saint john paul the great by jason evert

He always considered his rosary a divine appointment that neither himself nor his mother missed. On Mary: JP2 reread True Devotion to Mary several times in order to finally understand it. On the priest’s importance of prayer: “In the absence of a deep inner life, a priest will imperceptibly turn into an office clerk, and his apostolate will turn into a parish office routine, just solving daily problems.”

He made short visits to the Chapel before and after every meal. He prayed for everyone he met before & after he met them. On devotions: Rosary first thing in the morning, divine mercy chaplets throughout day too, confession every week, each Friday and every day of lent stations of the cross, one complete meal a day during Lent, fasted on eve of our Lady’s feasts, immersed in prayer during meetings and walks. He would spend hours writing before the Eucharist. The Eucharist was the principal reason for his priesthood. On adoration & the Eucharist: “The young priest often spent the night before the Blessed Sacrament, and his parishioners sometimes spied on him, watching him in prayer, lying prostrate on the cold floor.” His 60-90 minutes of prayer before Mass was the best part of his day. On the intense manual labour he underwent: “I was a labourer for 4 years, and for me those 4 years of work are worth more than two doctorate degrees.” The following are some points I drew from the reading: He should be the first when it comes to sacrifice and devotion.” Each night, he looked out his window to Saint Peter’s Square and to the whole world, and made the sign of the cross over it, blessing the world goodnight.Saint John Paul the Great: His Five Loves by Jason Evert is a fantastic summary of the life of a truly extraordinary saint, JP2. He declared, “the shepherd should walk at the head and lay down his life for his sheep. He remarked, “If the bishop doesn’t set an example by fasting, then who will?” The Holy Father knew that his first duty to the Church was his interior life. During Lent, he would eat one complete meal a day, and always fasted on the eve of our Lady’s feast days.

Each Friday (and every day in Lent), he prayed the Stations of the Cross, and preferred to do this in the garden on the roof of the Papal Apartments. He prayed several Rosaries each day, went to confession every week, and did not let a day pass without receiving Holy Communion. He made time to pray before and after his meals, and interspersed his Breviary prayers (the Liturgy of the Hours) throughout the day and night, calling it: “very important, very important.” At six in the morning, at noon, and again at six in the evening, he would stop whatever he was doing to pray the Angelus, just as he had done while working in the chemical plant in Poland. “Prayer was the rhythm of the Holy Father’s life.

Saint john paul the great by jason evert