27 April 2011

"Follow Christ!"

The Venerable John Paul II will be beatified this Sunday, and as that great day approaches, I cannot help but remember the first time I saw him.  I was a young Episcopal priest, and I was standing on the Boston Common in the pouring rain.  It was October 1, 1979.  The Holy Father's voice rang out across the crowd, "Follow Christ!"  I knew then, it would mean leaving where I was, to follow Christ where He would lead me.  It was as though the Pope, the Vicar of Christ, was there to speak to my heart.  And he did.

3 comments:

Matthew the Curmudgeon said...

Yes, an AHA! moment.

Disappointed. No aha moment for the Ordinariate in the U.S.A. Thought we'd hear something, even a scrap, this week.

Fr. Christopher G. Phillips said...

I think we can depend on the prayers of Blessed John Paul II. Keep your ears open...

Jo said...

I was a Lutheran girl, watching the same on TV. I was in classes, awaiting conversion. I was confessed, confirmed and communed in Nov., 1979.