Blessed Pope John Paul II: A Modern Holy Man Written by Brad Burchards

News of Pope John Paul II's beatification today was welcome news to all Roman Catholics worldwide for it has been a long anticipated step to honor the late pontiff's remarkable life. I believe I was still a year old when he was elected to lead the church and I grew up always listening to his messages on TV during special occasions such as Christmas and Easter to name a few. When he visited the Philippines a second time in 1995 for the World Youth Day, I was still in elementary and as we watched his plane land on NAIA seeing him on the television set wave to the crowds who greeted him gave me goose bumps knowing that such a pious and gentle person's aura though far seemed so near.

It made me wish I was among the well wishers who had the chance to greet him upon his arrival as well as join in the World Youth Day celebrations. He was well loved by everyone who knew him to be a person who greatly brought the church forward and away from the dogma of being too traditional. I remember a picture of him skiing taken on one of his vacations showing us that though he was considered the holiest of men he was still human just like us who knew how to have fun, smile, and be approachable.

On April 2005 a month after I graduated from college, I started my routine of job hunting and when I was waiting for one of my job interviews the news of his death caught me by surprise. Yes, he was indeed suffering from Parkinson's disease for quite some time already but the thought of him passing away so soon never seemed possible. He survived an assassination attempt in the ‘80s as well as some broken bones and various operations due to old age, but he never was the person who would let such things hold him down.

Now, six years after he died he is one step from becoming a saint which truly is a marvel considering the speedy process that usually takes decades, even centuries, to accomplish. Not surprisingly, he would have been the male version of Mother Theresa of India who was known as the living saint for her unselfish ways of helping others. Sadly, nowadays we seldom see Good Samaritans but we can never completely give up knowing that maybe, just maybe around the corner there is that someone who unselfishly goes the extra mile to help out others in their own little way with shades of sanctity.

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