Drafted To Serve Pope John Paul II: A Saint Making Miracles Happen Part 1 The Pope Is Coming!

By JD

An exciting and heartwarming, true story, of one man’s adventures in response to the news that the Pope was coming to visit his home town in 1993. Written in a narrative style, the reader is transported back in time with a ringside seat to the adventures and events leading up to his eventual participation in the festivities during the Pope’s visit to hold World Youth Day VIII in Denver, Colorado, USA in 1993. It reveals, for the first time, events in detail, kept secret for 20 years, so extraordinary that they can only be called miraculous.

Believe in Miracles – Ask for them - And they’ll Happen!

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jun 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9780990341604

Book preview

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INTRODUCTION

Believe in miracles they really happen

God intervenes and works within us each day to guide us and fulfill His ultimate plan. Unseen through our eyes, God remains ever-present. The experiences and events shared in this book offer a first-hand account of how close God really is and how he can manifest His presence in our daily lives.

While on this earth, Pope John Paul II taught, by example and through prayer, that with God all things are possible. While in Colorado in 1993, it was reported, that each evening he adjourned to a garden to pray*. Looking back, I believe he prayed to God for help in caring for his flock. Finally, I have come to accept the possibility that my partner and I became part of God’s answer to the Pope’s prayers.

I also believe my thoughts and prayers to Pope John Paul II and to God, for help and guidance as we answered the call to assist, were answered in a most astonishing way. The only term to adequately describe what took place is the word miracle. But, I’ll tell you what happened and let you decide for yourself.

Pope John Paul II

This Pope was a man of strength and vision. He cared for his flock, and strengthened the bonds between the church and its young people throughout the world. He initiated World Youth Day, which is now in its 28th year.

In 1984 at the close of the Holy Year of Redemption, over 300,000 young people from around the world responded to the Pope’s invitation for an International Jubilee of Youth on Palm Sunday in St. Peter’s Square. That Sunday, he looked out to the crowds that had arrived and said, What a fantastic spectacle is presented on this stage by your gathering here today! Who claimed today’s youth has lost their sense of values? Is it really true they cannot be counted on?

The First World Youth Day

The following year, Our Holy Father welcomed thousands of young people to join him again. Later, on December 20, 1985, he announced the institution of World Youth Day (WYD). The first official WYD was held in 1986. During subsequent years, World Youth Day traveled from country to country and continues to this day.

I was fortunate to be part of World Youth Day VIII in August of 1993, when the event was held in Denver. The Pope’s theme for this particular event was taken from the Gospel of John 10:10.

"I came that they might have life, and have it to the full."

Little did I realize the impact of those words, until I lived through the extraordinary events that took place in 1993, and which I continue to appreciate.

The Story

I was jobless and with a family to care for when Denver was announced as the destination for World Youth Day. My entrepreneurial nature recognized opportunity knocking - to take advantage of what would be a massive public event. And with it my journey began. And 18 months later it ends as the Pope’s jet departs Denver. Or so I thought, as I find myself laying word after word onto the screen to share the story with you and the rest of the world.

Part I is an adventure story in and of itself. Beginning with the back story it provides you with an understanding of the characters involved by exposing the events and their activities leading up to the Pope’s arrival. Taking what had been submitted to the Vatican, I expanded the factual narration (film at 11 summary approach) into a descriptive story, including many of the individuals participating and the who, what, where, and how everything came about, without embellishment, and with a good dose of language sanitizer. Most of the names of the characters involved and still living have been changed.

Part II provides you with a ringside seat to the astounding events that take place, when the Call (from God) comes. For us to help take care of the Pope’s flock of 20,000 kids marching to meet their beloved Pope. Illustrating the beauty, the love, and mystery of how God intervenes and works with and among us each day to fulfill His ultimate plan. The story portrays what I believe is an incredible relationship between God and his humble servant, Pope John Paul II. Written originally as a factual description of events, and submitted to the Vatican in support of the efforts to canonize Pope John Paul II, I suddenly realized during the process, (and maybe touched by the hand of God Himself) the time had come to expand and share this story with the world.

My intent is to tell you my story, about my journey, and about how my involvement in Pope John Paul II’s WYD-8 impacted my life, and the lives of those participating around me.

Some may see certain events in this story as miracles; others will not. You decide. And possibly you will find the answer that still eludes my partner and me. Of all the people on the planet, what, in all the heavens, prompted the Good Lord to draft two crazy characters, like us, into the service of Pope John Paul II?

Believe in Miracles – Ask for them - And they’ll Happen!

