On this rock I willl build my church...
I never fail to get teary-eyed whenever I see Pope John Paul II. Even on the TV, he has this strong effect not only on me, but on millions of people too. Today I awoke to a text message saying to pray for the pope since his condition has turned for the worse and he was already given the last rites. The lastest news on his health: his condition is very serious but he is lucid, fully conscious, and very serene.
I can't help but be amazed and humbled by his strength. Although crippled by a debilitating disease which saps his energy and gives him pain, he still has unbelievable strength to go and bless the people, and frustrating as it is to him, the "Great Communicator", not to be able to speak he still tried to during the Holy Week celebrations. He has continued with his mission. His illness is simply another cross for him to bear. A cross that does not hinder him but drives him in his work and that enables him to connect with the people. I for one have trouble getting out of bed because of a bad case of sore throat. I turn into this grouchy, self-pitying person because I cannot eat, speak, or drink. Let this be a lesson to me.
It makes me think of the Terri Schiavo whose death just comes a day before the news on the pope's condition. I don't think that her life though "unproductive" as it may seem in the years following her collapse, was useless. We identify and describe productivity by listing all the physical activities we can do. As we see in the pope's case now, it is not entirely true. Just seeing him makes the people in his surroundings admire him and in turn reflect on their own lives. Here is a sick person who continues to inspire us. I believe Terri also had that effect on her family. It is not only how one bears the illness that inspires us but the life that was lived before that.
As I watched CNN tonight I couldn't help but cry whenever I see his image or even think about the last time I saw him. I really am thankful that I was able to be in his presence during the canonization of St. Escriva in Rome last 2002. Again during that moment when he spoke and the time he went around to bless the congregation, there were tears in my eyes. Here is a person who has devoted his life to God. Here is a person who deserves to live forever to continue his work. He has lived a full life. Viva il Papa!
CNN
Catholics united in prayer
I can't help but be amazed and humbled by his strength. Although crippled by a debilitating disease which saps his energy and gives him pain, he still has unbelievable strength to go and bless the people, and frustrating as it is to him, the "Great Communicator", not to be able to speak he still tried to during the Holy Week celebrations. He has continued with his mission. His illness is simply another cross for him to bear. A cross that does not hinder him but drives him in his work and that enables him to connect with the people. I for one have trouble getting out of bed because of a bad case of sore throat. I turn into this grouchy, self-pitying person because I cannot eat, speak, or drink. Let this be a lesson to me.
It makes me think of the Terri Schiavo whose death just comes a day before the news on the pope's condition. I don't think that her life though "unproductive" as it may seem in the years following her collapse, was useless. We identify and describe productivity by listing all the physical activities we can do. As we see in the pope's case now, it is not entirely true. Just seeing him makes the people in his surroundings admire him and in turn reflect on their own lives. Here is a sick person who continues to inspire us. I believe Terri also had that effect on her family. It is not only how one bears the illness that inspires us but the life that was lived before that.
As I watched CNN tonight I couldn't help but cry whenever I see his image or even think about the last time I saw him. I really am thankful that I was able to be in his presence during the canonization of St. Escriva in Rome last 2002. Again during that moment when he spoke and the time he went around to bless the congregation, there were tears in my eyes. Here is a person who has devoted his life to God. Here is a person who deserves to live forever to continue his work. He has lived a full life. Viva il Papa!
CNN
Catholics united in prayer
posted by mela at 11:11 PM
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