The press coverage on the possible beatification of Pope John Paul II is fascinating. Here is the AFP:
A French nun at the center of the Vatican case for beatifying Pope John Paul II prepared Thursday to step into the limelight after nearly two years of secrecy.
The nun, Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre, 45, a nurse in a Paris maternity clinic, has testified to the Vatican that she was miraculously cured of Parkinson’s disease after praying to the late pope.
...Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre is to hold a news conference in Aix-en-Provence on Friday, before traveling to Rome. There, she is to take part in the process that will culminate with the beatification of the pope, which would put him on the first step to sainthood.
A yearlong Vatican investigation was completed last week into the testimony provided by the nun, who had suffered from Parkinson’s disease since 2001.
...The French daily Le Figaro, which spoke to some co-workers at the clinic, described her as a “dynamic and discreet little nun.”
The newspaper quoted excerpts of her testimony in which she described how in April 2005, her health had deteriorated, and she was being “ravaged by the disease week after week.”
“I felt myself weakening day after day, and I could not write,” she said, adding, “If I did, it was barely legible.”
After the death of John Paul that month, her congregation began to pray to the late pope — who also suffered from Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder with no known cure — to intercede.
In June, Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre asked to be relieved of her duties but was told by her mother superior to stay the course and to write the name John Paul II on a piece of paper. The words were illegible.
Later that evening, she retired to her room and said she “felt compelled to write as if someone were telling me, ‘Pick up your pen and write.’ ”
“The writing was clearly legible,” she said. That night, she recalled waking up “stunned that I had been able to sleep.”
“My body was no longer in pain.”
She attended Mass that morning and said that after emerging from church, “I was convinced that I was cured.”
Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre ended treatment, and on June 7, a neurologist who had been treating her for the past four years told her that “all indications” of the disease had disappeared.
At the end of 2006, she left Puyricard for Paris. where she joined the team of nurses at the Sainte-Félicité clinic.
Convincing evidence of a miracle — usually a medical cure with no scientific explanation — is essential in the beatification process.
Reuters can't explain a miracle:
The Catholic Church demands proof of a medically unexplained healing to give that honor and a second such case to declare him a saint.
However, Reuters includes this:
Father Luc-Marie Lalanne, who led the inquiry in the Aix-en-Provence archdiocese, said a psychiatrist and three neurologists -- two of them university professors -- had testified they could not explain the nun's recovery.
Enjoy Palm Sunday. If you remember Elizabeth Edwards or Tony Snow, that would be good.
If you remember Elizabeth Edwards or Tony Snow, that would be good.
May your lives be filled with grace and love. Your's too, Tom.
Posted by: NukemHill | March 30, 2007 at 12:13 PM
Enjoy Palm Sunday. If you remember Elizabeth Edwards or Tony Snow, that would be good.
And please remember one of our own, sad/bad.
We miss you and hope you are doing well.
Posted by: hit and run | March 30, 2007 at 12:45 PM
Ditto H&R
Posted by: SlimGuy | March 30, 2007 at 02:13 PM
Yes you think you understand the whole world logically, but every now and then something comes along that causes you to question everything again. It makes you realize that there is more in this universe then we will ever understand.
My well wishes to all.
Posted by: sylvia | March 30, 2007 at 02:32 PM
Very nice post Tom. Best wishes to all the regulars, irregulars lovers & haters.
And for those celebrating Palm sunday and Easter Sunday, this is something useful to remember, from Bruce Cockburn, of all people: "It isn't to the palace that the Christ Child comes, but to Shepherds and street people, hookers and bums."
For those not, best wishes anyways.
Posted by: Patrick | March 30, 2007 at 03:12 PM
This post has been up over 2 hours and no bile has yet appeared in the comments. Tom, you should submit this as evidence of the late Pope's second miracle.
You should also consider invoking the Holy Father on more posts. It's so nice to be able to read a whole comment thread and see only pleasant thoughts.
Posted by: bgates | March 30, 2007 at 03:48 PM
Posted by: cathyf | March 30, 2007 at 04:05 PM
Also adding prayers to the First Mate over at Captains Quarters who is having transplant surgery today.
