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Flowers
for Papa Written and compiled by Estella Young Graphics by Jef Tan |
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CATHOLICS IN SINGAPORE awoke on Sunday to the news that His Holiness Pope John Paul II had passed away in the night. The mood at Mass that day was sombre but not distraught: we knew that he had been gravely ill for some time and had hoped that he would pull through as he had in the past. Despite our grief, we give thanks for the gift of the Pope’s life, and the faithfulness with which he led the Church for the last 26 years. At Mass last Sunday, St. Peter’s familiar exhortation sparkled anew with promise, for though he spoke in general terms of the happiness of those who loved God and their confidence in the eternal reward, it seemed to many present that his words described perfectly the faith of John Paul II: You did not see him, yet you love him; and still without seeing him, you are already filled with a joy so glorious that it cannot be described, because you believe; and you are sure of the end to which your faith looks forward, that is, the salvation of your souls.” (Second Reading – 1 Peter 1:8–9) The Pope was our role model in death as he was in life. Just as he showed us how to live in the face of modernity’s challenges, he showed us how to die: with complete faith in the love and welcoming mercy of God. His last hours were described by those present as extraordinarily tranquil and serene. “He was not at all holding onto life,” Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, one of the last to see the pope alive, told The New York Times (3 Apr 05), “He was ready to trust himself to God. This is a man who had particular confidence in the Virgin Mary and felt that she was ready to welcome him and introduce him to God. I’m convinced that he has already met her. It is impossible to think otherwise.” Pope John Paul II was one of the giants of modern Catholicism. He worked ceaselessly to unite a Church unsettled by the changes of Vatican II. Through his encyclicals and other writings, he clarified the Church’s teachings and the purpose of her reforms. |
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