Yo, non-Catholics...heads up!

The Anchoress got an email from a non-Catholic with a good heart.

The service today was beautiful but wasn't it too much? Jesus was buried in a simple shroud, and he was God. What we saw today bordered on idolatry. I have no problems with Catholics, I do believe you are Christians, but I think you are misguided on this.

The writer suspects that Catholics might be Christians...
Hmm.
Anyway, her reply is a study in patience and information. Anyone who thinks the Pope's funeral was overdone or inappropriate needs to read what she said.

The liturgy - that whole mass you saw today, beautifully sung, beautifully carried out...was not for John Paul, per se. Yes, it commended him to God and it celebrated his faithful service, but the liturgy was meant - as it is ALWAYS meant - for US. We are humans, and when something important happens, as the loss of a loved one, our hearts hunger for beauty as well as meaning, for beauty is another transcendent means to God. And so millions came to Rome to see off a servant of Christ, and for their efforts, they saw beauty, they heard and felt beauty, had the opportunity to pay their own tribute ("Sancto!") and most importantly they got to to Commune with the Lord Jesus Christ in Holy Communion.

You'll notice that the people kneeling in St. Peters, on the cobblestone, were not kneeling for JPII...they were kneeling while Communing with the Lord.