Homily at our beloved Papa JP II's Beatification

Homily, Pope Benedict XVI, Rome 1 May 2011

 

During the Mass in which Pope Benedict XVI beatified his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, he gave the following homily. 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Six years ago we gathered in this Square to celebrate the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Our grief at his loss was deep, but even greater was our sense of an immense grace which embraced Rome and the whole world: a grace which was in some way the fruit of my beloved predecessor’s entire life, and especially of his witness in suffering. Even then we perceived the fragrance of his sanctity, and in any number of ways God’s People showed their veneration for him. For this reason, with all due respect for the Church’s canonical norms, I wanted his cause of beatification to move forward with reasonable haste. And now the longed-for day has come; it came quickly because this is what was pleasing to the Lord: John Paul II is blessed!

Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/JohnPaul2/beatification/b16homily.asp#ixzz1L77BmZZH