World Youth Day Sunday

Sunday August 21

9:00 am Buenas Dias

We woke up this morning to the sound of a loud, “Buenas dias.” Imagine waking up entangled in your sleeping bag, on a dirt floor, with 2 million people in the same position around you. This is just one of those experiences that words will never do justice to describe. Our first piece of morning news over the loudspeaker was that through the night, 27 children had been lost and if they were found, to please bring them to such and such gate. It was a little shocking, but children had been lost the day before, and all of them were eventually found. The next piece of news, however, was an outlier on the other side of the age line. An 83 year old woman was also lost. I’m sure they will find her soon since the other 2 million people (minus the 27 missing children) are all between the ages of 14 and 35, which is what WYD defines as “youth.”

As every usual morning, we ate our breakfast. According to the menu packed in our meal bag, we were supposed to eat the pastry, chocolate milk, cereal bar, and juice box. Of course, no one really follows the menu, so we proceeded with trading and rearranging our meal according to our tastes. Naturally, we also tried to “freshen up.” However, there’s not much you can do without showers, soap, or a change of clothes. I’ve been living in this polo and pleated skirt for the past 24 hours without a shower and I am still alive. Anyway, it’s not like I am the only one around here who could use a shower or a change of clothes. All 2 million of us are united in our common atmosphere.

Off the topic of hygiene, the Pope will be arriving in just half an hour for the WYD concluding mass! People are “room cleaning” at the moment: rolling up sleeping bags, picking up trash, and packing their bags. After the mas everyone will be heading out to the metros and back to civilization.

2:00 pm Green Grass at Last.

We survived the crowds and walking 2 miles with our backpacks, sleeping bags, and mats. 2 miles doesn’t seem like much, but if you just slept for only 5 hours the night before and on a dirt floor, it changes the scenario. We found a little park on our way from Cuatros Vientos to the metro. Since the metro is probably packed because of all the people, we have decided to eat lunch in a park we found. The grass is green, there’s shade under the trees, and there are little green parakeets chirping above. Could an exhausted pilgrim ask for anything more?

When signed off on the last post, we were waiting for the concluding mass to begin. At 9:30, the Holy Father arrived. He greeted us with the following, “Dear young people, I have thought of you much in this time that we have been separated. Let us start our Eucharistic celebration with enthusiasm and firm in the faith.” He truly is a father figure. We have all felt his closeness during the vigil last night when he encouraged us to persevere through the storm, and now, he has not left us alone. He continues to walk on this journey with us as Christ walked with his disciples.

The homily was very moving and easy to understand (with translation). There were no broad or elevated concepts, but rather simple words of great meaning that moved the hearts of all those present. The Sunday gospel of Matthew 16:13-20 was perfect for concluding WYD. Here are a few clippings that I cut out from the Pope’s homily:

• Faith goes beyond facts. It is not the fruit of our human efforts, but a gift of God. Faith doesn’t just give us information on the person of Jesus, it gives us the person of Jesus, it gives us the personal experience.
• Jesus encourages the disciples to have a personal relationship with Him by saying, “Who do you say that I am?” Christ is asking the same question to you: “Who do you say that I am?” We respond, “Lord, you know me and trust me. You are the Son of God.”
• Christ built his church on the faith of Peter. It is not a human institution. Christ is present in the middle of the Church, giving it his grace and strength. Be centered on Christ!
• We can’t encounter Christ in a solitary way. Do not be individualistic. Make your faith lean on Christ, so that others can lean on you.
• This friendship with Christ will give us the impetus to be witnesses of His love. Communicate your joy to the world. It needs to see your testimony. Go out into the whole world and proclaim the good news.
• With the affection of my heart, I entrust you to Our Lady. I ask you to pray for me so that I can lead the Church to encounter Christ and to say, “You are the Son of God.”

These words of the Holy Father are definitely anchored in my heart.  I am no longer sad that World Youth Day has come to and end because the Pope has given us a mission to go back to our families and friends and to be apostles of joy. He told us, “Do not be frightened of being Catholic. Go home and bring the good news of Christ.” As youth of the world, we often prefer to follow the flow and to fit in rather than to proclaim our faith by doing something so little as the sign of the cross in public. However, I truly believe that this encounter with Christ and Pope Benedict has changed many people and that we will return to our homes with greater joy and hope.

Thank you all for joining me on my pilgrimage to World Youth Day. It has been fun sharing my experiences with you. However, if you are a professed pilgrim now, please join me for the second part of our pilgrimage as we travel to Toledo, Avila, Salamanca, and Fatima. No more hard floors, noisy crowds, or packaged food.  Now do you want to stick around? I’m happy to have you aboard!