The Final Day of Mourning

The last moments of Pope John Paul II as reported in the Times.

Some of the crowd then broke into applause for the life of the Pope; others sobbed uncontrollably at his passing.

As the end approached, history's best travelled and third longest serving pontiff had urged his followers not to cry for him by dictating a message to his secretary.

"I am happy and you should be happy too," he said. "Do not weep. Let us pray together with joy."

His last moments were described early today by Father Jarek Cielecki, director of Vatican Service News, a Catholic TV channel. "The Holy Father died looking towards the window as he prayed, and that shows that in some way he was conscious," Cielecki said.

"A short while before dying, the Pope raised his right hand in a clear, although simply hinted at, gesture of blessing, as if he became aware of the crowd of faithful present in St Peter's Square, who in those moments were following the reciting of the Rosary," he added.

"Just after the prayer ended, the Pope made a huge effort and pronounced the word 'Amen'. A moment later, he died."

Contemplating Christ with Mary

Mary, model of contemplation

10. The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. In a unique way the face of the Son belongs to Mary. It was in her womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human resemblance which points to an even greater spiritual closeness. No one has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary. The eyes of her heart already turned to him at the Annunciation, when she conceived him by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the months that followed she began to sense his presence and to picture his features. When at last she gave birth to him in Bethlehem, her eyes were able to gaze tenderly on the face of her Son, as she “wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger” (Lk2:7).

Thereafter Mary's gaze, ever filled with adoration and wonder, would never leave him. At times it would be a questioning look, as in the episode of the finding in the Temple: “Son, why have you treated us so?” (Lk 2:48); it would always be a penetrating gaze, one capable of deeply understanding Jesus, even to the point of perceiving his hidden feelings and anticipating his decisions, as at Cana (cf. Jn 2:5). At other times it would be a look of sorrow, especially beneath the Cross, where her vision would still be that of a mother giving birth, for Mary not only shared the passion and death of her Son, she also received the new son given to her in the beloved disciple (cf. Jn 19:26-27). On the morning of Easter hers would be a gaze radiant with the joy of the Resurrection, and finally, on the day of Pentecost, a gaze afire with the outpouring of the Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14).

Mary's memories

11. Mary lived with her eyes fixed on Christ, treasuring his every word: “She kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2:19; cf. 2:51). The memories of Jesus, impressed upon her heart, were always with her, leading her to reflect on the various moments of her life at her Son's side. In a way those memories were to be the “rosary” which she recited uninterruptedly throughout her earthly life.

Even now, amid the joyful songs of the heavenly Jerusalem, the reasons for her thanksgiving and praise remain unchanged. They inspire her maternal concern for the pilgrim Church, in which she continues to relate her personal account of the Gospel. Mary constantly sets before the faithful the “mysteries” of her Son, with the desire that the contemplation of those mysteries will release all their saving power. In the recitation of the Rosary, the Christian community enters into contact with the memories and the contemplative gaze of Mary.

The Rosary, a contemplative prayer

12. The Rosary, precisely because it starts with Mary's own experience, is an exquisitely contemplative prayer. Without this contemplative dimension, it would lose its meaning, as Pope Paul VI clearly pointed out: “Without contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation runs the risk of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas, in violation of the admonition of Christ: 'In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words' (Mt 6:7). By its nature the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord's life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord. In this way the unfathomable riches of these mysteries are disclosed”.

It is worth pausing to consider this profound insight of Paul VI, in order to bring out certain aspects of the Rosary which show that it is really a form of Christocentric contemplation.

Apostolic Letter
Rosarium Virginis Mariae
of the Supreme Pontiff
John Paul II to the Bishops, Clergy
and Faithful
on the Most Holy Rosary

My Review of Millions

You can find it here at Spero News, the new weekly virtual newspaper. While you're there take some time and look around. I think they have a week's worth of good reading ... at least I know that I'm going to be reading practically everything I saw there.

Freedom

Freedom consists not in doing what we like,
but in having the right to do what we ought.

John Paul II

Our Nine Days of Mourning

As we go through these days of mourning, I will put my favorite links about Pope John Paul II here and move it to each day as we go along.

• Papa Familias has the Papal Carnival up with many wonderful contributions from people with their memories of our pope.
  
• Nancy at Flying Stars is inspired by the pope to proclaim her Catholic identity in public.
• Mark Steyn about why progressives never understood the Pope.

  The root of the Pope's thinking - that there are eternal truths no one can change even if one wanted to - is completely incomprehensible to the progressivist mindset. There are no absolute truths, everything's in play, and by "consensus" all we're really arguing is the rate of concession to the inevitable: abortion's here to stay, gay marriage will be here any day now, in a year or two it'll be something else - it's all gonna happen anyway, man, so why be the last squaresville daddy-o on the block?
  
