John Paul II, We Love You!

Thanks to Simcha I didn’t miss my second born’s namesake feast day, and we even cued her handy playlist for their lunchtime enjoyment/homeschooling lesson for the day week. Joey solemnly proclaimed that he ‘loved this song, Mommy’ while listening to Bl. JPII intone the Pater Noster in Basilica San Pietro during a papal mass all those years ago. He did not, however, recognize the church in question as St. Peter’s, a sorrow that is breaking his pregnant mama’s heart. Rome is fading fast from his 3-year-old mind, and the days that he asks me to teach him Italian words are fewer and farther between. I wonder if he’ll remember much of anything from our time there…

I’m thinking about getting crazy and making JPII’s favorite dessert for us to feast upon tonight, except for the tiny detail that I don’t like baking and Dave will be at work until 10 pm. Perhaps I’ll just spread butter and honey on something and call it Polish.

Taking a page out of Colleen’s blog, please enjoy these gratuitous pictures of my John Paul dressed as JPII, and of both my boys ‘meeting’ our hero in Rome.

Maximilian Kolbe and John Paul, rocking (but somehow, losing) last year’s All Saints Day costume contest.

Joey and Bl. JPII arriving at Fiumincino before the beatification.

Nothing creepy about this …

Joey is escorted by some San Pietrini ushers to touch the (newly installed) tomb of Bl. JPII the day after his beatification.

And John Paul touching the same tomb one year later. God is good.

(Thank you for all your prayers for the family I wrote about yesterday. Please keep them coming as they lay their little one to rest tomorrow.)