Posted on 02/11/2005 10:28:25 AM PST by Rutles4Ever
How about praying for God's will instead?
This is what happens when old writers live too long: they start to judge when it is right for others to die...
BTW, I agree with what you said.
I'm in your corner; my father also suffers from advanced Parkinson's Disease, worse than Cardinal Wojtyla's. It is incredibly painful to have to watch him suffer the way he is (he lives at home with me) and I have to confess to praying for the agony for him to end.
Nah, I wasn't wondering, I was convinced that Buckley was a long time gone.
Buckley is getting very old. He is pretty well retired now and it is clear why that is so. His prose has deteriorated, his organization is gone.
Sic transit gloria mundi
Praying for God's will is just as blasphemous, since it presupposes that the current situation is NOT God's will. As difficult to fathom as it might seem, the Pope's suffering IS God's will. I'm not one to try to understand the almighty, but perhaps the Pope is suffering in order to humanize aging and disease, and remind everything that there is an essential dignity in Life, regardless of how insignificant or horrible it might seem. The man in his suffering is an inspiration... can you think of someone else who was an inspiration in His suffering? Would you have prayed for God to ease His suffering? Perhaps a heart attack in the Garden at Gethsemane?
This is really sick. Although in charge, the Pope doesn't actually run the Vatican. The day to day matters can be run by multiple levels of administrators, as has always been done. If a doctrinal matter needs to be addressed and JP is truly incapacitated, it can be deferred and decided upon until he either recovers or dies, after which the new Pope can decide. There can only be one Pope. Some people seem overly eager to see either JP die or resign.
Huh? Didn't Christ pray for God's will be done in the Garden of Eden? Why does praying for God's will presuppose that the situation ISN'T God's will? That doesn't make any sense whatsoever. One prays for God's will in order to remove their own selfish desires from whatever it is they're petitioning.
Not sure where you came up with the 'Praying for God's will is just as blasphemous' part...
Excuse me - Garden of Gethsemane
for those of our school chums, or their relatives, who were in mortal danger. I gather from the remarks posted that this quaint custom has passed out of fashion?
The difference is that Buckley's asserting that the Pope is only hanging onto the papacy because of pride. Do you think for one second he would be praying for the pope's "happy death" if he (the pope)wasn't still in a position of power? He would be forgotten by the public in some Swiss chalet until the media-circus funeral.
It brings discomfort to people, that's understandable. It's not a reason to pray for his death.
You bring up an interesting point. For me, it isn't that JPII is without use, but I do think that a young and mobile Pope would be even more useful. Of course, I have my own opinions of what sort of stance the new Pope should take and all of that, but the point is that JP has served the Church well for 20+ years and, I think, take a rest. I don't mean that he should resign, but I wouldn't be sad to see him pass.
Matthew 6:9-10:
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
So...Jesus was a blasphemer, and a suborner of blasphemy?
Sanctity of life? The whole notion of sanctity of life is that God is the author of our lives- if God takes JP then it is his will. If God lets JP live, then that is also his will. Praying to GOD to allow JP to enter the Kingdom is a far cry from euthenasia. People seem to be so obsessed with death as if it were the end, where as Buckley and Catholics believe it to be the beginning...
Christ wasn't suggesting that one pray that God enforces God's will, only that we recognize that God's will will be done.
Praying for God to relieve the Holy Father's suffering is one thing--praying for his death is another. Let God determine if the Holy Father's suffering can only be relieved through death.
Personally, I find your post title smug and offensive.
Buckley is the founder of the modern conservative movement, and one of the people who shaped the ideas and philosophy of a generation. He is one of the people who built the foundations of what would later become the Reagan revolution.
He is entitled to some respect from the people on this site.
I dont always agree with Bill, but he is entitled to his opinion, as are we all.
To characterize him as a senile, crack smoking, pot smoking, selfish old coot (did I miss anything) sounds like agitprop to me.
It sounds like the crap we see over on the leftist political cult site...Democratic Underground.
As far as Buckleys point...I believe you missed it. Once you go through the experience of watching a loved one go through the final death throes of a painfull terminal illness, maybe you will understand what Buckley is talking about.
Praying to God for anything not already planned by God is futile, since as an infinite Prime Mover, God's will cannot be influenced by finite creations. The Lord's Prayer, theologically, heads dangerously close sometimes to being more than a little fatuous.
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