St. John Paul the Great: His Five Loves

One day during his papacy, John Paul II was skiing, as he often did on his days off - having to sneak out of the Vatican to do so. On the mountain, an 8-year-old boy couldn't stop staring at John Paul, so the pope said hello. The boy asked, "Aren't you thr pope??"

"Yes, I am," John Paul replied. "Would you like to ski with me?" The boy, of course, agreed, and they skied a few runs together. At the bottom of the slope, the boy shouted to his mother, "Mom! I'm skiiing with the pope!" His mother laughed it off as a little boys' sillyness. Pope John Paul II, however, asked his assistent if he could arrange to meet with the mother later that day. Needless to say, the woman was flabbergasted when she saw that her son had, indeed, been skiing with the pope.

This is just one of the gems you'll read in Jason Evert's book. Saint John Paul the Great: His Five Loves. For someone who is preparing to pilgrimage to this modern saint's hometown, to participate in the worldwide event he started for his love of youth, this is the perfect book. Not only do you learn about the man whose country we will visit and the places that were significant to him in his early life, but you hear of his deep and abiding love for youth - and for this, we have what we know call World Youth Days, which have touched the hearts of millions of young people in the past decades.

The first section of the book is a short biography, describing how a Polish boy used his suffering as fuel for his holiness. Karol Wojtyla was born in 1920 in Wadowice, Poland, 30 minutes from Krakow. His mother died when he was only 8; his older brother, his best friend, died when he was 11. He and his father were alone to face the horror of the Nazi, and then the Communist, occupaction of their homeland. JPII described their home as his "first semenary", as his father provided him with an example of a devout, praying man. Together, they snuck to masses, prayed the rosary, and survived off Karol's job in a quarry, where he was surrounded by explosions before coming home to continue his studies in secret. However, when he was 20, his father, too, died. The future pope said to his friends, "I'm all alone...at twenty I've already lost all the people I've loved!"

When he realized his vocation to the priesthood, Karol again had to study in secret under the Communist regime that would not infrequently arrest priests and did whatever it could to suppress the Pole's culture and faith. When Fr. Karol was a parish priest, the Communists actually insisted that he get the nomination when a bishropric opened up, thinking that he would be a passive and unthreatening leader. Little did they know he would be integral in the toppling of their entire empire...

As a priest, he continued pursuing his passion for poetry and dedicated much of his time to ministering to youth and young adults. He would organize camping and kayaking trips for college students, and with God's creation as a backdrop, talk to them about the matters that weighed most heavily on their hearts. When he was appointed bishop, he had to leave his friends in the wilderness when he was called to come immediately to Warsaw to receive the nomination, arriving dirty and sweaty to his meeting with the cardinal. After accepting, he requested to return to his friends. Although he was first denied his request, he insisted: "Who will say mass for them? It will be be a privation" and was allowed to go, granting he would be back for his consecration.

The second half of the book talks about JPII's five loves: young people, human love, the Blessed Sacrament, the Virgin Mary, and the cross. While you should read the book to learn about all five of them, I was most touched by his love of young people. Not only is this the reason we have World Youth Day (he initiated the first one in 1985), but it is incredibly encouraging for a young person to hear in a world that expects so little us and a Church that can often view us as a disappointment. Reaching out to young people was not a political maneuver or scheme for John Paul II - he really, truly, loved us. He said to young people, "You are the hope of the Church and of the world. You are my hope" and "the young are the comfort and strength of the pope". On one visit to Poland during his papacy, young Poles gathered outside his window, singing and praying, not letting him sleep. He eventually joined them, and from his perch on his windowsill, exchanged jokes and Polish songs with them late into the night.

He was uncompromising, authentic, and loving - he demanded much, had no duplicity in him, and truly cherished his young company - all of which drew youth to him in numbers that baffled the secular world. He knew young people sought beauty and authenticity and that the answers to their desires lay in Jesus Christ.

I know that after reading this book (for the second time - it's that good), I grown in love and appreciation for this amazing saint, who found God in ways I see God - in nature and in youth. I ask for his intercession constantly as I prepare for our journey this summer, knowing that he cares deeply about each and every soul that makes the journey to World Youth Day and that seeks truth and beauty in sincerity. If you've ever felt undervalued, forgotten, or not taken seriously because of your age, St. John Paul the Great loves you and believes in you. Reflecting Christ's love for each of us, this incredibly holy man had such faith in us - and so, what do we have to fear? As he so often loved to tell youth, Be not afraid. Be no afraid to be what God made you to be. Be not afraid to be on fire for love of Him and His Church.

This book can be as cheap as $2 online! Jason Evert writes so well, you could read it in a weekend - and it would be the perfect book to read before our trip. For a list of more books to read and movies to see that will help you prepare, read one of our early blog posts: What to Read and Watch to Prepare for World Youth Day.

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