The corpse of pope Paul XXIII
Posted on 02/26/2013 12:31:37 PM PST by Alex Murphy
Have you ever noticed the Pope’s shoes? How could you not? They’re red. Not ox blood, Tuscan or wine red, but radiantly Dorothy-in-Oz red. There’s a lot of information in those shoes.
For a while, a story circulated that the Milanese fashion house Prada was supplying the Pope’s footwear. L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s daily bugle, set this matter right back in 2007, thereby quashing the already tired Devil Wears Prada jokes. The Pope’s shoes are handmade by one Adriano Stefanelli, a custom cobbler in northwestern Italy, and they’re pretty spiffy. Apparently, papal infallibility extends to this pope’s unerring fashion sense. In 2007, Benedict XVI earned Esquire magazine’s Accessorizer of the Year award.
[SNIP]
Benedict’s ruby-red shoes won’t take him back to Kansas, of course, but in their own way, they took the arch traditionalist back in time. Prior to being elected to the top job in the Catholic Church, he headed the congregation whose purpose is to promote and safeguard the doctrine of Catholic faith and morality. In an earlier time, this office was called the Inquisition.
[SNIP]
Not long ago, if you had an audience with the Pope, you’d have been expected to kiss his feet. The shoes used to have a large embroidered cross on them, a sort of “Kiss Here’ target, I suppose. Paul VI (1963- 1978) decided to dispense with routine shoe-kissing.
Today, the faithful kiss only the Pope’s ring, the Ring of the Fisherman, showing St. Peter — the fisher of men — casting a net. Normally, this ring is destroyed with a hammer upon the death of the Pope. The word now is that shortly after his abdication at 8 p.m. Central European Time on Feb. 28, Benedict’s Fisherman’s Ring will be destroyed.
(Excerpt) Read more at life.nationalpost.com ...
....Today, the faithful kiss only the Pope’s ring, the Ring of the Fisherman, showing St. Peter — the fisher of men — casting a net. Normally, this ring is destroyed with a hammer upon the death of the Pope. The word now is that shortly after his abdication at 8 p.m. Central European Time on Feb. 28, Benedict’s Fisherman’s Ring will be destroyed.
Suddenly I have a whole new appreciation for why Jesus wore sandals.
Thanks for this info. I’ve been laying awake at night thinking about this. I’m sure the Catholics will weigh in on the significance of this and bless us with their insight. The shoes are a really big thing with me. No, I take it back (in a bi-polar moment) I could not care less about the shoes. Ignore what I wrote at the beginning. I sleep fine (snore a little) and have not been worrying about this.
A big difference between the Pope and The King?
Blue suede shoes!
Never understood why a Pope lived like a king, while supposedly caring for the poor.
Seems it's just very few non-Catholics obsessing over the shoes. My only comment is it's good he gets to choose some comfortable ones in his retirement.
Judas didn’t understand why Jesus allowed the woman to “waste” that expensive perfume on him either.
Oh, I used to be disgusted
Now I try to be amused
But since their wings have got rusted
You know the angels wanna wear my red shoes
But when they told me ‘bout their side of the bargain
That’s when I knew that I could not refuse
And I won’t get any older
Now the angels wanna wear my red shoes
I was watching while you’re dancing away
Our love got fractured in the echo and sway
How come everybody wants to be your friend?
You know that it still hurts me just to say it
Oh, I know that she’s disgusted
(Oh, why is that?)
‘Cause she’s feeling so abused
(Oh, that’s too sad)
She gets tired of the lust
(Oh, I’m so sad)
But it’s so hard to refuse
How can you say that I’m too old
When the angels have stolen my red shoes?
Oh, I said, “I’m so happy I could die”
She said, “Drop dead” then left with another guy
That’s what you get if you go chasing after vengeance
Ever since you got me punctured this has been my sentence
Oh, I used to be disgusted
And now I try to be amused
Since their wings have got rusted
You know the angels wanna wear my red shoes
But when they told me ‘bout their side of the bargain
That’s when I knew that I could not refuse
And I won’t get any older
Now the angels wanna wear my red shoes
And I won’t get any older
Now the angels wanna wear my red shoes
Red shoes, the angels wanna wear my red shoes
Red shoes, the angels wanna wear my red shoes
Red shoes, the angels wanna wear my red shoes
You might want to fact-check that.
Fact checked:
Pilgrims View Body of Pope John XXIII in New Coffin
Long line forms as visitors wait for glimpse of beloved pontiff’s see-through coffin.
http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Catholic/2001/06/Pilgrims-View-Body-Of-Pope-John-XXIII-In-New-Coffin.aspx
2 Kings 13:21
Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.
Sometimes the things God can do with dead human copses is downright amazing.
God will absolutely transform the dead.
Get back to me when you find a verse about keeping a corpse on display for worshipers to ogle.
In the Christian Bible not a Satanic one. I’m sure there’s a verse or two in a Satanic Bible that covers such macabre and grisly activities.
Good Christians at many times and in many cultures have customs which are not specifically commanded in the Bible, but are nevertheless harmonious with Biblical faith and morals. Your mistake, TSgt, is in assuming that if something is not explicitly mandated in Scripture, it is forbidden.
But we are at liberty to do many things which are compatible with our profession of faith, and yet not mandated in Scripture, including:
•Putting the dead body, embalmed and casketed, in a Funeral Home, even with viewing of the deceased, amidst floral arrangements, before burial or cremation.
•Newspaper obits, and even online obits.
•Holding burial services at all (find me that in the Bible)
•Putting up tombstones
•Putting images of crosses, or angels, or flowers, or any other element of sculptural art on those tombstones
•Cremation of the remains, and conserving the ashes in an urn
•Putting wreaths at a monument to the dead (e.g. the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier)
•Ceremonies involving the National Flag for fallen members of the Armed Forces
And why confine this discussion only to non-Biblically-mandated funeral customs? We do things year-in and year-out not mandated in Scriptures:
•calling a person by a title like "Reverend" or "Doctor" or "Pastor"
•making statues and paintings of people we admire
•Easter eggs; and the very word “Easter”
•Christmas trees and holly wreaths
•parades and pageants and processions
•cakes for birthdays (and candles on cakes)
•brides with wedding rings,
•wearing white, carrying bouquets and
•Wedding ceremonies themselves, which were not commanded, commended, not even mentioned in Scripture.
We are at liberty to do all these things, because everything in life doesn't have to be authorized by a "verse".
I approve treating the bodies of the dead with reverence.
I await the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.