Friends, our Gospel blesses those who hear the word of God and observe it.
In this regard, I would like to speak about the response of the Polish
people to the word proclaimed by St. John Paul II. The power of the
Polish Communist state, and behind that the power of the Soviet Union,
is what John Paul faced at the beginning of the 1980s. But he was
practiced in the art of facing down oppressive political forces, having
grown up under Nazism and Communism.
He
spoke of God, of human rights, of the dignity of the
individual—frightening at every turn, his handlers worried about
diplomatic repercussions. As he spoke, the crowds got bigger and more
enthusiastic. This went beyond mere Polish nationalism. At one
gathering, the millions of people began to chant "We want God! We want
God!" over and over for fifteen minutes.
There
was no controlling this power, born of the confidence that God’s love
is more powerful than any of the weapons of the empires of the world,
from crosses to nuclear bombs. This is, of course, why Communist
officialdom tried vehemently to stop John Paul II. But there is no
chaining the Word of
God!
Saturday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 466
Brothers and sisters:
Scripture confined all things under the power of sin,
that through faith in Jesus Christ
the promise might be given to those who believe.
Before faith came, we were held in custody under law,
confined for the faith that was to be revealed.
Consequently, the law was our disciplinarian for Christ,
that we might be justified by faith.
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a disciplinarian.
For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free person,
there is not male and female;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants,
heirs according to the promise.
While Jesus was speaking,
a woman from the crowd called out and said to him,
"Blessed is the womb that carried you
and the breasts at which you nursed."
He replied, "Rather, blessed are those
who hear the word of God and observe it."
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