Pope St. John XXIII, the Man and the Narrative

In honor of his canonization, I thought I would give some thoughts on the lesser known of the two Popes canonized yesterday.

Pope St. John XXIII gets an interesting rep today. To some he is seen as the father of modernism, the one who wanted to destroy the church, an antithetical contradiction from the heaven sent prior popes. He is the one who called the Second Vatican Council, hoping to rid the Church of every possible tradition, a lover of novelty, who would have Her now consumed in modernity.

To others he is the pope who opened wide the doors of the church letting in fresh air, driving into the past the "ghetto" of a church isolated from the rest of the world. He updated a church desperately left in the medieval ages, whose relevancy had long died away. He was the primal architect who wanted a new and free Mass, that would relate to the man of the 20th and 21st centuries.

I know little of this saintly Pope. But from my brief readings of his writings, I have come to find that he is neither of the two personalities above. Surely he believed in 1962, that where the Church presently stood could have been improved. And surely he was right in his understanding that the world had changed tremendously, and was evolving at terrific and increasing speed. The world in 1962 was nothing like the world of 1870, when the Fist Vatican Council was called.

But Pope St. John XXIII was by no means a devoted modernist as thought of today. He was a lover of latin, as seen in his little known encyclical promoting the study of latin, Veterum Sapientia. He had a devotion to Pope St. Pius X, a pope loved by most traditional Catholics. He did not refuse the use of the sedia gestatoria(gestatorial chair, as pictured below) or the papal tiara. But above these, his intentions in calling the Second Vatican Council is what brings a true understanding to the opinions and feelings of Pope St. John. Below is a quote from his opening speech of the Council:

(The Council must present)"the sacred patrimony of truth received from the Fathers and transmit that doctrine pure and integral, without any attenuation or distortion, which throughout twenty centuries, not withstanding difficulties and constraints, has become the common patrimony of men. It is a patrimony not well received by all, but always a rich treasure available to men of good will. The greatest concern of the Ecumenical Council is this, that the Sacred Deposit of Christian Doctrine should be guarded and taught more efficaciously [with a] renewed, serene, and tranquil adherence to all the teachings of the Church in their entirety and preciseness, as they still shine forth in the acts of the council of Trent and the First Vatican Council."

When we see that the Pope desired the Council to be an integral part of tradition, most especially siting the Councils of Trent and Vatican I, promptly the modern notions of Vatican II totally revamping the Church and what She taught, fall away. Whether the Second Vatican Council correctly addressed the modern era is for many different posts, but suffice it to say, that St. John XXIII, was a Pope and a man separate from the outcomes of Vatican II. Today the person of Pope St. John XXIII is colored by most catholics solely on their understanding and opinion of Vatican II, of whom they see this Saint to be a personification of.

The canonization of John XXIII has been a bit overshadowed by John Paul II, who is himself a great saint who worked wonders for the church. But because of JP II's rightful prestige, the Good Pope John has has been partially eclipsed. I pray that now in his Sainthood, the life and personage of Pope St. John XXIII will be embraced, and that inquiry into his true person will overcome the current trend of the unconscious fusion Pope St. John and the Second Vatican Council. Let us pray to both of these Saint Popes for their continual intercession.

Over at The New Liturgical Movement Blog(the link to their site is in my blog roll) they have been posting some wonderful stuff in an attempt to inform as to the true nature of the Pope St. John XXIII, I highly recommend it.

For the truest look into his life, he wrote an autobiography titled 'Journal of a Soul'. I hope to pick it up soon.

Pope St. John XXIII, ora pro nobis.

I Desire Mercy(The Full Divine Mercy Devotion)

In the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar the First Sunday after Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday. In 2000, Pope John Paul II, canonized Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska, and with her canonization he proclaimed that the Sunday after Easter was to be a day dedicated to the devotion of Divine Mercy.

Now Saint Faustina, is a widely recognized name, and the devotional prayer revealed to her by Christ in many visions, The Divine Mercy Chaplet, is even more widely known. At my parish back home it is recited each day after daily Mass, along with the rosary. But few know of the other devotions revealed by Christ to St. Faustina in her visions. Truly the Chaplet is of indispensable worth, but there are a few other pieces to the Divine Mercy Devotion.

