Maybe it's because we're writing this on the Feast of Pentecost, but we're feeling in a celebrative mood. And why not? Think of how this Jubilee Year has gone so far and we cannot help but see the Holy Spirit at work in the Church and among God's people, led by the master shepherd on earth Pope John Paul II. If ever we can appreciate the stamina of His Holiness it was after our pilgrimage. Talk about jet-lag! Yet, he does that constantly. No Roman Pontiff, yea probably no person has traveled as extensively as he has. Oh sure, he is afforded first class, a bed on "Holy Spirit One" and all the accoutrements of first class, but he has never been one to sit back and be waited on. Believe it or not, it had to be an adjustment for him to get used to everyone waiting on him and giving him so much honor for throughout his life he has been a hands-on person. That is one of the great charisms of this Holy Father. Amidst all the doom and gloom rumors that swirl about both from secular media and radical groups within the Church on both the right and left, he gently brushes them aside by being the gentle, loving earthly father to all - Catholic and non-Catholic alike.

    It's amazing the popularity and draw this man commands and it continues to astound even his fiercest critics. Whether the weather is 98 degrees or 30 degrees, rain or shine, John Paul II is never deterred. Consider after the grueling Jubilee Journey to the Holy Land, he rested maybe for a day, two at the most and was right back at it full bore. Personally we were bushed after returning from Europe to the west coast and we're much younger, yet not in the kind of shape physically or spiritually as His Holiness.

    And that is another reason for celebrating as the Church celebrates its 1, 967th birthday! Seldom in the gloried history of the Church has Holy Mother Church been in such great shape. Why is that? The Holy Spirit, Who Jesus promised would be with us always. It was the Holy Spirit Who influenced the election of Cardinal Karol Wojtoyla of Poland as the 264th successor of Peter on October 16, 1978. At that time communism was very much in vogue, suffocating not only his own beloved homeland, but all of Russia, and many many satellite countries then known as the Soviet Union. We don't know how many ever saw the fictional film "Shoes of the Fisherman" starring Anthony Quinn as a Slavic Pope, but it was an interesting movie and, looking back, quite prophetic. No doubt the writer Morris L. West, also author of "The Devil's Advocate" dealing with the canonization process, was also inspired by the Holy Spirit when writing that work back in the sixties. The character's name West chose was Kiril Lakota. Think about it. How close is that to Karol Woytola? There was a brief pictorial and article by Dominik Morawski, who portrayed a Polish bishop in the film and who wrote about the prophetic aspect, but we want to take it even further for it truly is life imitating art. Consider how Pope John Paul II brought the Polish government to its knees through solidarity under the leadership of Lech Walesa. Consider how Cardinal Agustino Casaroli, the Pope's first appointed Secretary of State, worked tirelessly behind the scenes to pave the way for dialogue between the Sovereign Polish Pontiff and two of the most powerful men in the world - Ronald Reagan, President of the United States during most of the 80's and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev. The latter was considered dangerous, but something happened to this man with the noticeable birthmark on his forehead. He was "born again" in the Spirit through the gentle urging of a saint - Pope John Paul II. From what we know, Gorbachev died with the peace of mind that he had found Christ and contributed to the Peace God was asking through His Church and leaders. Though you will never hear about it in the media, something special, miraculous and spiritual happened at that landmark meeting between Reagan and Gorbachev in Reykavik, Iceland back in 1985.

    Since that time the iron curtain has fallen and, as we approach the half-way mark of the first year of the millennium, there is renewed hope that further talks that begin next month in Maryland will further thaw the icy dialogue between the Eastern Orthodox Church and Rome. Who would ever have thought the Pope would be received so warmly in Romania, or Israel for that matter? Who would have believed his reception in the arab nations such as Egypt and Jordan or the Hindu land of India? Look at the respect he commands from leaders from Iraq, Iran, Indonesia, Russia and many other nations where Catholicism is in the vast minority. He still dreams of going to Russia, Vietnam and even China. Don't put it past him. The only roadblock to the former is the Russian Orthodox Church, but they seem to be softening. During his Jubilee Journey to the Holy Land, the only aloofness he received was not from the Muslims or Jews, but from the Orthodox such as at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Yet many were still won over but, out of protocol, many of the monks had to remain stoic. Who can ever forget the moving pictures of the Pope at Yad Veshem in Jerusalem where he shuffled across the stone cold black floor to first stoke the fires at this memorable Holocaust memorial, then to meet Holocaust survivors, several of them acquaintances from his younger days. Proper protocol would have been for the survivors to come to him, but he chose to go to them as the humble "servant of servants." That gesture in itself moved Jew and Gentile alike.

