The Pope has Died....

[Ash Wednesday]

To be saying "He's not in heaven yet" is EQUALLY presumptuous. When someone dies, you aren't to be presumptuous one way or another. You pray for them. And souls in purgatory CAN pray for us, in fact their prayers can ONLY be for us, not themselves. That is why we pray for them.

I think the discussion of *hope* that he is in heaven is really people's way of finding comfort in such a great loss. There is nothing blasphemous about that.

Above all else, everyone, especially even the greatest of saints would dearly want our prayers. So enough undie bunching. Spread the love and get praying.

[luciana]

[quote]I guess I just misunderstood that process, but Is till think it is private devotions at first, right?[/quote]

yes

[Brother Adam]

Canon law says we can't make 'public' our prayers for those who are not venerable. Thus, do not take my post as a public prayer.

[Q the Ninja]

Let us pray for the Pope as the crowd does in Saint Peter's. It is his day, a sad day for the whole world.

If he's in Heaven now, it's because of your prayers in a few minutes.

[philothea]

Also, regardless of whether JPII is in heaven right now -- if you'd had the chance a week ago to ask him to pray for you, wouldn't you have? How could he possibly be a less valuable intercessor now?

Now we can all ask.

[fled]

I am truly saddened. Especially never having seen the Holy Father in person, I dont mean to sound selfish, but I was hoping he would make it physically to WYD 2005.

I'll be praying feverently for his soul. And I feel as if I have to admit this: Watching all the specials on television about his life, I actually felt jealous of this man's relationship with Christ. (please dont theologize...it was just a genuine emotion)

I pray for our late Pope John Paul II, may Christ have mercy on his soul,
I pray for our Church, may God keep us strong and united, especially now,
Amen.

[theculturewarrior]

May the angels lead you into paradise; may the Martyrs welcome you upon your arrival, and lead you into the holy city of Jerusalem. May a choir of angels welcome you, and, with poor Lazarus of old, may you have eternal rest.

[toledo_jesus]

'I have looked for you. Now you have come to me. And I thank you.'
--John Paul, when told the youth were gathered outside in the square to pray for him.

Remember this man had us young people in his mind constantly. May he rest in peace, his work here complete.

[Quietfire]

I will miss you Holy Father.
May flights of Angels speed your journey.

[CatholicAndFanatical]

May your perpetual light shine upon John Paul The Great oh God of Mercy.


Bittersweet as it may be, the feelings I feel the most are happiness and nervousness. Happy because our Holy Father won the race, suffered much just like the Blessed Mother said he would, and showed us all how to die with dignity and how to suffer like a true Christian.

Nervousness because of not knowing what the new Pope will be like. will he be traditional or go towards the new wave of things? God only knows.

I do find it wonderful how well the media is respecting our Church.

Case in Point: Pat Robertson was on FoxNews last night and showed great respect for the Holy Father. As a Southern Baptist I figured Pat Robertson wouldnt go as far as he did in talking highly about him.

We'll miss you papa and you have our prayers.

[theculturewarrior]

[quote name='toledo_jesus' date='Apr 2 2005, 05:00 PM'] 'I have looked for you. Now you have come to me. And I thank you.'
--John Paul, when told the youth were gathered outside in the square to pray for him.

Remember this man had us young people in his mind constantly. May he rest in peace, his work here complete. [/quote]
People don't understand why our generation loves him.

It's because we've had enough lies. We want Truth.

Bread and circuses won't numb the masses forever. If they did, we'd all be speaking Latin right now.

[theculturewarrior]

I feel a great sense of hope and freedom right now. I wonder if it is because John Paul the Great does as well.

[Q the Ninja]

[quote] People don't understand why our generation loves him.

It's because we've had enough lies. We want Truth.

Bread and circuses won't numb the masses forever. If they did, we'd all be speaking Latin right now.
[/quote]Hmm?

Edited April 2, 2005 by Q the Ninja

[shewillcrushyourheadalleluia]

[quote name='IesusDeus' date='Apr 2 2005, 03:50 PM']Let us remember his last words: [b]"I am happy, be it yourself as well."[/b]

[url="http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=3511"]http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=3511[/url][/quote]
"gwyn eu byd y tangnefeddwyr........."

[theculturewarrior]

[quote name='Q the Ninja' date='Apr 2 2005, 05:17 PM'] Hmm? [/quote]
"Latin" in this instance is a reference to the Pagan Roman Empire, not the Church.

[noncatholicname]

At times like this, we really feel and realize that we are of one race. I will miss John Paul II. All doctrinal differences aside, he has had a profound impact on Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant faith. He told one of his bishops that we should rejoice, and in that I am happy, but at the same time I'm deeply grieved. Death still hurts, but it's sting is gone and now it's mode of transportation into the arms of Christ.

May God's sabbath rest be his forever. Amen.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='IamCatholic' date='Apr 2 2005, 06:12 PM'] Excuse me, I love the Pope, too, but this is blasphemous. The Pope has just died. He is not in Heaven yet. He would never want people to ask for his intercession apart from the Church's decree that he is a Saint (or at least a Beati), especially not publicly. He would certainly call this Presumption of God's Mercy. We cannot presume God's mercy. "Si iniquitates observaris Domine, Domine quis sustinebit?" (If thou wilt mark iniquities, O Lord, Lord, who shall stand it?) If it is hard for a just man to save his soul, how much harder is it for someone who has such a great responsibility as the Pope?? I think if we read Church history and the Saints, we will see that, the more authority one has, the greater responsibilities one has, and the harder it is to save one's soul. To say that a Pope has entered Heaven immediately after dying (without any decree of the Church) is wrong. We cannot presume God's mercy. I am glad that our Most Holy Lord John Paul was able to die on Divine Mercy Sunday (well, at least, he died after first Vespers of Divine Mercy Sunday in Rome), so we can have hope in the mercy of God and, as EWTN said yesterday, PRAY FOR THE REPOSE OF HIS SOUL (not his intercession!!). We are not doing our Holy Father any good deed by asking for his intercession. We should be praying for the repose of his soul, like EWTN said to! [/quote]
Mother Teresa was proclaimed a Saint before any particular proclamation came out. The "sense of the faithful" can be an authentic witness to a life lived with faith.

[curtins]

I'll bet hes havin a good catch up talk with ronald Reagan

[InCircles]

VIVA EL PAPA!!!
keep praying for him brothers and sisters.

[Jaime]

It is truly rare for a man to simultaneously be able to change the world and touch our hearts individually.

Pray for him as you know he prays for us!