just a flicker of hope...

saturday night, before i went to bed, we were all glued to the tv screen. the pope was gravely ill. he was just sort of drifting in and out of consciousness. the live footages showed thousands of people keeping vigil at the vatican, holding candles and praying. the mood was solemn, not like the easter midnight vigil mass a week earlier.. solemn in the sense that these people who were united in faith were hoping against hope that the greatest man who ever lived in our time could miraculously pull thru the night. and almost everywhere around the globe, this scene was being repeated. but pope john paul II was an old man. he was 84 years old and he had more than completed his work here on earth.. and in the end, he was called home by our heavenly father. he passed away at 9:37 p.m. vatican time, perhaps due to numerous complications brought about by his advanced age. according to a story, years before when he was still cardinal, he was on a trip to australia when his plane made a brief stopover here in the philippines. since he had nothing to do while waiting for his flight, he asked directions to the nearest church which was the redemptorist church in baclaran. being a wednesday, the church was packed to the rafters with devotees. seeing this phenomenon, the then cardinal was pleasantly surprised and quite amazed at how people could pack a church even on an ordinary day. he quickly made a request to the priests in charge to be given the honor of saying the mass, and to which the priests happily gave their acquiescence. years later, when he was already pope, john paul II would relate this anecdote with amusement when he went back to the philippines. please let us all pray for the eternal repose of his soul...