Pope John Paul II...be not afraid....

I became a convert to the Catholic religion in 1978, the same year Karol Wojtyla became our Pope John Paul II. While I know the history of the other Popes, he to me is "my Pope". To a non-catholic it may appear that some of us worship the Pope, or that all of us are supposed to obey without question everything he demands of us. The Pope is our holy father, the head of the Catholic Church, however we hold in him reverence and respect not on the same level as we do God or Jesus.

I as a Catholic do not agree with everything the Pope or the Church states. While I do hold the Pope in reverence, I also view him as a father to us all. Like any father at times he knows what is best for us and is right. At other times we rebel or feel he is "out of date" or "old fashioned", yet that doesn't mean we still don't love or respect him. Some children follow whatever their father demands of them without question, some of us are a bit more rebellious. Some of of us question, we don't accept on just word alone. Yet this Pope more than any other has never backed away from questions.

His first words to us were "Be Not Afraid"....He has stated this thru out his papacy. He's written several books, more than any other Pope has, my favorite has always been "Crossing the threshold of Hope". On the very front cover he writes it again..."Be Not Afraid".....

For those of you who want to read the book it is available online:

Crossing the Threshold of Hope

This book more than any other to me is almost a handbook for believers. He answers some hard questions, even in regards to the papacy, and to the larger questions of why evil exists and does God really exist.

When the media was saying yesterday there is no hope for the Pope, I disagreed. There is hope, hope that he will finally be at peace and with God and all of the apostles. If ever there was a man who demonstrated to us how to live thru pain and fear and still believe....still have hope.....that would be John Paul II.

So just as when he first told us...Be not Afraid....today those words we should take to heart.