Remembering John Paul II

At 9:37 p.m. on the evening of April 2, 2005, (a Saturday) Pope John Paul II died.

I will never forget it, not only because I loved him more than I realized until heard that news, but also for the company I was keeping at that moment. Mama T, Smock Mama, Steven Riddle and I were sitting in the Rockfish Grill dawdling over a long, enjoyable lunch. As I wrote the next day...

We were in a restaurant but it was as if we were in a soundproof bubble. Nothing else existed except the four of us and our shared, mingled sadness and joy. Tears flowed and we clasped hands and shared prayer together for our pope and our church. What an odd "coincidence" for us to be together to share that moment ... as if I believed in coincidence. In fact, my husband has said three times that he still can't believe how odd it was that I was with those St. Blog's parishioners at that time (and he doesn't repeat himself like that).

Of course, as much as I loved John Paul II, it must be admitted that no one is perfect. For instance, I can't believe he didn't use a Mac. But we will overlook these little flaws.

Today we are living in an age of instant communications.
But do you realize what a unique form of communication prayer is?
Prayer enables us to meet God at the most profound level of our being.
It connects us directly to God, the living God:
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in a constant exchange of love.

Pope John Paul II
Celebration with Youth, St. Louis, 1999

The above photo and quote is one of a series that I did during those days of mourning afterwards. I like looking through them. They remind me of what a treasure he was for the Church ... and for me. Here are links to the rest.

• Until We Meet Again
• It Is Jesus That You Seek
• How Does the Pope Pray?
• The Heart of the Young
• What Made John Paul II So Real
• The Right to Life
• The Family
• The Truth
• Be Not Afraid
• Contemplating Christ With Mary
• Keeping Our Balance

UPDATE
The Anchoress has up a wonderful post full of links to tributes from around the blogosphere.

Owen at Luminous Miseries has a touching story of learning to know and love "a nice old man in white, sincere and godly but of little account to anyone but Catholics" ... as he thought when he was a Protestant minister ... and then recounts JPII's hand in his family's crossing of the Tiber.

Dom Bettinelli's moving video tribute to John Paul II.

A Catholic Life has been running a series about John Paul ... I've been reading it as it has been posted over the past few days and it is a good one.

Catholic Fire shares her favorite memories ... some great photos, many of which I hadn't seen (or didn't remember).

The Curt Jester just squeaked in under the wire for the mandatory anniversary JPII posting. Whew! He has some wonderful reflections of his own linked to as well as several by others.