The Pope replied!
Posted: Monday, 16 April 2007 |
Holy cow - (sheep?) I thought the Pope would be waaaaay too high up the Catholic ladder to lower himself and reply to my letter. Ok, well, his Papal letter-replier did the acctual replying but still, I got a response from the Vatican. Dude!
Does this mean the Pope acctually looked at my letter?? Wow.
What originally inspired me to write the Pope was the desire for two blessed crucifixes for me and Erlend. I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be cool to have a crucifix blessed by the Pope??" And so I wrote to Rome and asked for exactly that - and threw in a few prayer requests for my three sisters while I was at it. (Becky is my cousin but we grew up like sisters!)
Well, there ya have it! I even got a photo. A package deal! Blessed items, prayers - and a photo to boot!
Viva il Papa!
I received a second photo but I sent it to my friend Lisa who is a Poor Clare nun back in the States. She was my confirmation sponsor in 1999 and we encouraged one-another as we both discerned the call to be nuns. I was 100% convinced I was to become a nun and though I'm happy as a married woman I'm still scratching my head. Totally focused on becoming a Nun...and ended up married with 300 cows. Hmmm!
Does this mean the Pope acctually looked at my letter?? Wow.
What originally inspired me to write the Pope was the desire for two blessed crucifixes for me and Erlend. I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be cool to have a crucifix blessed by the Pope??" And so I wrote to Rome and asked for exactly that - and threw in a few prayer requests for my three sisters while I was at it. (Becky is my cousin but we grew up like sisters!)
Well, there ya have it! I even got a photo. A package deal! Blessed items, prayers - and a photo to boot!
Viva il Papa!
I received a second photo but I sent it to my friend Lisa who is a Poor Clare nun back in the States. She was my confirmation sponsor in 1999 and we encouraged one-another as we both discerned the call to be nuns. I was 100% convinced I was to become a nun and though I'm happy as a married woman I'm still scratching my head. Totally focused on becoming a Nun...and ended up married with 300 cows. Hmmm!
Comments
Do you really believe that the Pope blessed these items? How do you think that he did it? I am not having a go at your religious beliefs, but your whole outlook on your blog does appear strange to me. You said that you wanted to be a nun, now you are a married woman. Can you still be a nun, if your marraige fails?
Papa Wine Grape from Il vaticano
Apparently Pope Benedict wears red Prada shoes unlike the last fellow who wore Doc Marten's. Now since the Devil also wears Prada is there some kind of footwear good v evil battle going on?
calum from lewis
I know a guy from N Yorkshire who worships at Ampleforth Abbey whose Yorkshire Terrier has been blessed by the Pope at the Vatican. It has its own basket in the pews at Ampleforth. That beats a flying cat a terrier by papal appointment
calum from lewis
Tell you what - the Vatican needs a new printer or does the machine need a new cartridge?
calum caxton from lewis
I've noticed that when I take photos of some things they come out a bit funny looking!
Michelle Therese from Mainland Orkney
*sniff*
Flying Cat from in a poots
Congratulations. Surprised the letter was not in German or Latin. What you should do next is send the crucifixes to the Archibishop of Canterbury and have him bless them. I don't know whether blessings from the higher ups have more value than blessings by the lowly parish priest (I was raised not to think so), but in this case the result would certainly be euchemenical. If that works with the Archbishop, similar requests could follow to the big honchos of the various eastern churches (Greek, Russian, Armenian, Copt, Ethiopian). After this gets done, you could ask the Guinness Book of Records to consider your submission as a new category/entry. Of course, while all this wafts across the oceans and continents, neither you nor your husband will get to wear them. However, being an old fashioned populist, I venture to suggest that substitutes would do the job as well.
mjc from NM,USA
Pope blesses the items by the barrel (or could be barrels). I am not kidding. Rosaries, etc. I do not know whether he blesses water by the bucket: it would be more efficient to bless the spigot and assume that any water coming from it would be "holy water" if not quite vino. Oh well, that's my fate. Once a Catholic, always a Catholic. Some Catholic!
mjc from NM,USA
Calum, re: Ampleforth cat - I bet you that you are propagating a Paisley canard. The only way Ampleforth Abbey would provide a special basket cum pew for the cat would be not in honor of its having been blessed by Rat-zinger (at the Vatican, Belfast or elsewhere) but rather if the cash donation by cat's bipeds was extremely significant. Having a pew beats having a peerage, I should think (even though I am a Catholic who refuses to pay Peter's dime).
mjc from NM,USA
We have nuns here.
Muness from Fetlar
I remember a scene from Blackadder where Baldrick discusses 'Holy relics' and then proceeds to sell a lot of obviously counterfeit indulgences. It has made me doubtful of the provenance of many things. Luther obviously thought the same with his 30 indulgences.
Herman from DVD alley
Bless you Flying Cat....see, what so difficult about all this blessing stuff?
Sandy the Goodlad from Muddy Bay
Eostre protect me and get thee behind me Sandy the Goodlad afore I hae dy e'en oot wi me claas!!!!! When you say 'have' Muness I hope it's not in a biblical sense....
Flying Cat from in a fluff
Naughty, naughty, very naughty FC.
Muness from Monastic Cell, Fetlar
I am amazed that the pope gives anything away for free. Do you suppose if the entire population of Unst wrote to request a blessed crucifix he might consider delivering them himself????
damadcoo from Unst
Don't see why the Pope would not send crucifixes, or rosaries, to the inhabitants of Unst. They really are rather cheap wholesale, imported. For non-Catholics, it may be useful to note here that the Pope does not bless the rosaries (already in little vinyl pouches) or crucifixes one by one. Let's be realistic. He blesses the stuff wholesale, just as his blessings within/outside the walls are given to one and all (otherwise his arm would simply fall off!!). I don't know about Unst: the bus stop might not appeal to him sufficiently for a special trip. Now, marags and guga from/in the western isles might get him to land in Stornoway: but please Calum., don't be silly and try to invite him to the Fank.
mjc from NM,USA
I think even the Pope would be impressed with that bus stop!!
Michelle Therese from Mainland Orkney
Doubt it, doubt it very much Moo. I did not spot any beer in the shed, only whisky. No lederhosen nor fancy shoes. Just wild Vikings lurking around. And yet, it is an interesting bus stop, even though the computer therein is an old Commodore.
mjc from NM,USA
So...I traded my quiet cabin in the Alaskan woods for the howling winds of Orkney and life on a farm. 
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