Catherine Nicolette
THE NEWS THAT POPE PAUL VI OF BLESSED MEMORY IS AT LAST TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED AS A HOLY SAINT HAS OVERJOYED MANY WORLDWIDE.
I was fascinated to hear from Mom that the holy pontiff laid the foundation stone of the famous Regina Mundi Church during his visit to South Africa many years ago.
After initiating the building of the sanctuary church Cardinal Giovanni Montini returned to Rome to become pope.
The beleaguered pontiff steered the Barque of Saint Peter through some very stormy times.
I well remember as a child being somewhat confused by the rapid changes which swept through the church.
One week I heard the Mass in Latin - the next Sunday found all Latin books gone, and an unfamiliar text in English to be followed.
Years later I found the beautiful Latin texts and Missa de Angelis choir books stuffed in a cupboard where they had gently begun aging.
I must say there was a touch of pathos about the sight.
It is an amazing thing that many of my generation who lived through sweeping changes of liturgy are - in our maturing years - returning to more conservative forms of church worship.
Canonisation
My generation has seen much suffering. Post divorce sadness, contraceptive linked strokes and deaths among friends and acquaintances, wars with losses of treasured and irreplaceable community members have all been part of our lot.
Now as we near our golden years, it seems only right that we return to the faith of our infancy, a return to a time when as children it seemed that God was in heaven and all was right in our parish world.
Along with our return to more conservative mores comes the welcome news that a man - both pontiff and prophet - is at last receiving the honor which was always his due.
Cardinal Montini - Pope Paul VI of blessed memory - is to be recognized as a saint later this year. Miracles through his intercession - his pleading with Almighty God on behalf of another - have been attributed to this great man.
Sanctity of human life
Prolifers everywhere have always known the depth of sanctity of Pope Paul VI - Vox populi as it were. Blessed Paul VI stood fast for the rights of the unborn child at a time when to do so, proved exceedingly unpopular. In 1968 his prophetic encyclical Humanae Vitae stated that 'Human life is sacred'. [1]
This Saint of the unborn child has been respected and loved everywhere by those who defend the right to life of the infant within the womb.
Pope Paul VI was beatified in 2014 after a first miracle was attributed to him, the healing of an unborn baby in California in the early 1990's.
During her pregnancy, the baby's mother heard from doctors that they had found a problem with her baby that would likely result in brain damage.
The physicians suggested abortion. The mother refused and trusted her baby to the intercession of Pope Paul VI. The infant was born with no disability. [2]
Second miracle
Earlier this year a Vatican theological and medical commission approved a second miracle attributed to Pope Paul VI. [3] A miracle is the medically inexplicable healing of someone.
This second miracle concerns the healing of an unborn child in the fifth month of pregnancy.
The mother, from Verona Italy, reportedly had an illness that risked both her own life and the life of her unborn child. She was advised to have an abortion.
A few days after the beatification of Paul VI by Pope Francis in October 2014, the mother prayed to the now blessed pontiff at a shrine in Lombardy and the baby girl was later born in good health. [4]
It is a source of joy that at last Pope Paul VI - the man who so courageously wore the crown of thorns of prophetic ministry - is at last to receive the universal acclaim for the depth of holiness his life for Christ bore witness to.
Prayer to Blessed Paul VI for your unborn child
http://churchinterfaith.blogspot.co.za/2016/09/
[1] Humanae Vitae
http://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae.html
[2] Saint of the Unborn Child - Blessed Pope Paul VI
http://churchinterfaith.blogspot.co.za/2016/09/saint-of-unborn-child-blessed-pope-paul.html
[3] Late Pope Paul VI to be made saint this year, Pope Francis says
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-paul-sainthood/late-pope-paul-vi-to-be-made-saint-this-year-pope-francis-says-idUSKCN1G10LH
[4] Vatican approves second miracle needed for canonisation of Pope Paul VI
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/vatican-approves-second-miracle-needed-for-canonisation-of-pope-paul-vi-1.3382583
With thanks to vatican.va, reuters.com and irishtimes.com
