Novendiales - Day Two: Youth
::Popestock::
To the ongoing confusion of secular hipsters and aging sixties (yes, it was last century!) liberals John Paul the Great pulled bigger crowds than anyone else on earth, 5-7 million young people in the Philippines alone on one occasion. Literally millions and millions of youths have attended World Youth Day meetings in various places since 1987. John Lennon once boasted that the Beatles were bigger than Jesus. The late Holy Father, even stricken with Parkinsons and barely able to move, proved just how wrong that claim was. When given the opportunity to visit with Jesus on the altar, to speak with Him in the Gospels and to pray with Him alongside His Pope, the young came in droves. They still come, they pack St Peter's square and mourn the man who reached out to them, even at the very end:
Why did such a man capture our hearts? Why did he energise young people in such a profound manner? Put simply, John Paul the Great was massively popular because he preached Christ crucified and nothing less, eschewing Catholic lite and the easy mythologies of secular liberalism in favour of the authentic truths of Christianity. To a generation brought up by jaded baby-boomers with their lazy liturgies, overly pessimistic attitude towards hierarchy and authority and perhaps most boringly, their self-serving ethics, based on bankrupt moral relativism, the firm honest Polish pontiff came as a welcome relief. Here at last was a man with guts and vigour, who spoke the truth even when it was unpopular. Here at last was a real man to counter the limp-wristed oppression of the guitar-hymners.
John Paul the Great knew that young people are not enchanted by women priests and talk of aborting the weak and the young, rather we are slaves to meaning. Young people cry out with optimism about the future and seek honesty, justice and a sense of personal holiness. John Paul the Great gave us all those things and more.
::Our Friend::
In countless gestures, the Pope let us know he was one of us. He could either wink, or smile or even twirl his cane while doing both and he instantly became the kind of figure that Japanese schoolgirls would put on their stationary, the Pope was appealing and avuncular.
And he didn't patronise us. Even while speaking to young people in America, the centre of popular culture, hip-hop and MTV, he didn't dumb it down:
::The Hard Truth Sells::
Contrast this with the overriding mentality of our parents' generation, those hypocrites who drugged themselves to get through their adolescence before fucking anyone and everyone they could get their sad hands on. We learned to spurn men* who leave the priesthood because they just cannot defeat the 'fat, relentless ego'. We saw the fruits of such actions, the meaninglessness of art, music and indeed politics influenced by drugs, the vapidity of a people who love for an hour or a week and then cast off their lovers, content to kill the children that result.
In the midst of such an ugly quagmire, the Holy Father's voice rang out:
::Requiem::
Young fogeys indeed! Perhaps in my generation - of which George Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sydney has recently boasted, there are 'no young liberal Catholics in Australia' - the legacy of John Paul the Great will blossom. At least I am certain we will make it our special priority. How could we do otherwise? Our Pope is looking down on us and saying still:
*(Incidentally, Paul Collins the defrocked priest in question, is the main commentator on Catholic matters for the ABC, despite the fact that he was basically thrown out for heresy before he gave up the priesthood to spend more time worshipping at the altar of pride. None of this is mentioned by the ABC, of course!)
To the ongoing confusion of secular hipsters and aging sixties (yes, it was last century!) liberals John Paul the Great pulled bigger crowds than anyone else on earth, 5-7 million young people in the Philippines alone on one occasion. Literally millions and millions of youths have attended World Youth Day meetings in various places since 1987. John Lennon once boasted that the Beatles were bigger than Jesus. The late Holy Father, even stricken with Parkinsons and barely able to move, proved just how wrong that claim was. When given the opportunity to visit with Jesus on the altar, to speak with Him in the Gospels and to pray with Him alongside His Pope, the young came in droves. They still come, they pack St Peter's square and mourn the man who reached out to them, even at the very end:
"I have looked for you. Now you have come to me. And I thank you."::Why Do We Love Him?::
Why did such a man capture our hearts? Why did he energise young people in such a profound manner? Put simply, John Paul the Great was massively popular because he preached Christ crucified and nothing less, eschewing Catholic lite and the easy mythologies of secular liberalism in favour of the authentic truths of Christianity. To a generation brought up by jaded baby-boomers with their lazy liturgies, overly pessimistic attitude towards hierarchy and authority and perhaps most boringly, their self-serving ethics, based on bankrupt moral relativism, the firm honest Polish pontiff came as a welcome relief. Here at last was a man with guts and vigour, who spoke the truth even when it was unpopular. Here at last was a real man to counter the limp-wristed oppression of the guitar-hymners.
