St. John XXIII, John Lennon and my hero
One was known as the Good Pope.
One was known as the bad Beatle.
I was still growing in my mother's womb in the year
that John was elected our Holy Father.
When John died in 1963 and another
John was carried away six months later,
a Catholic void was created that paved the way for the phenomena
known as the Cultural Revolution of the Sixties.
In many ways the modern world traded the model of perfect love,
as found in the Four Gospels (the beloved St. John)
and in particular in Jesus Christ's Beatitudes
for the pop cliches of carnal lust,
as sung by the Fab Four led by John.
Fast forward sixteen years...
I was at West Point, NY when John Lennon
was assassinated in NYC.
I have to admit, I wept when I heard the news.
You see, I was one who became a belated follower
of this secular prophet and his deep music.
I became a very lost sheep.
Fast forward eighteen years...
At my reversion in 1998 I saw the light
and my understanding
of my relationship
with John
came
full
circle.
My firstborn
is now my hero
for he was born the following year
on the feast of the birth of St. John the Baptist.
My son is named John.
On this Divine Mercy Sunday
I pray for St. John XIII's intercession
and the eternal soul of John Lennon
as I ponder the significance of his
death anniversary, December 8th.
Feast of the
Immaculate Conception
________________
From John's final Encyclical Pacem in Terris (1963):
From John's first solo non-Beatle song
Give Peace a Chance (1969)
Everybody's talkin' 'bout ministers, sinisters
Banisters and canisters, bishops and fishops
Rabbis and pop eyes, bye bye, bye byes
Everybody's talking about revolution, evolution...
Let's hope his last single
(Just Like) Starting Over (1980)
represented a spiritual rebirth
and a turn to the True Light.
Sincerely yours in Jesus through Mary,
Mike Rizzio
Imitate Mary
Become like Jesus
Live for the Triune God
Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ
See you on the High Ground!
* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph;
O Beata Trinitas;
St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael
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