The pressure to die, and why we want to institutionalise it…

I’ve read a few articles the past couple weeks about the death of Brittany Maynard, who took her own life in order to escape her suffering. She had terminal brain cancer.

Let me start off by saying I pray God has mercy on her through the merits of His son, who loved Brittany so much he died for her. I pray we meet one day in the land of no pain and no goodbyes.

Some of these articles have been great, some have missed the point, and others have been so far off they have condoned her ‘taking control of her own life.’ How does one take control of something that they completely give up on?

Taking control of your life is about MASTERING, not escaping suffering. Far be it from whiney-old-me to judge how much pain she’s in (I get a headache and demand all but morphine cos I’m ‘dying’), but I don’t see what is glorious about condoning one euthanising themselves and escaping an opportunity to show the world just *how precious* life is. I am not judging her, for all I know she was in so much pain that she wasn’t thinking straight. This post isn’t about judging her, it is about condemning the ideology that if one wants to kill themselves, we should allow and even legalise it.

Yes, it’s easier to say these things from where I’m sitting, an over-cynical, conservative keyboard warrior, but let’s look at euthanasia objectively.

Forget the fact that we are made in the image and likeness of God and our lives are a gift. Forget that suffering is not the worst thing that can happen to us (I won’t mention that I once heard it said that “suffering for God is the only joy Heaven does not have.”) Forget that suffering is salvific, forget – for goodness’ sake, if we must – that Jesus Christ Himself suffered unimaginably, an innocent man, in order to show us how to suffer and to show us that when we struggle, He is there with us. Please, let’s not bring up that out of that suffering, out of the greatest act of Evil ever committed, came our salvation – the greatest good.

Forget all the “God stuff.” It’s great, but I don’t think it is essential to the euthanasia debate. I believe all moral issues can be argued simply using logic. In other words, you don’t have to be a Christian to believe euthanasia is wrong.

We’ve decided to forget the “God stuff” here. If I may, let’s forget the ‘slippery slope’ too. Let’s forget that in countries where euthanasia has been legalised there is a push for children as young as 8 or 12 to decide whether they want to live or die. Seems like a decision a pre-pubescent only-just-reached-the-age-of-reason child can make, right? Let’s not mention that where the euthanasia movement is strong, there has been a greater push for eugenics, where *we* decide what kind of people should live or die or even be conceived in the first place.

Let’s talk about what euthanasia is not: euthanasia is not compassion; it is a way for us to tell people they are a burden. They are no longer ‘powerful,’ as the euthanasia advocates wish to have us believe, they are useless and weak. They are ‘dragging us all down with them.’ Euthanasia is an attack on the vulnerable, plain and simple. Healthy ‘strong’ people are not at risk, only the most needy, fragile and defenceless are. Those that need protection and nurturing will simply be told “if you want, you don’t have to do this anymore.” Then, we are bombarded by statistics about how much money we would save if we didn’t have to look after the disabled or the elderly. What a sad world we live in. Even the Neanderthals had enough humanity in them to care for people and not simply leave them behind when we decide they are too burdensome.

A poll taken in the Netherlands in 2010 found that almost all of those living in nursing homes opposed euthanasia. Is this a shock? It shouldn’t be. They have a lot to fear. What’s to stop a frustrated relative or nurse convincing somebody they consider so burdensome they have the audacity to *live* they are no longer needed? What is to stop one of these victims submitting in what is nothing but a moment of weakness? Further, in countries where it has been legalised, countless cases of euthanasia occurring without the consent or request of patients should be enough evidence that this is a force for evil.

Why should somebody be forced to justify their own existence, especially at the most vulnerable time of their life? Rather than looking after one another, we are feigning compassion by telling people their life is no longer worth living.

