To all MOG members: I prayed for you all in front of the successor of St. Peter yesterday in Dublin. Please remember me in your prayers too. Regolith
Regolith thank you. I too attended the Papal Mass in the Phoenix Park Dublin. I had not intended going but my son and his family wanted to go and my son said to me that if the likes of me didnt go it would look like the left wing media had a victory. Also despite myself I felt drawn to go because after all he is the successor of St Peter and the Mass is the Mass. So I traveled with a group from my parish getting up at 5a.m. It was a really wet day but I met so many good and genuine Catholics I was delighted that I went. I know and am more than aware of all the controversy but I was glad to hear the apologies as I hope it will assist the many wounded people to begin their journey of healing. I pray for all of them. Its all so sad. We all want the church to do what is right. We really want the Pope to sincerely mean what he says. Its confusing but I can only pray and trust especially for my family and friends who are greatly shaken in their faith. Lord have mercy on all of us sinners.
Thank you for your reply Maryrose. I had a lovely day. The weather wasn't great in the morning, but, improved to showery weather in the afternoon. After a 2 hour drive, the walk was long from the LUAS at Blackhorse, but I didn't feel the 4K walk and treated it like a pilgrimage, both there and back. Lovely to see people of all ages walking towards the Pheonix park with their flags and I was so heartened to see the young people with the rosary in their hand. With drip-drip negativity from the media, including ridiculous statements about disease spreading above such a huge crown (yes, that was actually in the media lol), and the poor weather, 500,000 people turned up for Mass. Thats really something. It was wonderful to stand with 500K people and listen to the Pope. Even though the Mass was mostly in a language I didn't understand; that was beside the point and getting the blessing from the direct successor to St. Peter was worth walking the distance and getting soaked for. Worth noting too, in spite of all the criticism of the Pope, particularly on this forum (which is tiring), I didn't see one departure from trad Catholic beliefs, and loved the emphasis on the family, love and forgiveness. I was particularly vigilant and interested to see how traditional, or far from tradition, it was, and I was GREATLY surprised and reassured at the events orthodoxy. It was a very tough schedule for a man in his 80's, pope or not, hopping from one meeting and aeroplane to the next, and I am moved at Pope Francis' energy and obvious love of God, His Holy Mother and his empathy with the people. I wasn't home till well past midnight, as I couldn't get out of the city due to half of it being shut down till 10pm. So after a meal, I got the LUAS back to Red Cow and drove the 2 hrs home, feeling greatly blessed and a little ashamed of how tough my mental attitude of the Pope had been up to now. His approach is completely different to JPII and Ben XVI, but maybe thats needed - lets face it, people, particularly young people, with their gender this and equality that, are mostly atheists, and could care less for the Church or any Pope for that matter. A totally different approach is required, and, as the theologian Scott Hahn said, quoting JPII, 'its both wings of faith and reason are needed for the bird to take flight', and meeting people where they are, i.e. through reason, is the only way to get their attention for now, and introduce the faith slowly. I can see more clearly than ever the angle the current Pontiff is taking, and while his approach makes me nervous, Im willing to pray for his efforts him after seeing and hearing this for myself in Dublin. I wonder if any more MOG members were there? Id love to hear their experiences.
