A commentator Sunday asserted that the last Fatima visionary predicted the death of Pope John Paul II to within two days of the correct date. It makes me wonder about the cosmic events in our future. Does it you?

In Maryland, where there is fog, I would wake in the fall of 2000 to look out at the gloom in the winter dark. Across the three acres between our house and the church, the church lights shimmered, giving security to the church and graveyard with some dim light. At the time, I would wonder if the end times had come. I would wonder if a time of testing would come on the earth, bringing suffering and redemption. I was ready then and am now, but the passing of a great soul like John Paul II brings me back to that nighttime sense of wonder and anticipation. I'm afraid of God...and I adore Him. I want the coming of the Lord, but with dread and fascination. Could it come now? Only the Father knows the time or the hour, but we are all waiting, waiting.