Monday, April 28, 2014

Thoughts on the double canonization

Yesterday's double canonization in Rome of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II -- I think most of the three million pilgrims were there for the latter to be honest. I hate to be a balloon-popper but I still don't get why the "good pope" of Vatican II was even elevated to sainthood. If it was simply that he changed the Latin Mass into the vernacular and did some other hip things that's not too high a bar imo. Even in death he could only muster one miracle not the two usually required for the Catholic Hall of Fame so they simply waived that standard and included him yesterday. I don't think most folks have the slightest issue whatsoever with canonizing John Paul and there were so many saintly pointers during his life and papacy but I think it was his divinely patient endurance of his acute suffering near the end that easily pushed him over the line. So WHY was John XXIII elevated? Here's my theory -- not that long ago there was serious talk of elevating to sainthood none other than Pope Pius XII, he was on the edge but it soon became apparent that that wasn't in the cards, ain't gonna happen and if you have to ask me why you haven't studied your history. So my astute theological hunch is that Roncalli was a substitute for Pius yesterday, they wanted to do a double coronation anyway but didn't want to burn the bridge to Judaism in the process. At any rate I know who I'm praying to during tough times and it ain't the Vatican II guy.

15 comments:

  1. The Miracle Investigation Team digs into the background of the candidate's entire
    life. Sort of a Vatican NSA . Makes one wonder if all the people that pray when they are dying of some incurable thing and don't recover are praying to the wrong sub-deity.

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    1. We need to keep track of those people who after some calamity say "God spared me for a reason." What have they done with their life?

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  2. Here some woman asked for prayers prior to her colonoscopy. Several people wrote in with colonoscopy prayers. I'm thinking the patron saint of the procedure is St. Roto Rooterus?

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    1. I believe Uranus is in charge of that.

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  3. I guess we're all saints now.

    An alterior perspective and a good one at that:
    http://sspx.org/en/news-events/news/list-doubts-canonizations-3960

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    1. I just read your link and was wondering just WHO could pass SSPX's muster to be a saint?

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    2. Don't blame SSPX. They didn't lower the bar.

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  4. Vat II was a paradigm shift of cosmic proportions but imho that isn't quite what getting sainted is all about. But I don't think any Catholic is naïve enough to think that politics don't play a part in everything that goes down in the Church, one way or the other. Now JPII... he was a game changer in his own right. You kind of just knew all along he was going to end up with Saint before his name.

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  5. I see Dolan seemed to have a good time as usual.

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  6. Sort of Catholic news: 30% of US Catholics are latino (presumably mostly in the SW). But only 50% of latinos are Catholic anymore. Of those leaving the Church,
    half become fundamental pentecostal folks and the other half become unreligious.
    Seems like it should be significant, but not sure what to make of it. Maybe moving
    from central religion to the two furthest extremes...sort of like US politics?

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  7. I worked with a Latin woman once who I assumed was Catholic but she too was pentecostal. I think they like the emotion of that sect esp. when you consider so many Sunday homilies are ho-hum. They are a sensual bunch and wonder how they feel about the Church's bc teachings.

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  8. Unreligious or not just think how much staying power Jesus has. He's the go to when people get pissed and swear.

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  9. Even atheists use his name in vain.

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  10. Guess who else isn't too keen on Pope Francis.

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