Tomorrow, April 2, will be 3 years since our beloved Papa, John Paul II passed through the veil, into Heaven. I miss him. I love him. I hope to see him and thank him for his prayers... someday.
When we (my husband and I) left the Catholic Church to seek a more "hip and with it" and lively faith community, (due to my whims and wishes)we left shortly after JPII was elected pope. We were gone for almost his entire papacy, 26 years. We returned just 4 months before he passed on to his eternal rest. I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt, that during his papacy, he prayed and prayed hard for 'wandering lambs' to come HOME, to ROME, to the ONE TRUE CHURCH.
It is due to his prayers and many, many more by some people we know and knew, and so many more we never met, we finally did return Home. We found ourselves on the banks of the Tiber, we both jumped in and swam like never before, to get to the other side. I for one, was most amazed at taking the plunge, and this new-found love for this Church that I thought had been too stodgy, too "old fashioned" and too structured. So many "man-made" rules to follow. I thought Catholics were sort of "pathetic" to HAVE to go to Mass, when to me and many of my friends, God didn't care if we went to church or not, if we had our love for him and our bibles, it didn't matter if now and then we chose to stay home or go somewhere else. We weren't bound by those harsh demands of "men." Those tradtions of men were "anathema" to me!
Well, what a sense of humor our God has! The joke was surely on me! I swam even faster than my husband, and he is still amazed by my voracious appetite for Tradtitions, ritual, prayers (even written ones in books by Saints!) quiet, the rosary, incense, candles, shrines, you name it... let's just say "all things Catholic!" I am only full of gratitude to be back HOME...and I want to thank my (our) Papa, JPII. JPII WE LOVE YOU! WE MISS YOU! and WE WILL SEE YOU AGAIN, as you're busy in Heaven still praying us all Home...to our eternal rest! Thank you JPII!~ Pray for us!
May we run, and never tarry on our journey to the Tiber, and into the waiting, loving outstretched arms of HOLY MOTHER CHURCH......Mama Mary, and you, Papa. Thank you! You are nearer to us now than you ever were on earth. Pray us home to enjoy the beatific vision of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Amen.
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1 comment:
Loved the video Susie. Almost as much as I loved the Pope!
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