C. Everett Koop, former surgeon general of the United States, brings up another point of note:  “It is very easy to slip into moral deception in a discussion of euthanasia… Euthanasia opens up the opportunities at this early stage of the game for almost inconceivable fraud, deception, and deceit. Think of the burdensome elderly people, economically burdensome, whose rapid demise could be looked upon as an economic blessing for their family. Think of the temptation to hasten a legacy. Think of how easy, when there are ulterior motives, to emphasize the surcease from suffering and anxiety that comes with painless death.”

People speak of a ‘right to die,’ but what about the ‘right not to be pressured to die?’ What about the right not to have it suggested to you that we would all be better off, that life would be easier without you? The "right to die" becomes an expectation to die, then a duty to die, then euthanasia - outright murder. Legalising euthanasia results in institutionalising the idea that a person’s existence has pros and cons. The will to live is human; it is a sign of that divine spark in all of us that makes us fight for good, for progress. To annihilate that would be catastrophic in more ways than we can imagine.

Who knows though? Maybe Brittany’s decision will spark a debate. Maybe the good that’ll come out of this evil is that people will talk about the issue enough to realise that life is always worth living.

I had to refrain from mentioning that to know 

of your impending death is a gift. 

One can only pray for the opportunity to die in a state of grace.

Parents: the reason we will always be inadequate...

Relax y’all. I love my parents.

In fact, they’re objectively brilliant. I just wish they weren’t so, well – cray. Actually, I lie. I’d probably be more bored than I care to admit if I had a normal family.

See, I thought my parents were the only ones who through their love, make their children feel completely inadequate. Apparently not.

There’s my Egyptian friend from uni. Let’s call her Delilah (Oum Kalthoum is taken). Delilah was studying education. She is now a maths teacher. Her dad felt the need to tell his entire family in Egypt that she was studying to be a ‘Professeur Matematick’ (half French, half hilarious for ‘Mathematics Professor’). He told them she would teach at universities. When she tried to correct him, he grounded her for the night for trying to make her dad look silly.

Delilah has a friend with fake name Talulah. Talulah is pretty and smart (well, pretty smart - forget the 'and' - that was me trying to be nice...). Talulah would come home after an exam ecstatic, and when her parents finally realised their daughter wasn't as morose as usual, they would ask the reason. The conversation would go something like this:

Parents: Talulah, chou beke - laysh mabsouta hayk? 2eraftina (Talulah, what's wrong with you - why are you so happy? You disgust us.)
Talulah: Sorry, I can't stop smiling. You know that Quantum Physics exam I was told to do because I'm the smartest girl in the world? I got 95%.
Dad: Eh? Wayn el 5% el be2yin? Keltiyoun? Men hayk nes7ane? (Yes? Where is the other 5%? Did you eat them? Is that why you're so fat?)

Then there’s Sarah. Well, not Sarah but an equally fun anagram of Sarah. Never mind. Point is, she worked in the family business whilst studying a Masters of Nursing. When a customer asked her what she was studying, her father scolded her for being a liar (in Arabic so the kindly old lady didn’t understand), then came out of his office and told the customer that his daughter was being humble and was ACTUALLY studying medicine. Sarah, being Sarah (or not Sarah – you get the point), smiled and nodded whilst turning the most peculiar shade of purple. Since then, she hasn’t dared tell people of her dishonourable occupation lest she bring ignominy to her family.

My friend Naomi (not even going to bother pointing out her real name isn’t Naomi) has two older brothers, both engineers. It will come as no surprise to those who understand life that people often have no idea she exists. When her dad introduces her (once she’s come out of her dungeon he must in order to avoid suspicion), he tells people that she WAS going to be a world-renowned Arabic/English translator but now teaches Kindergarten. Subtle – don’t sound *too* proud of her, 3amou.

Allow me to re-hash some childhood (and teenage, and adult) trauma here.

I will never forget the anxiety I experienced when receiving my school report. I distinctly remember my dad sitting my siblings and I down and iterating to us just how badly we would fail our HSC if we didn’t work harder. Never has a nine year old been more ready to embrace a lifetime of failure.

