Posted on 04/07/2005 8:55:52 AM PDT by BigSkyFreeper
The following is an English translation of the official Vatican Italian translation of the text of Pope John Paul II's last will and testament, which was originally written in Polish with successive additions. Dates have been written according to European convention, which makes "6.3.1979" represent March 6, 1979.
The document begins with a Latin phrase that reads, "I am completely in Your hands," and follows with a citation from the New Testament.
The testament of 6.3.1979
Totus Tuus ego sum
In the Name of the Holiest Trinity. Amen.
"Keep watch, because you do not know which day when the Lord will come" - These words remind me of the final call, which will come the moment that the Lord will choose. I desire to follow Him and desire that all that is part of my earthly life shall prepare me for this moment. I do not know when it will come, but, like all else, this moment too I place into the hands of the Mother of My Master: Totus Tuus. In the same maternal hands I place All those with whom my life and vocation are bound. Into these Hands I leave above all the Church, and also my Nation and all humanity. I thank everyone. To everyone I ask forgiveness. I also ask prayers, so that the Mercy of God will loom greater than my weakness and unworthiness.
During spiritual exercises I reflected upon the testament of the Holy Father Paul VI. This study has led me to write the present testament.
I do not leave behind me any property which necessitates disposal. Regarding those items of daily use of which I made use, I ask that they be distributed as may appear opportune. My personal notes are to be burned. I ask that Don Stanislaw oversees this and thank him for the collaboration and help so prolonged over the years and so comprehensive. All other thanks, instead, I leave in my heart before God Himself, because it is difficult to express them.
Regarding the funeral, I repeat the same disposition given by the Holy Father Paul VI: Burial in the bare earth, not in a tomb, 13.3.92.
Apud Dominum misericordia et copiosa apud Eum redemptio
John Paul pp.II
Rome 6.3.1979
Following my death I ask for Holy Masses and prayers
5.3.1990
---
I express the deepest faith that, despite all my weakness, the Lord will accord me every necessary grace to face, according to His will, whatever task, trial and suffering that will be demanded of His servant, during the course of my life. I also have faith that never will it be permitted that, through my behavior: by words, actions or omissions, I betray my obligations in this holy seat of Peter.
---
24.II-1.III.1980
Also during these spiritual exercises I have reflected upon the truth of the Priesthood of Christ in the perspective of that Crossing which is for each one of us the moment of death. In taking leave of this world - to be born into the other, the future world, eloquent sign is for us the Resurrection of Christ.
I therefore read the copy of my testament of the last year, it also made during spiritual exercises - I compared it with the testament of my great Predecessor and Father Paul VI, with that sublime witness to the death of a Christian and of a pope - and I renewed in myself consciousness of the questions, to which refers the copy of 6.III.1979, prepared by me (in a rather provisional way).
Today I desire to add to it only this, that each one of us must keep in mind the prospect of death. And must be ready to present himself before the Lord and Judge - and contemporaneously Redeemer and Father. Then I too can take this into consideration continuously, entrusting that decisive moment to the Mother of Christ and of the Church - to the Mother of my hope.
The times in which we live are indescribably difficult and troubled. Difficult and tense has become the life of the Church as well, characteristic trial of these times - as much for the Faithful, as much as for the Pastors. In some Countries (as, e.g. in that one about which I was reading during the spiritual exercises), the Church finds itself in a period of persecution that is not inferior to those of the first centuries; on the contrary, the degree of cruelty and hatred is greater still. Sanguis martyrum - semen christianorum (Eds: Latin for "Blood of the martyrs - seeds of Christians"). And beyond this - so many people disappear innocently, even in this Country, in which we live...
I desire once more to entrust myself totally to the mercy of the Lord. He himself will decide when and how I must finish my earthly life and pastoral ministry. In life and in death Totus Tuus through the Immaculate. Accepting this death already, I hope that Christ will give me grace for my final passage, which is Easter. I hope too that it shall be made useful also for this important cause in which I am trying to serve: the salvation of men, the safeguarding of the human family and of all the nations and the peoples (among these I refer in particular to my earthly Country), useful for the persons who in a special way have entrusted to me for the questions of the Church, for the glory of God himself.
I do not desire to add anything to that which I wrote a year ago - only express this readiness and at the same time this faith, to which the present spiritual exercises prepared me.
