MESSAGES FOR PAPA

Our Italian sisters started a thread called "Buona notte, Benedetto" a few weeks back, in which one can write Papa a good-night message - and it has elicited some of the sweetest, most poetic thoughts about our Beloved Benedict. So I think we should have a similar corner where any member can feel free to express what spills over from the heart - in any form you wish, including poetry. It will also accommodate translations of messages posted in the Italian and French sections.

I will open the section with my translation of appropriate
verses posted by Sylvie in the French section today:
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Thanks to the Web, through which
I may murmur messages to you:

Like shooting stars,
well-meaning thoughts
laden with love and prayers for you
intersect in the fabric of the Net.

They weave celestial poetry
to lull you as you sleep.

Rest well - you have much work ahead
that will give us all great joy -
but will also cost you stress.

Rest well, anyway, and let
our prayers be with you
and our love.

Here is the letter from Vallifra (translated) that started the "Buonanotte.." thread in the main forum. It was quite topical, as you can see.
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Dearest Papa –
I have just finished correcting a pile of horrifying homework by my pupils, and now I need to recover by focusing my thoughts on you, who by your marvelous appearance, and above all, by your magic words, have filled my days with love and joy these past several months.

Today, I was disheartened on reading the criticism directed against you in the press because of the motu proprio in which you instructed the Franciscans of Assisi to recognize the jursidiction of their new bishop. But it was well that you once again confirmed in this way your firmness with all who would stray from orthodox practice of the faith and of liturgy.

I also felt bad reading about the scandals in Brazil rearding homosexual priests – a matter which must cause you great sorrow.

But then I found joy and comfort in admiring new photographs of you which have come out in this forum, and reading an article about you written by your friend, the banker Thaddeus Kuehnel, who disclosed new details about your life, such as the prayers you said with your siblings, and your predilection for Bavarian dishes (especially sweets!).

I love to follow news reports of what you do every day, even if I am concerned over the amount of work that you must do.

And now, I wish you a happy night, and I send you a sweet kiss on that rebellious lock of hair that often springs out from under your zucchetto.

Papino mio, let me give you a gentle embrace without disturbing your sleep, so that your breath may once more inspire my heart to write* - how poetic I feel!... [and she adds this image]


*This is one of those poetic lines that's difficult to translate
in order to retain its sense completely. The original phrase was:"..perchè il tuo respiro possa ancora sollevare per un istante la piuma del mio cuore" - literally, "so that your breath may once more lift for an instant the pen of my heart".

Let me wish you a luminously peaceful night, in which the angels of the Lord, in all their glory, will brighten your dreams with hymnns of love, hope and joy, my sweetest Papa Ratzi.

More Buonanotte notes for Papa, from our Italian sisters:
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Dearest, sweetest Papa… Today in your red cape, you seemed like an icon, fragile yet splendid. I will tell you a secret: Since you came into my life, your face is the last thing I see before I fall asleep at night and the first thing I see when I wake the next day. I hope this will be so for many, many years to come.
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Sweetest Papa… Again today, you were supremely beautiful. Your faithful “sisters” are right – your hair regrows at supersonic speed, and it made me feel all cuddly to see a white sweater peep out from under the papal sleeve… When I see you, I feel a wave of love so acute that it almost makes my heart ache!

Good night, and may you sleep in sweetness, wrapped in heavenly thoughts. Sleep well, cradled in the certainty that those who love you are so numerous that every micro-second a sweet kiss borne on the wings of love is sure to reach you.
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Goodnight, sweet cucciolotto*, I send you a kiss on the forehead and a caress for your snow-white hair, that you may sleep well tonight.

Goodnight and sleep well, my treasure, and kisses on your closed eyes, always with all my prayers.
*Cucciolotto is a term of endearment; it means, literally, little puppy.]
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Dearest Papino…When at night I navigate the Net to find out what you said and did during the day, I am always stunned (as well as concerned) at the quantity of interventions and contacts that you manage to carry out every day.

I am concerned because I once read that you could remain well for many more years but that you should be careful because you are somewhat fragile. But I know that nothing will make you retreat from fulfilling not only your assigned tasks but much more. I trust therefore in the angelic orders who are near you and must protect you, because, after all, you are one of them.

