Be not afraid
"Prophets don’t always thunder. Sometimes, with bowed heads and trembling hands, they tuck a prayer of repentance into a crevice in a stone wall - and nudge 2,000 years of often bloody, shameful history towards a new course."
- Jerzy Zubrzycki, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the Australian National University
The Pope’s passing affected me more than I thought it would. It was 9am-ish, I was sitting on the sofa, reading the last few pages of Dracula, when my friend joined me in the lounge and turned the TV on. That was how I first learnt that the Pope has passed away. Yes, old and frail, it was just a matter of time. But the news still hit me hard and I felt sick and headachey and sad and teary at the same time. Unfortunately, I didn’t have anyone to share my sorrow with. Of a party of 12, I only knew one person, B*, who would have felt how I felt. She was still asleep.
She woke up an hour later. I waited for her to get ready and have breakfast before I told her the news. She was just as shocked about it as I was. We decided to get out of the house and find somewhere we can pray and talk about it. The perfect spot was practically across the place we were staying at. There was this clearing overlooking the Blue Mountains. We couldn’t have found a more perfect spot.
The Blue Mountains is full of oil bearing Eucalyptus trees. The atmosphere is filled with oil droplets, which, combined with dust particles and water vapour, give the area its predominantly blue colour. Source: www.ambuehler.ch/.../ blue_mountains_canyon.jpg
We each gave our prayer of thanks and cried and hugged each other. The good thing was that I didn’t have to explain to her how I felt and she didn’t have to explain hers to me. Then we talked about how we are scared for ourselves and for our family (long story) and how the Pope did so many great things in his lifetime. We talked about our own views on abortion, contraception, euthanasia and homosexuality. We talked about the Church’s future. We talked about our own experience of seeing the Pope in person - her as a six-year old girl during his 1982 visit to the Philippines and mine as a 27-year old attending one of his Wednesday meet-and-greet at the Vatican in 2003.
Before he was Pope John Paul II, he was Karol Jozef Wojtyla. As a young man, he was a member of an underground theatre group called Rhapsodic Theatre and studied priesthood in a secret seminary.
In 1948, he completed a doctorate in Theology. Five years later, he became a professor in moral theology and social ethics at Krakow seminary. In 1960, he published his second doctoral thesis on Christian Ethics. Eighteen years later, he became the 264th pope. (Source: The Weekend Australian, April 2, 2005).
I thought of who his critics were and what they have achieved compared to what he has achieved. No contest really. I thought of how people criticized him for his ‘conservative’ views and yet, how history would have turned out if he wasn’t who he was.
Of the Aboriginal land rights, I don’t think anyone could have said their views as eloquently as he did when he said:
”Let it not be said that the fair and equitable recognition of Aboriginal rights to land is discrimination. To call for the acknowledgement of land rights of people who have never surrendered those rights is not discrimination. Certainly, what has been done cannot be undone. But what can now be done to remedy the deeds of yesterday must not be put off ‘til tomorrow.”
While B* and I were talking and crying, a little white butterfly fluttered close to us. It stayed only for a few seconds before it flew away. Our eyes followed it as it went from one plant to another until it disappeared from our sight. I said: ‘That’s the sign that we’ll be okay.’ But then again, I looked around. The sky was blue, the mountains were filled with evergreen Eucalyptus trees, the air was fresh and there I was standing with a friend who has been with me through thick and thin. It is going to be okay.
Aside from B*, one final thought, I also want to thank D* who comforted me and reminded me that the Pope wanted people to rejoice, not mourn his passing. To celebrate life. And most of all, not to be afraid.
- Jerzy Zubrzycki, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the Australian National University
The Pope’s passing affected me more than I thought it would. It was 9am-ish, I was sitting on the sofa, reading the last few pages of Dracula, when my friend joined me in the lounge and turned the TV on. That was how I first learnt that the Pope has passed away. Yes, old and frail, it was just a matter of time. But the news still hit me hard and I felt sick and headachey and sad and teary at the same time. Unfortunately, I didn’t have anyone to share my sorrow with. Of a party of 12, I only knew one person, B*, who would have felt how I felt. She was still asleep.
She woke up an hour later. I waited for her to get ready and have breakfast before I told her the news. She was just as shocked about it as I was. We decided to get out of the house and find somewhere we can pray and talk about it. The perfect spot was practically across the place we were staying at. There was this clearing overlooking the Blue Mountains. We couldn’t have found a more perfect spot.
The Blue Mountains is full of oil bearing Eucalyptus trees. The atmosphere is filled with oil droplets, which, combined with dust particles and water vapour, give the area its predominantly blue colour. Source: www.ambuehler.ch/.../ blue_mountains_canyon.jpg
We each gave our prayer of thanks and cried and hugged each other. The good thing was that I didn’t have to explain to her how I felt and she didn’t have to explain hers to me. Then we talked about how we are scared for ourselves and for our family (long story) and how the Pope did so many great things in his lifetime. We talked about our own views on abortion, contraception, euthanasia and homosexuality. We talked about the Church’s future. We talked about our own experience of seeing the Pope in person - her as a six-year old girl during his 1982 visit to the Philippines and mine as a 27-year old attending one of his Wednesday meet-and-greet at the Vatican in 2003.
Before he was Pope John Paul II, he was Karol Jozef Wojtyla. As a young man, he was a member of an underground theatre group called Rhapsodic Theatre and studied priesthood in a secret seminary.
In 1948, he completed a doctorate in Theology. Five years later, he became a professor in moral theology and social ethics at Krakow seminary. In 1960, he published his second doctoral thesis on Christian Ethics. Eighteen years later, he became the 264th pope. (Source: The Weekend Australian, April 2, 2005).
I thought of who his critics were and what they have achieved compared to what he has achieved. No contest really. I thought of how people criticized him for his ‘conservative’ views and yet, how history would have turned out if he wasn’t who he was.
Of the Aboriginal land rights, I don’t think anyone could have said their views as eloquently as he did when he said:
”Let it not be said that the fair and equitable recognition of Aboriginal rights to land is discrimination. To call for the acknowledgement of land rights of people who have never surrendered those rights is not discrimination. Certainly, what has been done cannot be undone. But what can now be done to remedy the deeds of yesterday must not be put off ‘til tomorrow.”
While B* and I were talking and crying, a little white butterfly fluttered close to us. It stayed only for a few seconds before it flew away. Our eyes followed it as it went from one plant to another until it disappeared from our sight. I said: ‘That’s the sign that we’ll be okay.’ But then again, I looked around. The sky was blue, the mountains were filled with evergreen Eucalyptus trees, the air was fresh and there I was standing with a friend who has been with me through thick and thin. It is going to be okay.
Aside from B*, one final thought, I also want to thank D* who comforted me and reminded me that the Pope wanted people to rejoice, not mourn his passing. To celebrate life. And most of all, not to be afraid.