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A Year with John Paul II: Daily Meditations from His Writings and Prayers
Called the Pilgrim Pope, a pope of the people, John Paul II connected with his flock from the highest to the lowest. He was one of history's most beloved popes among Catholics and non-Catholics alike, a man whose indomitable spirit touched and taught us all. A Year with John Paul II showcases his most important teachings as well as his inspirational writings, in a daily devotional format that will inspire readers and deepen their reflections and meditations.
With a foreword by Cardinal William W. Baum, head of the Holy See's Major Penitentiary and former archbishop of Washington DC, an introduction by Bishop William Murphy, and a moving eulogy composed for the pope's funeral by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), A Year with John Paul II will take readers on a year-long spiritual journey with this deeply religious and inspiring man.
Karol Wojyla was born on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland. He survived the Nazi occupation during World War II and was ordained to the priesthood in 1946. He was appointed archbishop of Krakow by Pope Paul VI. On October 16, 1978, he ascended to the papacy, taking the name John Paul II. During his papacy he greeted an estimated sixteen million pilgrims at the Vatican's general audiences. Pope John Paul II died in April 2005.
432 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
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Pope John Paul II
1,052 books629 followersSaint Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus II), born Karol Józef Wojtyła was elected Pope at the Conclave of 16 October 1978, and he took the name of John Paul II. On 22 October, the Lord's Day, he solemnly inaugurated his Petrine ministry as the 263rd successor to the Apostle. His pontificate, one of the longest in the history of the Church, lasted nearly 27 years.
Driven by his pastoral solicitude for all Churches and by a sense of openness and charity to the entire human race, John Paul II exercised the Petrine ministry with a tireless missionary spirit, dedicating it all his energy. He made 104 pastoral visits outside Italy and 146 within Italy. As bishop of Rome he visited 317 of the city's 333 parishes.
He had more meetings than any of his predecessors with the People of God and the leaders of Nations. More than 17,600,000 pilgrims participated in the General Audiences held on Wednesdays (more than 1160), not counting other special audiences and religious ceremonies [more than 8 million pilgrims during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 alone], and the millions of faithful he met during pastoral visits in Italy and throughout the world. We must also remember the numerous government personalities he encountered during 38 official visits, 738 audiences and meetings held with Heads of State, and 246 audiences and meetings with Prime Ministers.
His love for young people brought him to establish the World Youth Days. The 19 WYDs celebrated during his pontificate brought together millions of young people from all over the world. At the same time his care for the family was expressed in the World Meetings of Families, which he initiated in 1994. John Paul II successfully encouraged dialogue with the Jews and with the representatives of other religions, whom he several times invited to prayer meetings for peace, especially in Assisi.
Under his guidance the Church prepared herself for the third millennium and celebrated the Great Jubilee of the year 2000 in accordance with the instructions given in the Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio adveniente. The Church then faced the new epoch, receiving his instructions in the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio ineunte, in which he indicated to the faithful their future path.
With the Year of the Redemption, the Marian Year and the Year of the Eucharist, he promoted the spiritual renewal of the Church. He gave an extraordinary impetus to Canonizations and Beatifications, focusing on countless examples of holiness as an incentive for the people of our time. He celebrated 147 beatification ceremonies during which he proclaimed 1,338 Blesseds; and 51 canonizations for a total of 482 saints. He made Thérèse of the Child Jesus a Doctor of the Church.
He considerably expanded the College of Cardinals, creating 231 Cardinals (plus one in pectore) in 9 consistories. He also called six full meetings of the College of Cardinals. His most important Documents include 14 Encyclicals, 15 Apostolic Exhortations, 11 Apostolic Constitutions, 45 Apostolic Letters. He promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the light of Tradition as authoritatively interpreted by the Second Vatican Council. He also reformed the Eastern and Western Codes of Canon Law, created new Institutions and reorganized the Roman Curia.
In the light of Christ risen from the dead, on 2 April 2005 at 9.37 p.m., while Saturday was drawing to a close and the Lord's Day was already beginning, the Octave of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday, the Church's beloved Pastor, John Paul II, departed this world for the Father. On April 1, 2011, he was raised to the glory of the altars and on April 27, 2014 canonized.
