hey,

i leave for rome EARLY tomorrow morning and i have a papal audience on wednesday. i'll remember you all during any prayers for special intentions. please pray for my safe journey and the welbeing of the pope.

i'll be back next week.

God bless,

-- paul h (dontsendmemail@notanaddress.com), May 16, 2004

Answers

bump

-- bump (n@n.N), May 16, 2004.

Dude how awesome!

Of course!

-- Jacob R. (jacobrainey@hotmail.com), May 16, 2004.

Bon Voyage Paul! Enjoy your trip! Say "Hi" to His Holiness for me.

-- Ed (catholic4444@yahoo.ca), May 16, 2004.

WOW! Prayers for a safe round trip are yours Paul, and of course prayers for the Pope. Thank you for thinking of us and you bet I'd like to be included in any special intention prayers if you happen to remember it in all the excitement.

-- lesley (martchas@hotmail.com), May 16, 2004.

You are both in my prayers, as are all of those at the Vatican.

Stay away from the pigeons!

-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@Hotmail.com), May 16, 2004.

Have a safe trip! I'll keep you in my prayers Paul.

-- Andy S ("aszmere@earthlink.net"), May 16, 2004.

Paul H, how exciting for you! I will pray for your safe journey and spiritual renewal. If you get this message in time, I would appreciate your prayers for my family while you are there. There are some problems going on right now.

Thanks and God bless,

-- Emily ("jesusfollower7@yahoo.com), May 17, 2004.

bon giorno from rome,

today i went to the vatican at 745 in the morning and joined the crowd to enter S. Peter's square. i got a seat about forty rows from the front (the closest were reserved) towards the center aisle. after several hours of waiting the pope was driven out and around through the aisles between seats.

as he was about to come up to the main aisle a man held out his baby. the pope stopped, not more than twenty or thirty feet from me as the guards brought him the baby for blessing. then the pope slowly was driven past me, within as close as ten feet... it was incredible. he looks much more healthy than the media in america portrays him to be... a trend which is not repeated by italy's media. The service was short. during the blessing i held up five rosaries, two crucifixes of saint benedict, two scapulars with beatified mother theresa (whos fellow sisters i met there) and about 27 assorted little crucifixes for blessing. my intentions were for the church, my family, friends, for some problems i have been having, and for everyone on the forum (especially emily and family, i read that from the office here in rome).

later, i saw the fabulous sistine chapel, and climbed up the dome in saint peters basilica to look out over the city of rome. having done this we decended into the basilica and down into the tomb of popes, where i knelt before the tomb of saint peter, our first pope, and repeated my intentions adding a prayer for those in schism and sinners outside the church.

i have made many discoveries in rome, especially about christianity... which i will post in some new threads when i return... probably late saturday german time. just wanted to let you all know that you were in my heart and mind today at the vatican and that it was most incredible.

-- paul h (dontSendMeMail@notAnAddress.com), May 19, 2004.

That's awesome paul. We went there last fall, but we never got to see the Pope, you lucky dog. Hope the rest of your trip goes well.

-- Brian Crane (brian.crane@cranemills.com), May 19, 2004.

Paul H,

It's great to hear about your successful journey, and especially your special consideration of prayers for my family and me. Your concern is truly appreciated.

Paul H said: i have made many discoveries in rome, especially about christianity... which i will post in some new threads when i return

Wonderful! I am eager to hear about them. God bless you.

-- Emily ("jesusfollower7@yahoo.com), May 21, 2004.

Your trip sounds fascinating Paul. Keep it coming!

-- Ed (catholic4444@yahoo.ca), May 21, 2004.

Bon giorno! That sounds like an awsome trip. I did something similar last November. Rome is an incredible place.

-- Pat Delaney (pat@patdelaney.net), May 25, 2004.

Let me reveal something that was bothering me in the early hours this morning. About 3:30 AM.

It came to me suddenly. President Bush is paying His Holiness John Paul II in the weeks ahead. I seemed to get a chill up my spine thinking; what about possible terror attacks?

We all should pray God helps and protects the two leaders of our free world during that meeting.

I have to think the Vatican has the capacity for high level security measures; and our Secret Service surely prepares the way meticulously whenever the President is travelling.

Nevertheless, there are serious problems which must be addressed for this particular visit. Al Qaeda must regard such a meeting as irresistably tempting. So much so that an aerial attack, or a suicide mission is almost mandatory now. To be given a chance to catch both our President and the leader of the Christian world under the same roof, and on a date known well in advance? Hard on the November U.S. election?

Italy is known to have the most overwhelming muslim immigration problem these days. There is no shortage in their population of suspicious aliens. It gives cause for great worry, But I suppose the governments of both nations have this well in mind.

We all have to implore God's infinite power and His mercy for our Holy Father and President Bush in the coming days. Please let's not forget this.

-- eugene c. chavez (loschavez@pacbell.net), May 25, 2004.

Eugene,

I've witnessed first-hand the type of security which takes place prior to and during times when Cardinals, the Papal Nuncio, Heads of State, Ambassadors and other VIPs have had occasion to visit the office. Nothing is left to chance on those occasions. When the Holy Father and the President of the US are in the vicinity you can rest assured that all possible precautions will be taken, especially bearing in mind recent events.

However, that being said, I agree that we all ought to be praying for their safety during this time.

May the Lord watch over and protect them!

-- Sara (sara_catholic_forum@yahoo.co.uk), May 25, 2004.

eugene is quite astute, as is sara. the vatican is well protected from assault, and the papal quarters are far inside the vatican. but at the same time, al quiada has announced that it is in possession of suitcase nuclear devices. it is never too safe to pray for the safety of our fellows.

-- paul h (dontsendmemail@notanaddress.com), May 25, 2004.

Emily, how do you do your email, i wanted to send you something, but it won't go through for some reason. is there really a quotation mark in front of your addy?

-- paul h (dontsendmemail@notanaddress.com), May 25, 2004.

paul,

I put in the quotation mark so that I don't get spam - if you hover over my address, notice how nothing appears on the "mail to:" section of the status bar.

-- Emily ("jesusfollower7@yahoo.com), May 25, 2004.