I send a tender kiss on those beautiful hands which I so admired in the pictures showing you at the piano.
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Soon I will go to bed myself… and like every night, I am looking at the image from the Webcam pointed at your window so I can wish you a virtual Goodnight. …I send you a most affectionate kiss and hope you will have a gentle night’s sleep…

I am remembering that marvellous day which is stamped in the memory of each of us, when you faced us from the Loggia, and we, the flock that you now guide, looked up to see you, who were no longer Joseph but Peter…

Goodnight, papino mio, let those marvellous eyes rest now… and let our prayers take care of you.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 15/12/2005 4.57]

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 15/12/2005 17.24]

Good night, my sweet little sixteen, sleep well.
God may bless you, angels may protect you and if anything goes wrong, I'll be there to take care for you.

How delightful he must be, our Pope, while he sleeps!
Under those delicate eyelids, his beautiful eyes find rest, at last. Finally alone, or maybe too alone, in the silence of an austere room, his gentle face sunk into the pillow, the hair all tousled, maybe lying on one side, limbs relaxed in abandon, breathing lightly and slowly…
Sweetest Papa, no night passes in which I don’t imagine my head resting on your welcoming shoulder and giving you an infinitely tender embrace.
Good night, papettino mio. You are my joy and my comfort!
Rest peacefully and sleep enough!
Ti voglio tanto bene!
Ti amo profondamente!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Cucciolotto adorato............

…I read of the changes that you plan in order to straighten things out (in the Curia). Probably these changes will not be received too happily by many of the grey eminences. But you would never back down, you will follow your mind and most of all your heart. I love you among other things because you are a consistent and resolute person.
Don’t worry… my fellow sisters and I are with you every moment with our prayers and our love. I wish you a peaceful rest, my angel and infinite love.
Bacini, bacini, baciniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

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Cucciolotto mio-
You are always in my thoughts.
…It is true that I think of you always, even if my day is full of appointments and most of all, work. It is only here (in the forum) that I can be care-free and find serenity.
How I would like to convey to you my love which grows stronger every day….I send you a tender embrace, and just as tenderly,
I would want you to rest well…

A world of KISSES and KOKKOLE....

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Kika82 is always good for a change of pace.
Her are two of her notes:

Wheeeeee Benedetto, how are you tonight?
I imagine you must be kaput, so I’ll be brief.
GOOD NIGHT!!!!
P.S. Guide me towards holiness.


Please do not “pass the night in white”
[literal translation of ‘passare la notte in bianca’, which means to have a sleepless night] –
you already do that during the day!
'Night, chief!

Here is Beatrice's greeting -



Her message reads:

Joseph, my angel -

I wish my thought were a feather
or a bird -
It would fly to you and say -
"Everyday since April 19,
I think of you, I pray for you.
And I love you..."

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It is a greeting and a message that we all share.

A translation cannot render the rhyme and rhythm of her verse in French. She says-

Since that blessed day,
your wonderful smile
has been with me
and lights up my life.
For all this, Lord,
I thank you.

For eight months of pure joy,
and many many years to come -

Benedetto colui chi viene nel nome del Signore!
Blessed are you who come in the name of the Lord!
Benedetto- colui chi viene nel nome del Signore!
Benedict - who comes in the name of the Lord:
in the name of the Father, who willed your Fate,
and the Son, whose Good News you preach,
and the Holy Spirit, who dwells in you -
we offer you our love, our prayers, our thanks.

dear papa,

even if im at a mall today,i dropped by an internet cafe to catch up on things which you may have done for God and the Church. not to mention look at your beautiful face!
i want to tell you that im excited to read your first encyclical and absorb it as much as i can..

i know youve been very very busy lately and more so in the coming days but always remember that we do love you and will always pray for you!

love you Papa Benedetto xv1!

From Ratzigirl:
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Little Vatican feather, you cannot imagine what you have given us when you said Yes. For some of us, you opened our eyes. To others, you have shown the way. Others still, you have comforted for the loss of a father.