John Paul the Great knew that young people are not enchanted by women priests and talk of aborting the weak and the young, rather we are slaves to meaning. Young people cry out with optimism about the future and seek honesty, justice and a sense of personal holiness. John Paul the Great gave us all those things and more.
::Our Friend::
In countless gestures, the Pope let us know he was one of us. He could either wink, or smile or even twirl his cane while doing both and he instantly became the kind of figure that Japanese schoolgirls would put on their stationary, the Pope was appealing and avuncular.
And he didn't patronise us. Even while speaking to young people in America, the centre of popular culture, hip-hop and MTV, he didn't dumb it down:
""You know very well ... that satisfactions afforded by a superficial hedonism are ephemeral" and that it is a mistake to "enclose ourselves in the shell of our own egoism," he said. The pope said that young people have the responsibility and the promise to build a "civilization of love" by giving "absolute priority to the value of the spirit" and by overcoming divisions and the various forms of materialism."and he didn't bullshit:
""Freedom is not the ability to do anything we want," the...holy father told 20,000 teenagers in an appearance in St. Louis in 1999. "Freedom is the ability to live responsibly the truth of our relationship with God and with one another.""Not the kind of thing you hear everyday!
::The Hard Truth Sells::
Contrast this with the overriding mentality of our parents' generation, those hypocrites who drugged themselves to get through their adolescence before fucking anyone and everyone they could get their sad hands on. We learned to spurn men* who leave the priesthood because they just cannot defeat the 'fat, relentless ego'. We saw the fruits of such actions, the meaninglessness of art, music and indeed politics influenced by drugs, the vapidity of a people who love for an hour or a week and then cast off their lovers, content to kill the children that result.
In the midst of such an ugly quagmire, the Holy Father's voice rang out:
"You are children of the light (cf. Jn 12:36)! You belong to Christ, and he has called you by name."and the young heard him and cherished his honesty:
"Do not listen to those who encourage you to lie, to shirk responsibility, to put yourselves first. Do not listen to those who tell you that chastity is passé. In your hearts you know that true love is a gift from God and respects his plan for the union of man and woman in marriage. Do not be taken in by false values and deceptive slogans, especially about your freedom. True freedom is a wonderful gift from God, and it has been a cherished part of your country’s history. But when freedom is separated from truth, individuals lose their moral direction and the very fabric of society begins to unravel."
""Still, like pontiffs before, John Paul spoke of a faith founded on absolute beliefs: no premarital sex, no birth control, abortion or divorce. A tough message and tough sell for some in his teen-age flock. But it wasn't too tough a message for young Catholics like Silva, who says, "You know what? It is black and white. This is what I believe in. I believe in no premarital sex. I don't believe in abortion. I don't believe in divorce.""DREADNOUGHT could add his own negative credo to that list: I don't believe in atheistic homosexuality. I don't believe in women priests. I don't believe in euthanasia. I don't believe in wars of convenience. I don't believe in money for it's own sake and I don't believe in bitter forecasting about what can certainly turn out to be a bright and wonderful future.
::Requiem::
Young fogeys indeed! Perhaps in my generation - of which George Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sydney has recently boasted, there are 'no young liberal Catholics in Australia' - the legacy of John Paul the Great will blossom. At least I am certain we will make it our special priority. How could we do otherwise? Our Pope is looking down on us and saying still:
"Remember: Christ is calling you; the Church needs you; the Pope believes in you and he expects great things of you!"Let us mourn him and give thanks for his mighty life: John Paul the Great, pray for us!
*(Incidentally, Paul Collins the defrocked priest in question, is the main commentator on Catholic matters for the ABC, despite the fact that he was basically thrown out for heresy before he gave up the priesthood to spend more time worshipping at the altar of pride. None of this is mentioned by the ABC, of course!)
by DREADNOUGHT at 12:50:00 AM
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