MSNBC - Pope regains voice, cardinal says:
For John Paul, “suffering is a special form of preaching,” top Vatican cardinal Joseph Ratzinger told Vatican Radio on Tuesday …
Bullshit. Utter, complete, bullshit. Suffering is not a special form of preaching. Suffering is suffering, point blank. And I’m sick and tired of various religions trying to make something holy out of something that just isn’t natural. Even though suffering is part of life it is *not* life.
There are millions of people out there praying for the Pope’s recovery who are basically, for lack of a better word, selfish.
This man is old, he’s tired, he’s given his life to serve his religion. Damn, can’t a brother get some relief? If the promised land is filled with peace, serenity, and all that jazz, then why pray to specifically keep him away from it?
Do I want him to die? No. Do I want him to be relieved of all of this pain he’s going through. Yes. When I pray, I pray for him to have a peaceful transition when the time comes.
Why do so many religions glorify death, but fear it at the same time?
Don’t get me wrong, the Pope is a cool dude. I sat glued to ABC News (I think) in 1978, watching for that tell-tale smoke to change from black to white, signaling the dawn of a new papacy.
When I think of him, the image of him trotting around in sneakers comes to my mind, not the (for all practical purposes) invalid that’s propped up to a window on Sundays.
Ya know, this makes me think of the events surrounding my grandfather’s (mom’s dad) death back in 1988. I can’t remember what exactly was going on with him at the time, but he kept having these seizures and I believe his lungs were filling up with fluid. He was in and out of the hospital more times than I can remember. Even though I don’t think we were sure how old he actually was, we knew he *was* old and his days were numbered.
On what turned out to be his final day, my mom was with him in the room. Each time he had one of these attacks, the doctors brought him back. For days, he hadn’t been lucid, not one freaking bit. As a matter of fact, up until the time I’m about to relate to you, no one could understand one word coming out of his mouth.
According to my mom, she was sitting in the room when she noticed that my grandfather was still and looking in a corner of the room. Mom got up and went to his bed. For some reason, she asked him what he was looking at. He said, “I’m looking at Muh.”
Muh was my grandmother. She’d died a few years back.
His speaking voice was a clear as if he was just sitting around chatting with you. Mom asked, “Do you want me to let you go?” He responded, “Yes.”
The next time one of those attacks came, we let him go.
Death doesn’t scare me. I’m anxious about how I’m going to go, but the process itself doesn’t create fear.
I believe that once I cross over I’ll finally get to meet Malcolm and Martin and Harriet.
I believe that once I cross over I’ll finally get to see the ancestors who make me who I am today.
I believe that once I cross over I’ll finally get to ask my brother, “What the hell were you thinking? You can’t stop a bullet from a .357 Magnum with your chest!”
I believe that once I cross over, I’ll finally know everything.
And I pray the same will happen to the Pope.
Comments (3)
I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels this way about the Pope. I know that a lot of folks (Catholics and others) rally firmly behind the sanctity of life, but sometimes it simply doesn’t make SENSE to do so.
I’ve always been a big fan of his — well, I guess I should say I’m a fan of how he knows all those languages, how many times he’s been around the world, how he relates to people, etc. I’m not necessarily a fan of his hard-liner approach to doctrine. (Nope, I ain’t Catholic. Thought about becoming one once, but…it didn’t happen.)
Thank you for sharing your story about your grandfather.
They have to assign meaning to suffering, else how do they answer the little kids when they ask, “Why does an all powerful god allow so much suffering in the world?”
Karoly Woytila aka The Pope simply doesn’t allow himself to die, maybe he always was fickle in his faith, come to think he is afraid of allowing any progress in the catholic church and cannot believe if God want’s the catholic direction of the faith in JC to persevere He will guide Karolys successor in interpreting His scripture to let believers and ministers lead a fearless life.