10 Facts You Never Knew about St John Paul II

taylormarshall.com ^ | May 1, 2014 | Dr. Taylor Marshall

[NYer]

Saint John Paul II was an amazing man, priest, bishop, pope, and now Saint! But here are 10 things about him that you may have never known:

1. Saint John Paul II could speak Latin fluently. A rare art these days. Oh and besides his native Polish, he could also converse in: Slovak, Russian, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Ukrainian, and English.
2. Saint John Paul II received his call to the priesthood when he once accidentally “caught” his father praying alone during the night on his knees.
3. Saint John Paul II was an expert on Saint John of Cross and the Carmelite mystical tradition. The title of one of his doctoral dissertations (yes, the man had not one, but two doctorates) was “The Doctrine of Faith in Saint John of the Cross.”
4. Saint John Paul II was the first Pope to visit the White House in the United States.
5. Saint John Paul II visited 129 nation during his pontificate – the most of any Pope ever (including Saint Peter)!
6. Saint John Paul II has the honor as the one human who has gathered the most humans together in one spot! At the 1995 World Youth Day in the Philippines, an estimated 5 million people attended a Holy Mass that His Holiness celebrated. This was the largest human gathering from the creation of mankind.
7. Saint John Paul II was shot on May 13, 1981 – May 13 is the anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima’s first apparition!
8. Saint John Paul II was elected Pope on October 16 – the feast of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque – the famous saint who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This is appropriate since the Divine Mercy devotion is a further flowering of devotion to the Sacred Heart!
9. Saint John Paul II received pre-processed food through a nasal tube during the last week of his life.
10. How did he die? The Vatican stated that had died from “cardiocirculatory collapse and septic shock.”

And one last thing that you may not have known: He was praying for you during his last days. And he is praying for you right now!

Saint John Paul II, pray for us!

[NYer]

Saint John Paul II has the honor as the one human who has gathered the most humans together in one spot! At the 1995 World Youth Day in the Philippines, an estimated 5 million people attended a Holy Mass that His Holiness celebrated. This was the largest human gathering from the creation of mankind.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***Youth Day in the Philippines, an estimated 5 million people attended a Holy Mass that His Holiness celebrated.***

About the same that attended Nassar’s funeral, 5 million.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamal_Abdel_Nasser

At least the one in the Philippines was not a funeral but a celebration.

[pgkdan]

I knew all of those except for the title of his doctoral dissertation.

[Old Sarge]

I attended Mass at the UNO stadium in New Orleans in 1987. JP2 said he had never heard Dixieland jazz before, and loved it as they did a rendition of “Walk A Little Closer With Me” while he celebrated Mass.

Some enterprising vendor had tees made up saying “Pope Does Nawlins”...

[BipolarBob]

And he is praying for you right now!

Dead men don't pray.

[NYer]

Great story ... thanks for posting it.

[Larry Lucido]

I’m not Catholic, but I believe he was called by God to do great things and he did as called.

[NYer]

Dead men don't pray.

Except, he is alive. The dead, or the faithful departed, are saints because their time on earth is over. They are the ones who have completed the race, kept the faith, and have been given the crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:7,8). When they stood before the Son of Man, they were judged to be righteous and told, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). They are the sheep for whom the Good Shepherd freely laid down his life (John 10:1-18); the ones who have been escorted by Jesus to the Father’s house (John 14:1-3); and the great multitude which no one can count that are gathered around God’s throne (Revelation 7:9).

[Slyfox]

Except, he is alive. The dead, or the faithful departed, are saints because their time on earth is over.

Yes, there is Eternal Life and eternal death. Someone in heaven is spiritually alive and has access to prayer. Someone in hell is spiritually dead and cannot pray.

So, the term "dead men" needs to be quantified.

[BipolarBob]

Someone in heaven is spiritually alive and has access to prayer.
What's the point of prayer if you're in Heaven? God is right there.

Someone in hell is spiritually dead and cannot pray.
Well the possibility JP11 is in hell and cannot pray is just that - a possibility.

[Celtic Cross]

Revelation 5:8

[Biggirl]

AMEN. The saints in Heaven are ALIVE!

[Salvation]

**6.Saint John Paul II has the honor as the one human who has gathered the most humans together in one spot! At the 1995 World Youth Day in the Philippines, an estimated 5 million people attended a Holy Mass that His Holiness celebrated. This was the largest human gathering from the creation of mankind.**

A huge crowd.

[Salvation]

His soul is alive, sees all and can pray for all. (Even though his body is dead.)

You do believe that a human has a body AND a soul, don’t you?

[NKP_Vet]

Pope John Paul II was “perhaps the most influential voice for morality and peace in the world during the last 100 years”.

Reverend Billy Graham on the passing of SAINT John Paul II.

[Nabber]

JP-II almost single-handedly brought down the Soviet Union.
An “assist” goes to Ronaldus Magnus.

[Slyfox]

Someone in heaven is spiritually alive and has access to prayer. What's the point of prayer if you're in Heaven? God is right there.

If you were dead, and by chance in Heaven, you would not be concerned at all about your loved ones you left behind on Earth?

You would have no feelings at all for them?

You would have completely forgotten about them?

If God is concerned about us on Earth, and he is in Heaven, what makes us all high and mighty that we would have no concern at all for people on Earth, when God is concerned about us on Earth?

"...Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven."

No, Bipolar, we were made to be concerned about all souls everywhere, anywhere they are, whether they are dead or alive.

In the Bible, the Jews prayed that their dead loved ones would be loosed from their sins. The Jews of the Old Testament prayed for their loved ones out of concern for their souls.

We should do no less.

[SuziQ]

My husband attended that celebration with his parents. He sat with his mother, while his Dad, an Ordained Deacon, and his brother, a Priest, were up near the altar. He enjoyed the experience!

[steve86]

loved it as they did a rendition of “Walk A Little Closer With Me” while he celebrated Mass.

During the Mass? Are you kidding? Despicable, if true. And despicable of JPII to have permitted it.