“ Do you know the population of saints in heaven?” A
young lady threw this question to me.
To answer this question is like trying to explain
the number of angles who can dance on the tip of the needle. But by the end of
the month of April 2014, two more people were added to that heavenly population.
The 27th April 2014 marked an extraordinary event
in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. Two popes were be canonized in the
presence of two living popes, current and emeritus! Very interesting, isn’t it?
But the two saints have many things in common. Only
two attracted me personally.
First, they were the People’s popes. Yes, it is a
papal obligation to serve the people and manifest God’s love on them. Bl. John
XXIII recognized the need of the Church to embrace the signs of the time by
welcoming all people even non-Catholics, for all are saved by God in the way
best known to him. To do this, he organized in 1962 an extraordinary meeting
called the Vatican II Council that transformed the Church. On the other hand, Bl.
John Paul II, was a great missionary of the Good News. He is known to be one of
the most travelled popes. Hence, at his funeral, people acclaimed “Sanctu subito!” Saint immediately!
Secondly, they chose the name “John” to feature in
their papal names. We all know John the Evangelist and his mystical writings.
We also know John, the Apostle who loved Jesus more. Picking the name “John”
made them aspire more to the mystic life by loving Jesus. They were both men of
great faith and prayer.
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