The fast track to sainthood

Ye non-Catholic socks may have missed this little news item, so I'll throw it in the dryer for you.

The pope has waived the standard 5-year waiting period to put the late John Paul II on the road to sainthood.

The last time this was done, at least as far as yours truly can recall, was back in 2002 when JP2 himself waived the waiting period for the late Mother Theresa.

Typically, it takes quite a long time for someone to be declared venerable, get beatified, and become sainted.

Sometimes, this takes centuries.

But, the world we live in seems particularly hungry for (maybe, starving for) icons of modern virtue.

And, I suppose that great need is why waiting periods are being waived.

I'm all for it.

Caritas in veritate

In case ye socks missed it last month, Pope Benedict XVI issued a major encyclical bearing that title.

It translates as "Charity in truth," if like me ye took some other language than Latin to satisfy your high school graduation requirements.

Anyway, it's a pretty lengthy document, and I've been weeding thru it for a couple of weeks now.

Not so much because I feel compelled to read all of the holy father's writings, but because the topic of charity has been popping up quite a bit in this little corner of heaven lately.

Don't know why, just has.

I'm finding there's a lot more to do with it than parting with your cash.

Probably already "knew" that, but it's being reinforced.

Not a bad thing to have reinforced on a Sunday . . .