Bl. Pope John XXIII

I am fairly certain that I need to pray for the canonization of Pope John XXIII. He was made a Blessed by John-Paul II, but not yet made a Saint. Pray for this. This exists in me as a need, and one that I cannot explain. Questions start jumping out at me: how do I know this, can you really talk to the dead, and why do I feel John XXIII in particular?

An epistemological problem: how do I know this? It's certainly not from any personal knowledge of mine, because I know next to nothing about him. I did read the encyclical Pacem in Terris and it impressed me, but not enough to feel that I should take on a campaign of prayer to have him raised to the ranks of the Saints. However, having read the encyclical it helped me decide to convert to RC. I decided that anyone who could write such a piece of work, was a good representation of what it was to be catholic.

In the end I can only attribute my selection of him as a patron because he has poked around at the edge of my consciousness for decades. Always smiling, and looking happy.

The problem of course is, he's dead, and how does one communicate with a person on the other side of death? Fr. James says you talk to them. That is both simple, and yet also astounding. On the one hand, it's easy enough to do to talk to someone, living or dead. On the other hand how often do any of us talk to the dead? And, do the dead answer?

That depends on what you define as dead. I think of dead as no longer in the flesh, the body. What is you, essentially you, is no longer in the flesh, and that is all the difference that exists. The essential you continues on in the life beyond death. To believe anything else is to deny our faith in Christ, his cross and resurrection.

It seems then that we may talk to the dead as a consistent part of our Christian faith. If the saints such as Francis, John of the Cross, Dominic, Bernard, etc., are to be prayed to, then so is all the faithful dead, to beseech them for their prayers. In the Litany of the Saints each saint we name turns their heavenly praises into heavenly prayers for us.

John XXIII comes to my mind often. Sometimes it's as if I can sense his presence. I can't say that for very many other saints. This is a subject almost too big for me, because it is about exploring my own deepest held believes. More on this theme tomorrow.