ASIA: John the twenty–third -- Now a Saint
So you are now a saint
Do remain human, all the same!
You understood our times
Our need to understand and respond
To change;
To have windows and doors open
For all winds to blow through
Daring to face diversity
As a friend and not a foe;
Talk, talk, you said
And ushered in the great council,
The Vatican two.
A great moment
When a force greater than
The Niagara Falls came down
Untying the spirit of humans,
To rise from their bondages
To rediscover the sisterhood
With all forces of nature;
To break the knots of decadence
Uprooting ourselves from utilitarianism
Which caused
Greatest unhappiness
of the greatest number.
Now it is time for your second miracle
Bring back again the living spirit of
Those great documents
And that great council
And let the people again
Cry out for an open Church
Where love will prevail,
Where fear has no place
Where all embrace all
To end destruction
And make way
For another flowering of
the human spirit.
A resurrection, yes
A resurrection, please!
- Basil Fernando