Today we lost a good one. Heaven opened wide for Pope John Paul II. He was a revolutionary, a fighter for humanity.

I woke up early today because I knew the pope could die at any moment. John Paul II is very important to me, so I wanted to make today worthy of remembering.

I spent most of the day watching the news. It’s such a joy to hear the rest of the world saying things that I’ve been saying for years.

After the pope died, I updated lifeteen.com with fresh content. Then I went to the chapel and prayed for the pope’s soul and the whole church.

Today we lost a great one.

I spent the past six hours designing graphics about the pope: T-shirts, posters, buttons, stickers, whatever. It was a beautiful time for me. Creativity has always been a way that I connect with the Creator. It was soul-stirring to imagine the pope entering heaven, and have him smiling down on me at my computer. This kind of thing is hard to explain.

JP2 is a big role model for me, an example of how a Christian can have influence on society and the world.