The Roman Catholic Church must have more rituals than all other religions combined, and naturally, they receive “donations” from those present at each one. Imagine, people actually offer money for seeing the Pope wash the feet of 12 priests symbolizing the 12 apostles who presumably attended the Last Supper. What a scam!
Now, Pope Benedict XVI will “beautify” Pope John Paul II. In the future, the next Pope will do the same for Pope Benedict XVI, and so on…
The statue of Pope John Paul II seen below is located in Krakow, Poland. TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Associated Press
VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI warmly praised his predecessor Pope John Paul II in a Holy Thursday address days before John Paul’s May 1 beatification, holding him up as a example of faith amid Western indifference to Christianity.
Benedict said that “for all the shame we feel over our failings” the world must not forget what he called radiant examples of faith such as John Paul.
The pope cited John Paul after reflecting in his homily in St. Peter’s Basilica that people in the West seemed tired of their faith, bored with their Christian traditions “and no longer wish to know faith in Jesus Christ.”
“When Pope John Paul II is beatified on May 1, we shall think of him with hearts full of thankfulness as a great witness to God and Jesus Christ in our day,” Benedict said.
Later Thursday the pope washed the feet of 12 priests from the diocese of Rome in a ceremony in St. John Lateran Basilica symbolizing humility and commemorating Jesus’ last supper with his 12 apostles on the evening before his crucifixion.
Benedict poured water from a golden pitcher as each priest held his foot over a golden basin, then the pontiff dabbed each foot dry with a white cloth.
The tradition is also a reminder to be of service to those in need. Money collected from the faithful during the feet-washing service was destined to help alleviate those suffering from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.
Organizers say hundreds of thousands of pilgrims will come to Rome for John Paul’s beatification, the last formal step before sainthood. The Polish-born pope was a towering figure during his 27-year papacy, helping bring down communism, steering the Catholic Church through the tumultuous decades after the Second Vatican Council, and bringing his message to millions through his worldwide travels. A prayer vigil on the Circus Maximus, an all-night prayer session in downtown Rome churches and the beatification Mass celebrated by Benedict I top the agenda for the three-day event.
Italian police on Thursday announced a crackdown on hotels and bed and breakfast establishments catering to pilgrims for health, licensing and other violations. Twenty-two places had their licensees suspended for up to 30 days while six hotels were ordered closed.
“The objective is to protect pilgrims arriving for the beatification,” police said.
For more info about St John in Lateran’s Basilica I suggest to visit this page
http://www.welcometorome.net/en/places-in-rome/see/churches/st-john-in-lateran-s-basilica
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“Pope praises John Paul II ahead of beatification”.
DO YOU SEE A LETTER U IN THERE? IT’S THAT TRANSFERENCE ONCE AGAIN AS IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE THE ONE THAT CAN’T WRITE.
If His Holiness was in Idaho, he might indeed “beautify” Pope John Paul II. In the Vatican City, he will do no such “beautification”. If this Blog was called “Joke of the Day”, it would go well with my laughter. Pope John Paul II is being beatified not because of his impact on history or on the Catholic Church, but because of the way he lived the Christian virtues of faith, hope and most importantly, the one tha GhostRider Consciousness stands for; LOVE. “Beautify”, is what a charming group of 3 lovely ladies accomplished as they huddled around GhostRider’s feet in a beauty salon in the Dominican Republic. They beautified GhostRider’s feet.
As I stated earlier; before you can justifiably criticize, first you need to learn how to write. Secondly, you should try making a rational argument instead of just talking nonsense. Love is the last thing on the minds of the Christian (Catholic) clergy; unless of course that love is coming from ten year-old boys. And lastly, don’t kid yourself, anyone can have three, four, or any number of lovely ladies at one’s feet as long as one pays for it; which is the only way you are able to get any.