These days one can be lost in a sea of people
and feel at ease chatting with a stranger-turned-neighbor because they
experience an increased sense of fellowship, that is, of ‘catholicity’ or of
belonging to the universal Church. Father Daniel Seward, CO, who comes with
29 pilgrims from his parish in Oxford, has affirmed that, “in a
country where Catholics are so much a minority like England, it gives young
people the sense that they’re not alone and that they can be confident and joyful
in their faith.”
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| Father Seward giving an interview. |
Indeed, cries of joy echo through subway trains and stations. The streets of Madrid have, of late, been filled with cheers and loud singing as different groups fly their colors. There have been plenty of opportunities, too, to make new friends, tell jokes and exchange souvenirs. And amidst outbursts of joy also come occasions for prayer and meaningful conversations. That countless priests are present, moreover, gives the pilgrims ready access to the sacraments and spiritual direction by which they may grow in friendship with Christ.
Friendship, it seems, is fostered
during these festivities. As pilgrims are eager to let their guards down and
join in the fun, they return to their homeland perhaps wishing that the same
exuberance would be palpable in their parishes, schools and local communities. With
little downtime and great variety in the programs, it may even be said that
religious practice has never been as easy or enjoyable as at the World Youth
Day. Many feel more united to Christ as well as more connected with the rest of
humanity during this enormous international gathering, and that is simply what
young people hope to cling to.
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| Archbishop Sartain at the Theology on Tap. |
This is in some way a ‘mountaintop’ experience similar to the transfiguration of the Lord which Peter, James and John witnessed on Tabor and prompted them to say, ‘Let us stay here.’ Recalling this story from Matthew’s gospel, Most Rev. J. Peter Sartain, archbishop of Seattle, warns that it is a temptation to want things to be the way they are at the World Youth Day when one goes home.
Sartain makes clear that Jesus firmly
instructed the apostles not to tell anyone about that vision until they
could see him suffer, die on the cross and rise from the dead and then
witnessed the coming of the Holy Spirit. If these close associates of Jesus had
held on to that experience alone, they would have felt that “either they have
let God down or that Jesus have let them down” once the excitement had worn off.
Knowing this, Jesus, for his part, constantly admonished, saying ‘Come, follow me.’
It is so with World Youth Day
pilgrims when this spectacular event has already come and gone. They must
remember that their friendship with Christ must continue to grow, for “we must
recognize that Jesus whom I experience at the World Youth Day is the same Jesus
who awaits me at home. And he’s inviting me to get to know him a little bit
better.” If nothing else, God wants my friendship. God wants my love!
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| Confessions in different languages at the WYD. |
Keeping our friendship with God
requires that we be faithful to him, day in and day out, and only this can
guarantee that our true friendship with others also endures. This means that we
wholly give our hearts to God “who calls us into life that will bring us the
deepest kind of satisfaction in this world is the Lord Jesus.” In him, we find
brothers and sisters among the living on earth and with the saints in heaven in
the communion of the triune God who is love.
The Archbishop sends pilgrims with
one of the best World Youth Day takeaways:
“What Jesus says to you and me, as we prepare to leave in a few days, is
something very simple: He says, ‘Follow
me. Go home and live the Gospel. Go home and get holy. Go home and learn of my
mystery.’”