  We live in a present-tense culture where novelty is its own virtue: the Guardian, for example, has already been touting the Nigerian Francis Arinze as "candidate for first black pope". This would be news to Pope St Victor, an African and pontiff from 189 to 199. Among his legacies: the celebration of Easter on a Sunday.

• The Curt Jester's meditation on John Paul II's two names and the way he reflected those apostles.
• Mama T remembers being in Rome and telling the pope she loved him.
  
• Mary at Ever New gives us yet another gem (how does she do it every time?) in comparing the Church to the ocean and reminding us of why we must not fret about who is chosen to sit in the chair of Peter.
• Peggy Noonan takes us back vividly to Pope John Paul II's visit to communist Poland and reminds us exactly why he was great and the work he did for Christ.

  Why, the pope asked, had God lifted a Pole to the papacy? Perhaps it was because of how Poland had suffered for centuries, and through the 20th century had become "the land of a particularly responsible witness" to God. The people of Poland, he suggested, had been chosen for a great role, to understand, humbly but surely, that they were the repository of a special "witness of His cross and His resurrection." He asked then if the people of Poland accepted the obligations of such a role in history.
  
  The crowd responded with thunder.
  
  "We want God!" they shouted, together. "We want God!"
  
  What a moment in modern history: We want God. From the mouths of modern men and women living in a modern atheistic dictatorship.
  
  The pope was speaking on the Vigil of Pentecost, that moment in the New Testament when the Holy Spirit came down to Christ's apostles, who had been hiding in fear after his crucifixion, filling them with courage and joy. John Paul picked up this theme. What was the greatest of the works of God? Man. Who redeemed man? Christ. Therefore, he declared, "Christ cannot be kept out of the history of man in any part of the globe, at any longitude or latitude. . . . The exclusion of Christ from the history of man is an act against man! Without Christ it is impossible to understand the history of Poland." Those who oppose Christ, he said, still live within the Christian context of history.
  
  Christ, the pope declared, was not only the past of Poland--he was "the future . . . our Polish future."
  
  The massed crowd thundered its response. "We want God!" it roared.

• George Wiegel has a piece in Newsweek with a more personal look at the Pope. Again we see the "serious sweet tooth" mentioned. My kinda guy. Via Get Religion.
• Dinka has a tribute to the pope. I especially like her commentary about how being Catholic is to be be separated from society, even though one is right in the middle of it.
• Mark Windsor features photos from Poland showing the people remembering the pope and links to a site that has many more.
• TSO's reflections on seeing the body of a shepherd being carried by his people.
  
• Abba Pater, a slideshow by Dom at Bettnet. A touching tribute.
• Via TSO
  

  As you know, the two Marian events/devotions to which John Paul was most committed, and most identified, were the Divine Mercy, and Fatima. The Church's celebration of the feast of Divine Mercy began at sundown today, the First Saturday (cf. Our Lady of Fatima's request) of April. Because he died after sundown in Rome but before midnight, he passed on the one sliver of time in the entire year -- maybe even in years, given that Easter is not on a fixed date -- when both Fatima and Divine Mercy intersect.
  

  From Dallas News writer Rod Dreher
  

• Santificarnos shares a joke that the Pope was said to enjoy. I like the idea of the pope laughing at this one.
• John B. at The Catholic Packer Fan has a thorough, easy-to-understand timeline of events to come. And he has a comment that I agree wholeheartedly with which is why I'm not wasting my time worrying about anyone's "picks" on the next pope.
• Mark Shea quotes Tolkein for the best I've seen so far at how our pope's homecoming to Heaven must have felt.
• Tremendous Trifles has an original poem for Our Holy Father.
• Ignatius Insight Scoop has a really thorough list of reactions and wonderful links to the Vatican pages. If you look at nothing else from the Vatican, be sure to see this page which shows John Paul II's pontificate. You click on each cross going up the hill to show all the accomplishments during that time period. Really amazing.

UPDATE: Some great tribute links are showing up in the comments boxes. Be sure to check them out.

Congratulations to ...

... Julie M. and Jaymen.

The Family

Lauren and her parents meet Pope John Paul II

The husband ought not to seek only his own interests, but also those of his wife; and she, those of her husband. Parents should look after the interests of their children, and these in turn look after the interests of their parents. The family is the only community in which man "is loved for himself," for what he "is" and not for what he "has" ... Respect for this fundamental norm explains as the apostle hiimself teaches, why nothing should be done out of a spirit of rivalry or for vainglory, but rather through humility, because of love. And this love, which is opened up to others, makes members of the family true servants of "the domestic church," where all desire the good and the happiness of each one; where each and every one gives life to this love with an urgent search for that good and that happiness.

Pope John Paul II
Homily of the Mass for families
Found in "In Conversation with God: Lent and Eastertide"

Clean Your Screen for Free Now

Go here.