You are the rock to which we all cling – but very tenderly so we don't aggravate a task that is already too complex…

A toast - and I entrust my most affectionate embrace to the wind so it will reach you….

From Emma3-
It’s true, Papa Joseph,
Little white Puppy, our little Vatican f(e)ather –
That’s what you seemed this morning
in your new white overcoat.
It may be that your snow-white hair
reminds me of the Grandpa I no longer have.
It is incredible that someone who looks so fragile
that I want to protect you with all my might-
is really the solid rock
on which I seek a foothold
for this part of my journey
that I may proceed with ever surer step
because I trust in you.


From Discipula:
To our adorable Papa,
For every day of these eight months
during which my joy in the faith has grown so much-
I send you all affection from the bottom of my heart,
my most beautiful thoughts and
my most heartfelt and emotional embrace.

Kika82 wrote a little poem:
Oh Papa Benedetto
me l'avevano detto
che era molto probabile
che fossi papabile.
E infatti sono otto mesi,
tutti ben spesi,
che di bianco sei vestito
e sembri proprio un mito.

Oh, Papa Benedetto,
I had been told
that it was very probable
you’d be a Papabile.
In fact it’s been 8 months,
all of it well spent,
since you put on Papal white
seeming someone out of myth.


From Euge65:
Thank you, Benedict, for these 8 months of papacy
during which you have taken me in hand
and made me rediscover and appreciate
so many values and teachings
that I had thought I’d lost.
You are our guide and we wish you all the best.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 20/12/2005 1.54]

Everyday of the last 8 months- several times a day - I thank God that you were chosen and that you accepted. Though we are separated by thousands of miles, you are always on my mind. In the afternoon, I know it is night at the Vatican - I pray you get a good night's sleep. When I am headed off to bed, I know you are starting your day - I pray for your health and safety!

Dulce Papa, adorado vicario de Cristo , quiero darte las gracias por tu generosidad y por tu gran amor a nosotros, tus ovejillas .

Rezo por ti cada dia y cada momento. Mis oraciones van envueltas en un beso tierno a tus ojos, a tus manos, a tu alma toda llena de Dios.
Amado Papa, tu iluminas mi vida y me llevas a Jesus nuestro eterno Divino Amante.

Que eres Benedicto ? Suspiro andaluz que brota y desgarra ? Musica arrancada de una guitarra ?
Cuando nos bencides, sonries ,o hablas y con tus bellos ojos nos acaricias , emanas destellos que llegan muy lejos en mi.
Benedicto, tu eres poesia y dulsura. Simbolo de amor y ternura que brota del alma !

Te quiero tanto Papa mio. Buenas noches. Duerme dulcemente Dios esta contigo.

Dearest Papino mio, sleep well my sweet sunshine.
My always busy and hard working Papa, take a rest now.
The Lord and all angels in heaven are taking care of you.
Sweet dreams to you, my luminous beautiful Papino.
Sleep well, I’ll send you a very gently kiss on the cheek.

Leticia Victoria has asked me to translate her message from the Spanish. I hope I do it justice-

Sweet Papa, adored Vicar of Christ,
I thank you for your generosity
and great love for us, your little sheep.

I pray for you every day and every moment.
My prayers come wrapped in tender kisses
on your eyes, your hands, your soul so filled with God.

Who are you, Benedict?
A breath of warm air rising,
to touch our hearts?
Harmonious chords on a guitar?
When you bless us, smile, and speak,
caressing us with your beautiful eyes,
the sparks you strike go deep into my being.

Benedict, you are poetry,
Sweet symbol of love
and warmth that rises from the soul.

I love you very much, my Papa. Good night, sleep sweetly, God is with you.
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Leticia, I've translated "suspiro andaluz" into a more general "breath of warm air".
[For those who do not read Spanish, andaluz is an adjective derived from the word Andalucia,
Spain's near-tropical southeastern region.]

Thank you so much Teresa. It was a lovely translation.
Would you allow me, to just add some small corrections and insert 2 lines that were missed from my original ? Thank you dear.
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Sweet Papa, adored Vicar of Christ,
I thank you for your generosity
and great love for us, your little sheeps.

