THE PENULTIMATE PONTIFF

Well, there's a new pope.  Isn't that a comfort.  I can't exactly say that I care, being a recovering Catholic and all, but it's newsworthy so I suppose I should consider its implications for Catholics and the rest of the planet.  After all, I'm the not-so-naked civil servant and I muse...so I'd best be about it!

For those of you that may not remember, John Paul II was the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church and reigned over a billion people as God's purported official representative on earth for almost 27 years.  History teaches us that he is the descendant of St. Peter, the first pope and one of the Christ's twelve apostles.  He was and will remain the only Polish pope, and he traveled more and alienated more people than any other pope in history.  But, as with Catholics throughout history, the people John Paul led loved him despite his foibles, fallacies and forgetfullness because he is, according to the church's dogma, infallible.  And because, after a few decades of a cushy gig consisting mostly of public speaking to promote the church's interests, a few masses and a couple of hundred audiences in between massive banquets and lots and lots of rest on 300 count sheets, JP was a nice, portly, grandfatherly old man that seemed benign to the naked (gasp!) eye, but had a lot more going on under his robes than meets the eye. 

He's gone now, and we are officially - according to the most famous, if not the only, Catholic seer and prophet, St. Malachy of Ireland - now just one pope shy of what will either be the end of the world, the end of the papacy or the end of the church, take your pick.   According to the traditional account, in 1139, Malachy was summoned to Rome by Pope Innocent II. While there, he purportedly experienced a vision of future popes, which he recorded as a sequence of cryptic Latin phrases. This manuscript was then deposited in the Roman Archive, and thereafter forgotten about until rediscovered in 1590.

The phrases, according to legend, represent each of the popes by describing an integral element of them or their reigns.  For example, John Paul I (1978) was given the phrase "De medietate Lunae (of the half of the moon)" which, according to scholars and theorists, relates to his place of birth, Canale d'Ogardo, diocese of Belluno, (beautiful moon,) as well as the fact that he was elected pope on august 26, and his reign lasted about a month, from half a moon to the next half...

Similarly, John Paul II (1978-2005) was given the phrase, "De labore Solis (of the eclipse of the sun, or from the labour of the sun,") which many believe relates to the fact that he was born on May 18, 1920 during a solar eclipse. He also comes from behind the former Iron Curtain. He might also be seen to be the fruit of the intercession of the Woman Clothed with the Sun labouring in Revelation 12 (because of his devotion to the Virgin Mary).

Both of the associations seem to display an uncanny portending of future events, at least insofar as the popes are concerned.  Which is why there's so much concern, excitement and curiosity about our latest earth-bound god, Benedict XVI who, based on Malachy's vision, is the second-to-last pope - the penultimate pontiff, as it were.  And because I recognize that you are all chomping at the bit, Ben's phrase is "Gloria olivae" - the glory of the olive.  Prior to the papal conclave, this motto led to speculation that the next pontiff would be from the Order of Saint Benedict, whose symbols include the olive branch. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, selected in April 2005, is not a Benedictine, but did pick Benedict XVI as his papal name, which might be regarded as a fulfillment of this prophecy.

Yet there can also be a different meaning. Pope Benedict had his birthday on the 16th April and on that day is celebrated the feast of Saint Benedict Joseph Labrè (26 March 1748 - 16 April 1783), also known as the Holy Pilgrim. His first name was already Joseph and together with Benedict, which he has now assumed, his Christian namesake is now complete. Moreover, the Order of St Benedict is also known as that of the Olivetans.

The bottom line is that he's the next to the last pope....and has confirmed prophecy by sharing with the cardinals that elected him that his would not be a long papacy.  According to many, 28 days is the maximum length of time that Benedict will occupy the Holy See. 

And what then?  Well, the election of the last pope, of course.....

The longest and final motto reads, "In persecutione extrema S.R.E. sedebit Petrus Romanus, qui pascet oues in multis tribulationibus: quibus transactis ciuitas septicollis diruetur, & Iudex tremêdus iudicabit populum suum. Finis." (During the final persecution, the seat of the Holy Roman Church will be occupied by Peter the Roman, who will feed the sheep in many tribulations, after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed, and the terrible Judge will judge his people. The End.) According to some sources, this was not a part of the original prophecy but was added in the early 19^th Century by a publisher.

There are several interpretations regarding the last Popes listed by St. Malachy taken by those who believe the prophecies:

• Regarding whether additional Popes, not listed by St. Malachy occur between Gloria Olivae and Petrus Romanus the following differing views are held:
  1. Gloria Olivae is immediately followed by Petrus Romanus.
  2. there is a gap of unknown length between these two Popes, about which Malachy did not write.

• Regarding whether the Papacy ends with Petrus Romanus, the following differing views are held:
  1. Petrus Romanus will be the final Pope. The end of his papacy will mark either the end of the papacy, the end of the Church, or the end of the world.
  2. There will be additional Popes following Petrus Romanus, about which Malachy did not write. There is also possibility that these additional popes might be considered antipopes, which could justify their omission in St. Malachy's eyes.

And Malachy is not the only one that sees the final days.  In 1909, while granting an audience, pope Pius X leaned back and closed his eyes. Suddenly he "awoke" and cried out: "What I see is terrifying. Will it be myself? Will it be my successor? What is certain is that the pope will quit Rome, and in leaving the Vatican, he will have to walk over the dead bodies of his priests. Pius's prophecy was fulfilled neither in his own time nor in that of the next pontiff. According to Malachy's vision of the Church's "tribulation," it applies to the successor of Gloria Olivae-the next pope but one.

Again, the bottom line is that, for all intents and purposes, the end really is near.  Having destroyed the planet and each other; turned against God and his angels; and dared to call ourselves gods with fits of rage and avowals of judicious condemnations of those that we believe to be sinners - despite any evidence of God's opinion on the subject anywhere in scripture - we are so deserving of punishment that I doubt even the second coming of the Christ can save us.  I am actually looking forward to the end, so that the human suffering that we, ourselves, have created can finally be over. 

I'm ready to go home.  This world is a horrific place, filled with such hatred and such rage that even the light of God is having a difficult time getting through to us.  This formerly wonderful country is being run by a cabal of lying thieves; our economy is about to hit the toilet as oil prices line the pockets of the Bushies and rape the common man; we are detested around the world - and those that hate us don't like each other very much, either; our planet is on its last legs - and Bush wants to take it off life support;  I don't like it here anymore, and I want to go home.  And, with John Paul's death and the election of Benedict, it looks like it won't be too much longer until I get my wish....

You listening, God?  Get my room ready, please....I'm comin' home......

Comments

[Sudiegirl]

Wow...I'm a recovering Methodist but my boyfriend is a cradle Catholic. I never realized that Catholicism could be so drastic. I'd better pay attention...

Enjoy the last days, my friend, and come visit me at http://musingsofachick.blogspot.com.

thanks!
Sudiegirl