(Be sure to try the ringtones too. If my phone could use them I surely would have #1.) Via Jimmy Akin.

Alternative News Network to be Launched April 11

SPERO NEWS LAUNCHES APRIL 11
ALTERNATIVE NETWORK FOR NEWS, COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS

Madrid, Spain/Houston, Texas /April 11/ -- Communication in today’s world requires openness and a new approach with respect to media. Spero News is that new approach.

Initially in English, and soon expanding into Spanish, Spero News is a bi-lingual weekly electronic magazine and community spanning the globe providing premium content submitted from its nearly 100 collaborators. Spero News aims to enhance society by creating a premier, alternative network for readers seeking quality news, information and interaction through the Internet by providing news, commentary, and analysis that encourages citizen participation. In that respect, Spero News is a unique experience towards creating a constructive dialogue between media and readers with the aim of promoting a correctly informed and discerning public opinion as reflected in Judeo-Christian values. By melding journalists, citizen journalists and sector professionals, Spero News also guarantees that its news is by the people and for the people.

Read the rest at Santificarnos. This is the network in which I'll have some columns appearing as will several others from St. Blog's.

A Little Useless Information

MISS AMERICA HAIR COLOR

The Miss America title has been awarded (with some breaks) since 1921,
when it was presented to Margaret Gorman. The statics of winners' hair color
might disprove the oft quoted claim that "gentlemen prefer blondes."

From 1921 - 2003
Brunettes - 70%
Blondes - 24%
Redheads - 6%

Schott's Original Miscellany by Ben Schott

The Right to Life

For man, the right to life is the fundamental right. And yet, a part of contemporary culture has wanted to deny that right, turning it into an "uncomfortable" right, one that has to be defended. But there is no other right that so closely affects the very existence of the person! The right to life means the right to be born and then continue to live until one's natural end: "As long as I live, I have the right to live." ...

It is necessary to recognize that, in this context, we are witnessing true human tragedies. Often the woman is the victim of male selfishness, in the sense that the man, who has contributed to the conception of the new life, does not want to be burdened with it and leaves the responsibility to the woman, as if it were "her fault" alone. So precisely when the woman most needs the man's support, he proves to be a cynical egoist, capable of exploiting her affection or weakness, yet stubbornly resistant to any sense of responsibility for his own action...

Therefore, in firmly rejecting "pro choice" it is necessary to become courageously "pro woman," promoting a choice that is truly in favor of women. It is precisely the woman, in fact, who pays the highest price, not only for her motherhood, but even more for its destruction, for the suppression of the life of the child who has been conceived. The only honest stance, in these cases, is that of radical solidarity with the woman. It is not right to leave her alone.

Pope John Paul II
Crossing the Threshold of Hope

This is Why We've Been Missing Mark Shea

[commenting on Cardinal Law being at the Pope's funeral] I think this basically illustrates three things. First, the good news about the Catholic Church is: it's like a big family. Second, the bad news about the Catholic Church is: it's like a big family. We've seen these sorts of "What's *he* doing here?" stuff at our own family funerals.

Not only does he crack me up but it is absolutely true. He follows up with a very good observation which you can read here.

The Older the Mother, The Funnier This Is

Which explains why I was laughing hysterically, when I read "At Home, #3." From my in-box.

Birth order of children

Your Clothes:
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.

The Layette:
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.

Pacifier:
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

Diapering:
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

Activities:
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing,and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.

Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

At Home:
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

Swallowing Coins (a favorite):
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance

The Long Way Home

One of the greatest challenges to spiritual life is to receive God's forgiveness. There is something in us humans that keeps us clinging to our sins and prevents us from letting God erase our past and offer us a completely new beginning. Sometimes it even seems as though I want to prove to God that my darkness is too great to overcome. While God wants to restore me to the full dignity of sonship, I keep insisting that I will settle for being a hired servant. But do I truly want to be restored to the full responsibility of the son? Do I truly want to be so totally forgiven that a completely new way of living becomes possible? Do I trust myself and such a radical reclamation? Do I want to break away from my deep-rooted rebellion against God and surrender myself so absolutely to God's love that a new person can emerge? Receiving forgiveness requires a total willingness to let God be God and do all the healing, restoring, and renewing. As long as I want to do even a part of that myself, I end up with partial solutions, such as becoming a hired servant. As a hired servant, I can still keep my distance, still revolt, reject, strike, run away, or complain about my pay. As the beloved son, I have to claim my full dignity and begin preparing myself to become the father.

Henri Nouwen
The Return of the Prodigal Son

The Ultimate IM

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

I'm Gonna Do Something Radical

Something that I haven't done since ... well, maybe third or fourth grade. I'm going to try reading just one book at a time. I'm clearing off my bedside table except for the one book of the moment - which in this case is The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel. Of course, y'all understand that a daily devotional to read with my breakfast doesn't count here.