Driven by his pastoral solicitude for all Churches and by a sense of openness and charity to the entire human race, John Paul II exercised the Petrine ministry with a tireless missionary spirit, dedicating it all his energy. He made 104 pastoral visits outside Italy and 146 within Italy. As bishop of Rome he visited 317 of the city's 333 parishes.
He had more meetings than any of his predecessors with the People of God and the leaders of Nations. More than 17,600,000 pilgrims participated in the General Audiences held on Wednesdays (more than 1160), not counting other special audiences and religious ceremonies [more than 8 million pilgrims during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 alone], and the millions of faithful he met during pastoral visits in Italy and throughout the world. We must also remember the numerous government personalities he encountered during 38 official visits, 738 audiences and meetings held with Heads of State, and 246 audiences and meetings with Prime Ministers.
His love for young people brought him to establish the World Youth Days. The 19 WYDs celebrated during his pontificate brought together millions of young people from all over the world. At the same time his care for the family was expressed in the World Meetings of Families, which he initiated in 1994. John Paul II successfully encouraged dialogue with the Jews and with the representatives of other religions, whom he several times invited to prayer meetings for peace, especially in Assisi.
Under his guidance the Church prepared herself for the third millennium and celebrated the Great Jubilee of the year 2000 in accordance with the instructions given in the Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio adveniente. The Church then faced the new epoch, receiving his instructions in the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio ineunte, in which he indicated to the faithful their future path.
With the Year of the Redemption, the Marian Year and the Year of the Eucharist, he promoted the spiritual renewal of the Church. He gave an extraordinary impetus to Canonizations and Beatifications, focusing on countless examples of holiness as an incentive for the people of our time. He celebrated 147 beatification ceremonies during which he proclaimed 1,338 Blesseds; and 51 canonizations for a total of 482 saints. He made Thérèse of the Child Jesus a Doctor of the Church.
He considerably expanded the College of Cardinals, creating 231 Cardinals (plus one in pectore) in 9 consistories. He also called six full meetings of the College of Cardinals. His most important Documents include 14 Encyclicals, 15 Apostolic Exhortations, 11 Apostolic Constitutions, 45 Apostolic Letters. He promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the light of Tradition as authoritatively interpreted by the Second Vatican Council. He also reformed the Eastern and Western Codes of Canon Law, created new Institutions and reorganized the Roman Curia.
In the light of Christ risen from the dead, on 2 April 2005 at 9.37 p.m., while Saturday was drawing to a close and the Lord's Day was already beginning, the Octave of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday, the Church's beloved Pastor, John Paul II, departed this world for the Father. On April 1, 2011, he was raised to the glory of the altars and on April 27, 2014 canonized.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 24, 2018
Very inspiring read. Helped to strengthen my faith.
June 28, 2018
It’s a daily reading that takes maybe only 5-10 minutes plus whatever time you allow pondering over it. After a few days I realized that Pope John Paul is frequently referring to a wide number of writings by Church fathers, and other sources from the vast Catholic repository of teachings. These daily exercises are usually too short but usually to the point and offer a good opportunity of keeping in touch with the faith in absence of anything broader.
The author of this anthology William Cardinal Baum, S.T.D. (1926-2015) writes in the Preface that
Pope John Paul II was a “perennial philosophical student of phenomenology with links to the “monumental thoughts of philosophers Edmund Husserl and Edith Stein, the latter of whom he was later to canonize as St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, the name she chose when she left the classroom for the Carmelite.” (p. 2)
He compares the Pope to George Bernanos’ “The Diary of a County Priest.” That work has the line “Faith is not something which one loses, we merely cease to shape our lives by it.” (quoted on p. 2)
He always admired Max Scheler and made his own personal philosophical synthesis in his treatise “The Acting Person.”