My complete and utter catastrophe of an existence was later confirmed when my dad told people I was studying to be a barrister for two years of my degree. Why? Because he had genuinely convinced himself of this false reality. I will give myself some credit when I mention I was smarter than Delilah. I never dared correct him. One day I worked up the courage to clarify that I was actually studying Economics. After the initial (45 minute) denial and confusion, this exchange descended into my dad lecturing me about how only through studying law could I one day have smart children. Now, I may not be an expert in genetics, but something seems odd to me… then again, what would I know?

Another thing I was supposed to inherit from my loving parents was my mother’s fake medical knowledge. I was recently reprimanded for a choice of kettle that mummy told me I should have known would cause heinous illnesses in all who venture to make a cup of tea. Why? It was plastic. I was promptly sent back to the shops to return the ailment-causing kettle and purchase a device that would not kill my friends slowly. In the same way I flee from the horror of burnt toast and make sure never to drink hot beverages with cold food, I did not dare defy her.

Let’s be serious though, underneath their not-so-subtle condemnation of anything we do, there is that incomparable love that means they cannot see their children do anything that isn’t spectacular. I’ll never forget my mum hunting down the altar servers when I was a kid in order for her to show me off by asking them to give me a reading in mass. I’ll never forget my dad teaching me at 4½ years old to march over to the ‘7amir’ (moron) and ‘demand’ (“demand habibi, demand, because people like you only ask nicely once”) my change when I came back crying saying the man at the service station had short-changed me 50c. These are moments that inspired me to hold my head up high and know that no matter what, I have the kind of support behind me that others wouldn’t dare dream about.  

Of all the criticisms I receive, I have a favourite. I know I’m not alone in that whenever we do something wrong or embarrassing, one of my parents is quick to attribute this quality to the other parent:
“Fi matel b 2oul, li khalaf ma met” (there is an expression – he who has children never dies) – well, I hope so. I don’t think I could ever be THAT kind of amazeballs.

They're smiling now... but don't be fooled. I'm sure this came
after a 'tough love' lesson of some kind!

Not your typical romantic...

I am by no means an overly-romantic kind of person. Most of my friends can vouch for this. I do, however, believe we are all worthy of the kind of love that gives us purpose.

Now, before people start biting my head off saying “we shouldn’t wait for somebody to give us purpose,” let me say I agree with you. I am not saying we as females should sit at home crocheting beanies and refining our culinary skills until Prince Holy-and-Charming arrives at our doorstep (even if the way to a man’s heart is generally through his stomach).

What I am saying is that often we put up obstacles for ourselves while searching for love. We convince ourselves we are unworthy, that we are somehow “not good enough.” We allow our insecurities to dictate our lives and our interactions with others. We let our baggage stop us dead in our tracks instead of letting it go and walking ahead.

The problem is that we only know what we are worthy of when we know ourselves – really know ourselves. God know us completely, and we need to view ourselves through His eyes. We would not settle if we valued ourselves the way Our Father in Heaven values us. How do we know God and thus know ourselves? Spend time in prayer, receive the Sacraments and study your faith. Where our heart is, there our treasure is also.

Often I get the feeling that the world’s idea of love was inspired by Greek mythology, even if most do not know it. It is said that humans originally consisted of four arms, four legs, and a single head made of two faces, but Zeus feared their power and split them all in half, condemning them to spend their lives searching for the other half to complete them – soul mates.

Seems romantic, but what a burden to impose on another person! Our identity is in Christ – not in another person. I don’t buy into the idea that God created us for freedom, that He loves us so much that He gives us free will, only to have us all pre-programmed with some matching partner in the universe that we need to find to be complete. He was crucified and has risen from the dead in order that “we may have life and have it abundantly,” not for us to “have life and have it abundantly as long as a member of the opposite sex validates us.”

