Insight: John Paul II, George Weigel and The Liturgical Year

You may be thinking what in the world the John Paul II, George Weigel and the Liturgical Year all have in common and rightly so.  Throughout the Lenten Season of my first year in Rome Mr. Weigel was a guest at the North American College (NAC).  He and his son journeyed with us to the Station Churches each morning taking notes and pictures for a book that Mr. Weigel was preparing to write on the Station Church tradition.  While he was at the NAC, he gave us a series of talks on John Paul II in preparation for now Blessed John Paul II's Beatification Ceremony on the First Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday.  Mr. Weigel was well qualified to give this series of talks as he was Pope John Paul II's official biographer.

During one of his talks, Mr. Weigel mentioned that in speaking to the Holy Father on one occassion, he told John Paul II that he had figured out how his brain worked and how he wrote.  Mr. Weigel said that Pope John Paul II circled the topic about which he was writing and that each time he circled it he went a bit deeper into the subject matter.

In praying during this past Holy Week leading up to Easter, I remembered his words.  I was particularly struck when I thought about John Paul II's thought process as described by Mr. Weigel.  This is when I had the insight.  I realized that every year, I come to appreciate the Holy Days in the Liturgical year more and more.  The reason for this is that every year I continue to learn a little more about God and the Catholic Faith.  Therefore, I am able to circle the events once again, each time go a little deeper, appreciating them a little more.  The more I grow in knowledge, the more I grow in love for God, His Son Jesus Christ and the beautiful Catholic faith which he left us (This comes as no surprise to anyone who has had even a slight encounter with St. Thomas Aquinas...you cannot love what you do not know).

At this point, after being in school for the past 25 years with only 1 semester off, after 8.5 years of college and 2 or 3 left to go, I have to admit I get tired of school at times.  However, this idea of circling and growing deeper because of knowledge gained, experiences had, and relationship with God strengthened, helps me to push on towards the finish line.  I pray that my focus and passion for learning will continually increase so that I can come to know as much as possible about the God who loves me more than I could ever imagine.  I continue to be amazed at the wisdom of the Church and the Liturgical Calendar with its ability to draw us into the mysteries of Christ through outward practices, which help our interior focus to remain on Him.  The colors, sounds, smells, etc. which we experience in the liturgy (or the lack of some of those things during Lent and Advent) all help to draw us deeper into the mysteries that we celebrate.  I pray that we can all continue to give ourselves more fully to Him who is the source of our joy.

In Christ,

Patrick