*As Pictured on the Cover

PREFACE

Drafted To Serve: Pope John Paul II - A Saint - Making Miracles Happen is a true story. Chronicling the actual actions and experiences of my partner and I as they took place in 1992 and 1993. It is about the Spirit of God, and His relationship with Pope John Paul II, and His love for that individual, as God journeyed with him on his travels to spread the word of God’s love of all.

At the time, my partner, TP, and I made a pact and agreed to tell no one our incredible story. Given what we experienced, we decided to keep silent. The events were unexplainable to the logical mind. And, if we shared them, we might be considered out of our minds, or intent on exploiting the Pope and the Church. The possible negative fallout could affect not only us personally. It could damage our families and create a whirlwind of negative publicity that could tarnish them and our standing in the community for years. Sharing this story was risky business. TP knew it and I knew it. So, we made the pact to tell no one but the Church of our experiences.

During 2011 and early 2012, several news stories reported that the Vatican was having difficulty finding sufficient miracles attributable to Pope John Paul II to meet the requirements to bestow sainthood. In time, I became motivated to help the Church by providing a written account of the miracles I had witnessed, and attribute to Pope John Paul II’s intercession, in answer to my prayers. The resulting document, an earlier draft of Part 2 of this story, was sent to the Vatican in February 2013. In May 2013, in an effort to expand and more completely clarify the unique nature of the events, and the characters involved, a second and expanded Part 2 document was sent to the Vatican, which included a draft of the first three chapters of Part 1 along with my sworn affidavit to the truth of the content.

About six weeks later on June 30, 2013 Pope Francis announced that Pope John Paul II would be canonized officially on April 27, 2014. Coincidence? After the announcement, I felt compelled to complete the story in Part 1 and share the entire story with the world.

When I look back on the events of 1993, I have to ask myself, how in the world did I end up involved? I believe the Good Lord knew if He had burned an engraved invitation on a stone tablet, and FedEx’d it to me, requesting me to spend just one day helping John Paul reach out and connect with his flock, I would have, as graciously as possible, declined due to my busy schedule.

Instead of an engraved invitation, for over a year God helped me muddle through a series of activities and experiences leading me to exactly where He needed me to be. Ready, willing, and able to assist Pope John Paul II tend to his flock for a day, with no clue, at the time, He was involved or what He had in mind for me.

Join me, as the story unfolds, and the Pope makes miracles happen. I will provide an account of how we created the lemonade stand, how it became the lemonaid stand to help thousands of Pilgrims complete their journey to see their beloved Pope

And, more importantly;

How a prayer to Saint John Paul II,

Might just cause a miracle to happen in your life!

I hope you enjoy this story and share this adventure with others.

May God bless you and yours!

Joseph Daniluk

CHAPTER 1

The Back Story

Fifteen years after World Youth Day 8 (1993) we are called to tell our story…

After months of extreme consternation, trying to formulate a method to integrate into this story two key factors: the 20 year time lapse between the events in the story being told, and the last miracle, which took place years after the Pope left Denver in 1993. I finally asked myself the key question: if Angels were involved, what took place, and how did the last miracle come about?

Finally, late one sunny summer afternoon in 2012, as I contemplated this dilemma, I suddenly found myself observing a meeting taking place in the heavens within the confines of my mind. As I watched the events unfold, I suddenly realized it was the answer I was seeking.

It provided a plausible explanation as to how, with the passage of time, changing circumstances, and what was once a good and solid decision, i.e. to keep this story a secret, the heavens moved to undo the decision. It may have been nothing more than an overactive imagination, but it was so cool I decided to include it as a precursor to the story for the enjoyment of my readers.

I immediately began to write what I saw in my mind.

The Secret Pact Remained Intact!

And Looking Back

I can just Imagine…

How it was Cracked!

"Angels! Gabriel, Jeremiah, wait up! I take it you received the memo? Mind if I tag along with you?" Angel Judith asked.

Gabriel responded, Of course. Come along, my dear, we’ll arrive together.

As the three angels joined St. Peter at the heavenly table and exchanged greetings, St. Peter said, "Thank you for coming.

Recently, John Paul II stopped by the Pearly Gates and mentioned he hadn’t received any word about his canonization which the Good Lord ordered. Since you three were selected to take care of this project, I thought we ought to get together to see where we’re at presently, as well as your current plans to get this project completed. So Angel Judith, why don’t we start with you? Please fill me in."

