Paul VI,Pope

Today, in memory of Pope Paul VI, we lift up our souls in double gratitude. We thank the Lord Jesus for having kept his word to remain with us until the end of the world (cf. Mt 28:20). God fulfills this promise through his Church, through his Eucharistic presence… But he does so in a very special way through the pope. Paul VI’s contemporaries could sense the clear vision of things and the firmness with which this holy shepherd defended the Church in “turbulent” times.

Thanks to this humble shepherd who, too, was sometimes alone – like Jesus in Gethsemane – suffered and wept for the Church. He embodied the “rock” on which Christ always builds his Church without the gates of hell being able to overcome it. Saint Pope Paul VI took on the enormous task of leading, concluding and applying the Second Vatican Council. Times are changing and the Church – is not falling behind in the face of new challenges. For this reason, the Pope of the Council oversaw a remarkable and courageous “update” of the Church. 

To some it seemed that he had failed, to others that he had gone too far… During his life he was a martyr for the Church entrusted to him… In his simplicity he even said: “Perhaps the Lord has called me and kept me for this ministry not because I am particularly suited to it, or so that I can guide and save the Church from its present difficulties, but so that I can suffer something for the Church, and thus it will be clear that he, and not someone else, is its leader and savior”. Yes, he is Christ, but he counts on us. Perhaps we too should pray more and make sacrifices for the Roman Pontiff, our “holy father”…