A Remarkable Saturday

Saturday, August 20

2:00 pm Pilgrim walk to the Vigil

Yesterday’s day of relaxation extended to this morning as we slept in until 8:30! We needed the rest though because we had a big day ahead of us: walking several miles to the Cuatros Vientos airfield where the all-night vigil will be held. We attended mass at the university and then received (in a single bag) all the food we would need for the next 4 meals. If you’re curious, it included:

• 3 bottles of water
• 3 juice boxes
• a small packaged pizza
• 2 packaged tuna noodle casseroles
• 2 (non-perishable) yogurts
• 1 package of tuna “meatballs” in red sauce
• 1 pastry
• chocolate milk

HERE ARE VIDEOS FROM SATURDAY

Saturday at World Youth Day One

Saturday at World Youth Day Two

Saturday at World Youth Day Three

At 11 am the bus took us to the general area of the vigil. However, we still needed to walk 3 miles to arrive at the air field. A walk that would have normally taken about 40 minutes, took us nearly 3 hours. Under the hot sun and through the masses of people, we walked on the dirt road at an average speed of about 2 strides per minute. As we neared the entrance, the crowds pushed in and, as in the metro and papal route, we were squished between strangers. After sleeping next to people sardine style and being crushed in crowds to the point that I have been lifted off my feet, I will never think of the term “personal space” in the same way. One square foot of personal space in a public area sounds like a bargain to me. (And, Mom, I don’t mind anymore if we move into a 2 bedroom apartment.)

4:00 pm Arrival at Cuatros Vientos

Now that we are stationary, the hot sun seems to be penetrating through us. The water in my water bottle is actually hot enough for a cup of tea! We are all in the block E8, quite a ways from the stage but at least it isn’t the farthest back. We make regular trips to the water spouts and the bathrooms. I just took a nap to pass the time;a preview of how it will feel to sleep on the ground tonight. I am currently in search of a cardboard box to sleep on so the dry grass doesn’t poke through my thin fleece sleeping bag. The vigil will start in just about an hour.

The sections to accomodate the 2 million people camping out
after the vigil. Our spot is the light green square on the far right.

7:30 pm Vigil with Pope Benedict XVI

It’s pouring down rain at the moment. We have covered our backpacks and sleeping bags and we are now huddled in small groups making the most of the few umbrellas, ponchos, and emergency blankets that we have. It’s interesting to see the different reactions of people. Some are running away with all their bags (I have no idea where they are going as there is no shelter in the 3-mile radius) while others (like us) are enjoying the “togetherness.” We sang the Ave Maria in the hopes that it would pacify the nerves of those people who are panicking.

As soon as we finished singing to Our Lady, the rain and thunder stopped. Mary always listens to her daughters! The Pope just spoke to us saying, “Thank you for your joy and resistance. With the rain, God sends down many blessings. This vigil, with so many experiences, creates a new memory in our hearts…” His spontaneous words created a certain joyful and passionate hysteria that swept the crowds.

After Pope Benedict’s moving and impromptu words, he began the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. A commentator described it as “the central moment of the celebration. As the Holy Father exposed the Eucharist in the beautiful monstrance that came from Toledo, the once rambunctious crowds were silenced to the point that all we could here was the rain buffeting against our ponchos. In the silence and fervor of the moment, Pope Benedict consecrated all the youth to the Sacred Heart, a moment that we have been anticipating for several weeks before. He then blessed the 2 million young people present from all around the world. Accompanied by the angelic choirs and symphony, the majestic moment created an ambience of great fervor and peace.

Finally, our Holy Father concluded the vigil with the following words (according to my translation sources): “My dear young people, we have had an adventure together!  Thank you for resisting the rain. As we have overcome the difficulties of the rain tonight, we will also overcome the difficulties of life. Stay deeply rooted in Christ.” He urged us to never forget that and to never stop persevering. At last, as a good father, he said, “I hope that you rest well.”

I am sure that the Pope’s words have taken a place in the hearts of everyone here. I only hope that they all heard the part about resting well. It’s already 5 minutes to midnight and it doesn’t look like anyone is planning on sleeping anytime soon. In fact, now that I am looking around, I do not see a single person laying down (asides from a few from my own group). Even the nuns camped out next to us are singing and playing the guitar. Yet, I have no reason to complain. Considering that I don’t have to take a shower or wash my clothes, I may get more sleep tonight than any of the other nights.

There are so many more things that I could say about today: funny stories, interesting details, etc. The experiences of today have definitely marked my memory. I hope this blog will help you share in those experiences!

The lay consecrated women of our group: (left to right)
Pilli, Liz, Kate, Heidi, Renee, April, Caroline, Maggie

Post script: a “hard” night

Not only was the ground hard, but sleeping was a little hard too. After writing the above entry, I did fall asleep fairly quickly. However, after about 2 hours, I opened my eyes to the surprising sight of a stranger’s face only a foot away from my own! I turned on my flash light and looked at my watch. 3:15 am. My Brazilian “roommate” woke up and asked me what time it was, turned over, and fell asleep. I, on the other hand, did not have such luck. I made up my mind to just go to the restroom despite the cold, the dark, and the 1 million people who were still awake, singing and dancing. The 10-minute walk to the restrooms felt like walking through a refugee camp. People were sleeping on cardboard boxes, under propped tarps, and some, even on the bare cement. Those who were not sleeping were singing and dancing. I deftly avoided them, afraid of being delayed in reaching my destination and being pulled into a circle of dancing Spaniards. My 3 am excursion was the end of my anomalous experiences that night. I will try to post a video to help out your imagination. That’s all for now!

Pope Benedict blessed all our religious objects at the end
of the mass. He also extended the blessing to all our families.