The first is the Divine Mercy Novena, it is recited the nine days before Divine Mercy Sunday, starting on Good Friday. There is a plenary indulgence attached to the recitation of the Novena, assuming all the other norms for receiving the plenary indulgence(to be discussed in a later post) are fulfilled. Each day the Chaplet is said along with another short daily prayer which is said before or after. Each day the intentions mentioned in the daily prayer change according to what Christ revealed.

"On each day of the novena you will bring to My heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy ... On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls."-Diary of St. Faustina

The specific prayers to the Novena can be found here. If you missed the beginning of the novena don't worry the Feast of Divine Mercy is still yours to be enjoyed!


Immediately following the Novena is the aforementioned Divine Mercy Sunday, also called Feast of Divine Mercy.  Of which our Lord commands "I want the image solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Eater, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it."-Dairy of St. Faustina, 341

and again

"This Feast emerged from the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of my tender mercies."-Dairy of St. Faustina, 420


Third is Devotion to the Image of Divine Mercy. This was the earliest revelation of the entire Divine Mercy devotionals. Christ says it simply "I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over its enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I myself will defend it as My own glory."-Dairy of St. Faustina, 48

Fourth is The Hour of Divine Mercy. Christ asked that St. Faustina spend special time in prayer during the three o'clock hour, the hour of His agonous death.

"As often as you hear the clock strike the third hour immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying it, invoke it's omnipotence for the whole world, and particularly for poor sinners, for at that moment mercy was opened wide for every soul. In this hour you can obtain everything for yourself and for others for the asking; it was the hour of grace for the whole world, mercy triumphed over justice...My Heart, is full of Mercy: and should you be unable to step into chapel, immerse yourself in prayer there where you happen to be, if only for a very brief instant"-Dairy of St. Faustina, 1572

St. Faustina recorded all of her visions and much more in her diary, which is widely published. This post is not meant to be in any way a complete explanation of the entire Divine Mercy devotion and revelations, but I hope, for those already attached to the chaplet, that you may come to a fuller love of the devotion; and for those who are not yet aware of these spiritual aids, that you may find some consolation in the glorious mercies of Christ, as I myself have found many, many times through this beautiful devotion.

And so It Begins...(Thoughts on caring for the most at risk)

Welcome, and thanks for reading! I thought for a first post I would ease myself in, but still trying to bring something meaningful to the table. The following is a reflection I shared on the topic of the service trip I recently attended:


This past Spring Break I went on my first Alternate Spring Break trip with the Newman Community. I went with a group of 10 to an elderly home opened and run by the Little Sisters of the Poor. What a beautiful place. The joy of happy elderly and faithful, prayerful sisters filled the halls. We found ourselves to be in a paradigm for elderly care. Never did I see patience nor cheer ever found wanting in these sisters and their devoted helpers. The love and dedication of this home to its interned was immaculate and pure. 

As a youth, zealous and devoted in the Pro-Life movement, I witnessed the greatest love for the sick and infirm, an unadulterated love for the human person, at one of its most vulnerable times in life. The striking contrast between what I observed here and the horror stories that are heard of regarding the care of the elderly ushered mixed feelings, love for this place, but a sad revelation that all were not so wonderful. What sadness must exist for those who are treated in homes, not with affection and individual attention, but as a number, a burden, a temporary challenge that cannot pass soon enough.

Let us not be the ones, lethargic in our care for others, for the youngest or the oldest of our fellow human beings. Let us not be the apathetic who will be condemned in times to come. Let us not be the ones who knew of the suffering, but were to preoccupied with ourselves. Let us be the ones Christ beckons at the end of time saying "Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for  I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me... Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me."(Mt 25:34b-37, 40)  

When will we as society come to recognize the beauty of life, from the oldest and wisest of the world, too the youngest most defenseless potential for our future? This duty belongs firstly to none other that those who carry the honorable banner of Christ and His Holy Catholic Church, in unison with all of our Christian brethren and all people of good will.

May Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Mother, Mary Immaculate keep you safe and joyful in this Easter season.