World Youth Day 3

First thing to say is: WE ARE ALL FINE!!!  There seems to have been some very bad press coverage of some confrontations here in Plaza Mayor between some of the young people and some local protestors.  None of our group was there (number one) and (number two) the news stories seem greatly exagerated.  Yes, there was a confrontation, but it was handled fairly quickly without any harm to youth attending World Youth Day.

Second thing is, today is Bishop McFadden´s first anniversary as our Bishop - so we made sure to sing ¨Happy Anniversary¨ to him in front of all the people at our catechetical session.

That said, we had another great day today, including the arrival of the Pope!  But first things first.  Today at our catechetical session Cardinal O´Brien from St. Andrew, Scotland.  Here are some brief notes summarizing his teaching:

Today´s theme was ¨Established in Jesus Christ.¨  Think about the vine and the branches - it is through baptism that we are connected to Christ.  We are here not just to meet the pope, but above all to meet Jesus Christ - in catechesis, in the streets, singing in the Metro and in the Sacraments of the Church.  Benedict XVI said recently, ¨Being a Christian is not just a lofty idea but an encounter with a person.¨

Fr. B, Joey with Cardinal O´Brien

Think today of love: in matrimony and in Holy Orders.  In Marriage the couple is to serve one another until death do them part.  Our vocational lives need to be established in Jesus Christ.  In celibacy we priests promise to serve the Church with all our lives.  Remember John Paul II that last Easter, basically dying on the job - giving his entire life in service to God´s people?

I ask each of you if you are firmly rooted in Christ.  Go to confession.  Remember your vocation to service, rooted in your baptism.  Remember that in whatever vocation you are called, remember that commitment of love.

After our catechetical session we again had Mass then went to a wonderful little place for paella then back to the hotel for a little rest before going to stand in the HOT sun awaiting Pope Benedict XVI.

We left the hotel about 3:30 for the expected 7:30 ceremony - we knew we´d have to ¨steak out a spot¨ along the fencing if we were going to see the Holy Father close up.  There seemed to be a lot of confusion as to the exact route that Pope Benedict would take in the Popemobile - so our original plan fizzeled and we moved to another spot in the SHADE and waited, and waited, and waited.  But not without making LOTS of new friends!

As we waited we sang and chanted and prayed.  Groups from various countries chanted to one another - even chanting one another´s countries (who says that world peace isn´t possible?  They should come here!).  We also carried along the 150 t-shirts we and our parish youth group made to give away (each one says ¨I pray the Rosary - Rezo el Rosario.¨  At first we had some trouble giving them away - people seemed to think there was a ¨catch.¨  But soon we were throwing them to people on the other side of the street - and the chaos began!  We were SURROUNDED by people asking for a shirt and within seconds they were all gone.  James and Joey actually gave the ¨shirts off their backs¨ - fortunately they had other shirts along.

Periodically our chanting of countries and our singing was interrupted by chants of ¨Ben-e-dict-o¨ or ¨Esta es la juventud del Papa¨ (this is the youth of the Pope).  Wonderful expressions of faith and fraternity and unity all stemming from our belief in Jesus Christ.  Then, the moment drew near!  Police officers lined the street, helecopters began circling overhead, and very soon, we saw the flashing lights of the police escourt and then... there it was... the Popemobile... AND BENEDICT XVI... right there in front of us!  It was all so exciting - and so quick that I only got this one, lowsy picture as he rode past...

Since the Holy Father was not going to pass this way again, we quickly moved to a different spot where we could see one of the many ¨jumbo trons¨ set up around the area.  There we watched the rest of the motorcade and the opening prayer service.  As it ended, to try and get ahead of the crowd, we rushed to a local restaurant for dinner (yes, about 9pm) and there, from the restaurant window, we again saw the Holy Father go by as he returned to the nunciature after the prayer service.

Photo of the ¨jumbotron¨ with Pope at Welcome Ceremony

Now we are all safely back in the hotel, getting some rest to begin another day at World Youth Day refreshed and ready to encounter Christ once more!