Nobody expects you to be perfect. Those that do don’t deserve you. Further, it is when we search for perfection in others that our own imperfections are illuminated further. Our partner should complement us, not complete us.  In order for this to happen, we need to accept that we are flawed, and that our partner will be too (unless your spouse is Christ, lucky duck!).

“Let someone love you just the way you are – as flawed as you might be, as unattractive as you sometimes feel, and as unaccomplished as you think you are. To believe that you must hide all the parts of you that are broken, out of fear that someone else is incapable of loving what is less than perfect, is to believe that sunlight is incapable of entering a broken window and illuminating a dark room.”
Mark Hack

See, I don’t think romantic love is about seeing the other as perfect despite their imperfections. It is about sacrificing for them despite their many flaws. It is not about erasing or nullifying somebody’s past heart-breaks and disappointments, but allowing the other to see the good that God intended by allowing hardships in their life. As Christians, suffering takes on a whole new salvific meaning.

Love is definitely not about hiding away from the parts of us we don’t necessarily parade for all to see. We all have parts of us that aren’t all that pretty, but the best kinds of relationships are between two people who embrace each other’s brokenness and show one another how much goodness each and every one of us can bring, and how much difference we can all make to humanity – just the way our Creator intended it. Trying to change someone to suit yourself only showcases your own narcissism in wanting to see your own reflection in your 'beloved.'

The most human thing in the world is wanting somebody you love to pour their love into the cracks that made you who you are. That is how love gives us purpose – making somebody a better version of themselves, because without our imperfections we aren’t really us.

The *Real* Feminine Mystique...

When I was younger, my mum told me something I thought was ridiculous – or maybe it was simply something I didn’t want to hear. She told me that everything wrong with the world; specifically everything wrong with relationships comes down to women.

According to her, women ruined everything.

At the time I thought she was insane, but as time goes on I understand more and more what she meant and why ‘mother knows all’ (even if she does exaggerate just a tad…).

See, women didn’t ruin everything because of some chauvinistic idea that women are worthless idiots. Nor did they ruin everything because of some ridiculous fundamentalist ‘the-human-body-is-dirty’ idea that women are temptresses whose sensuality has men not being able to act, well – like men.

No, women ruined everything because they forgot who they are. They have forgotten their value and have therefore reduced themselves to objects. Treat yourself as an object –and eventually people will objectify you. They will treat you as a thing to be used. It never fails to shock me when I read commentaries or articles about people lamenting the sexualisation of girls only to praise the ‘freedom’ the sexual revolution gave men and women everywhere in the very next breath.

The sexual revolution did not free mankind, it turned us into slaves: slaves to the false gods of sex, materialism and pleasure.

I am not putting this on women. I am simply stating that as the self-proclaimed ‘fairer sex,’ we can be better, forcing men to follow suit.

Conventional (modern!) feminism (furthermore to be known as ‘feminazism’) tells women that only by being sexually liberated can they truly be free.

I am not a conventional modern day feminist. I believe in intelligent, ambitious women. I believe in education, equal work for equal pay, high heels and make-up. I also believe in class, modesty (the body needn’t be paraded in order to be validated) and chastity (humans are more than simply instinct-driven creatures). Above all, I believe there is no greater gift to mankind than motherhood. There is no job even half as important.

Any woman who considers choosing to stay with your children a form of slavery spits in the face of countless generations of strong intelligent women before them who did just that. This was not necessarily because they were forced, but because they understood what feminazis tried to make us forget: nobody can raise a child better than a mother.

I believe in the power of femininity so much that I believe women (mothers especially!) shape society. Archbishop Fulton Sheen puts it better than I (most people do…):

To a great extent the level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood. When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women.

“The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women.” Wow.

See, women often complain about the lack of chivalry exhibited by men, but do nothing to entice a man to be chivalrous. Women complain that gone are the ‘real men,’ yet they often settle for the first testosterone-driven crooner who can act as genuinely interested in you as the last ‘flavour of the month.’ In short, women complain that men are pigs who use women, yet they not only allow themselves to be used, but often chase men whose ‘affections’ they know will be short-lived – or worse yet, use men in the same way.

