Skiing with a Saint

You know, I was on the slopes last week in Deep Creek, Maryland and I couldn’t help but think about Pope St. John Paul II and his passion for the outdoors. I felt that he was compelling me to go back up the slope each time that I wanted to be done and go home to my cabin and the warm fire. I was in Deep Creek with some friends of mine and it was just for a few days, but I told myself that I was definitely going to hit the slopes. Now, I am the first to admit that I am not the most athletic person, but when it comes to skiing it is very hard to keep me away. I asked my friends to come with me but they declined so it was just me and the mountain. But as I said, it felt like St. JPII was there with me. I think that I finally got what St. Paul meant when he told us to pray unceasingly. It felt as though St. JPII wanted me to sanctify my time on the mountain for the glory of God. And so that is exactly what I did. I prayed for St. JPII’s intercession and it was such a powerful experience. St. Paul was right, when we spend time to sanctify every part of our day, even the fun ones, we have an incredible disposition towards Grace. This is what I would like to remind you, that there are powerful intercessory saints of God who are more than happy to help us out. It is just our choice whether or not we seek their help. I seriously recommend turning toward St. JPII when you’re outdoors because the dude was an awesome outdoorsmen. Let us also not forget to pray for those Souls in Purgatory as when we do and by the mercy of God they are released, we gain more saints to pray for us. All in all, I just wanted to remind us of the Church Triumphant and how it is so vastly important that we seek their aid in all that we do.

~John Paul