I pray for you every day and every moment.
My prayers come wrapped in tender kisses
on your eyes, your hands, your soul so filled with God.

Beloved Papa, you enlighten my life,
and bring me to Jesus , our eternal Divine Lover.

Who are you, Benedict?
A breath of warm air rising,
to touch our hearts?
Musical chords on a guitar?
When you bless us, smile, or speak..
caressing us with your beautiful eyes,
the sparks you strike go deep into my being.

Benedict, you are poetry and sweeness.
Symbol of love and tenderness that
rises from the soul !

I love you so much, my Papa. Good night, sleep sweetly, god is with you.

Sorry ,

The lines:

"Beloved Papa, you enlighten my life
and bring me to Jesus, our eternal Divine Lover"

should be together and the two smiles at the end. I tried to modified it but I couldn't.

A translation-

Dear Holy Father:
At this Christmastime,
many expect or will ask of you
things you may be unable to do -
some will be disappointed
or pretend to be.
Myself, I do not wish to ask
because I'm sure that, as a father,
you know better what is good for us.
But yes!
I do ask that you continue
to be yourself as you have always been.
Above all, I thank the Lord
for the gift he gave us on April 19.
And I thank you, very simply,
for BEING (=for the fact that you exist).

Here's a translation of a Christmas Eve message Ratzigirl posted in the main forum-
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Sweet little white dove, tonight, when you are in front of
more than a hundred nations in the world,
when you will be, for the first time, the guide that points us to the Star of Jesus,
remember if you would that in a small and narrow space of this worldwide net
which reaches billions around the world, there are those of us who raise our voices in unison
and, together in the joy of Christmas, hold you close in a virtual embrace
which we pray will make itself felt to you.
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While reviewing the Midnight Mass pictures on Yahoo just now, I came across this picture taken of Papa on 12/21
and I must post it somehow, because Papa's blue eyes are in striking contrast to his red cap,
but I do not want to further aggravate those who don't like the cap at all, so I'm putting Papa Natale
with Ratzigirl's Christmas message.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 25/12/2005 2.19]

Amatissimo Benedetto -
It is 10 p.m. and I am thinking of you as you prepare for your night's rest, guarded by
your brother angels, and with the love of millions of the faithful, your children.

You are the only person in the world surrounded by a love so intense by so many people,
a love that counteracts the hate or the sarcasm that comes from others, but these dissipate
like the wind without leaving a trace on you.

I too love you so intensely, enough to make me happy even if I may never get to be near you.
But the timeless beauty of your person, the profound genius of your words, the indescribable tenderness
that you emanate, keep me enough company to annul the distance, so that in my mind and in my heart,
I live as if I were in your presence.

Thank you, Benedict, because even this is a miracle - that you have allowed one person
to rediscover the joy of life, thanks to you.

Lieber Papa Benedetto,

es ist Montagabend, 2. Weihnachtstag in Deutschland.
Wie gerne wäre ich jetzt bei Dir, würde mit Dir reden, deine Hand halten, Dir zuhören, Dich wärmen, wenn Dir kalt ist und Dir sagen, wie groß meine Liebe ist. Ich hoffe, Du weißt, wieviele Menschen Dich überall auf der Welt verehren und sich um Dich sorgen.

Heiliger Vater, meine Begegnungen mit Dir in Köln und Rom dieses Jahr haben mir soviel gegeben. Nie werde ich das vergessen. Wenn Gott will, werde ich auch im September nach Bayern fahren und versuchen, um Dich zu sehen.
Aber auch so wirst du stets in meinem Herzen sein.

In Liebe

Ricarda



Liebe besteht nicht darin, dass man einander anschaut, sondern dass man gemeinsam in dieselbe Richtung blickt.
(ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPERY)

HOW ABOUT A TRANSLATION?

Jil, I know whatever you wrote must be well worth reading and most of us would like to know what you said. Can you please translate it or allow Teresa to do so if she would? The messages on this thread have all been very heartfelt and lovely.

