"Man always travels along precipices. His truest obligation is to keep his balance."
-Pope John Paul II

Reading a biography about the Pope, I can't help but think how much it would have been interesting to meet him in person, even though I'm not Catholic. A writer, an actor, a scholar, a social activist, and most of all, a man of faith. He was probably the most accessible and open pope in history, visiting Jerusalem and even a mosque, yet he held firmly to unpopular Biblical stances on issues such as abortion and gay rights.

He truly was one of a kind.

What resonated with me the most about him was reading about the personal tragedies and sufferings in his life - the early deaths of his mother, older brother and his father; living in Nazi-occupied Poland; being hit twice(!) by cars as a young man... he was a person intimately and personally aquainted with suffering in every sense of the word.

I respect that a lot about someone. I think only those who suffer/have suffered can truly empathize with those are suffering.

On a happier note, he left quite a large volume of written work, including a memoir describing his entry into the priesthood titled Gift and Mystery. Maybe I'll read it after I get through the other books in my ever expanding "to read" pile.


.:.


CoHi 2005


There was a CoHi meeting recently... I wrote some random thoughts on the Wudan Mountain blog. I'm also hoping to update the CoHi 2005 site soon... but the CoHi blog seems to be adequate for now.
posted by G at 1:55 AM   |

in?scrip?tion (n-skrip-shun)n.
1. The act or an instance of inscribing.
2. Something, such as the wording on a coin, medal, monument, or seal, that is inscribed.
3. A short, signed message in a book or on a photograph given as a gift.
4. The usually informal dedication of an artistic work.
5. Jeremiah 31:33