That's a Big Hat to fill...
Upon hearing of the death of Pope John Paul II, I was deeply saddened and distraught. That such a magnificent man is now gone troubles the mind and makes the body ache.
But then I realized he was going to Heaven; a place of infinite wonders and happiness that are beyond the realm of human comprehension. As the Earthly representative of His word, PJPII is guaranteed luxuries and enlightenments likely above those of ‘mere’ mortals.
Even knowing this though, I still felt I would miss him somehow. Of course, I’ve never met him, but he is often in my prayers and I feel that I am in his. Now that he is in Heaven I guess I can only… have him in my prayers… and in a way, he’ll still be able to watch over me. Hmmm… that’s not that different at all.
PJPII’s passing might be a little harder for those who have actually seen the pope (albeit mainly as a large group, from a great distance) or watch him more frequently on television. I guess that is why many feel like they lost a family member with the death of PJPII. I started to feel that a bit too, because it is hard when someone so important is taken away. But then I realized, as a good Christian, that I would also be going to Heaven, where I could meet the recently departed Pope for all of eternity. So I guess 20 or 40 years doesn’t mean much when there is eternity waiting!
Oh hey, I just realized that when I’m in Heaven I won’t just get to meet PJPII, but I could meet all Popes throughout all of history! (Newton too, but maybe not Gallileo) Wicked!
An important point to remember, when discussing the ineffably beautiful afterlife that awaits me, is that it is actually Heaven. What I mean is that often people will say, “It’s like Heaven.” This is not a simile. This is Heaven!
After thinking about it a bit, the fact that the Pope is going to Heaven now and I’ll be going to Heaven soon, I guess this whole thing isn’t that bad. Oh, the and fact that an infinitely wise God chose this to happen. See you soon, John.
posted by That which is called Darren at 5:01 PM
1 Comments:
From CBC's 'your letters,' in reaction to the Pope's death.
"While certain groups of people around the world mourn the passing of this Pope, let's not forget the pain, misery and death that this papacy and the Catholic church in general have caused.
Although Pope John Paul has been described as a great man by some, his main purpose was to enforce the antiquated viewes held by the church, views which discriminate against women, gays and divorced couples, a policy on birth control that has led to millions of unwanted pregnancies and abortions around the world, and whose views on condom use is partially responsible for the increase spread of Aids and deaths to millions of innocent Catholics.
Let's not forget the attempted coverup of the physical and sexual abuse suffered by children under his watch when this scandal was bursting at the seams did the church act.
Pope John Paul may have been a great Catholic and I wish death on no one, but my tears will be shed for the future and current victims of a church whose policies have just made it to the 17th century when this Pope declared that Galileo was indeed right in that the Earth revolves around the sun, and not the other way around."
written by Tony Matthews, Kingston, N.S
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