I'm curious to see what this will feel like...

Think Terri Schiavo Was An Isolated Incident? Think Again.

85 year-old Mae Margourik of LaGrange, Georgia, is currently being deprived of nutrition and hydration at the request of her granddaughter, Beth Gaddy. Mrs. Margourik suffered an aortic dissection 2 weeks ago and was hospitalized. Though her doctors have said that she is not terminally ill, Ms. Gaddy declared that she held medical power of attorney for Mae, and had her transferred to the LaGrange Hospice. Later investigation revealed that Ms. Gaddy did not in fact have such power of attorney. Furthermore, Mae's Living Will provides that nutrition and hydration are to be withheld only if she is comatose or vegetative. Mae is in neither condition. Neither is her condition terminal.

Read the whole story at Thrown Back. Via The Curt Jester.

The Best Salad Dressing Ever

Over at Glad Gastronome, you'll find a recipe for Spicy Caesar Dressing. Serve this and your reputation as a cook is made. It is a "signature" recipe and I gladly share it with y'all.

UPDATE: We also have what may be the best Indian Lentil recipe ever ... donated by a kind reader. Check it out.

What Made John Paul II So "Real"

A few little things that made him so real and just made us love him more.

Just a funny story from Jim Caviezel, actor, who met with the Pope after filming The Passion of The Christ. He was talking about this the other night on The Larry King Show...

Larry King: What was it like when you met him, James?

JAMES CAVIEZEL, ACTOR: Well Larry, I went into the Vatican and they took me from one room into the next. And immediately, I was intimidated. You know, I had an opportunity to meet him in 1984, I could have seen him and I didn't, and I always regretted it. So, when we were in Rome, I had this chance.

And finally, when I walked in the room, there he was, he was like 100 yards away. And by the time I got to him, I was so out of breath... and he looked at me, how are you? Jim Caviezel, not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.

He said, Jim Caviezel, what have you learned in playing Jesus Christ? I said, well, holy father, I've been hanging out with -- he goes, yes, I said I think Jesus was Italian. He said, what? I said well, he didn't leave home until he was 30. He always hang out with the same 12 guys, and his mother believed he was God, so he had to be Italian, you know. I said, you're not upset with me.

He said, no, I always believed he was Polish.

Post poached shamelessly from
Regina Clare Jane at I Still See A Spark In You

I have a sweet tooth for song and music. This is my Polish sin.
Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul's traveling press entourage was the most international (and for many years the largest) in the world. That meant that the questions were asked in five or six languages, and often answered that way by the multilingual pope.

That could be a problem for English-only reporters on a tight deadline. You never knew if the answer given in Spanish, French, German or Polish was going to be the real news, or one of the English answers you were able to understand.

Don Lattin at the San Francisco Chronicle
Via Get Religion

Pope John Paul II wearing Bono's shades

Bono: This is an amazing—this was an amazing moment for all of us gathered, actually. I just said to him, “I know you’re a very—you’re a holy man, but I know you are a showman.” And noticed him spotting the fly shades as I was walking up to him, so I just gave them to him, and he put them on, and he made this kind of wicked smile.

Read entire story at Bettnet

Toiling quietly behind the scenes in Pope John Paul II's final hours were five Polish nuns who dedicated their lives to his service, beginning when he was Bishop Karol Wojtyla of Krakow.

Sisters Tobiana, Germana, Fernanda, Matylda and Eufrosyana, from the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, were "the pillars" that supported the pope, a Vatican insider told AFP...

Sister Germana's vegetable pies - especially spinach - wowed the late Italian president Sandro Pertini, who was a regular at papal working luncheons and dinners when John Paul II was well enough to entertain guests.

Others fondly remember the carp served on Christmas Eve as a typical Polish delicacy.

For Polish visitors to the Vatican, the obligatory dishes included piroshki - dumplings with meat or fruit filling - pates, cheesecake and fish in aspic.

Sister Fernanda was in charge of the pope's pantry, replenishing it mainly with fruit, vegetables and milk from Castelgandolfo, the pontiff's summer holiday home just outside Rome.

John Paul II's wardrobe was the responsibility of Sister Matylda, who must have suffered immense humiliation during a papal visit to France, when a horrified French bishop gasped: "There's a smudge on the pontiff's robe!"

Women in the Pope's Life
Via Get Religion

Stupidity is also a gift of God, but one mustn't misuse it.
Pope John Paul II

I've Always Had a Liking for St. Jerome

Now I like that sarcastic, cranky saint even more. The Curt Jester took a fresh look at him and realized he is the perfect patron for bloggers. Read up on it and then you'll understand why St. Jerome is now residing in the bottom of my sidebar.