“For John Paul solidarity meant standing together with others.” Cardinal Baum, the author of this compilation, says that “the solidarity movement ultimately brought Poland its freedom” (p. 2) He is not aware that this wishful thinking is something still in the works in 2017 and there has been only political turmoil with diehard leftist bureaucracy holding on to their elite status and in what they call “total opposition” to what the legitimately elected government does.
Bishop William Murphy writes in the Introduction writes that “the Holy Father shows the Incarnation of the Son of God radically changes the meaning of human existence” and with his constant call for social justice never tired of teaching that “Faith and social justice are not to be separated one from the other.” (p. 2)
The coming of God to the world in the incarnation of Jesus is not heard very often as an earth shaking event in world history. It is as if it was a non-event. C. S. Lewis, writing in 1943, saw the coming of Christ “the ‘first instance’ of the new man” two thousand years ago as the major step for humanity’s future that hasn’t been observed enough. (Mere Christianity, Chapter 11)
The author of this anthology William Cardinal Baum, S.T.D. (1926-2015) writes in the Preface that
Pope John Paul II was a “perennial philosophical student of phenomenology with links to the “monumental thoughts of philosophers Edmund Husserl and Edith Stein, the latter of whom he was later to canonize as St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, the name she chose when she left the classroom for the Carmelite.” (p. 2)
He compares the Pope to George Bernanos’ “The Diary of a County Priest.” That work has the line “Faith is not something which one loses, we merely cease to shape our lives by it.” (quoted on p. 2)
He always admired Max Scheler and made his own personal philosophical synthesis in his treatise “The Acting Person.”
“For John Paul solidarity meant standing together with others.” Cardinal Baum, the author of this compilation, says that “the solidarity movement ultimately brought Poland its freedom” (p. 2) He is not aware that this wishful thinking is something still in the works in 2017 and there has been only political turmoil with diehard leftist bureaucracy holding on to their elite status and in what they call “total opposition” to what the legitimately elected government does.
Bishop William Murphy writes in the Introduction writes that “the Holy Father shows the Incarnation of the Son of God radically changes the meaning of human existence” and with his constant call for social justice never tired of teaching that “Faith and social justice are not to be separated one from the other.” (p. 2)
The coming of God to the world in the incarnation of Jesus is not heard very often as an earth shaking event in world history. It is as if it was a non-event. C. S. Lewis, writing in 1943, saw the coming of Christ “the ‘first instance’ of the new man” two thousand years ago as the major step for humanity’s future that hasn’t been observed enough. (Mere Christianity, Chapter 11)
December 31, 2016
This daily reader offers short reflections by Pope John Paul II. Naturally, I think Roman Catholics will find this more beneficial than the broader Christian Church - much of it was niche Catholic and it sometimes read more academically than I expect a daily devotional to.
January 23, 2017
Such wisdom, such genuine love and devotion. "Be not afraid..."
December 29, 2024
I greatly enjoyed reading this daily devotional over the course of the past year (2024). With erudition, emotion, and spiritual clarity, Pope John Paul II cross-analyzes biblical dictum with church doctrine, philosophy, ethics, and autobiography.
December 10, 2019
Rich content.
December 31, 2023
We were so lucky to have This man, at that time, for our Pope. Great book. Great man.
January 2, 2019
This book was a great way to dip into the vast writings of Saint John Paul II. Some of the writings aligned with feast days, which was nice, and some themes were followed throughout the course of several days.
The time commitment for any one day was very minimal, making it much more easy to catch up if I missed a few days here or there. This was greatly beneficial to my spiritual growth in 2018.
Highly recommended. Especially for those wanting a manageable place to start with Saint John Paul II.
The time commitment for any one day was very minimal, making it much more easy to catch up if I missed a few days here or there. This was greatly beneficial to my spiritual growth in 2018.
Highly recommended. Especially for those wanting a manageable place to start with Saint John Paul II.
September 22, 2016
This was one book of quotes from JPII that I particularly wanted because the format makes it very clear what is a quote from John Paul II and what is commentary. A lot of books like this do not make that distinction clear.
December 31, 2017
Wise words from a wise man.
It took me a year to read this book! :-)
It took me a year to read this book! :-)
January 1, 2021
Great reading!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews