Video: Bash, On The Arrival Of The Pope
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Let me tell you something about the Pope and I. I grew up a hippie flower kid smoking dope and drinking with my parents before I hit puberty. Their spiritual beliefs were a hodgepedge of Eastern Mysticism mixed with a little Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Native American Traditions, Peace, Love, Granola, and pot plants on the back porch.
Click to watch the Pope get off the plane and be greeted by the Bush Family.
My paternal grandparents were Catholics. They had two sons, my Dad, and My Uncle Harvey. Uncle Harvey became a successful architect and Jehovah’s Witness in 1970 and broke their hearts.
My Dad broke their hearts by all of his alcoholism, drug use, drug dealing ways, and eventual suicide.
But they never judged my Dad or my Uncle. They always loved them, kissed them over and over all over their faces (even grown men, LOL), smiled constantly, welcomed them into their home, showered them with love and affection and the same went into us kids. I never knew any two people who were so full of true unconditional love than my Granny and my Grandpa.
Of course, they loved the Pope. At one point in my life (some of you may see glimmers of it from time to time) because of an experience I had, Christianity became a way of life for me for 10 years. I became a minister, owned and operated a Christian book store for a few years, but then became disillusioned with the actual political bullcrap that went on behind the scenes in leadership areas of the modern day Evangelical movement, and said “Lord! I love You, but I am leaving your followers to themselves.”
Still have my faith, and my unwavering belief in Jesus, and I’m sorry if that offends anyone, especially when you hear my potty mouth sometimes, but after my experiences I cannot deny His existence and place in my life, it would be like denying that I breath air.
Back to the 90′s…I had heard a lot of different Protestant types come into my bookstore over the years railing against Roman Catholicism for being idolatrous this and anti-Pope that and I always thought these people had truly missed the point. I happen to think the Pope loves and believes in Jesus. The Jesus of the Gospels. The Jesus of the Bible.
That’s good enough for me. So, though I may not be a Catholic, I respect their customs and ceremonies as being their way to honor Jesus. Hey, anybody trying to honor Jesus as The Messiah in any way they know how is A+ #1 in my book.
I thought about my Granny and my Grandpa today. I think they probably would have liked to see the video I have posted here.
So I do this for them…the only people that I have ever known who truly loved others, including myself, unconditionally.
Kinda the way Jesus does.
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