I do not eat meat on most Fridays. Many Catholics have been so poorly educated that they don't know that some sort of pennance must be performed on Fridays, whether it's abstention from meat or something else.
I wanted to tell you that I saw Pope John Paul in person, the last time he came to New York. He was riding in the "popemobile" and I was about 10 feet away from him, with no one in front of me to block my view.
I will never forget this: his white cassock looked whiter than any other material I had ever seen. There was actually a golden aura (for lack of a better word) around him. He seemed to glow in a beautiful, heavenly way. I have never seen anything like this before or since.
I was especially struck by the sight of him after communion. I could tell that there was real conversation happening between Jesus and the Holy Father, deep within his soul. I was impressed on another level with the reality of the True Presence of Christ, by witnessing this.
We don't eat meat on Friday's here either,
and I rarely go to Mass without my lace scarf.
I love tradition.
Thank you for mentioning this. I had a similar experience on LI with a visiting priest from Nigeria. He had the most piercing eyes, as if he could read one's soul.
I arrived early and saw this priest kneeling, totally immersed in prayer. He then vested and began the Mass. During the Consecration, I looked up to see him surrounded by a golden aura. Like you, I have never experienced it again.