Karol Wojtyla’s devotion to Mary was first planted in his family home. His mother’s and father’s influence was briefly touched on in our last post. In this new post, we want to consider the second seedbed of Marian devotion: his local parish and the surrounding Catholic community.
John Paul II was born and raised in Wadowice, Poland. Although it is a small town, it had a big impact on his Marian devotion. There were two places in particular where Wojtyla learned to love Mary: the parish church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Carmelite Monastery of St. Joseph.
His Local Parish
Wadowice’s parish church sits in the heart of John Paul II’s hometown. It would have been in this small, but deeply Marian church, that John Paul II would have come to know Mary’s face, Mary’s intercession, and Mary’s guidance. He wrote in Gift and Mystery,
I remember, in the parish church, a side chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. In the mornings, the secondary school students would make a visit to it before classes began. After classes, in the afternoon, many students would go there to pray to the Blessed Virgin.
Although the Holy Father talks in general about the secondary students of his day, we can assume he was one of them, for even as a young boy in his own home, the Holy Father was known to take time away from his studies to pray. On a little kneeler in his home apartment—which is now an excellent museum—one can find the testimony of Antoni Bohdanowicz which states,
[Lolek and I] always did our homework together at his house…When we repeated a subject, Lolek went to another room and came back after a while. Once the door was not closed and I noticed that Lolek was praying on a kneeler…”
In addition to this devotion between times of prayer, the Holy Father also recounts,
As a child, for example, I would listen to the singing of the “Hours of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” in the parish church…so too Polish Christmas carols and the Lenten Lamentations on the Passion of Jesus Christ, which highlight the soul’s dialogue with the Sorrowful Mother.
These spiritual experiences were fundamental in shaping that journey of prayer and contemplation which gradually brought me to the priesthood, and which would later continue to guide me in all the events of my life.
A Local Religious Community
But the parish church of Wadowice wasn’t the only place where Lolek was initiated into his love for Mary. He wrote that it was “both in the parish church and in the Carmelite monastery church,” where his “devotion to Mary took shape.”
The Carmelite Monastery of St. Joseph sits atop a hill and is only a 10 minute walk away from Wojtyla’s family home. Speaking about the particular Marian influence of the Carmelites in Wadowice, he writes,
People from Wadowice would go there in great numbers, and this was reflected in the widespread use of the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. I too received the scapular, I think at the age of ten, and I still wear it.
What we learn from St. John Paul II
First, we should learn from his awareness. Many people today live unaware of God’s gifts. St. John Paul II was different. He preserved a living memory not only of God’s gifts, but also of the instruments God used to share these gifts with him. In regard to the gift of Marian devotion, he recognized that his local parish and local Catholic community played an important role.
In preserving this living memory, the Holy Father lived as Mary did: grateful. One of Mary’s greatest virtues was her gratitude. Her gratitude was born of God’s love and of the living memory of His manifold gifts, most importantly the gift of His Only Begotten Son. Mary’s gratitude, in fact, is one of the most frequent things recorded about her in the Gospels. Particularly noteworthy is the continuous thread of thanksgiving sown throughout her magnificat of praise to God. In fact, her entire Magnificat could be called not only a canticle of praise, but a canticle of thanksgiving.
Following in St. John Paul II’s footsteps we should also strive to imitate Mary’s gratitude. We should especially strive to foster a living memory not only of the graces we have received from God, but also of the people He has used to share them with us. Here we can think about our family, the parishes we have belonged to, the priests and religious who have served us, the catechists who formed us, the fellow parishioners who inspired us, etc. But we should not only think about them, but thank God for them, and to especially thank God for the influence they have had in helping us know and love Mary.
Second, we should learn from the Holy Father’s involvement. It’s one thing to have a good parish and faithful religious around us where the love of Mary is expressed and fostered, as did Karol Wojtyla. But actually drawing fruit from these sources of grace demands our involvement.
There are three ways in which we can be involved and reap the fruits of Marian devotion in our local Catholic community. First, by our presence and participation, remembering that it is by our witness that we become the greatest teachers and promoters of Marian devotion. Second, by our willingness to take a more active role in spreading Marian devotion through opportunities to teach, to recruit, and to organize preparations for consecrations to Mary. Third, by our constant prayers, entrusting to Mary our parish, our priests, and our fellow parishioners.
These are just a few ways that St. John Paul II helps us marianize our lives. Be on the lookout for our next post, wherein we will highlight the third early influence that helped give birth to St. John Paul II’s Marian devotion. God-willing it will also be a help to us.
But until then…
Seize the day and make it all Hers!
