A Select Few Just Have It, While the Rest of Us Just Watch From the Sidelines

The enduring impact of Blessed Pope John Paul II is a testament to the reality of the

“X” factor that a few select people have on the collective consciousness of the great

masses of people and which the rest of us simply do not have.

 I say this outside of the documented achievements of the man as seen by Catholics,

 which include his numerous travels to different countries to spread the message of

 Roman Catholicism, his healing powers that were experienced by the faithful, his

 reaching out to the leaders of other religions and the acknowledgement during his time

 of the Church’s error in its persecution of Galileo.

The well-loved Blessed Pope John Paul II remains popular and certainly well on his

way to immortality because of his unique charisma. What he preached on his journeys

were basically his expressions of what Catholics already know. He reiterated the faith’s

teachings and insights and reminded and exhorted the faithful to follow them. In this

respect, he is not much better than the popes who preceded him. What sets him apart

is the irresistible force behind his personality and physiognomy.

When Blessed Pope John Paul II speaks on the faith, people cannot help but be

convinced because of his perceived moral ascendancy, and people say that they feel

elevated and spiritual when they are in his presence. It is a sensation that is nearest to

the feeling of being in the presence of God.

This “X” factor or innate charisma possessed by certain people in varying degrees

transcends time, space and station in life and even moral stature. This quality

separates the successful from the not so successful in the fields of government, politics,

religion, entertainment and sports and also in social-cultural movements. This quality

 may also be a factor in driving the thinking and feeling of people into certain directions

 and in the changing of the course of events.

 In recent history, we are witnesses to the impact caused by charismatic personalities.

These persons have elicited or elicit infinite interest from the masses of people, who

 were or are inexorably drawn to them and to all aspects of their lives. Clearly, Blessed

Pope John Paul II is one of them. And so are Mahatma Gandhi, Mao Tse Tung, Martin

Luther King, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, the Dalai Lama and Manny Pacquiao.

Although evil, Adolf Hitler also merits inclusion here.

These then are the things that have immediately touched me about Blessed Pope John

 Paul II. His beatification I understand was set in motion faster than usual in such

 proceedings. I grew up as a Catholic although I have not actively practiced the religion

 since I finished schooling. I am fairly familiar with Catholic doctrine and generally follow

 its moral precepts, although I consider myself to be a free-thinker at this point. I respect

the beliefs of members of various religious groups and concede that one or all of them

 may be true, but I cannot be certain on any one view on this matter much in the same

 way as there are few things that are certain in this world.

I wish that religious leaders and their members would make it top priority to collectively

pray to their God and all saints to immediately answer and resolve the mystery

of life in a dispassionate manner  and demonstrable in scientific terms to end all

uncertainty and moral relativity in the world and establish clarity for everybody, instead

of praying for the usual individual concerns and deliverance from earthly suffering.

Important questions that need clarification include the nature of the cosmos and the

physical world, the existence of other life systems in the universe, the immortality of the

soul, the nature of heaven and hell and the salvation-condemnation system for

man, the reality of karma and the possibility of reincarnation and the rationale behind

the existence of man. The uncertainty over these things is the basic cause of man

going astray. It is not that he is incapable of hard work and suffering, but that the

purpose of it all is lost on him.

I believe that once these questions are resolved clearly, all persons in the world,

 whatever station in life they may be, will find meaning and value in their existence

and thus strive only for what is good. This will then necessarily translate to goodwill

amongst all peoples and peace in the entire planet.