Yesterday in my homily at 6:30 am Mass, I spoke of my experiences being present for papal Masses celebrated by three popes in 1978. The memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus was being celebrated, and the Gospel for the day was from Mark and it asked whether a lamp is purchased only to be hidden.
The papacy of Paul VI was a prophetic light, especially in his teachings on life and marriage. How much we need to reread his Humanae Vitae. In it, Paul VI clearly foresaw the many challenges we now have in protecting unborn life and the sanctity of marriage.
The papacy of John Paul I was a light to the nations shining brightly with its humility and joy. Papa Luciani called for a new evangelization of the world on the last day of his life, a call that was taken up by and credited to his successor.
The papacy of John Paul II was a light to the nations that brought a renewed vigor and youth our church. He truly brought the light of Christ to the entire world. John Paul II love the Mother of Jesus just as the Apostle John loved her who had been entrusted to him by the Lord, and he was a great evangelizer as was the Apostle Paul in his travels and preaching to untold millions throughout the world.
That light, which shined so brilliantly in these three men, as it did in the lives of Timothy and Titus, lives in each of us. We are lights to the world.
May God shine through our lives. May we be beacons of life, humility, joy, vigor and youthfulness to our world today.
