On Friday night the Pope was told that many thousands − many of them young people − had flocked to Rome to be with him in his time of dying. He apparently struggled to say, "I have looked for you. Now you have come to me." In what were possibly the last words of this Pope who has written and spoken so much, he ably summed up his entire life and mission. For 84 years this man went and looked for people. He looked for them, for each and every one of us, to come to the Lord. His heart burned with love for God and for all people to share in God's love. That is precisely the same desire of the heart of Christ, the Lord to whom he led us.
It is from this longing for all to be united with God that this Pope must be understood. It is this longing, this love that propelled his desire for unity. It is this longing which inspired the Pope's desire for peace. It is the reason he traveled the world and the reason we will miss him so much.
Those of us who have loved this man so much find his death a hard thing to bear and deeply feel the loss of his comforting presence. We know that he will be with us still and the Lord to whom he led us will not leave us orphans. The mission of the Church goes on, the quest continues − the quest to bring every human person to the Lord.
Perhaps the words spoken of him when he was first elected Pope still say it best. In October of 1978 a French reporter sent a now famous wire back home: "This is not a Pope from Poland. This is a Pope from Galilee." John Paul II is first and foremost a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is said of him that he believes with every fiber of his being that Jesus Christ is the answer to the question that is every human life.
He has indeed looked for us and now the whole world has come to him. Even if for just a moment, the whole world paused and watched a hero be called home. Perhaps even more so though, it is true that for 84 years he looked for the Lord, and now the Lord has come to him. He searched for the Lord, longed to do His will, and sought for all people to share in God's love. Now the Lord has come to Him, and the choirs of Heaven rejoice. We weep because he has gone home - but thanks to him, each one of us has been brought closer there too.
The world in which we live has been immeasurably affected by John Paul II. The 20th century - a century of so much blood and so much suffering - showed the world the reality of the Cross. In this Easter season we are reminded of the Good News that the Cross is not the end. John Paul has been for the Church and for the world a witness to hope in the midst of hopelessness. We can never know how different the world would have been had long ago Karol Wojtyla said "no" to the Lord. Instead, he said "yes" to the priesthood of Jesus Christ and "yes" to be Bishop of Rome. Just like the woman in whose arms he was assuredly welcomed home, just like she who said, "be it done unto me according to your word," John Paul continually said "yes" to the Lord.
For John Paul II his life was never about him. It was certainly never about his accomplishments or his legacy. For him, it was about looking for people to come to the Lord. That seems the right lesson for us today, for those of us who will miss him so much. He is a hero of history and the saint for the new millennium. We were so blessed to live in the time of John Paul the Great, and we rightly have deep gratitude to him. Thanks go even more so though to the Lord he served in Krakow, to the Lord who called him to Rome, and to the same Lord who invites him into glory. For the gift of Karol Wojtyla, the man whom history will know as John Paul the Great, thanks be to God.
Ryan Connors is a columnist for The Heights. His column appears regularly in the opinions section.
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