I do not have a doubt in my mind that should women step up, men will be forced to follow suit. Countless heroes have found their principal inspiration and motivation in the love of a woman; and yet femininity is under threat. Women are becoming more crude and masculine; while men are trending toward femininity. I can only consider this a form of barbarity.

Being a woman is not about exhibiting a hatred of men or spending your life throwing pebbles at a glass ceiling – being a woman is about virtue, because only if women recognise their true worth will they be treated accordingly, and only then can society reach the fullness of truth, goodness and beauty.

Winged eyeliner, lipstick and pearls: always perfect with a good book.
Those gloves may make it hard to turn the pages, though.

Warts & All...

Coming off the feast of Pentecost this Sunday, commonly known as the ‘birthday of the Church, I was somewhat inspired to blog because - 

I’m in love… warts and all.

A friend of mine once told me there are two places one will always feel at home, no matter where they are in the world: McDonalds and a Catholic Church.

Whilst I’d like to profess my love for the fast food giant that provides me my favourite snack (cheeseburgers make me so so so happy), I can almost hear my waistline, arteries and doctor jointly scolding me.

The Catholic Church is home. She is also imperfect.

The Church we love is as flawed and messed up as we are, and the fact that She is Christ’s bride despite this gives me comfort.

Why? Because the Church MUST be flawed.

The Lord Himself told us that the sheep and the goats would be mingled together – just like the wheat and the weeds. Take a close look at his disciples. They were traitors, cowards, doubters, even men who were once notorious for the persecution of Christians! Would the Lord permit these men to be His apostles if He wasn’t teaching us something?

Jesus Christ was trying to show us that He came to call all sinners to repentance. We need Him because we are frail, and as such, the Church must be a place where the frail gather to be nourished by the good news and repentance of Our Lord. Only through the nourishment of His body, blood, soul and divinity can we live forever, and Christ gave this to his Church at the Last Supper – the Church He Himself ordained through the first Pope, St. Peter. In other words: the Eucharist is food for the weak, not a reward for the perfect.

Abigail Van Buren – otherwise known as ‘Dear Abby’ – famous for her one liners (she once told a woman the only cure for a married man that can't stay away from other women was ‘rigor mortis’) clarified that 'the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.'

She definitely hit the nail on the head with that latter statement. See, if one is not sick, there is no need to visit the spiritual doctor. No faithful Catholic would ever pretend they are not vulnerable. The Church is full of sinners and hypocrites – we all feel right at home there, and welcome others (that’s YOU!) to feel the same. *There is always room for one more hypocrite.*

People are full of criticism for an institution founded by Christ Himself, but fail to see the flaws in their own finite logic.

They tell you the Church is over-programmed, but they think of endless complex resource hungry things for Her to do. They hate the Church’s hierarchical nature, but then complain leadership is poor and in the very next breath complain that ‘nobody should try and tell them what to do.’ People complain the Church is ‘not diverse enough,’ yet the Church is the only institution that combines people of every race and culture seamlessly – and these same people are those whose opinions rarely differ from those they surround themselves with in order to boost their egos. People then have the audacity to claim the Church is too worried about ‘appearances,’ but spend insane amounts of time reminding the Church of all the bigoted opinions against her. They call out people and condemn them for judging “the spiritual path of other believers who are dedicated to pleasing God and blessing people,” and then they blast the traditional church in the most disgusting of ways.

People want the Church to solve social problems, but should the Church get involved in social justice initiatives, it is criticised for being ‘too political,’ and ‘imposing a belief system where it does not belong.’ The Church is too rich they say – but take a vow of poverty and you’re mental. I don’t know, but maybe the world would rather She destroy the priceless art and buildings that are entrusted to Her care? Or would they rather the Church put an end to all Her charity work? Perhaps those people who consider themselves so enlightened would care to remember the Church *started* universities and has contributed in the most unparalleled of ways to universal education… maybe they have forgotten the contribution She has made to Science and the Arts?