Dear Papa Benedetto - It is Monday night, the second day of Christmas (Weihnachtstag) in Germany. How much I would like to be with you, talk to you, hold your hand, listen to you, warm you up when you feel cold, and tell you how much I love you. I hope you know how many people all over the world esteem you and care about you.

Holy Father, my encounters with you in Cologne and Rome this year have given me so much. I will never forget (those occasions). God willing, I hope to travel to Bavaria in September and try to see you again. Regardless, you are always in my heart.

With love,

Ricarda

From Vallifra -
It snowed a lot today, and my house as well as the surroundng fields, is covered with a blanket of snow which fascinates the eye and moves the heart. A strange pink glow in the distance contributes to creating an almost surreal effect.

I watch the scene from behind my window, and I think of you. Images from the last few days run through my mind: that fairy-tale like image at the your study window as you lit the Flame of Peace in shadow; your varied expressions during the midnight Mass, many of them quite unforgettable; the majesty and spiritual supremacy which you appeared to incarnate during the Urbi et Orbi benediction.

You are beautiful, Papa, beautiful every moment, beautiful with something more divine than human, because it is a beauty illuminated totally from within, and it shines because it reflects supreme intelligence and extraordinary love for all of us who listen to your magic words.

Tonight, reliving those images, I understood Sylvie, when she said that you seem like a demi-god. Sleep, Papa, and may the thousand tender memories of someone who loves you lull you to sleep and accompany you in serene repose.


And Kika, who is always good for something surprising:

Dear Papa - You who are Pastor of the Universal Church, if you find it difficult to fall asleep, have you tried to count your sheep?

Per te Papa Benedetto, una non poesia quasi un pensiero sussurrato
For you, Pope Benedict, a non-poem, almost a whispered thought

Gift of simple light,
A steady flame,
Our daily guide.

Paschal candle in the night
when even shadows
fear themselves.

“Find joy in the Lord,”
in the smallest
glimmer of light.

The original:
Dono di una semplice luce
Ferma fiammella
Quotidiana guida.

Luce pasquale nella notte
In cui la tenebre
Teme se stessa.

"Cerca la gioia nel Signore"
In una luce
Minuscolo chiarore.

We could all learn from Vallifra the many ways to say "I love you" without being repetitive-
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Sweetest and more-than-ever adored Benedetto –
Today I read your discourses in defense of life and the family. Again I ask, as on that famous day
of April 8 [JP II’s funeral], the day you became an integral part of my life, how you could find
words so incisive, so disturbing, so convincing, to be able to address persons with problems which
make up the “framework” of daily life. Your words truly have the effect of “nuclear fission” -
shock-inducing, forcing even ordinary laymen to an awareness that cannot ignore God, even if
only to deny his existence (but is that ever possible?).

I love you, Benedict – with a love that cannot be purer or more absolute, and which I am sure
millions of others also feel for you. You have “seduced” us all, with your intellectual might,
your incredible genius, your capacity for love and your way with words. God has favored you,
granting you all these gifts. We admire you and our admiration has become, almost unconsciously,
an awareness of divine design and an aspiration towards the infinite.

If the prayers of an unpardonable sinner have any value at all, I pray to you, my Lord, to protect
the greatest among your children, him whom you willed to be named your representative on earth,
that he may live long, to continue enlightening us with his spirit and his words…

Good night, Benedetto, my hope, my love, my joy…

BEAUTIFUL WORDS

I really love reading Vallifra's messages because they express so beautifully what many of us feel about Papa. I think he would be very moved and heartened if he could read her message. And, he would probably tell her with that sweet smile of his, there is no such thing as an "unpardonable sinner".

IT IS THE 19TH IN EUROPE - SO:

Our prayers, our best wishes and a toast for
a joyous and blessed 9th-month anniversary



to THE MOST BELOVED MAN ON EARTH
and GOD'S REPRESENTATIVE -
BENEDETTO XVI IL BELLISSIMO

[Animated stars borrowed from Ratzigirl]

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 19/01/2006 1.51]

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THE MOST BELOVED MAN ON EARTH
and GOD'S REPRESENTATIVE -
BENEDETTO XVI IL BELLISSIMO

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Yes, yes, yes, yes .............. thousand times YES !!