wmw999 2,148 #1 April 9, 2005 I don't really want this to end up in SC; it's not supposed to be controversial. I watched some of the funeral of Pope John Paul II tonight. What a ceremony. There is something timeless about it, and a quality that makes it clear that the funeral service is, in fact, the symbol of the passing of the power from John Paul to whoever is next. John Paul II is from the past now. It's interesting, too, to hear the simultaneous translation from the Latin by an archbishop. That's pretty heady stuff. The number of religious figures, many with very significant facial hair, and (to me, at least) weird hats and scarves is impressive, too. These people seem from another world to us, but, well, they've mostly dedicated their lives to the glory of God. The singers get to sing to the glory of God, and the pallbearers will never forget this moment in their lives. To be able to do something as well as you can manage, and to be able tgo dedicate it to the glory of God, is powerful. Whether or not you believe in God, well, it's meaningful to the person doing it. It gives them peace, and hope, and a sense of fulfillment, that they've been a part of something more important and significant than they are alone. And they all contributed. My mother used to love pageant and ceremony. I can see why, now. Wendy W.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbrown 26 #2 April 9, 2005 As an ex-Catholic (but still a Protestant), I was very deeply moved watching the news from Rome all week. We have a decent cafeteria at work and there are two TV's tuned into CNN all day, so I got to see quite a bit at lunch & on breaks. I've seen some grand funerals where people were grieved by loss and where whole nations made a show of deeply felt respect. But I've never seen anything like this. Something like 3 MILLION people coming from around the world ? Living together in sports stadiums and ancient Roman ruins ? Waiting in endless lines for 16 hours at a time, through the day and night to see the man one last time ? I've never seen such an outpouring of love for anyone. Never. I don't think anyone was too grieved at losing the Pope. He was old, he was ill and was failing in front of the whole world. I think we were all relieved to see him set free by death, so there wasn't any shock or trauma over that. It was time to let him go, but to so many people it was time to say goodbye one last time. There are a few people of very great souls who do change the course of history, people like Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, and this Pope John Paul. A lot of people, myself included, had some very deep disagreements over issues like birth control, married vs celibate clergy, women as priests, and so on. But he was a great spiritual force in the 20th century who helped bring about the collapse of one of the century's great evils, the Soviet empire. And the outpouring of love that millions of people have shown at his passing is beyond anything I can remember, ever. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peacefuljeffrey 0 #3 April 9, 2005 I wonder if John Paul II was always getting overdue bills and mortgage refinance and credit card offers addressed to John Paul I... Maybe the next pope should call himself John Peter to avoid the same problems. Anyway, that's what I'd do, if I were elected pope. -Jeffrey-Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
allrightscud 0 #4 April 9, 2005 With all due respect to the death of a man so dedicated to what he believed in and so important to millions around the world. I really didn't see the need for the blanket coverage in the UK over the last week. I was getting really fed up seeing a mass of queuing people in Rome and so little time dedicated to what I consider to be real world news. After he died and it was reported where's the story? Who's going to be the new guy and the funeral. Not day after day of repeated coverage. If the TV and papers are to be relied on nothing else happened this last week. Or nothing of great import. I do agree though, that the pageant and ceremony surounding this was impressive by any standards. Too much is never enough! All right scud? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Muenkel 0 #5 April 9, 2005 I think the continuing coverage of major news events has a lot to do with the existence of cable news channels 24/7. Prior to those channels, the network news would carry it as the top story, but would still fit in the rest of the news of the day. Chris _________________________________________ Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ncrowe 0 #6 April 9, 2005 QuoteI wonder if John Paul II was always getting overdue bills and mortgage refinance and credit card offers addressed to John Paul I... Maybe the next pope should call himself John Peter to avoid the same problems. Anyway, that's what I'd do, if I were elected pope. -Jeffrey Ummm are you some how trying to make comparison to telemarketers and the death of the pope?.... "Don't Mess Around With the Guy in Shades- Oh No!!! " Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
allrightscud 0 #7 April 9, 2005 QuoteQuoteI wonder if John Paul II was always getting overdue bills and mortgage refinance and credit card offers addressed to John Paul I... Maybe the next pope should call himself John Peter to avoid the same problems. Anyway, that's what I'd do, if I were elected pope. -Jeffrey Ummm are you some how trying to make comparison to telemarketers and the death of the pope?.... I would say that the tactics of the Catholic Church in the past to convert non believers just doesn't compare to the relative liberal and harmless methods of modern day telemarketers. Too much is never enough! All right scud? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peacefuljeffrey 0 #8 April 9, 2005 QuoteQuoteI wonder if John Paul II was always getting overdue bills and mortgage refinance and credit card offers addressed to John Paul I... Maybe the next pope should call himself John Peter to avoid the same problems. Anyway, that's what I'd do, if I were elected pope. -Jeffrey Ummm are you some how trying to make comparison to telemarketers and the death of the pope?.... Today on QVC we are offering the finest Senses of Humor available anywhere! Our buyers were able to get them at an astoundingly low price and we... are passing the savings... on to you! Our operators are taking calls now and these Senses of Humor are flying out of our warehouse as we speak, so if you don't call us toll free right now, you may miss your chance. No one should be without a Sense of Humor, and these ones we have are real beauties! If you looked in the finest stores you could not find a better Sense of Humor than the ones we are offering here -- and wait til you get this -- for ONLY three easy payments of $39.95. That's just $39.95 and you will laugh with the best of them. Call now! -Jeffrey-Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sid 1 #9 April 9, 2005 Quote Today on QVC we are offering the finest Senses of Humor available anywhere! Our buyers were able to get them at an astoundingly low price and we... are passing the savings... on to you! Our operators are taking calls now and these Senses of Humor are flying out of our warehouse as we speak, so if you don't call us toll free right now, you may miss your chance. No one should be without a Sense of Humor, and these ones we have are real beauties! If you looked in the finest stores you could not find a better Sense of Humor than the ones we are offering here -- and wait til you get this -- for ONLY three easy payments of $39.95. That's just $39.95 and you will laugh with the best of them. Call now! -Jeffrey I'll buy Nathan's, full price, I'll PM you my credit card details and you can ship it directly to him, please overnight or expedite - dammit he needs it!!! Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
loumeinhart 0 #10 April 9, 2005 QuoteThe number of religious figures, many with very significant facial hair, and (to me, at least) weird hats and scarves is impressive, too yea, it's like watching something go down 1000 years ago. I was raised non-denom but my extended fam is catholic, -it always kind of mystified me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #11 April 9, 2005 The Poles were calling for his immediate canonisation. What do you think, should the pope be made a saint? He certainly seems to have made a bigger difference & overcome a lot more stuff than most other popes. (And I'm looking at the list of popes in the forward of my Catholic bible, and it seems as though most of the popes up until about 850 AD or so were made into saints.) (pope pope pope pope pope pope....its one of those words where if you say it over & over it starts to sound really strange... ....The pope has poped his last popery. The pope ain't poping no more. He is all poped out. He's died & gone off to the Happy Poping Grounds.) Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #12 April 9, 2005 LMAO at Jeffrey! Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
