Originally published at Orange County Catholic
ONE OF THE GREATEST SAINTS of our modern times first encountered his personal call to holiness through the witness of his father.
As a young boy, Karol Wojtyla, lost his mother at 9 years old, and so his father, Karol Jozef Wojtyla played a crucial role in forming him to be a “true worshiper of God.” His father lived a simple life of sacrifice and prayer in the aftermath of the premature deaths of his wife and older son. When Karol’s mother died, his father took him to a Marian shrine to pray for her soul. Decades later, true devotion to Our Lady would be a prominent trait of Pope John Paul II’s spirituality and pontificate.
Karol often saw his father constantly praying, even in the middle of the night. The witness of Karol’s father planted the first seeds of Karol’s priestly vocation. Karol recognized with gratitude that his father created a “domestic seminary” for him through his prayerful witness and example.
St. Therese of Lisieux also had a profound experience of being encouraged to grow in her faith and her call to holiness through the example of her parents and their instruction. She also lost her mother at a
