Lightning Strikes…

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Lightning strikes Vatican

Lightning strikes Vatican

“An apparent photo of a lightning bolt striking St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican Monday night — the same day that Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation, stunning the world — has gone viral.” Click HERE for one of the accounts and the source of the photo.

Here is Steve Shoemaker’s Verse:
“Lightning Strikes…”

There are no short Anglo-Saxon words
that will describe a coincidence.
Long Latin-based circumlocutions
are required. To state the facts, yes:
Pope resigns. Lightning strikes Vatican.
Then whispers begin superstitions.
…
The first gay marriage that I blessed as
a Pastor was barely over when
a bolt of lightning struck the stone cross
atop the church. The limestone chunks fell
on the steps below where the happy
couple had just walked. Not an evil
omen, I believed…not even an
exclamation point! Purely random.
…
Love wins. Ignore all speculations.

– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL Feb. 15, 2013

8 thoughts on “Lightning Strikes…”

  1. Oh yeah it was really stormy all day that day! One of the biggest ones we had this winter, but that’s not saying too much, this winter has been warmer than usual, and very dry. Anyway, the thunder that day actually shook our windows it was so close!

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        • I’ve been reading accounts today about the possibility of an earlier conclave. The argument is that the waiting period assumes the pope has died and that it may not apply in the case of a resignation or that it can be “loosely interpreted” in special circumstances. Stay sane and return to Views from the Edge when something catches your eye.

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          • I’ve heard that too, there are already a ton of people flocking to the city so they can be here when they name the new pope. It’s kinda nuts really, but with something like this, there isn’t a tradition to follow, so it’s all up in the air.

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              • Indeed! It’s interesting how the perspectives are different here to, for example, the Italians, for the most part, feel that the Pope is being brave for resigning, and they are completely ignoring any of the scandal and controversy surrounding it, where as, everyone else wants to know why he resigned, and they are tying the scandal to it, trying to piece together some sort of puzzle. It is quite interesting, especially since everything involving the Catholic church is shrouded in secrecy and tradition.

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