Cries the crowd at his funeral (someday someone may read this and chalk it up to hagiography--but we have witnessed it ourselves!)
From Yahoo! News - Poor and Powerful Mourn Pope at Emotional Funeral:
"'We can be sure that our beloved Pope is standing today at the window of the Father's house, that he sees us and blesses us,' Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger told hundreds of thousands of people packed into a windswept St. Peter's Square.
'Santo subito' (Make him a saint immediately), the crowds chanted in Italian, holding up the Mass for more than 5 minutes in an outpouring of emotion for a giant of the 20th century who ruled his Church for more than 26 years. "
Friday, April 8, 2005
Cardinal Ratzinger's Homily
A Gospel that evolved in meaning over the pope's life, from the Vatican Information Service:
"Follow me! Together with the command to feed his flock, Christ proclaimed to Peter that he would die a martyr's death. With those words, which conclude and sum up the dialogue on love and on the mandate of the universal shepherd, the Lord recalls another dialogue, which took place during the Last Supper. There Jesus had said: 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' Peter said to him, 'Lord, where are you going?' Jesus replied: 'Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow me afterward.' (Jn 13:33,36). Jesus from the Supper went towards the Cross, went towards his resurrection - he entered into the paschal mystery; and Peter could not yet follow him. Now - after the resurrection - comes the time, comes this 'afterward.' By shepherding the flock of Christ, Peter enters into the paschal mystery, he goes towards the cross and the resurrection. The Lord says this in these words: '... when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go' (Jn 21:18). In the first years of his pontificate, still young and full of energy, the Holy Father went to the very ends of the earth, guided by Christ. But afterwards, he increasingly entered into the communion of Christ's sufferings; increasingly he understood the truth of the words: 'Someone else will fasten a belt around you.' And in this very communion with the suffering Lord, tirelessly and with renewed intensity, he proclaimed the Gospel, the mystery of that love which goes to the end (cf. Jn 13:1).
"Follow me! Together with the command to feed his flock, Christ proclaimed to Peter that he would die a martyr's death. With those words, which conclude and sum up the dialogue on love and on the mandate of the universal shepherd, the Lord recalls another dialogue, which took place during the Last Supper. There Jesus had said: 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' Peter said to him, 'Lord, where are you going?' Jesus replied: 'Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow me afterward.' (Jn 13:33,36). Jesus from the Supper went towards the Cross, went towards his resurrection - he entered into the paschal mystery; and Peter could not yet follow him. Now - after the resurrection - comes the time, comes this 'afterward.' By shepherding the flock of Christ, Peter enters into the paschal mystery, he goes towards the cross and the resurrection. The Lord says this in these words: '... when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go' (Jn 21:18). In the first years of his pontificate, still young and full of energy, the Holy Father went to the very ends of the earth, guided by Christ. But afterwards, he increasingly entered into the communion of Christ's sufferings; increasingly he understood the truth of the words: 'Someone else will fasten a belt around you.' And in this very communion with the suffering Lord, tirelessly and with renewed intensity, he proclaimed the Gospel, the mystery of that love which goes to the end (cf. Jn 13:1).
Thursday, April 7, 2005
Eerie--The Vacant Holy See
The Vatican Web Site without the Papal Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II, reality sets in.
Pope's Last Will and Testament Totus Tuus ego sum
From Yahoo News:
Totus Tuus ego sum
In the Name of the Holiest Trinity. Amen.
"Keep watch, because you do not know which day when the Lord will come" — These words remind me of the final call, which will come the moment that the Lord will choose. I desire to follow Him and desire that all that is part of my earthly life shall prepare me for this moment. I do not know when it will come, but, like all else, this moment too I place into the hands of the Mother of My Master: Totus Tuus.
Totus Tuus ego sum
In the Name of the Holiest Trinity. Amen.
"Keep watch, because you do not know which day when the Lord will come" — These words remind me of the final call, which will come the moment that the Lord will choose. I desire to follow Him and desire that all that is part of my earthly life shall prepare me for this moment. I do not know when it will come, but, like all else, this moment too I place into the hands of the Mother of My Master: Totus Tuus.
Tuesday, April 5, 2005
Based on Pope John Paul's Encyclical on the Eucharist
My newest book was inspired and is directly related to the Pope's last Encyclical on the Eucharist:
Monday, April 4, 2005
Feast of the Annunciation
Today is the transferred Solemnity of the Annunciation. One thinks of the pope's motto "Totus Tuus" referring to his total devotion to Mary as his body is displayed for the public to view in St. Peter's on this day. One also thinks of this day being the feast of the annunciation of the Lord's first coming and as the entire world focuses on the Church today...is this a universal manifestation...an annunciation of the second coming...."to prepare the world for my final coming"?
There are plenty of atheist sites that can detail how many times people have announced the Lord's coming and been wrong. One of the things these sites detail is how the linkage of Good Friday with the Annunciation was thought to signal the end, but we know that Our Lord said "you know neither the day nor the hour," therefore "keep watch, be ready." It isn't something to predict but it is something to be prepared for....and I do think that the death of John Paul will lead to many people being prepared...at least for a few weeks.
I wonder how many, like myself are already asking the intercession of John Paul?
There are plenty of atheist sites that can detail how many times people have announced the Lord's coming and been wrong. One of the things these sites detail is how the linkage of Good Friday with the Annunciation was thought to signal the end, but we know that Our Lord said "you know neither the day nor the hour," therefore "keep watch, be ready." It isn't something to predict but it is something to be prepared for....and I do think that the death of John Paul will lead to many people being prepared...at least for a few weeks.
I wonder how many, like myself are already asking the intercession of John Paul?
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