October 22, 2026 // Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time //  Optional Memorial of Saint John Paul II, Pope

Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Ephesians 3:17-19.

Reflect on the Word // 

On September 19, 1987, we waited with our seven-month-old daughter and 93,680 people for the arrival of Pope John Paul II. As the popemobile entered the Pontiac Silverdome (normally home to loud football fans), a quiet, awed hush fell over the crowd as we recognized the tangible presence of holiness and greatness. Smiling and waving, the Pope made his way to the stage for the papal Mass, and then quite unexpectedly, stopped directly in front of our seats. We thrust our daughter high in the air and John Paul II extended his hand towards baby Sarah, bestowing on her a papal blessing!

Today as we celebrate the Memorial of Pope Saint John Paul II and I ponder today’s Mass readings, I am reminded of our brief but powerful encounter with him almost forty years ago. In the First Reading, Saint Paul prayed fervently that believers in Christ might be given a deep understanding of God’s sacrificial love, resulting in perfect union with Him. Saint Paul’s prayer was beautifully embodied in the life of Pope John Paul the Great.

Christ dwelt in Pope John Paul the Great’s heart through faith (see Ephesians 3:17) and, although the Saint was a brilliant theologian and writer, he did not merely give an intellectual assent and articulation of truth. His faith was also expressed in deep trust and faithfulness to Jesus, despite much suffering and loss. God’s love, conveyed through his loving family and the extraordinary motherly protection and care of the Blessed Mother, was the foundation on which young Karol Wojtyła’s life was built and the soil in which he was planted and grew.

God’s power (see Ephesians 3:18) enables us, like it did John Paul II, to personally experience the great dimension of Christ’s infinite, sacrificial love expressed upon the Cross. Amid a darkening world, Divine Love compelled him to fight for human freedom and a renewed call to holiness. And we too are compelled by that same Divine Love.

Sisters, today let us ask Saint Paul and Saint John Paul the Great to pray for us! May we also be rooted and grounded in Christ’s love, and have the power to know and to witness to this love that surpasses knowledge.

Relate to the Lord // Consider praying this prayer of Saint John Paul II today.