On April 2, 2005 at 9:37 p.m., the beloved John Paul II went to the Father's House. Seventeen years later, as every year on that day, at the relics of St. John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica, the Holy Mass was celebrated. Today's Holy Mass at 8.30 am was celebrated by Fr Piotr Bajor from the Congregation for Catholic Education in the Vatican, with the participation of the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the Holy See and numerous believers.
The text of the homily:
Until October 16, 1978, Poland, our Homeland, from this place: Rome and the Vatican was perceived as a distant country. John Paul II emphasized this on the day of his election by saying: "the Cardinals called me from a distant country". It was not about geographical distance, because what it was and is: less than two hours of flight, but about social and geopolitical distance determined then in Europe by the Iron Curtain. Added to this was the ignorance of the West - including Italians about the existence of such a country as Poland and understanding its situation at that time. The day of the election of a Pole to the See of Peter changed a lot. The pontificate of John Paul made this distant country close, not only close to Italy and the West, but above all liberated Poland from the yoke of evil that distanced us from the civilized world, suppressing values, freedom and democracy. For almost 27 years of his pontificate, the history of our homeland - for the evident cause of the Pope from Poland - has experienced dynamic changes of historical significance.
Hence, 2 April 2005 seemed to be the moment when this influence of John Paul would be closed; just as the book of the Evangelist was closed on the coffin of the saint on the day of his funeral. Nothing could be further from the truth! The unforgettable Saturday of the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday gave us all the strength and the right to say - albeit in sorrow - with deep conviction and responsibility: He was truly holy - of us and among us! At that time we had such an unshakable conviction, regardless of whether someone was close to Him here in the Vatican, or only from a distance - already close to Poland at that time - he was looking at this man; we had a sincere and authentic conviction: He was a holy man! It was a natural reaction after the end of his earthly life, after his death. Hence, it is now difficult to believe and give credence to contemporary pseudo-witnesses who try to ridicule His holiness, who ooze a narrative poisoned by falsehood and manipulation, or even accuse His indisputable authority; who want to find compromising facts of His life, which in the end only discredits them.
Today, on the 17th anniversary of the passage from this world to the house of the Holy Father John Paul, we stand at his tomb, at the Eucharistic altar, to give thanks precisely for this Pontificate, for this holy Pope, for bringing Poland closer to the world, for the fact that we no longer speak – in any aspect – about Poland, as a distant country from Rome, Europe, from the values that this place gave and brought to the world.
What's more, we can say after John Paul II, who in 1979 at Jasna Góra pointed out that: "Poles got used to coming to Jasna Góra with everything to talk about it with their Mother", similarly we paraphrasing these Papal words, we can say: We have become accustomed for these 17 years, we, Poles, come here in front of the tomb of St. John Paul II, treating this place as a sanctuary, to associate all, countless matters of one's life, its various important, decisive moments, responsible moments and so many issues with this place. And probably also today each of us has his own personal motive and reason to be here; perhaps experiencing an important moment in life, changing its course or setting a new path. We are here not only to commemorate the anniversary of his passing, but also to experience a kind of audience during prayer and the Eucharist celebrated on the relics of the saint, an audience of the presence of God Himself coming during the Holy Mass and an audience for the presence of Saint John Paul II.
So what message is coming from this place today?
Let us at first look at the Liturgy of the Word. St. John the Evangelist describes a scene in which he shows the reaction of the crowd to the person of Jesus. Some say of Him: "This one is truly a prophet", others "This is the Messiah". But there are other voices: "Will the Messiah come from Galilee?" Various opinions about Jesus. Therefore, in the crowd there was a split because of Him. On the one hand, doubts and disbelief arose, and on the other hand, the person of Jesus gave rise to credibility, delight and admiration: "Never before has anyone spoken like this man".
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Doesn't Christ still arouse similar reactions today? Is not this evangelical situation an illustration of our time? Does not God liberate in the present world, in us, admiration, a profession of faith in His divinity, but also a threat, doubt or undermining of His authority, or even denial or total distance from God?
It seems that the modern world and man react similarly to God and His law. Often remaining distant, one can say: remaining such a distant "country" built on the foundation of selfishness and its own interests, far from God, truth and freedom.
Let us return, then, to the message from April 2, 2005. It wasn't the day when it all ended! On the contrary, on that day everything changed and took on a different, much deeper meaning.
If from that day we have an Advocate in Heaven, who is so close to us, who, living on earth, made a distant country in the geopolitical system of that time close by opening the door to Christ without fear; how can we fail to believe that the areas now marked and occupied by evil, sin, war, injustice cannot become close to God precisely because of Him who was born for Heaven on April 2, 2005?
