This is an actual image (source here) of lightning striking St. Peter's in Rome--just hours after Pope Benedict announced he would resign at the end of this month..
Those who feel there is something strange in the air may look to this photo as proof. Religious people may be humble by the power of God striking the home if men.. Or maybe the omen of the age is present in the image? A single lightning bolt from the heavens, signaling that something has gone awry or perhaps the chain of inevitable events have begun...?
Benedict is the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415 and no Pontiff in history has stepped down on health grounds.
I always think back a few years to the weeks before Pope John Paul met his fate. Do recall the doves flying around his head? He tried to shoo them away but was unsuccessful... They kept circling his face. Some took that as a sign.. Some looked deep at the meaning.
And now tonight, lightning striking the dome, may very well be looked on the same way...