No, they haven’t forgotten, but they choose to remain blissfully unaware of anything that questions their bias and any opinion that could render them ACTUALLY non-conformist. That’s why a great (young!) priest told his parishioners that we ‘need to stand up for the Catholic genius, with intellectual vigour and moral courage – clothed in holiness.’

See, the Church when looked at as a ‘cure-all’ solution is always going to fail, but no other institution has this burden thrust upon them.

Maybe if the same people mocking and sighing put as much time and effort into actually learning what the Church teaches as they do whinging, they’d learn that despite all the sins of Her past, despite the abominable sins of the minority of clergy as of late, and despite all Her warts, the Church is a divine institution. She teaches truth, and despite all Her persecution, this teaching has been constant, as promised by the only Son of God.

Let’s not forget that you and I are the Church – we are the members of the mystical body of Christ. Let’s fix what we see in the mirror, because only Saints can fulfil the vision for the world that so many have.  We can hardly critique the Bride of Christ if we ourselves aren’t perfect, huh?

... a skateboarding friar. Your argument

is invalid.

True Love is Intolerant

People often look at Christians and think “why the intolerance? Don’t you Catholics claim to be all about ‘love’ and ‘charity’? You’re all a bunch of hypocrites.”

To those people, I have this to say: yes, I am intolerant. Yes, I am also a hypocrite. What I am not, though, is uncharitable.

Fact is, if somebody you held dear to you said: “I tolerate you,” you’d probably be taken aback and insulted, wondering what warranted them to feign affection while actually telling you they feel the same about you as that ghastly mole they haven’t yet removed or the annoying barking Chihuahua next door. If this is the case, why do we allow ourselves to be convinced tolerance is a virtue?

True love is intolerant. It is intolerant of all enemies towards love. In the same way that a loving father is intolerant of any evil that affects his child, love does not give up in the face of enemies but fights with all its strength.

The Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen tells us the following:

"Christian love bears evil, but it does not tolerate it. It does penance for the sins of others, but it is not broadminded about sin.

Why is this? Because…

Real love involves real hatred: whoever has lost the power of moral indignation and the urge to drive the buyers and sellers from the temples has also lost a living, fervent love of Truth.

Charity, then, is not a mild philosophy of "live and let live"; it is not a species of sloppy sentiment.  Charity is the infusion of the Spirit of God, which makes us love the beautiful and hate the morally ugly."

Fact is, Jesus was not a ‘nice’ person. He was all-loving, He was the ultimate teacher and the ultimate servant king, but He wasn’t ‘nice.’ Jesus loves you – but He’s also willing to tie a millstone around your neck. That’s why I love Him.

I love Him because He is the truth, and as the truth, He is unchanging AND He is intolerant – we need only look at His reaction to those who turned His temple into “a place for thieves” as evidence of this.

Tolerance is not for the loving, it is for the lazy and self-serving. Tolerance is not the ‘virtue’ of those willing to sacrifice. It has no interest in the well-being of others, only in avoiding sacrifice in order to remain comfortable. Our Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI reminds us: “the ways of the Lord are not comfortable, but we were not created for comfort, but for greatness.”

Greatness. That means being willing to be nailed to a Cross for one’s friends, and especially for one’s enemies, because Love Himself was nailed to a Cross. Tolerance would simply smile and nod and grit its teeth but ultimately do nothing to reconcile man to God. On the other hand – Love died for us. Greatness means calling out falsehood and sin and facing possible persecution, tolerance simply means watching truth be abused and mocked. Even if the tolerant do not participating in evil, allowing evil for the sake of convenience and a false sense of security with the status quo is simply a way of allowing evil to triumph.

Real love bears all things, but it does not allow all things. It believes all things, but it does not remain inside itself. It hopes for all things, but does not wait in the corner. Real love endures all things and steps beyond itself through sacrifice.