It makes my skin crawl that those like you blindly ignore the significance of Mary in the larger scheme of things, pretending to be all-knowing. Believe me, I don't worship Mary over Jesus, but I do honor her as the Mother of God.
You have my sympathy...lol.
I concur.
I know. But your Comment #10 struck me as almost identical.
"Where oh where in that passage of scripture you cite does it say that Mary is the mother of GOD"
1:43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
If you believe in the Trinity then this passage says it all.
John 2 ~~ 1-10
Doesn't say anything about interceding to Mary.
The scripture demonstrates just one of Jesus' many miracles. Vs. 1
"And the third day, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there."
It doesn't tell you to pray to Mary, it just simply says she was there.
Wink wink, nudge nudge. Of course not. No one worships Mary. Really. Wink wink, nudge nudge. (How long has it been since you've read material published by teh Blue Army of our LAdy of Fatima? Folk catholicism has some weird bells and whistles!) Although, to be honest, we have skeletons in our closet, too. 85% of protestant families send their kids to public school.
I like that picture. I saw it on the thread that broke the news of the Pope's death.
OH.
I was merely commenting that this version was
considerably edited from the full text that I
was reading in another window.
The gospel Paul preached and the one the RCC teaches are not the same. It could be said that both are wrong. It could be said that one is wrong and one is right.
It cannot be said that both are right.
Yep.
Jesus was both God and man.
Mary was Jesus' mother.
Therefore, Mary was the mother of God.
To deny that is to deny that she was the mother of Jesus, or to deny that Jesus is God.
Both are right.
Well, I guess you were wrong. LOL
It's Mary dressed like the image of Mary at Jazna Gora, which was his favorite picture of her...It is wonderful.
The painting got me to write this the day before he died:
Mother,
O Lady in White,
who appeared on the little bush
in a cloud of light,
Our Lady of the Rosary,
knowing such things were to come,
this man,
not yet born
as you talked with the children
of penance
and sacrifice,
knowing what a dark century
it was likely to be,
and yet,
you showed us the way of hope
your son had to offer.
O Lady in White,
who showed your hand
as the assassin lay in wait,
who drew this man's eye,
and his posture changed
slightly, enough not to die,
as he struggled to see you,
as the bullet flashed,
Totus Tuus, he had offered
out of pure love,
and climbing the peak
to be God's witness against the godlessness
of the darkness,
you were there to help him through.
Now tonight,
O Lady in White,
hold him close in your arms,
as the end of an era draws close,
this man who labored so hard for your son,
giving his all,
so tht even on the day of his death
he would instruct us how to live.
Take his hand, O Lady of the Rosary,
and bring him at last
to see the fruit of thy womb Jesus
in all his glory.
You get a day off for complete and utter insensitivity in the face of grief and sorrow. When you get back, stay off the threads having to do with Catholicism and/or the Pope.
Roman Catholic and so-called Protestant dogma can make one ignorant sometimes.. The Middle Ages was a dark time for all.. some say because the bible was LOCKED UP.. I tend to think there were many reasons for the dark ages.. locking up the bible was only one of them..
Both of the bolded assertions are pure hogwash. In the medieval period Latin was the common language of Europe. If you were anyone important you'd have known Latin. Also there were more priests and nuns in the Medieval period than today, so it wasn't that select a portion of society that read in Latin. Furthermore many merchants, princes, nobles and kings could read Latin (and thus the Bible), none of these people were killed for it. In fact many owned Bibles transcribed meticulously by monks for the very purpose of reading the Holy Book. The Medieval period was not as dark as you think, many institutions have their roots in our medieval past. I suggest you read up on your medieval history, otherwise I'd say your answer is a knee-jerk ditto from some raving madman. "Europe: Hierarchy and Revolt" by George Holmes is a start as well as "The Civilization of the Middle Ages: A Completely Revised and Expanded Edition of Medieval History" By Norman Cantor. By no means do I denigrate Protestantism, after all it brought about Modern Science. And otherwise I'd be wearing vestments and arguing about angels dancing on the heads of a pin, while my brethren were out fighting the Moslems. Plus flush toilets are always nice. :-)
Cheers,
CSG
interceding isn't praying.
Don't we all pray to "die with Christ"?
Beautiful and astute. Thank you.
SD
Standing ovation!
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