Judith responded, Well, St. Peter, since John Paul II’s arrival here in 2005, the Church has been making every effort to canonize him. Sadly it’s been unsuccessful, due to the failure to find the required miracles. These, as you know, must be directly attributed to John Paul’s intercession with God on behalf of the individual praying for his intervention. Gabriel has been working on the two miracles reported so far. Gabriel?

Gabriel answered, Thank you, Judith. So far, John Paul has only two miracles reported. The first was the nun cured of Parkinson disease. The other was the Costa Rican woman, cured of an inoperable brain aneurysm, after she claimed she heard a voice telling her to get up, and then she saw a magazine with a photo of John Paul gesturing for her to get up. She did and was cured. The Church still doesn’t know about the miracles that occurred during John Paul’s celebration of World Youth Day 8, which affected and benefitted so many.

Jeremiah interjected, Miracles are just not being reported to the Church these days. You know how it is, St. Peter. So many miracles are credited to luck or good fortune, and nearly all the rest are lost to fear, the fear of ridicule or notoriety when telling others about their miracle.

After a moment, St. Peter responded, OK, let’s focus on the WYD-8 miracles. Why haven’t they been reported? I thought we selected Joe and TP for that project because of their storytelling abilities. Why haven’t they reported the miracles they witnessed?

Jeremiah answered, Those two characters were so overwhelmed by the miracles they witnessed that they swore themselves to secrecy, a secret pact forevermore. They feared their lack of credibility would result in people questioning their motives for reporting the miracles. It seems the miracles remain incredulous in their own minds. When it happened they believed public revelation would result in such disbelief that they would be scorned and ridiculed. So they have remained silent. My concern is that they’ll take the miracles to their graves. Gabriel, tell St. Peter about 1998.

Well, in ’98, Joe had his brother RJ arrange a meeting for him with Denver Archbishop Chaput. During the meeting, despite his best efforts, Joe failed miserably to describe the most significant miracle to the archbishop. Actually watching him stammer and stutter as he tried to tell the story was kinda humorous as he just couldn’t figure out how to compress the story into the allotted time the archbishop gave him. He couldn’t convey the facts, the credibility, or the substance necessary to capture the archbishop’s attention, his imagination, or his interest in examining the bare facts of the events. So the meeting ended up being more of a courtesy to his brother. But the archbishop graciously thanked him for his efforts, and then told him explicitly to submit the story to him in writing, and he would send it to Rome. Joe and TP still haven’t done it. And the archbishop was right. These miracles are going to have to be written first and then reported to Rome.

Anything else to report, my Angels? St. Peter inquired. Silently, shaking their heads negatively, the Angels waited for St. Peter to continue.

After thoughtful consideration, St. Peter said, We need to get this project moving. Have you formulated a plan on how to proceed?

Judith replied, Yes, we have. We’re all in agreement. We think that a…

Don’t even say it. St. Peter interrupted instantly and sternly. You know that hasn’t been done in a very long time. It’s just not used these days. That would require the special approval of the Good Lord Himself. Are you certain that’s the correct course of action, and is it really necessary? Looking intently from one angel to the next awaiting an answer.

Gabriel responded, We truly believe that this is the only way we’re going to get those two characters off the dime and moving forward again.

Shaking his head, St. Peter replied, OK, I’ll take your plan upstairs for approval. Under the circumstances, I don’t have much hope for a positive reply. Let me be clear, I’m only requesting one. Jeremiah, you’ve never done one have you? he asked, looking at Jeremiah who started shaking his head negatively. St. Peter continued, All right, if we get approval to proceed, Jeremiah you handle it. Make it short and sweet. I’ll get back to you later and let you three know the final decision. I thank each of you for the update. Now let’s see if we can get this project completed soon. Meeting adjourned.

…there was so much light

I could see the blood flowing through my hands…

Early one morning, about three years after Pope John Paul II’s death in 2005, the phone on my nightstand rang, and rang. Reaching for it, as I tried desperately to get the machinery in my brain to function, I finally grumbled into the device in my hand, "Who is this and what do you want!? Has someone died?"

The voice of my friend TP vibrated through the receiver exclaiming, JD I gotta see you. Can I come over to your house, right now? I could hear the desperation in his voice. I need to meet with you. Like now!

Squinting at the clock on my night stand, I retorted, TP, it’s just past 4am. Can’t we do this later, like, maybe after the sun comes up, or something?

JD, he said desperately, I need to see you now! Can I come over?

TP lived out in the sticks, at least a good half hour away, enough time to get up, have a cup of coffee, and be fully awake for his arrival. Fine, come on over, I answered.

The shower had brought me back to life. I stood in front of the mirror, combing my still black hair, looking at the reflection thinking I was in pretty