Tolerance is cowardice. It is a pathetic and cheap substitute for real love. It washes its hands clean of the death of the innocent and the slaughtering of truth in order to “keep the peace.” Love is brave and unwilling to compromise. Love is synonymous with taking up the Cross and following Him, even to Calvary. Mother Teresa, acknowledged by even secular society as one of the 21st century’s most famous pacifists warns us: "Love to be real, it must cost—it must hurt—it must empty us of self."

Jesus did not simply tolerate us. He loved us and suffered for us, He gave Himself in order than we may be saved, and He loves us despite our sin and brokenness. That is love, that is greatness – and there is no talk of tolerance in that. This greatness came at a cost, and comfort was definitely not part of the deal when He who rules the Heavens and the Earth was nailed to a cross after being tortured and abused, and even after giving all He could give, made Himself captive in all the tabernacles of the world, neglected and abandoned, for love.

Still happy with being ‘tolerated?’

“Interfice errorem, diligere errantem” – “Kill the sin, love the sinner”
― St. Augustine

JPII – Catholic Superhero, Rockstar and Saint

WHAT. A. MAN.

Batman – take a seat. Watch a real hero in action.

His family were killed. His Gotham was the entire world – corrupted by evil. He studied and trained as a priest in secret whilst working as a miner. He fought hatred with love. He even had a cool butler [insert Catholic-nerdgirl Ganswein swoon here]…

… then in 1978 he went into a secret cave (read: the Sistine Chapel), came out with a cool outfit (yes, he had a cape) and changed the world completely. He even had a Batmobile (the Popemobile counts, OK? – It was bulletproof!).

The youth used to flock — literally by the millions — to see him. They chanted "John Paul II, we love you!" He chanted back "John Paul II, he loves you."

… and we all believed him.

THAT is *rockstar status*. 8 years after his death, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Catholic who doesn’t cite him as one of their biggest influences. Awesome. I don’t think I’ve met a single priest or religious under 40 who hasn’t told me he changed them because he challenged and inspired the world.

But why do we love him so much? JPII showed us what love really is: it’s fun. It’s personal. It’s soft and tender and playful but it is challenging and demanding and takes more than mere words – it asks us to step up and be who we are called to be. JPII taught us that.  He also taught us that above all – love is our vocation.

He was fun *cue YouTube videos of him with babies*, but he was a fighter – suffering until the Lord called him to the place meant for him from all eternity. He was intolerant of sin, but never allowed us to forget the redeeming power of Christ. He was young at heart even in his old age, but possessed a wisdom that only comes with true holiness.

He was a living Saint.

My generation are hungry. We are hungry for knowledge, hungry for honesty and hungry for love in a world that has forgotten that we are all brothers and sisters. It is a mistake to believe that young people want sex, drugs and rock and roll. JPII taught us that the “rules” free us. When seen in the right context, those “rules” take on a whole new meaning and purpose. They make us live life to the full and to pass on that knowledge and love to others to make a better world.

This is a man who refused to allow evil to destroy his belief in the inherent goodness of man. This is a man who taught a broken people that “no difficulty, no fear is so great that it can completely suffocate the hope that springs eternal in the hearts of the young.”

JPII believed in people. He truly believed that people needed Christ, needed His Church, and he stopped at nothing to make the world see that. He believed in the power of hope so much that he asked us to “stake our lives on it,” because “we are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son.”

JPII truly believed that love conquered all – and we need only look at the way he forgave his could-be assassin, in one of his most publicised and famous moments – to see how love manifests itself into actions that change the world.

We loved him because he didn’t merely TELL us how to be, he showed us how he was able to truly "respond to an abyss of evil with an abyss of love."

JPII, we love you… pray for us.

P.S. I kinda sorta forgot to mention that when (if! God willing...),
I enter into eternal glory, I expect him to be standing there with a cup of coffee.
We have a deal - dessert is on me.