It has been amazing to see what the death of the Pope has birthed. Apparently they are expecting as many as four million pilgrims in Rome. Young people are coming from all over Europe -- indeed from all over the world -- staying in tents, standing in lines for hours and hours and hours. There are breathtaking pictures of thousands at a time slowly making their way into St. Peter's. The cable news networks have turned into twenty four hour a day mouthpieces for the Gospel. When CNN goes to commercial, they play things like John Paul saying "My hope and my prayer is that you will open your hearts to Christ." Last night Franklin Graham was on Larry King quoting from John: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me." It is absolutely amazing.
And if this isn't a display of popular sentiment, I don't know what is. The Pope is being praised in equal measure by George W. Bush and Fidel Castro. All around the world, millions and millions of people are praying, and praising the good example of the most intense and public proclamation of Christ crucified from the last hundred years (I would say): the life and death of John Paul II. I can't say how excited I am about this conversion of the media, temporary though it doubtless is. But the potential for good is great, so to speak. This "media event" has the potential to reach millions more, and (let us pray) to change lives and convert hearts.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment