Pryaers To Blessed John Paul II

“Nightmares evaporate like mist in sunshine, fears dissolve, and suffering vanishes when the whole human being becomes praise and trust, expectation and hope. This is the strength of prayer when it is pure, intense, and total abandonment to God our provident Redeemer.”

— Blessed John Paul II The prayers and novena in this booklet draw from themes close to the heart of Blessed John Paul II. With confidence we can ask this great Pope to intercede for the needs of our world, which he understood so well.

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Prayers to Blessed John Paul II Compiled and edited by Maria Grace Dateno, FSP

BOOKS & MEDIA Boston

Contents The Life of Pope John Paul II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Prayer in Praise of the Dignity of Each Human Person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Prayer for Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Prayer for Youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Prayer for a Culture of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 That All Christians May Be One . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Prayer for the Sick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Prayer for Young People Discerning Their Vocations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Prayer for Married Couples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Prayer for Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Prayer for World Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

For Children in War-torn Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Prayer for Consecrated Persons . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Prayer for the Shepherds of the Church . . . . . . . . 13 For People Who Work in Communications and Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Prayer for Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 For Peace of Mind and Heart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Prayer to Mary for the Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Prayer for Eucharistic Adoration . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Prayer for the Canonization of Blessed John Paul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Novena to Blessed John Paul II . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

The Life of Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyła) 1920–2005 Born in 1920 to a devout Catholic family, Karol Wojtyła lived a life full of joys and sufferings. He lost his mother a month before he turned nine. As a young man he saw his world crumble when the Nazis swept into Poland and World War II broke out. Shortly thereafter, in 1941, his beloved father died. Although Karol had felt drawn toward a career in acting, he followed a call to the priesthood and was ordained in 1946.

As a priest he carried out an effective pastoral ministry, continued higher studies, and taught at the university level. In 1958 he was ordained a bishop, and he fearlessly confronted the communist authorities in Poland. He took part in the Second Vatican Council and implemented the Council’s reforms at home.

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He was elected Pope on October 16, 1978, the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years. From that moment he took the Church and the world by storm.

He focused on leading the Church into the third Christian millennium. To that end, he traveled the world to proclaim Jesus Christ to all people, making a tremendous impact on hearts and minds and drawing large crowds everywhere he went. Pope John Paul II also helped set in motion events that would lead to the downfall of Communism in Europe.

During his long pontificate, he developed the teachings of Vatican II in his fourteen encyclicals and countless other writings. The collection of his teachings known as the “theology of the body” has revitalized Catholic teaching, especially in the area of marriage and the family. He inspired young people through the World Youth Days that he inaugurated and by his constant encouragement.

Perhaps his greatest witness was the one he gave in the last years of his life, as his health declined due to the effects of Parkinson’s disease. As he lay dying, the world kept vigil with him, until the Lord came for him on April 2, 2005, the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday. Crowds of people came to Rome to mourn the passing of Pope John Paul II, the great Christian witness of our era.

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Prayer in Praise of the Dignity of Each Human Person Most Holy Trinity, we praise and bless you because in Blessed John Paul you have reminded the world of the dignity of each human person. We suffer in this age from the degradation of the individual.

Life is expendable, people are enslaved for others’ pleasure and profit, the bottom line often counts more than the development or well-being of persons. So many forget that each person is created by you, never to be repeated in the entire universe, and is thus of inestimable value.

Blessed John Paul, you know the struggles we face. You chose to love the sick, denounce oppression, speak out for the life of the unborn, and carry with grace the burden of old age in the last years of your pontificate. You who now gaze upon the Trinity and know more than ever the fire that burns in God’s heart for justice and mercy, intercede for us.

May we come to truly appreciate our own dignity, and may we have the courage to stand for others 3

when their dignity is attacked. May we respond to God’s offer of covenantal grace with a life of evergrowing faith and ever-expanding love. Amen.

Prayer for Families Blessed John Paul, you upheld the value and beauty of the family, and called Christian homes to embrace God’s plan and purpose for them. Please ask the Father to pour out graces upon all families to enable them to model themselves after the Holy Family of Nazareth.

God our Father, teach families how to fully welcome each member, to live together in true communion, and to become “schools of love” where genuine charity is both learned and expressed.

Strengthen families that are weak, and protect those who strive to shine with the light of Christ. Show them how to practice the unity of the Holy Spirit, and to make time for prayer in the rhythms of daily life. Above all, Father, draw all families to yourself, “from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name” (Eph 3:15). Amen.

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