tell the world of His (and his) love

... and so goes the theme song of WYD '95 which is a very special event for me. those were days of catechesis, concelebrated masses, latin songs like "veni sancti spiritu", other action songs like shine, Jesus, shine and praying of the stations of the cross. it's the first time i learned how to be "in the crowd". whenever i'm in a jampacked mrt or inside a mall holding a mallwide sale, i can't help but smile and remember WYD. actually, these instances are really nothing compared to the WYD crowd which was a crowd of millions of people -- a flock of a shepherd, of our very dear Pope John Paul II

his presence made WYD even more memorable, i think not only for me but also for the other people in the crowd and even for those who were glued to their TVs and radios for that event. how blessed were we then with a holy man walking in our midst! i was not able to get close to him. in fact, in Luneta, i saw a very, very, very, very, very tiny version of Pope John Paul II because of our distance yet this was enough for me and regarded it as a reward -- for the long walk we traveled to get to Luneta, for staying overnight under the stars, for falling in line to get to the portalets even before you feel the call of nature (because otherwise, you won't reach it in time) and for being still and having concentrated while hearing the Papal Mass under the scorching heat of the sun. i may not understand why people faint/ed upon seeing michael jackson or the beatles, but i'm sure i know why people got speechless or why they shed tears while being inches away from Pope because he truly radiates Christ, the Ultimate Idol.

i have long wanted to write something about him in this blog after i heard about his death but i was always hesitant, thinking that whatever i write about him would be unworthy of his greatness. but still, this is one of the ways i can express how i will miss our holy father. i won't be seeing him anymore on TV by a window in the Basilica saying "Maligayang Pasko" or "Maligayang Pasko ng Pagkabuhay" among other languages every Christmas day or Easter sunday. he won't be the one to canonize Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. no new books or encyclicals will be written by him anymore. i won't see what new antics he would do while addressing his people like the twirling of the cane he did during WYD 95. i won't be able to catch his wit and humor in his speeches anymore like once, when he encouraged the crowd to applaud whenever they feel to do so because in that way, he'll have more time to rest while delivering his speech. i must really accept that he has went ahead of us. i just hope that we continue sharing stories of his life and death and imitate the way Pope John Paul II told us of Christ's love.