Apr
18
2008
0
By Anonymous (not verified)
He moves in white, the color of all other colors. White vestments, white wheels, white overcoat, white hair. White is the universal overlay in a world of particular hues, present in every pigment, stain, and tint.
I love the way the Pope moves in white.
On Wednesday April 16, Pope Benedict XVI sat in a white-backed chair, the dazzling sunlight basking the White House lawn in a wash of beautiful spring. In a festive welcoming ceremony hosted by the President and First Lady, America said hello to this icon figure, sang "Happy Birthday" twice, and applauded wildly. Pope Benedict applauded back and smiled profusely.
Grandfather to a World of Orphans
Joseph Ratzinger is warm, gentle, and has an impish twinkle in his eye. He's grandfather to a world of orphans, husbanding a world widowed by its own technical cleverness from the soul itself. That is why profane America goes crazy when it greets the Pope. It sees the pale shade of itself reflected in papal alabaster, the symbolic color of purity and goodness.
The only other time this happens nowadays for the purple mountain's majesty and amber waves of grain is when tragedy strikes a uniting blow on home soil, as it did on Sept. 11, 2001 or during Hurricane Katrina. Calamity, catastrophe, and cataclysm - like papal visits - shake us to our senses so that we see what's authentic. It doesn't last long, but at least it happens.
So we go wild to see the man in white. I've seen it happen in 1965 with Paul VI and then with John Paul II. With each new visit, America goes a little crazier for the Pope. It's the most interesting measure of our waywardness I can imagine. Having lost our way, we reach out in a frenzy combining joy and desperation for a man who surely knows his. There's a part of people that sees such faith and certainty and wants to walks that way to. You notice this happen mostly with non-Catholics, agnostics, and atheists. If only they could admit how easy it is.
A Holy Marshmallow's Body Nimbus
In return, Pope Benedict greeted the American people on the rebound, speaking English in a German accept clipping words and rolling "r"s like he was sculpting more than speaking. The Holy Father's habiliments - white cassock, skullcap, and sash - reflected the sun like a body nimbus. He was a holy marshmallow sitting on a temporal raisin.
If you had the best seat in the house, that is, if you watched on TV, you could catch glimpses of the seated pontiff's red shoes. The Marine Corps dress band, with red Sgt. Pepper uniforms, played dueling anthems of Vatican City and the Stars and Stripes. A fife-and-drum corps marched by. A diva added another octave not thought possible and found The Lost Chord in a soaring version of the "Our Father," equal parts blues, gospel, and soul. There were ballpark whistles and leather-lunged affections. This was the U. S. of A., pulling out the stops.
Pope Benedict probably had a funny feeling he wasn't in Rome anymore. Fortunately, he didn't click the heels of his red shoes. America looked behind the curtain and saw not a fake wizard but a genuine holy man.
'I Come as a Friend'
In his first formal address to the American people as Pope, Benedict included everyone. It was a polished gesture mindful of America's diverse and secular soul.
"I am happy to be here as a guest of all Americans," Pope Benedict said. "I come as a friend, a preacher of the Gospel, and one with great respect for this vast, pluralistic society. America's Catholics have made, and continue to make, and excellent contribution to the life of their country."
Benedict hit the high notes in his remarks, praising the Republic's "quest for freedom" and "the framers of this nation's founding documents" for their conviction "that all men are created equal and endowed with inalienably rights grounded in the laws of nature and of nature's God." He lauded America's history, a "political and social life ... intimately linked to a moral order based on the dominion of God the Creator." He mentioned the struggle against slavery and the civil rights movements as examples.
Forget the 'Pope Soap on a Rope'
The Pope commanded his audience like Yo-Yo Ma with a cello, Stanley Kubrick with a camera, and Ted Williams with a bat. Higher notes were yet to come, notably, when a day later he would abandon the script and meet for a half an hours with victims of pedophile priests.
Forget the vendors selling tacky items like "il papa nitelites" and "Benedict Soap on a Rope." This pontiff is the best authentic memento of himself, a walking and living souvenir by his own very presence. And if nothing else, this Pope has hope.
How else could he declare: "I am confident that the American people will find their religious beliefs a precious source of insight and an inspiration to pursue reasoned, responsible, and respectful dialogue in the effort to build a more human and free society."
What do you know, Pope Benedict believes in us!
The five-day U.S. trip has the theme, "Christ Our Hope." As Vicar of Christ, it would not be out of line to say that for these five days, America would do well to change its familiar "In God We Trust" slogan to "In Pope Benedict We Trust."
The Holy Father brings word of God's mercy and love, the only agents truly capable of healing mankind's alienation, loneliness, and bitterness, those awful byproducts of hearts hardened by the insane pace of contemporary life.
It is the hard heart that kills. It is the open heart that loves and hopes. Pope Benedict XVI stood in for Christ. It was a great start for this ivory pilgrimage of love and hope.
I love the way the Pope moves in white. He gives us all reason to love and believe.
