A Tribute

Well, it turns out that I was off by a day; some 24 hours ago, I wrote about the possibility of Pope John Paul II passing away in the near future. At 2:37pm EST Saturday, he did. Here’s the Vatican release:

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“The Holy Father died at 9:37 (1937 GMT) this evening in his private apartment. At 8:00PM (1800 GMT) the celebration of Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday began in the Holy Father’s room, presided by Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz with the participation of Cardinal Marian Jaworski, of Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko and of Msgr. Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki. During the course of the Mass, the Viaticum was administered to the Holy Father and, once again, the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. The Holy Father’s final hours were marked by the uninterrupted prayer of all those who were assisting him in his pious death, and by the choral participation in prayer of the thousands of faithful who, for many hours, had been gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

Present at the moment of the death of John Paul II were: his two personal secretaries Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz and Msgr. Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki, Cardinal Marian Jaworski, Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko, Fr. Tadeusz Styczen, the three nuns, Handmaidens of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who assist in the Holy Father’s apartment, guided by the Superior Sr. Tobiana Sobodka, and the Pope’s personal physician Dr. Renato Buzzonetti, with the two doctors on call, Dr. Alessandro Barelli and Dr. Ciro D’Allo, and the two nurses on call. Immediately afterwards Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano arrived, as did the camerlengo of Holy Roman Church, Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, substitute of the Secretariat of State, and Archbishop Paolo Sardi, vice-camerlengo of Holy Roman Church. Thereafter, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals, and Cardinal Jozef Tomko also arrived.

Tomorrow, Divine Mercy Sunday, at 10:30AM (0830 GMT), a Mass for the repose of the soul of the Holy Father will be celebrated in St. Peter’s Square, presided over by Cardinal Angelo Sodano. At 12 noon, the Marian prayer of Easter time, the Regina Coeli, will be recited. The body of the late pontiff is expected to be brought to the Vatican Basilica no earlier than Monday afternoon. The first General Congregation of Cardinals will be held at 10:00AM (0800 GMT) on Monday April 4 in the Bologna Hall of the Apostolic Palace.”

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While this comes as no surprise, it distresses me because I do not know how the Catholic Church will be able to elect a new pope who will be able to carry on the dreams of the old one. I realize that this has happened time and time again, but Pope John Paul II was unlike many other popes. His desire for ecumenical objectives, outreach, and youth development is a relatively new phenomenon for Catholics. Vatican II, a very ambitious council that has changed the church so much. He has left some very big shoes to fill. Rest in peace.

Upon further reflection, we are also called to fill very big shoes. Jesus implores us to be like Him, and to be his representatives on Earth. Have you been doing a good job? Have I? Chances are that the answer is “sometimes”, and that’s only when we’re at our best. Oh how I wish that I could say “yes” to that. But I get in my way and, until that changes, I don’t know how I could possibly say that I’m close.

One thing that I did do today that put others before self, however, was go visit the Michielsens. Despite having a ton of work to do for my final on Tuesday, I took the day off to spend some time with Jessica, Laura, Rachel, Carolyn, and the others in the family. It was a unique opportunity and I’m really glad that I took it while it was available. I was teetering on the edge of indecision because I was practicing for the ESA Coffee House on Monday with Adam (the guitarist from the Embassy band, for those of you who don’t know… he’s a freakin music talent machine!) and was counting on the day to do my work.

But I thought to myself, “Justin, you should go. This would be a selfless act and God will help you do the rest of your work. Be a good friend.” I think that I did the right thing. Their family is also very cool, and it was an awesome experience to spend an evening with them. Hopefully it won’t be my last.

Anyhow, it’s 4am now (stupid Daylight Savings Time robbing me of an hour’s sleep!) and I think that I should finish my chapter before I call it a night. Ta for now.

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