It's the day before the pope flies to the US and I'm wondering...
Who packs the pope's suitcases?
Perhaps that task falls to Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, the pope's private secretary. But it must be an easy job. The pope always wears the same white cassock and red shoes: same style, same colors every day. I wonder how many of those cassocks he has in his closet?
The cassocks and an extra pair of pants probably go in suit bags so that leaves just a few shirts, underwear, socks and a Dopp kit. And maybe some sweats for kicking back at the end of the day. Does the pope get to relax at the end of the day? I hope so.
And how about a carry-on? What does Benedict pack in his carry-on besides official papers? Certainly the scriptures, his breviary and probably a rosary. Maybe some German language magazines or (I hope) that novel he's been trying to get to but just hasn't had time for. I recall reading some time ago that the pope has an iPod. Maybe he'll bring it with him. I wonder what he listens to...
When I travel I always bring along my favorite pillow, without which I just can't fall asleep in a strange bed. I wonder if the pope has a favorite pillow? And will he or his secretary remember to pack it? If I had Georg's email address I'd send him a reminder right now.
I know the pope's speeches are already written and ready to be delivered to American audiences. Will the pope review them on the plane? Will he use a yellow highlighter to mark important passages he wants to stress? Is he confident about speaking English? Does he think about how his talks will be received? Is he tempted to revise his texts as he goes over them?
How does he pray as he goes over those texts?
Benedict is the Vicar of Christ and that means in some ways he's like no one else. But in other ways he's just like you and me. Right now, he's getting ready for a trip - and it's a big trip. I know that a few days before I travel I get impatient with anything not related to my trip. I become preoccupied with my plans. I wonder if the pope feels that way as he prepares for this journey. And do the people around him understand it's just pre-trip nerves?
People around the world are waiting to see how he is welcomed and to hear what he has to say: his every step and word will be reported, broadcast, printed, YouTubed, texted, emailed, blogged, posted and commented on. His speeches will be analyzed, quoted, misquoted, interpreted, praised, criticized, talk-showed and parodied. I get nervous about giving a talk in another parish. I can't imagine preparing to speak to a nation - and to the United Nations. What does that do to a man?
I pray for the pope as he makes his journey and I pray that the Spirit will open Benedict's heart and mind to us - and ours to him.
Will you join me in that prayer?
And is that the pope I hear? "Georg! Don't forget to pack some aspirin - and my pillow!"
-ConcordPastor
Never thought of it but this a great piece. I will pray for the pope's as he readies himself for the journey. I think his heart is in the right place.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to hear on NPR today a reporter express the reason the Pope was only visiting two US cities is due to the fact that he is 81 years old.
ReplyDeleteI would think that the Pope could arrange a trip at a pace suited to his age, response to jet/air lag, etc.
I have read that the pope prefers classical music, especially Mozart. He is supposed to be an excellent pianist. For variety, perhaps you could introduce him to Jackson Browne! In the list of clothes, etc., you didn't mention vestments that he will wear to say masses. I bet they weigh a ton. Also, I wonder if he has favorite snacks to bring. I wonder if he takes special medications like so many of us do in the U.S. I wonder...I wonder!!!
ReplyDeleteI love your "musings" and your sense of humor!
ReplyDeleteIs the Pope Capitalized? Your blog lead me to wonder, and your grammar stands incontroveribly correct! Impressive! Truly Impressive!
ReplyDeleteAnd excerpt from: Write on target: Capitalize this!
By Leslie Woolf, Writer-Editor, Office of Public Affairs
Why so much confusion over something (capitalization) that ought to be simple? My theory is that it's related to that proper-noun business.
Have you ever met a proper noun that didn't signify something important? ...
Well, no, not according to the dictionary or the rules that govern English. The pope, the president, inspectors, rabbis, imams, an office director, even a commissioner - common nouns, one and all. Yet nothing on that list is common, exactly; all those words denote something or someone pretty weighty. Still, they're common nouns unless and until they're transformed into Pope John Paul II, President Bush, a Muslim cleric, Commissioner Bonner, and so on. In other words, when you're talking grammar, common doesn't necessarily mean common. It simply means lower case.
If you're talking about Customs Inspector John Jones, then by all means he gets a capital letter. But once his title ceases to precede his name ' John Jones is a Customs inspector who works at the port of Buffalo (port, did you notice that?) - then it's just another noun in the sentence. You should capitalize Doctor Phil Magillicutty, but if you're writing "who knew? Phil became a doctor?" it's an entirely different matter.
Even so, a whole column?
Unless words are your cash crop (as they are for those of us on the masthead of this publication), you'd be amazed - dumbfounded, in fact - at how many of us, including JDs, MBAs, and Ph.Ds, write things that look like this: Just because We Think something is Important - a Position, A program, An event - doesn't Mean We can Capitalize It. The Birth of Our First Child is a Pretty capital Event, too, But not According to the rules of English.
I hope those sentences look as silly to you as they do to me. Yet an awful lot of otherwise very professional manuscripts look like that. And what then begins to happen is that the reader starts to think, well, if the author doesn't even know about the proper use of caps, what other mistakes has he or she made? Consider this graphic example: By now, most of us have read somewhere, or had shoved in our hands, promotional screeds that are vanity-published by hate groups, start-up religious cults, or similar fringe groups. Never mind the so-called production values of these things, which are the true pulp fiction of our day, but if you read any of the manuscript itself, you no doubt found outrageous statements claimed as fact and written in rotten grammar, bad English. With capital letters all over the page To Emphasize Things. I don't know about you, but for me, the bad grammar, bad diction, and bad spelling always served to reinforce the stupidity of the group's claims. It's that old business that if you read one wrong "fact," you wonder about the rest of them. And if You Have Caps all Over The page, you Wonder If the Author didn't drop Out Of school in The Fourth Grade.
Lastly, a few words about capitalizing in the final frontier:
According to my favorite scholar on these matters, Dr. Charles Darling of Capital Community College in Hartford, Conn., the final word has yet to be written about capitalizing words in cyberspace, especially those associated with the Internet. Darling writes, "Most dictionaries are capitalizing Internet ... and associated words such as World Wide Web (usually shortened to Web), Web page, Web site, etc., but ... some corporations, such as Microsoft, seem to be leaning away from such capitalization."
The bulk of written material seems to favor Darling's position, as does this writer. Dr. Darling has much of value to say about capitalization and other aspects of style and composition, and he says them with great humor.
But the best place to learn whether a word should be in upper or lower case? That dictionary or spell-checker that's as close as your elbow.
I'd like to think that my grammar "stands incontrovertibly correct" - but that's much too kind on your part to say so.
ReplyDeleteI did know, however, that pope (on its own) was not capitalized and I wondered if someone might question that since over the past couple of days I've used it so often.
"Incontrovertibly correct" sounds much to close to papal infallibility! Me? I'm just a priest and a pastor - although sometimes I'm ConcordPastor!