Posted by: SlimGuy | March 30, 2007 at 04:53 PM
TM:
What a wonderful post! My prayers go out to "Bad" Tony Snoe Elizabeth Edwards and the wife of barney frank. You give so much to others God will take care of you. The courage all of these people demonstrate everyday should be an inspiration to us all.
cathyf:
They have wanted to fast track John Paul's road to sainthood from the very beginning. He was a true saint among us and much loved. He continues to be a hard act to follow.
Posted by: maryrose | March 30, 2007 at 06:12 PM
Actually it was JPII who totally overhauled canonization procedures to be way more fast-track. Somewhere I read the statistic that 1/2 of all saints formally canonized in the whole history of the church were canonized during his pontificate.
(Let's just say I have certain doubts about the wisdom of this. It looks to me like it has become a quite political process where they award canonization to one or another group as a way of indicating favor or support, and don't do a proper investigation of the individual being canonized. When it comes to light post-canonization that somebody has something truly scandalous in his/her background, it's going to precipitate a huge crisis of authority.)
Posted by: cathyf | March 30, 2007 at 06:54 PM
maryrose:
and the wife of barney frank.
Amen! Terrible oversight on my part.
Barney - you and your beloved are in my thoughts and prayers.
Posted by: hit and run | March 30, 2007 at 08:27 PM
H&R
You are a heck of a nice guy.
cathyf: I have to disagree here with the number of persons granted sainthood. Most of their lives are truly selfless and the miracles are very real as in the case of the nun with Parkinson's. Dorothy Kazel was an Ursuline sister who was slain in El Salvador. There is already one cure from cancer attributed to her. A recent kidney transplant recipient also prayed to her and a donor was found. I must admit, I do believe in miracles and the power of prayer.
Posted by: maryrose | March 30, 2007 at 09:39 PM
For the Troops & the Fifteen:
Bail ó Dhia ar an obair (God bless the Work).
And God Bless all in this house of Maguire.
Posted by: stevesh | March 30, 2007 at 10:22 PM
May I be physically well.
May I be emotionally at peace.
May I be free of suffering.
May you be physically well.
May you be emotionally at peace.
May you be free of suffering.
May my teachers be physically well.
May my teachers be emotionally at peace.
May my teachers be free of suffering.
May my friends be physically well.
May my friends be emotionally at peace.
May my freinds be free of suffering.
May Tony, Elizabeth, and bad be physically well.
May Tony, Elizabeth, and bad be emotionally at peace.
May Tony, Elizabeth, and bad be free of suffering.
May Leo, pete, and the other trolls be physically well.
May Leo, pete, and the other trolls be emotionally at peace.
May Leo, pete, and the other trolls be free of suffering.
May the Sunnis and Shi'a be physically well.
May the Sunnis and Shi'a be emotionally at peace.
May the Sunnis and Shi'a be free of suffering.
May all Moslems be physically well.
May all Moslems be emotionally at peace.
May all Moslems be free of suffering.
May all Christians be physically well.
May all Christians be emotionally at peace.
May all Christians be free of suffering.
May all atheists be physically well.
May all atheists be emotionally at peace.
May all atheists be free of suffering.
May all people be physically well.
May all people be emotionally at peace.
May all people be free of suffering.
May all animals be physically well.
May all animals be emotionally at peace.
May all animals be free of suffering.
May all sentient beings in all galaxies be physically well.
May all sentient beings in all galaxies be emotionally at peace.
May all sentient beings in all galaxies be free of suffering.
May all gods, demons, saints and devas in all dharma realms be physically well.
May all gods, demons, saints and devas in all dharma realms be emotionally at peace.
May all gods, demons, saints and devas in all dharma realms be free of suffering.
Posted by: Charlie (Colorado) | March 30, 2007 at 10:32 PM
Nothing like the maha-metta-bhavana to kill a thread, apparently.
Posted by: Charlie (Colorado) | March 31, 2007 at 09:25 PM
Butterflies kisses to you, Charlie, for your beautiful thoughts.
Posted by: Guest | September 15, 2007 at 08:44 AM