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Saint John Paul II

Saint John Paul II: Feast Day Oct. 22nd 

Did you know that three amazing saints came from Poland and were all alive at one point during the same time? I often wonder what Saint John Paul II, Saint Faustina, and Saint Maximilian Kolbe’s encounter would have been like had they met. Saint Faustina’s love of Jesus and her devotion to spreading his message of Divine Mercy...Saint Maximilian Kolbe’s love and devotion of Mother Mary and praying the rosary...his establishment of the Militia Immaculata (Knights of the Immaculate) whose purpose was the promotion of Marian consecration... and Saint John Paul II’s wisdom of theology of the body, love of Divine Mercy, and his canonization of Saint Faustina as the first saint to be cannonized in the tewenty-first-century...What an inspiring and dynamic saintly trio! Just like these three holy saints lived in the time they did, we are all alive in the specific time we are living because God has some purpose for us in mind. What is God calling you to do? Will you let Him fill you with graces and use you to help bring about His will? 

As we celebrate Saint John Paul II’s feast day today, I think back to 2004, when Pope John Paul II sent a traveling exhibit of artwork, relics, vestments, and various other treasures from the Vatican to the United States. One of the cities the exhibit was visiting was Cincinnati, so my family piled into the car for a road trip. AMAZING! The exhibit was absolutely amazing! I tried to look at and read everything I could, and the rest of my family had to come back into the exhibit to get me when they were ready to leave, because I was still reading and looking at things. Visiting this exhibit and placing my hand on a cast-mold of Pope John Paul II’s hand is a memory that will stick with me the rest of my life.

Saint John Paul II was the most traveled Pope the world had seen, and is known as “Pope of the Family” and “The Great Mercy Pope”. What a truly inspiring saint our modern world can look to for wisdom and prayerful intercession! 

Celebrating Saint John Paul II Through Food:

Today, my family made Slow cooker Polish sausage soup  in honor of Saint John Paul II’s heritage, and Papal Cream Cake for dessert, since it was his favorite treat and named in honor of him. 




Celebrating Saint John Paul II Through Crafts and Prayer:

When he was Pope, Saint John Paul II added the Luminous Mysteries to the rosary. Focusing on Jesus’ pubic ministry, the Luminous Mysteries add another beautiful dimension to the rosary. Today is a great day to teach these to your children and say a decade or the entire rosary praying the Luminous Mysteries. You can also have your children color the Luminous mysteries coloring pages and hang them up on the wall, putting construction paper circles as beads between them, to make a giant rosary. 

When I was in college and JPII was beatified, I made bookmarks of the Luminous Mysteries to pass out at our Newman Center’s JPII Beatification Party. Making bookmarks with older kids is a great way to remind them to pray throughout the day as they keep their bookmark in a book they’re reading. 

Steps for making bookmarks:

1. Cut out a bookmark using cardboard from a cereal box or granola bar box. 

2. Cut a small rectangle in your bookmark and glue parchment paper covering the cut out rectangle on one side. 

3. Glue diagonal strips of tissue-paper over the parchment paper to give your bookmark a stained glass look.

4. Flip your bookmark over to the blank side and using a pen, write the Luminous Mysteries along the edges and then color the blank side a color of your choice.

5. Make a hole using a hole-punch and attach yarn or sting to make a tassel.



Hold your bookmark up to the light and watch it become “luminous!” 

For younger kids, you can print the pictures of the Luminous Mysteries from the Rosary Center and instead of writing the mysteries on the bookmark shrink and glue the pictures onto a book mark. 

I hope you and your family have a wonderful day celebrating JPII! Saint Pope John Paul II, patron of families, pray for us! 

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