Hey Soul Mates,
I'm not Catholic, though I went to a Jesuit college. I had never given much credence to the Papacy. Never attended Mass. But, I must say, one of the biggest thrills of '04 for me was seeing the Pope in person at St. Peter's Cathedral in Italy. John Paul II is so close to the end it seems. I do have a lot more respect for him now. The mass I attended was pretty special and it had the atmosphere of a rock concert. The Pope is held in very high esteem by his followers; that was fervor! When the Pope entered the Cathedral, the room became electric: a swirl of awe and the clicks of a thousand cameras. I nearly got a good picture of him as he rolled past, no thanks to the arm-in-the-way.
On the dais, he spoke in a fairly clear voice and mentioned Psalm 61 (which had been part of his larger Sunday Mass teaching). His blessing washed over the crowd and everyone, including myself, was moved. It was a truly extraordinary experience seeing the Pope beneath Michelangelo's illuminated altar. He was only there for 6 minutes or so, but the brevity only adds to the inspiration of the occasion.
In preparing for my trip to the Vatican I did a little research. John Paul II, in his pre-papacy life, was active in the Polish underground during the second world war. He was an actor and playwright, too. That was new information for me. I don't always agree with organized religious thought, but I do appreciate this Pope as a human being and as one who has strived for humanity's good. I just read that John Paul is in a coma after heart failure. He won't be around much longer; thought it was best to recognize now. I've heard his possible replacement may be a Nigerian, Austrian or Honduran bishop or cardinal. That will be an interesting process to follow. The next time in Rome, I'll be seeing a new Pope. Seeing the current one, however, was something else!
God Bless you, JP2.
Love, Power, Peace to you all.
Photos of Pope John Paul II by Me, 2004.
I'm not Catholic, though I went to a Jesuit college. I had never given much credence to the Papacy. Never attended Mass. But, I must say, one of the biggest thrills of '04 for me was seeing the Pope in person at St. Peter's Cathedral in Italy. John Paul II is so close to the end it seems. I do have a lot more respect for him now. The mass I attended was pretty special and it had the atmosphere of a rock concert. The Pope is held in very high esteem by his followers; that was fervor! When the Pope entered the Cathedral, the room became electric: a swirl of awe and the clicks of a thousand cameras. I nearly got a good picture of him as he rolled past, no thanks to the arm-in-the-way.
On the dais, he spoke in a fairly clear voice and mentioned Psalm 61 (which had been part of his larger Sunday Mass teaching). His blessing washed over the crowd and everyone, including myself, was moved. It was a truly extraordinary experience seeing the Pope beneath Michelangelo's illuminated altar. He was only there for 6 minutes or so, but the brevity only adds to the inspiration of the occasion.
In preparing for my trip to the Vatican I did a little research. John Paul II, in his pre-papacy life, was active in the Polish underground during the second world war. He was an actor and playwright, too. That was new information for me. I don't always agree with organized religious thought, but I do appreciate this Pope as a human being and as one who has strived for humanity's good. I just read that John Paul is in a coma after heart failure. He won't be around much longer; thought it was best to recognize now. I've heard his possible replacement may be a Nigerian, Austrian or Honduran bishop or cardinal. That will be an interesting process to follow. The next time in Rome, I'll be seeing a new Pope. Seeing the current one, however, was something else!
God Bless you, JP2.
Love, Power, Peace to you all.
Photos of Pope John Paul II by Me, 2004.
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