We were all privileged to live through the pontificate of Pope St. John Paul II, a man who stood up to the evils of Communism. He walked behind the Iron Curtain, spoke truth, and as Jesus did, pass through their midst. He called out the evils of a system that crushed the dignity of the human person, and utterly destroyed it.

That experience of the power of truth in the modern world, and seeing the change that moral authority of the Church can affect, left an impression on all of us.

In these days when the Pontiff abdicates his pastoral responsibility for the care of the Church and people of China, or in quips to the media seeks to upend the brilliance of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, it’s easy to become discouraged.

Don’t let the flame go out.

Pope St. John Paul II, pray for us.