uninterrupted coffee is sublime: Celebrating the Feast of St. John Paul II

Pope Saint John Paul II is "my pope." He became pope when I was a mere 3 months old and remained pope until I was 27 and pregnant with my 3rd child. He was all I knew for most of my life, and even more importantly, he was pope when I became Catholic at the age of 17. When I studied abroad I attended a papal Mass and was blessed by him. I still have several items from that special day that were blessed by him as well.

What makes him even more near and dear to my heart is his teachings on marriage and family. While in college, I delved into all things Catholic. I was eager to learn anything and everything about our Faith. It was the most profound stuff I had ever read. It made everything about life make sense. And when I stumbled upon the teachings on marriage and family life, it became my passion and the only topic I wanted to read about. Any time I could do a paper on it, I did. From the encyclicals, Familiaris Consortio and Humanae Vitae, to Theology of the Body and Love and Responsibility, my fire was fueled. After graduating with my undergrad in Theology and a minor in Sociology, I was headed to the John Paul II Institute on Marriage and Family Studies in Washington DC to study all the teachings on marriage and family. Then the plan was to go on and get my degree in counseling and become a marriage and family counselor.

Attending the JPII Institute never came to fruition, because even though I was accepted, at the time they didn't offer any financial assistance. Since I couldn't afford to take out more loans and pile up more debt, I had to defer my plan for a while. I continued reading on my own, and got a job as a youth minister and taught teens about the beauty of human sexuality and the beautiful plan for marriage and family as set forth by God and taught through the Church. I had still hoped to attend the graduate school in the future, but God's plans are not my plans, and I got married and started a family. Instead of learning about marriage and family in the classroom led by a prestigious professor, I have been learning about it in the classroom of life. Which has probably been a better teacher anyway.

Of all the books I have read, Love and Responsibility had the deepest and most profound effect on me. St. JPII wrote it before he became pope, when he was still just Karol Wojtyla. Throw in the fact that he is polish as am I (my paternal grandfather was polish) and it is like our spiritual friendship was divinely inspired. So on this feast that holds a special place in my heart, we celebrate by feasting on traditional Polish food that I grew up enjoying: pierogies and kielbasa. We also pray this very special and beautiful prayer for marriage and the family by Pope Saint John Paul II himself.

~Amen~

May God bless your marriage and family life. May we pray through the intercession of St John Paul II for the strengthening of all marriages, for as St. John Paul II himself once said:

If you have never made pirogies and kielbasa, they are oh so easy and delicious.
Here is a link: http://www.food.com/recipe/kielbasa-with-pierogies-caramelized-onions-493886
I don't make the sauce. I just grill up my kielbasa and serve with ground mustard for dipping. But either way it is sure to be delicious!!! Oh, and don't forget the sour cream for the pierogies!

I will leave you with this beautiful exchange between JPII and a dear mother friend of his. It shows just how much love, respect, and understanding he had for us in our vocation. Enjoy. http://catholicmom.com/2015/10/07/a-pope-nails-parenthood-the-kingdom-of-irrationality
And a link to a printable of one of my favorite quotes on JPII about the family from the blog, Catholic All Year:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzINSs2IJfApemVSZFdVamkzN3c/view

Happy Feasting

Pope St. John Paul II, Pray for Us!!!

Here is our family's feast in pictures: