wojtyla, he believed at an early age God was calling him to the priesthood. After surviving two nearly fatal accidents, he responded to that call. He studied secretly for the priesthood during the German occupation of Poland in WWII. He was ordained on November 1, 1946.
There is much know about him, but I want to share just one fact about him in this reflection. In 1995 he began a lengthy catechesis on the Blessed Virgin Mary. This culminated with his instruction on Mary’s active participation in the Sacrifice on Calvary. This participation of Our Lady is called the co-redemption. He was the first pope to talk about her as “coredemptrix” since Pope Benedict XV. His use of this term was confirmation of her role in salvation history.
Let us then call upon Mary as we near our nation’s election. Let us ask her to guide us as we vote and our country in the years ahead. When you read this please say a “Hail Mary” for this cause !
DeColores, Deacon Doug
Join us in prayer!
We encourage you to join us as we recite the Holy Rosary every night at 8PM! On Wednesdays, we pray the rosary via Zoom with the rector and rectora.
Resources for those not able to attend Mass
Daily Readings in English and Spanish from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
Prayers, readings for Mass, and additional spiritual readings are available at:
Magnificat publication, a spiritual guide that includes daily Mass: https://us.magnificat.net/free
“Give Us This Day” a digital file of their periodical, which includes daily Mass texts. Visit GUTD.net and select “Digital” in the upper right of the screen.