Rise, Let Us Be on Our Way

by Pope John Paul II, Walter Ziemba (Translator)

Overview

An inspirational memoir from the recently canonized Pope Saint John Paul II.

Following the success of the international bestseller Crossing the Threshold of Hope, Pope John Paul II provides the world with a glimpse into his past in Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way. Chronicling the years he spent as a bishop and later archbishop in Krakow, Poland through his election as the first Polish Pope in 1978, he recounts everything from communist efforts to suppress the church in Poland to his efforts to adopt a new and more open style of pastoral ministry. With recollections on his life as well as his thoughts on the issues facing the world now, Pope John Paul II offers words of wisdom in this book that will appeal to people of any faith looking to strengthen their spirituality.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780446510950
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	09/03/2007
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	310 KB

Read an Excerpt

Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way

---

By John Paul II

Warner Books

Copyright © 2004 Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Citta del Vaticano
All right reserved.
ISBN: 0-446-57781-2

---

Chapter One

The Source of My Vocation

I set off in search of the source of my vocation. It is beating there ... in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. I thank God that during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 I was able to pray-precisely there-in the Upper Room (Mark 14:15), where the Last Supper took place. I transport myself in thought to that memorable Thursday, when Christ, having loved his own to the end (cf. John 13:1), instituted the Apostles as priests of the New Covenant. I see Him bending down before each of us, successors of the Apostles, to wash our feet. I hear Him, as if He were speaking to me-to us-these words: "Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me 'Teacher' and 'Master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought also to wash one another's feet. I have given you an example to follow, so that as I have done for you, you also should do" (John 13:12-16).

Together with Peter, Andrew, James, and John ... let us continue to listen: "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love! If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you" (John 15:9-14).

Is not the mysterium caritatis of our vocation contained in these sayings? These words of Christ, spoken at the hour for which he had come (cf. John 12:27), are at the root of every vocation in the Church. From them flows the life-giving sap that nourishes every vocation: those of the Apostles and their successors, but also every other vocation, because the Son wishes to be a friend to everyone: because He gave His life for all. Here we find what is most important, most valuable, and most sacred: the love of the Father and the love of Christ for us, His and our joy, and also our friendship and fidelity, which express themselves in the fulfillment of the commandments. These words also contain the goal and the meaning of our vocation: to "go and bear fruit that will last" (John 15:16).

The bond of love unites all things; substantially it unites the Divine Persons, but on a different level it also unites human beings and their different vocations. We have entrusted our life to Christ, who loved us first and, as the Good Shepherd, offered His life for us. The Apostles heard Christ's words and applied them to themselves as their personal vocation. So too we, their successors, shepherds of Christ's Church, cannot but feel impelled to be the first to respond to this love, faithfully fulfilling the commandments and offering our life every day for the friends of our Lord.

"The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). In the homily I preached in Saint Peter's Square on October 16, 2003, on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of my pontificate, I said: "While Jesus was saying these words, the Apostles did not realize that he was referring to himself. Not even his beloved Apostle John knew it. He understood on Calvary, at the foot of the Cross, when he saw Jesus silently giving up his life for 'his sheep.' When the time came for John and the other Apostles to assume this same mission they then remembered his words. They realized that they would be able to fulfill their mission only because he had assured them that he himself would be working among them."

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will last" (John 15:16). Not you, but I!-says Christ. This is the foundation of the efficacy of a bishop's pastoral mission.

(Continues...)

---

Excerpted from Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way by John Paul II Copyright © 2004 by Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Citta del Vaticano. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Table of Contents

	Introduction	vii
	Vocation	1
	The Source of My Vocation	3
	The Call	7
	Successor of the Apostles	13
	Wawel	19
	The Day of the Ordination: At the Heart of the Church	23
	The Ordaining Bishops	29
	Gestures of the Ordination Liturgy	31
	Sacred Chrism	35
	The Ring and the "Rationale"	39
	"Guard What Has Been Entrusted to You" (1 Tim. 6:20)	41
	The Miter and Crosier	45
	Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady	51
	The Ministry of a Bishop	57
	The Duties of a Bishop	59
	The Shepherd	63
	"I Know My Sheep" (John 10:14)	65
	The Administration of Sacraments	69
	Pastoral Visits	73
	The Battle for a Church	79
	Intellectual and Pastoral Responsibilities	85
	The Faculty of Theology in the Context of Other University Faculties	87
	The Bishop and the World of Culture	89
	Books and Study	93
	Children and Young People	99
	Catechesis	105
	Caritas	109
	The Fatherhood of a Bishop	113
	Cooperation with the Laity	115
	Cooperation with Religious Orders	119
	The Presbyterate	125
	The Bishop's Residence	131
	Fatherhood Modeled on the Example of Saint Joseph	137
	Being with One's People	143
	The Chapel at 3 Franciszkanska Street	145
	Episcopal Collegiality	149
	The Bishop in His Diocese	151
	The Pallium	153
	The Bishop in His Local Church	155
	Collegiality	159
	The Council Fathers	163
	The College of Cardinals	167
	Synods	169
	The Retreat for the Curia During the Pontificate of Paul VI	173
	The Implementation of the Council	177
	The Polish Bishops	181
	God and Courage	187
	Courageous in Faith	189
	The Saints of Krakow	193
	The Martyrs	197
	Saint Stanislaus	201
	The Holy Land	207
	Abraham and Christ: "Here I Am; I Come to Do Your Will" (Heb. 10:7)	211
	Notes	217
	Biblical Citations and Magisterial Documents	219
	Index of Names	225

Editorial Reviews

Here, Pope John Paul II recounts his ordination as bishop in 1958 and service in the episcopacy until being elected pope in 1978. This book could be called a sequel to his reflections on his early years in the priesthood, Gift and Mystery. The new text has a formal, catechism-like quality, with frequent scripture references, pietisms, and explications. However, John Paul's delineation of episcopal responsibilities offers some insight into his particular style as a charismatic leader of the Church. We also see a personal side of John Paul in his descriptions of countering efforts by the Communist regime in Poland to suppress the Church. In his poetic meditation on the Polish St. Stanislaus, John Paul says, "I want to describe my Church in which, for centuries,/ the word and the blood go side by side,/ united by the hidden breath/ of the Spirit." The paradox of simplicity of "faith responsibility and courage" in conjunction with sophisticated leadership is illumined. This book will interest Catholics and Christians committed to fuller ecumenical understanding.-Sheila Peiffer, Acad. of the Holy Names, Albany, NY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal