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October 03, 2003
From another journeying Pope
"I'm ready to go. I've said all my breviary and the whole rosary. I've prayed for the children, for sick, for sinners...Will things be done differently when I'm gone? That's none of my business. I feel joy in the contemplation of truth and in duty done....Blessed John XXIII May 21, 1963
The Lord knows that I am ill. The ship continues to plough steadily through the waves. That's the proof that the invisible helmsman is Christ...And all these demonstrations of affection around a dying old man, aren't they perhaps a sign of the tiems? At the beginning of the century official Rome ignored the death-agony of Leo XIII. As a young seminarian on my way to the Vatican to get news of the Pope, I can remember hearing disrespectful and insulting remarks on the streets...Times have changed for the better.
May 25, 1963
Since everyone is praying for the sick pope, it's only natural they should have an intention: if God wants the sacrifice of my life, let it be of some use in calling down copious blessings on the ecumentical Council, the Church and on humanity that so longs for peace; but if it pleases the Lord to prolong my pontifical ministry, then let it be for the sanctification of my soul and of all those who work and suffer with me to extend the kingdom of Our Lord.May 28, 1963.
Blessed John XXIII died on June 3, 1963, just minutes after a Mass is being said in St. Peter's Square for "the sick bishop of Rome."
It is not unseemly to follow the Pope's last days, weeks or months of life. Pope John Paul II wanted to bring Christ to the world, wanted to bring the face of the Church to the world, and this is part of it. If he wanted to hide, he would do so. He could. But he doesn't, and so invites us all to contemplate what it means to follow the Gospel. What stops us? What defeats us?
The call of this Pope, as I have experienced it over the years, is to go beyond. Hold fast to the truth of tradition, hold fast to Christ, but go beyond your own boundaries to meet the big world, suffering souls and rapidly changing culture out there, all in need of Jesus. Go beyond even your physical limitations– and meet the world with the Good News.. What else, after all, is faith for?
Posted by Amy Welborn | Permalink
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Comments
Thanks Amy. Beautiful. The Pope, it seems to me, has deliberately chosen to set his illness and death before our eyes as a directly counter-cultural act. We prefer to shuffle our sick and dying out of the way (anybody seen Reagan lately?). John Paul insists on our facing the fact that the old, sick, and weak must be *seen*, not ignored. Someday, perhaps, narcissistic Baby Boomers, threatened with euthanasia by the monstrous culture they have done so much to create, will thank him.
Posted by: Mark Shea at Oct 3, 2003 10:13:01 AM
What a lovely and moving post. Thank you very much!
Posted by: Colleen at Oct 3, 2003 11:10:30 AM
Yes!
Thanks, Amy.
Posted by: Gerard Serafin at Oct 3, 2003 11:26:12 AM
Beautiful, Amy - and spot on Mark.
This post inspired me to go back and find the Holy Father's 1999 "Letter to the Elderly." Here's a link, if anyone want to read it:
http://www.priestsforlife.org/magisterium/99-10-01lettertoelderly.html
Posted by: Rick at Oct 3, 2003 11:55:49 AM
Re: the Holy Father's Letter to the Elderly, here was a passage that struck me:
"And what shall we say of Peter in his old age, called to bear witness to his faith by martyrdom? Jesus had once said to him: "When you were young you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go" (Jn 21:18). These are words which, as the Successor of Peter, touch me personally; they make me feel strongly the need to reach out and grasp the hands of Christ, in obedience to his command: "Follow me!" (Jn 21:19)."
Like Peter, the current Pope will not turn away, even if someone else now needs to gird him and carry him, to exhausting public audiences to which he'd probably rather not go.
Posted by: Rick at Oct 3, 2003 12:06:30 PM
Let me try that EV link again.
Posted by: Kevin Miller at Oct 4, 2003 1:13:33 PM
JPII also says some good things about the elderly and infirm in EV.
Posted by: Kevin Miller at Oct 4, 2003 1:14:24 PM
Amy, this is the best post on the pope's health I have read during this latest "deathwatch". Thank you for your thoughtful reflections.
Posted by: Chris at Oct 4, 2003 10:14:29 PM
