The Evangelist of our Century: Pope John Paul the Great

Pope John Paul the Great was the most travelled pope in history. He visited over 120 countries and was the first pope to visit the White House, a synagogue, a mosque and communist Cuba. From the secular point of view, one might see his travels as efforts for establishing diplomatic relations. But from a Christian point of view I see the Pope's travels as efforts for evangelization, in other words: making Jesus known to the world.

Often these travels result in inter-faith dialogues (with leaders of various faiths), which John Paul the Great use as effective means for mutual understanding, justice and peace. Although he strove hard for these three, John Paul the Great was not afraid to take stands. He did not compromise on the Truth, that salvation is through Jesus alone. Nor did he compromise or agree on controversial issues such as abortion, artificial contraception and women priests; despite pressures from so-called "liberal Catholics".

One may wonder, what was the reason behind his zeal? If you were to ask me, I would tell you it was the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Which is also the main reason why we are Christians, as St. Paul says "...if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still under condemnation for your sins."

Although during his lifetime Pope John Paul the Great had never witness the Resurrection, still he was convicted because of various testimonies from Scripture as well as his own personal experiences with God. His faith in God gave him the strength he needed to carry on his pontificate despite his ailments (one of which was Parkinson's disease) and the hope he had acquired from this faith, enabled him to look beyond his sufferings and to look forward to the world that is to come. Where pain and suffering would be no more (Revelation 21:4)

Pope John Paul the Great, understood that evangelization was never an option for Christians. Rather it is a lifestyle, which he led by example. He lived his commitment as a duty just as St. Paul did,

"Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!" (1 Corinthians 9:16)

To further stress the importance of evangelization, he quoted Pope Paul VI's Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi:

"Neither ... the complexity of the questions raised is an invitation to the Church to withhold from these non-Christians the proclamation of Jesus Christ. On the contrary the Church holds that these multitudes have the right to know the riches of the mystery of Christ riches in which we believe that the whole of humanity can find, in unsuspected fullness, everything that it is gropingly searching for concerning God, man and his destiny, life and death, and truth"

Truly if we believed in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and our own coming resurrection, not only in our heads but also in our hearts. We would be as zealous and as unwavering as John Paul the Great in making Jesus known to the world.