English speaking people!
Since the opening mass was last night, all the WYD events just began today. Now that we are pros at using the metro, walking long distances, sitting on bare floors, eating dinner at 9pm, washing our clothes by hand, and going to bed at midnight, we can focus more on the activities of WYD. There are many conferences, talks, festivals, and other events happening everyday here. This only makes choosing which ones to go to even harder. Every day during WYD we will be going to the 10am catechesis and the mass following it for English speakers. Today, we went with over 12,000 people from the English speaking countries to hear Cardinal Pell (the archbishop of Australia) speak about the existence of God. His words were very penetrating and, at the end, the entire stadium gave him a standing ovation. What was even more moving was participating in mass afterwards with everyone including the archbishop, approximately 350 priests, and around 30 bishops. From this experience I have started to realize how much the Catholic Church is truly one, holy, catholic, and apostolic!
Here is the video of our celebration of seeing the Holy Father:
Regnum Christi Young Women at World Youth Day
Coffee, Vocations, and a World Famous Soccer Stadium
The Vocation Coffee House. I actually did not have coffee nor did I see anyone drinking coffee. However, the part about the world famous soccer stadium and vocations is definitely true! The Vocation Coffee House is organized by Regnum Christi for youth to gather for food, entertainment, confession, and to hear testimonies of priests, nuns, and lay consecrated. I have never been to a Vocation Coffee House (before this one), but I have heard from more experienced people that this is the biggest one yet. As the Coffee House continues in the next few days, I hope that it will help other young people discover their vocation in life and their place in the Church.
Goodness Reigns Film Festival
Almost exactly one year ago, our school decided to make the trip to World Youth Day. It seemed to be only a mere dream within a dream, but when it was definite that we were going, we knew that even though it was exciting, there was a lot of work ahead. According to our “plan of action” our first objective was to start on fundraising. In the next months, we planned and looked out for opportunities to make this dream come true by raising the necessary funds. This past December, we heard about a video contest with the chances of winning trips to World Youth Day. We had nothing to lose and everything to gain (from an optimistic perspective). Back then, however, we did not know the challenges that were to come. We signed up in three teams in accordance with the rules…and to maximize our chances of winning. To make a (very) long story short, each team submitted a video. One of the videos made it in the top ten, but (considering it was a first for all of us in the areas of cinematography, acting, and directing) unsurprisingly we did not win. However, two very good things did happen. The first is that it was a great learning experience! In those two weeks of work, we learned life lessons in team work, perseverance, patience, and we also learned more about the topics of our videos (vocations, the dignity of women, and the meaning of love). The second one is that the people at Goodness Reigns were so impressed by our school and our active participation in the contest that they decided to sponsor one person over 18 to go with their WYD group (of film makers and people of the such) and to show one of our movies at the GR film festival during WYD. In the end, a consecrated from our school went with their group and today, we saw our movie on vocations along with the winning videos and other videos of worthy recognition. It was exciting to be part of such a big project and to discover many unknown talents along the way!
A Late Night Out
Our bus back to Everest doesn’t leave until after 10:30 pm. So tonight we were able to see and experience Madrid in its prime time. We “went out” for pizza at Domino’s and yes, I know it is American, but Domino’s is one of the few restaurants that are included in our WYD meal tickets. While we were waiting for an hour in the line, we met many people and learned that just a few blocks away there were protests against the Pope. That would explain why the metro exit we were supposed to go out of earlier was closed. The police tried to make sure that the WYD groups didn’t go near the protesters. While we were eating our pizza, a concerned Spanish lady came up to us and warned us to stay away from that area. However, while walking to the metro station, we did pass by a few people holding signs calling Pope Benedict a dictator and saying no to his arrival in Madrid. Please don’t be “disheartened” by this in any way. Those protesters were nothing in numbers or in passion for what they believe in compared to the thousands of young people gathered to walk alongside the Pope this WYD. Even Jesus said to expect persecution as they persecuted Him. The fight to live our faith is not easy, but that’s why we are all gathered here in Madrid, to give hope to the world and to be witnesses to our faith.
