How differently we would view the world if we took equally seriously all the things that flash into our mind as and when we look at them. How lucky we are that creation has provided us with a flawless built-in filter that continually chucks all unsuitable ideas out of the window of our mind. Yet, sometimes this filter chirps softly in the nocturnal field that surrounds our bright chamber of understanding. At such times we suspect that one or the other of these useless discarded ideas might have also claimed a certain connection with the world. After all, we essentially know that nothing comes into our head entirely unmotivated, not even the most absurd little idea.
When we pay thought to Pope John Paul II while visiting the ancient royal and university town of Cracow, it seems natural that to do anything else would be unsuitable. And the thought is not a distant one: rather, it’s like an ambush, an onslaught – because Karol Josef Wojtyla, who was born in nearby Wadowice, is omnipresent in this city. In celebration of his beatification, the churches are festooned with banners, all altars decorated with his picture. At the foot of the Wawel, the city’s hill-top castle, the citizens have erected an aerial installation in his honour; in its cathedral there is a chapel dedicated solely to him – and those who wish for more exact knowledge can meander through the city on the official Jan Pawel 11 tour. It is no wonder that on this walk one gets to constantly savour the taste, like that of super-soft Cracow caramel on the tongue, of the most beautiful word in Catholic liturgy: Beatification, «making blessedly happy». And those who allow it to melt in their mouth immediately feel a bit of bliss within themselves, too.
First Publication: 22-2-2012
Modifications: 20-6-2013