Let Me Go to the Father's House

On the first weekend in April 2005, the world held its breath as Pope John Paul II embarked upon his final pilgrimage of faith. Few events have so captured the hearts of so many. We watched, prayed, and kept vigil with this faithful servant of Christ, whose life and ministry had indelibly impacted the Church he guided for twenty-six years. His energy and activity on behalf of the Gospel--even as illness and disease marked his latter years--left us amazed and filled with admiration. Now, with his gaze fixed beyond, he was asking in a voice weakened by the very act of breathing, "Let me go to the house of the Father."

An exceptional volume, Let Me Go to the Father's House: John Paul II's Strength in Weakness contains previously unpublished details on the dramatic events of the 1981 assassination attempt, as well as the pope's final days, while also developing the theme of suffering in the teaching and long life of John Paul II. A man on intimate terms with pain and loss himself, he never ceased to be, in the words of Pope Benedict XVI, an "untiring prophet of hope," communicating the Gospel even when he could no longer speak and suffering racked his body. This was his last and perhaps greatest lesson to us--his final acceptance of the cross, in imitation of his beloved Lord and Master.