I couldn't believe my eyes! But that's what the sign said. "No achohol will be sold in this store on the days of May 25,26."
What's going on here? What are the people in this town going to do if they can't buy beer for two days?! I mean beer is bought here like Coke or some other soft drink.
But why? That was my question. Why aren't they selling beer on these two specific days?
John asked his tutee and this is what he told him. The pope is coming to Poland on this weekend and all the cities he will be visiting will not sell achohol during the duration of his visit! It feels a little like God is coming to visit this country. I guess our little store in Minsk was just honoring his visit to the country, becausethe pope wasn't planning to stop in our town.
But that doesn't stop the achoholics, John's tutee told him. They just stock up the day before for the days that none will be sold in the stores.
I heard that Pope Benedict held a mass in Warsaw. Almost 300,000 people attended! One lady commented on the news, "I know that this pope isn't Polish or anything, but we still think of him as our pope."
This German pope--we heard he was a former German soldier (!!!???)--is visiting Auschwitz to pray for the departed souls that were cruelly killed there, and of course, he is visiting Southern Poland, the home of the former pope, the beloved Pope John Paul II, who was a Pole and died just over one year ago and would have made his regular visit to his home country this year.
To my ears, all this seems very strange. Something isn't right here. This country honors this man enough to even control what is sold in their stores, but where is their respect for God? God is present in this country every day of the year, but that doesn't stop the sin around us. That doesn't make any difference in their everyday lives. That doesn't stop stores from selling their beer.
But one weekend visit from the great Pope of the Roman Catholic Church is considered a sacred historical event and changes even the merchandise that stores are selling across this country. I'm still shaking my head.
What's going on here? What are the people in this town going to do if they can't buy beer for two days?! I mean beer is bought here like Coke or some other soft drink.
But why? That was my question. Why aren't they selling beer on these two specific days?
John asked his tutee and this is what he told him. The pope is coming to Poland on this weekend and all the cities he will be visiting will not sell achohol during the duration of his visit! It feels a little like God is coming to visit this country. I guess our little store in Minsk was just honoring his visit to the country, becausethe pope wasn't planning to stop in our town.
But that doesn't stop the achoholics, John's tutee told him. They just stock up the day before for the days that none will be sold in the stores.
I heard that Pope Benedict held a mass in Warsaw. Almost 300,000 people attended! One lady commented on the news, "I know that this pope isn't Polish or anything, but we still think of him as our pope."
This German pope--we heard he was a former German soldier (!!!???)--is visiting Auschwitz to pray for the departed souls that were cruelly killed there, and of course, he is visiting Southern Poland, the home of the former pope, the beloved Pope John Paul II, who was a Pole and died just over one year ago and would have made his regular visit to his home country this year.
To my ears, all this seems very strange. Something isn't right here. This country honors this man enough to even control what is sold in their stores, but where is their respect for God? God is present in this country every day of the year, but that doesn't stop the sin around us. That doesn't make any difference in their everyday lives. That doesn't stop stores from selling their beer.
But one weekend visit from the great Pope of the Roman Catholic Church is considered a sacred historical event and changes even the merchandise that stores are selling across this country. I'm still shaking my head.
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