Pope John Paul brought dignity to all who suffer, supreme knight says

[Art321]

John Paul suffered boldly before millions," Anderson said at a Vatican conference on health care Feb. 9. "He was willing to have the humility to do this before the world.

“Through this, John Paul showed exactly what human dignity is all about,” he said.

Anderson, leader of the worldwide Catholic fraternal organization, was one of the keynote speakers at the meeting sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers. The Feb. 9-11 gathering, titled “The Church in the Service of Love for the Suffering,” marked the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul establishing the council.

Anderson said Pope John Paul had preached the Gospel and evangelized “with every gift God had given him,” including his acting and singing talents, his athletic abilities and his writing. “And as life went on, we saw him communicate the Gospel using what he also called ‘a gift,’ that is we saw him use his own suffering,” Anderson said.

The late pope, who died April 2, 2005, was able to show that Christ is united with those who are suffering, because he himself suffered on the cross, Anderson said.

With his prolonged and very visible illness, Pope John Paul “showed that it’s not about the sickness, nor even about the man at all. It’s about the other man. It’s about Christ,” Anderson said.

Without his long pontificate and suffering, Anderson said, “we would not have seen his many faces of humility, holiness, dedication.”

Read more at: catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1000569.htm

A true servant of God to the end!

 

[kimmielittle]

Read more at: catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1000569.htm

A true servant of God to the end!

Thanks for this link

 

[Art321]

Thanks for this link

No problem. Hope you like it.

 

[manygift1spirit]

There is a false belief in the current world that says suffering is undignified.

It would seem the late Pontiff shattered that falsehood but good. There is indeed great dignity in suffering.

I like to add (in an amateurish, non-infallible kind of way) that it is only in the infliction of suffering that calls to question dignity. But here it is the inflictor who is essentially saying “by performing these actions I am asking to be relieved of the intrinsic dignity bestowed upon me”. I would expect that such a plea would not be granted. But such actions are of course not unanswerable.