Reflections on life. Collections of inspirational quotes. Rediscovering relationships and faith.
Posted in FAITH, HOPE, Pope JOHN PAUL II Quotes, QUOTES, SPIRITUAL on Mar 29th, 2007 No Comments »
It is very important to cross the threshold of hope, not to stop before it, but to let oneself be led – Pope John Paul II from his book “Crossing the Threshold of hope“
My heart is beating faster as I see him walking slowly down the aisle towards us. Seeing his old frail body, his shuffling gait, his shoulders bent forward with a seemingly pronounced dowager’s hump , I feel a palpable presence that surrounds him, an electric power. Raising and waving his trembling right hand, evidence of a Parkinson’s disease, he imparts a Papal blessing.
A strong and positive aura continue to radiate from him as he waves his hand, as he touches a face while walking in a painful pace. He is now coming closer to where I stand. I can feel a very strong spiritual power an inch away from me. I lowered my gaze from him feeling unworthy of this peaceful presence I am feeling. One, two, three…I feel a blissful sensation. His hand is over my head. Yes, his gentle hand is touching my head but for me he is touching my whole being. In that single silent gesture, he calms my troubling and worried soul with a father like assurance: “Be not afraid.”
It was my first intimate encounter with Pope John Paul II when he celebrated the Holy Mass for around 7,000 Filipinos Migrants at the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on 1 December 2002. In his homily, the Holy Father said:
I had several occasions of seeing him personally but there were always an immense crowd between us. I first saw him on his first trip to Manila on 17 February 1981 when he presided over the beatification of our first Filipino saint, Lorenzo Ruiz. I was still too young then to understand his spiritual role. This encounter was followed by his second visit to the Philippines on 15 January 1995 to celebrate the 10th World Youth Day Congress. Here I saw a different comical side of him: he entertained us by twirling his cane like Charlie Chaplin!
All those years of personal encounters from Manila to Rome, what did I learn from Pope John Paul II ?
My Catholic Church is an institution with 2,000 years of history. It has seen crises before. It has seen heresies, it has seen schisms. It has seen sex scandals among the clergy, etc. So there’s nothing new about the fact that the church is in crisis.
Against this crisis, John Paul II with his words and deeds, became a living testimony of complete abandonment to Christ, a total trust in Him at the moment of great trial. His conviction that Jesus Christ is the answer to the questions of every human life, became his infallible companion in his most dramatic moments as Pope.
His call to “Do not be afraid” was first heard at his papal installation in 1978.
I can hear him saying it among the hundreds of thousands of youth and old alike: DO NOT BE AFRAID.
He said it everywhere he went, over and over again, and whenever he said it, he was quoting the Angels: DO NOT BE AFRAID.
His call needs to be taken in and be internalized: DO NOT BE AFRAID. It is Jesus assuring words too: Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid (Jn.14:27).
John Paul II was never afraid. He trusted in the Lord and went about doing His work. It is a great lesson for all of us.
He was not afraid to travel the world and show us his face of suffering and infirmity, demonstrating – over and over again – that age and infirmity and a compromised physicality does NOTHING to devalue the worth of the human person.
He was not afraid to apologize to the Jewish people for the Vatican’s glacial coldness during the Final Solution, and for historic filiations between the church and anti-Semitism.
He was not afraid to apologize to the Eastern Orthodox Christians, and to the Muslims, for the appalling damage done to civilization by papal advocacy of the Crusades, and by forced conversion and massacre in the Balkans during the church’s open alliance with fascism during World War II.
He was not afraid to apologize to the world of science and reason by admitting that Galileo should not have been condemned by the Inquisition.
He was not afraid to work for ecumenism or to reconciliate efforts with the Jews, Muslims, Greek Orthodox Church, Coptic Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, and other Schools of Christianity.
He was not afraid when he returned to Poland in 1979 to speak to his people, inspiring Solidarity. Thus changing the course of world history, toppling down communism or the Soviet empire.
“Be not afraid” is what I’ve learned from Pope John Paul II and he strengthened it more when he touched me on that blessed day. In silent whisper he said : “Ross, do not be afraid!.”
On April 2, 2007 will be his second death anniversary. I reckon the day when I joined thousands of pilgrims in Rome, camping out overnight on sleeping bags, roll-up mats, and cardboard boxes flattened to try and separate our bodies from the cobblestone pavement.
It was my simple final tribute to his earthly existence. John Paul II is “an intellectual with a warm appreciation of popular piety; a mystic who is also an avid sportsman; a celibate who celebrates human sexuality and has many women friends; a Pole with deep sensitivity toward Jews and Judaism; a man of profound inferiority with an exceptional public presence.”
It was an emotional event to find myself before his simple wooden coffin with a book of Gospel on top of it. There lies a simple and humble man, a great Christian who spent his life loving and reaching out to anyone, an ardent follower and lover of Christ, his only Hope and Love.
I will remember you John Paul II.
I will not be afraid for the Lord is my Shepherd! (Psalm 23)!
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Posted in Kahlil Gibran's Letters, KHALIL GIBRAN QUOTES, PLATONIC LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS on Mar 22nd, 2007 No Comments »
No human relation gives one possession in another – every two souls are absolutely different. In friendship or in love, the two side by side raise hands together to find what one cannot reach alone.~ Kahlil Gibran’s words from Mary Haskell’s journal (8 June 1924)
When Carlo gave me “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran, he quoted the above words of Kahlil telling me: “Our relationship is unique. No one will understand the love we have for one another. We are two different souls walking side by side…” I was 16 then while he is 10 years my senior. Our relationship was purely platonic which lasted for several years till he died.
Do you believe in platonic love between a man and a woman or even between same sex? Carlo conceived platonic love as pure and unconditional. “It’s the feeling that matters, not what you get out of it”, he said.
Our society scoffs at this kind of relationship. It wonders and suspects if an emotional and intellectual attraction between two persons can survive without sex.
Since that day Carlo introduced me to Kahlil, I found myself attracted to Gibran’s works and spirituality. I wanted to know him more as a man.
Reading the verbatim quotes from the journal entries , I discovered a beautiful platonic relationship between Kahlil and Mary which lasted for more than 20 years till his death. The 325 letters which Kahlil wrote her gave me an insight of his innermost feelings and sensitivity as a man.
Carlo, on your 10th death anniversary today, I would like to raise my hands in gesture of salute to you as a man, as a treasured friend and as an intellectual lover who walked by my side unconditionally.
Like Kahlil, your favorite poet and philosopher, I have known an art of love far beyond human judgement. I owe you that Carlo.
I am sharing some of Kahlil Gibran’s letters to tell the world that platonic love between two persons is possible!