The beatification of Pope John Paul II

Posted by noemi in My Family, Spiritual | 1 comment

Tweet“To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others.” Pope John Paul II

Pope Benedict XVI set May 1 as the date for Pope John Paul II beatification, a step toward possible sainthood. Whenever I look at Pope John Paul II, I really feel he is a saint. He just has this serene and holy look on his face that makes him one of the most beloved pontiffs in history. John Paul II’s holiness is obvious.

The only family member to have been blessed by the Pope is my second daughter.

She is blessed to have met Pope John Paul II at the the Raigiubeleo celebration of the Jubilee for Children at the Vatican on January 5, 2001. At that time, the pope was already frail and didn’t have the energy to bless all the kids in the Manila Children’s choir so only two were chosen.

The Vatican surfed for children’s choir right after Christmas Day of 2000 and landed on the website I created for the Manila Children’s Choir. There were not that many websites then for children’s choir. I guess I was lucky that the Vatican found us. The event was a gathering of children’s choir around the world to sing for the Pope on closing day.

The Pope loved music. He once said “I have a sweet tooth for song and music. This is my Polish sin.”

It is nice to know that a Filipino Choir will have the distinction of being one of only two groups that will be singing during Pope John Paul II’s beatification. Isn’t that an honor?

I am not too familiar with beatification. I read that a miracle already happened. Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, who works at a Paris maternity clinic, a French nun says she felt new inner strength and vitality as her Parkinson’s disease suddenly disappeared in 2005 — a recovery the Vatican attributes to the miraculous intercession of Pope John Paul II.

My only intention is that the Reproductive Health Bill be passed this year. Fat chance to get a miracle but I could try, right?

Pope John Paul II holds quite a record. He beatified 1,340 people during his papacy – highest number for any previous pope. On May 1, he’ll become a record himself – the fastest ever person to be brought to sainthood.

Some Catholic theologians disagree with the call for beatification of Pope John Paul II. Eleven dissident theologians, including Jesuit professor Jose Maria Castillo and Italian theologian Giovanni Franzoni raised seven points, including his stance against contraception and the ordination of women as well as the Church scandals that presented “facts which according to their consciences and convictions should be an obstacle to beatification”

The miracle I am hoping is that the Reproductive Health Bill pass despite the anti-RH Bill sentiments of the Catholic Church. I don’t think this is the kind of miracle the Pope will grant. After all, he coined the word “contraceptive mentality” and “culture of death” .

Maybe our bishops in the CBCP should heed the Pope’s call that “You are priests, not social or political leaders. Let us not be under the illusion that we are serving the Gospel through an exaggerated interest in the wide field of temporal problems.”

I will take one of his famous quotes to continue working for the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill. “Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.”

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