Dan Valenti writes for numerous publications of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, both in print and online. He is the author of "Dan Valenti's Journal on thedivinemercy.org.
I love the way the Pope moves in white.
On Wednesday April 16, Pope Benedict XVI sat in a white-backed chair, the dazzling sunlight basking the White House lawn in a wash of beautiful spring. In a festive welcoming ceremony hosted by the President and First Lady, America said hello to this icon figure, sang "Happy Birthday" twice, and applauded wildly. Pope Benedict applauded back and smiled profusely.
Grandfather to a World of Orphans
Joseph Ratzinger is warm, gentle, and has an impish twinkle in his eye. He's grandfather to a world of orphans, husbanding a world widowed by its own technical cleverness from the soul itself. That is why profane America goes crazy when it greets the Pope. It sees the pale shade of itself reflected in papal alabaster, the symbolic color of purity and goodness.
The only other time this happens nowadays for the purple mountain's majesty and amber waves of grain is when tragedy strikes a uniting blow on home soil, as it did on Sept. 11, 2001 or during Hurricane Katrina. Calamity, catastrophe, and cataclysm - like papal visits - shake us to our senses so that we see what's authentic. It doesn't last long, but at least it happens.
So we go wild to see the man in white. I've seen it happen in 1965 with Paul VI and then with John Paul II. With each new visit, America goes a little crazier for the Pope. It's the most interesting measure of our waywardness I can imagine. Having lost our way, we reach out in a frenzy combining joy and desperation for a man who surely knows his. There's a part of people that sees such faith and certainty and wants to walks that way to. You notice this happen mostly with non-Catholics, agnostics, and atheists. If only they could admit how easy it is.
A Holy Marshmallow's Body Nimbus
In return, Pope Benedict greeted the American people on the rebound, speaking English in a German accept clipping words and rolling "r"s like he was sculpting more than speaking. The Holy Father's habiliments - white cassock, skullcap, and sash - reflected the sun like a body nimbus. He was a holy marshmallow sitting on a temporal raisin.
If you had the best seat in the house, that is, if you watched on TV, you could catch glimpses of the seated pontiff's red shoes. The Marine Corps dress band, with red Sgt. Pepper uniforms, played dueling anthems of Vatican City and the Stars and Stripes. A fife-and-drum corps marched by. A diva added another octave not thought possible and found The Lost Chord in a soaring version of the "Our Father," equal parts blues, gospel, and soul. There were ballpark whistles and leather-lunged affections. This was the U. S. of A., pulling out the stops.
Pope Benedict probably had a funny feeling he wasn't in Rome anymore. Fortunately, he didn't click the heels of his red shoes. America looked behind the curtain and saw not a fake wizard but a genuine holy man.
'I Come as a Friend'
In his first formal address to the American people as Pope, Benedict included everyone. It was a polished gesture mindful of America's diverse and secular soul.
"I am happy to be here as a guest of all Americans," Pope Benedict said. "I come as a friend, a preacher of the Gospel, and one with great respect for this vast, pluralistic society. America's Catholics have made, and continue to make, and excellent contribution to the life of their country."
Benedict hit the high notes in his remarks, praising the Republic's "quest for freedom" and "the framers of this nation's founding documents" for their conviction "that all men are created equal and endowed with inalienably rights grounded in the laws of nature and of nature's God." He lauded America's history, a "political and social life ... intimately linked to a moral order based on the dominion of God the Creator." He mentioned the struggle against slavery and the civil rights movements as examples.
Forget the 'Pope Soap on a Rope'
The Pope commanded his audience like Yo-Yo Ma with a cello, Stanley Kubrick with a camera, and Ted Williams with a bat. Higher notes were yet to come, notably, when a day later he would abandon the script and meet for a half an hours with victims of pedophile priests.
Forget the vendors selling tacky items like "il papa nitelites" and "Benedict Soap on a Rope." This pontiff is the best authentic memento of himself, a walking and living souvenir by his own very presence. And if nothing else, this Pope has hope.
How else could he declare: "I am confident that the American people will find their religious beliefs a precious source of insight and an inspiration to pursue reasoned, responsible, and respectful dialogue in the effort to build a more human and free society."
What do you know, Pope Benedict believes in us!
The five-day U.S. trip has the theme, "Christ Our Hope." As Vicar of Christ, it would not be out of line to say that for these five days, America would do well to change its familiar "In God We Trust" slogan to "In Pope Benedict We Trust."
The Holy Father brings word of God's mercy and love, the only agents truly capable of healing mankind's alienation, loneliness, and bitterness, those awful byproducts of hearts hardened by the insane pace of contemporary life.
It is the hard heart that kills. It is the open heart that loves and hopes. Pope Benedict XVI stood in for Christ. It was a great start for this ivory pilgrimage of love and hope.
I love the way the Pope moves in white. He gives us all reason to love and believe.
Dan Valenti writes for numerous publications of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, both in print and online. He is the author of "Dan Valenti's Journal on thedivinemercy.org.
pbTT
