(1920-2005) Karol Wojtyla, the third child of Polish parents, lost his entire immediate family by age 20. He was interested in acting as a youth and was introduced to Carmelite spirituality as a young man. Karol worked in a quarry during World War II to avoid deportation to Germany and took clandestine classes at the seminary in Krakow. He was ordained a priest, eventually named bishop, then cardinal, and was elected the 264th pope, serving just longer than 26 years. Deeply devoted to Mary, the Rosary, and the Eucharist, he stood up to Communism, taught the “Theology of the Body,” and defended human life and dignity.
Saint John Paul II wrote an Apostolic Letter, Salvifici Doloris, on the meaning of suffering. “Down through the centuries and generations it has been seen that in suffering there is concealed a particular power that draws a person interiorly close to Christ, a special grace.” Where can you see this principle at work in your recovery?
“We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son” (Pope Saint John Paul II, World Youth Day 2002).
Reflection by Brad Farmer