~ Blessed ~

by Tina~in_ut

I'm so excited.  Pope John Paul II will be beatified on May 1st.  This is one step closer to becoming a Saint in the Catholic Church.  On May 1st, he will be given the title of Blessed. 

Just a little background on sainthood.  A Saint is someone that we look to as an example of how to live our lives.  In order to become a Saint, there must be two miracles performed that are credited to you.  Once the first miracle is performed and after much investigation by the Catholic Church, the Pope must also approve, and then the person becomes a Blessed.  This is after someone nominates you for Sainthood and your life is investigated by the Congregation of Rites in Rome.  Only then will the investigation into the miracles begin.

Normally, a person must wait 5 years after their death to even be considered for Sainthood. (and no...THEY aren't waiting......WE are!)  The current Pope waived the waiting period in the case of Pope John Paul II.  He died on April 2, 2005 and in just a little over 6 years, he will be made a Blessed. 

The cure of French nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, from Parkinson's disease was a miracle due to the intercession of the late pope.  The nun has said she felt reborn when she woke up two months after John Paul died, cured of the disease that had made walking, writing and driving a car nearly impossible.  She and her fellow sisters of the Congregation of Little Sisters of Catholic Maternity Wards had prayed to John Paul, who also suffered from Parkinson's.  On Friday, when the announcement was made approving the beatification, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre said John Paul was and continues to be an inspiration to her because of his defense of the unborn and because they both suffered from Parkinson's.

JPII's cause is the fastest processed on record, even beating out Blessed Mother Teresa by about two weeks who is also on the fast-track to Sainthood.  The Vatican said John Paul's tomb, currently in the grotto underneath St. Peter's Basilica, will be moved upstairs to a chapel just inside the basilica's main entrance for easier access by the public.  I've been to see his tomb twice.  The first time, there was hardly anyone there because it was so early in the morning and the hubby and I were able to spend time there.  The second time I went, I brought my kids.  The wait was SO long and they were moving people along so you couldn't really stop for any real amount of time.  My daughter saw a nun hand her rosary to one of the guards who removed one of the ropes surrounding the grave to touch it with the rosary.  My daughter ran to catch me because I had the backpack with our rosaries in it.  She went back to the guard who did the same thing for her.  She then watched as a lay person (adult) asked for the same thing and the guard denied her.  I'll never forget the look of pure joy on my daughter's face when she caught up to me and handed me her rosary. 

I realize that this may seem odd to some of you, but in our house, this is exciting.  AND, it's a huge deal at the hubby's workplace.  One more miracle, and Pope John Paul II becomes a Saint.  I can't wait~