    As we celebrate Pentecost we must remember that not everything is perfect. Far from it. It never will be as long as we are in this world. Our Lord told us that. Martyrdoms in modern times are approaching drastic numbers throughout Africa, India, Indonesia and China as well as South America. There is still friction between right-wing groups within the Church as well as left-wing groups. However, slowly but surely many of these problems are being resolved. The Pope has appointed Cardinal Josef Tomko as a definite-hands on active position with the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" to further dialogue in hopes of reuniting the schismatic Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre groups. Meanwhile on the left, such groups as "catholics" for a free choice, Call to Action, etc...well, many of them are self-destructing as we write because there are no fruits and that is evident - "By their fruits you shall know them" (Matthew 7: 20).

    And that's what Pentecost is all about - Fruits! The fruits over the past few months have been so abundant. Consider the ecumenical bent His Holiness is stressing from sharing the crossing of the Holy Door with leaders of other faiths on January 25th at St. Paul Outside-the-Walls to his intense ecumenical talks in Jerusalem in March. Many fruits have manifested themselves from those events. Consider the innumerable world leaders who pay their respects with visits to the Vatican and private audiences with the Pope. Don't for a moment think these intimate conferences are all small talk and "political correctness" as so often the secular media intimates. No, we have no doubt His Holiness always speaks the mind of Christ in these one-on-one conferences. He didn't hesitate to do that with Bill Clinton or Al Gore in 1993 when he visited Denver and what makes anyone think he's let up now?! No matter a person's faith or beliefs, one thing they can all agree on is a deep, deep respect for John Paul II who seems to be the only remaining voice of sanity and reason in the world today; the only man who everyone in the world respects and trusts.

    Within the Church? One look at the month of May tells the whole story. The beatification of Blessed Jacinta and Francisco Martos on May 13th were actually upstaged by the surprise announcement of the long-awaited and "dreaded" Third Secret of Fatima. But if anything it proved the doom-and-gloomers wrong once again and elevated the status of John Paul II not only in the eyes of the world, but in God's eyes for it was he whom the Blessed Virgin Mary was referring to back in 1917 when Our Lady imparted the "Third Secret" to Lucia. Despite Father Gruner's constant warnings and stirring-up everything, he has to eat humble pie after the revelation of the Third Secret and Sister Lucia's own affirmation that John Paul II has consecrated Russia and the world to Mary's Immaculate Heart. Another person who was criticized was Pope John XXIII because he did not reveal the secret when he read it in 1960. Think about it and you'll realize he didn't understand it at the time for one very good reason. It hadn't happened yet. The "Bishop in white" was still just over two decades away. So now that Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncali has been exonerated of ignoring the Third Secret, let's get on with his and Pope Pius IX's beatification that will take place on September 3rd this year - the Feast of another great Pope Saint Gregory the Great.

    But first we have a summer ahead of us to put into practice the Gifts given so freely by God the Holy Ghost. Afterall we can't realize the fruits of the Holy Spirit if we don't work on them, eradicating what Paul warns against in Galatians 5: 16. It is fitting that we treat the "Fruits of the Holy Spirit" in today's APPRECIATION OF THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF OUR FAITH and it is a reminder that the summer time is a time for all of us to nourish these fruits such as charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, modesty, and continency. As the sun makes its presence known even more so during these next several months, lets all be resigned to the task ahead. Rather than getting all heated up with impatience, jealousies, anger, quarrels, factions, parties, envies, murders, immoralities, carousing and the like, let's all commit to making the Son shine even brighter in our hearts and in the hearts of others through our actions. That's the only way for a fruitful harvest!

For past editorials for the last two years, click on CATHOLIC PewPOINT Archives