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REFLECTION ON THE 24th.ANNIVERSARY OF THE ELECTION AND INAUGERATION OF POPE JOHN PAUL
" Do not be afraid!
Open, better still, throw open the doors to Christ".
These words were proclaimed on World Mission Day
some twenty four years ago by the newly elected Vicar of Christ, Pope John Paul
II.
On that day, during the Rite of Inauguration of
his Pontificate, His Holiness spoke to the hundreds of thousands gathered in St.
Peter's Square in Rome, and through them and through the Means of Communication
to the whole world, these touching words: " Permit, then, -
I pray you, I implore you with humility and trust - permit Christ to
speak to mankind. Only He has the Words of Life, yes! of Eternal Life".
Twenty four years on from that memorable occasion
Pope John Paul II continues his mission of reminding the world of the salvific
message and teaching of Jesus Christ. He is the First Missionary of the Church
and, despite the diffficulties to be faced in each of his missionary journeys,
he is driven on by an inner force, that of the Holy Spirit, to reach out to
every person in every clime, young and old, weak and strong, throughout the
world so that, as he said on that day of his inauguration: " the words of
life given by Christ may reach every human person and be accepted as a message
of hope, of salvation and of total liberation".
Cardinal Wojtyla was elected Pope on the evening
of the 16th of October 1978, taking the name by which he is now so well known,
John Paul II. On the Sunday following his election, October 22nd, he began his
Pontificate with the Prayer: " O Christ, make me become and be the servant
of your unique power...Grant that I may be a servant! Better still a servant of
your servants".
Pope John Paul II continues with his mission,
that mission given him by Christ. On the occasion of the 24th anniversary of his
call to be 'Peter' to the Church and to the World, may we continue to support
him in prayer and in faithful adherance to his teaching and may we ever give
thanks to God for all that He is accomplishing through the Person and Ministry
of the Vicar of Christ on earth today. As we celebrate Mission Sunday this year
may we all join in fervent prayer for him who is indeed the First Missionary of
the Church.
The Holy Father, who has shown himself to be the
servant of all by being the servant of the Gospel, spoke these words to the
English speaking people of the Church and the World on the day of his
inauguration as Pope: " To all of you who speak English I offer in the name
of Christ a cordial greeting. I count on the support of your prayers and your
good will in carrying out my mission of service to the Church and mankind. May
Christ give you his grace and his peace, overturning the barriers of division
and making all things one in Him". May we assure him that he can always
count on our prayers and may we ask Mary, the Mother of Christ and She whom the
Holy Father calls ' His All', to watch over the Vicar of Christ on earth with
her maternal love and protection.
+ John Magee.
Bishop of Cloyne.