Thank You Banquet!

Dear World Youth Day family!

On behalf of the World Youth Day pilgrims, thank you for your prayers and support! It was truly an unforgettable journey and experience!

The World Youth Day pilgrims are hosting a simple Thank You supper for all parishioners, friends and family who supported us along our faith journey. The banquet will be held on Saturday, October 1st from 6:30 - 8:00 PM in Marian Hall after the 5 PM Vigil Mass.

Please RSVP to Larry so we can have an accurate headcount for our meal. The cost is free, but the sharing of stories, witness speakers and photos: priceless!

Everyone is invited!

Send your emails to larryc@stjoevan.org

peace,
larry

Last Night in Madrid

Our last day in Madrid was quite different for all of us. Some of us went on a tour of Madrid in a double decker bus. Mike and Karen went to Toledo. Others of us wandered around finishing up the purchasing of gifts for all of you at home. The weather was absolutely perfect, not ridiculously hot like it has been. Everyone is in good spirits. We just finished celebrating Rachel's 8th birthday enjoying chocolate cake and good conversation with the whole group.
What an experience this has been! Each of us will come back home with different experiences and unique stories to share, but we all grew tremendously on this pilgrimage.  I can't say I'll do this again, parts of it were very overwhelming. But I know that I am coming back home with a better understanding of our faith and renewed hope in my generation.  So many young people came here to celebrate our Catholic faith and we will all leave on fire with it. Some will come back with a slow burning embers, and others will come back blazing like a bonfire.  I know that we all feel extremely blessed to have been able to come on this journey. I want to thank all of you for your continued prayers and support through the two years we have planned for this and now our time here in Europe. See you all tomorrow! God bless.
Emily Barbieri

So Close, Yet So Far...

Pilgrims on hike to Cuatro Vientos

The pilgrim walk was arduous to say the least. I saw at least two people pass out on the way that ultimately needed medical attention from the EMTs. Luckily, these incidents were thankfully close to "oasis", and we were able to get them water right away. It was touching to see people give their water freely to help someone in need. That, and I remember Michael Smith. When we saw one person passed out, he tore down the road like a bat out of... Gehenna. The weather was extremely hot, nearing 100 degrees and there was a lack of water stations along the five mile walk to Cuatro Vientos. However, in the midst of all this, people were still filled with a spirit of joy and helpfulness. Some of the local Spaniards had their water hoses out and were spraying pilgrims along the way. Others were sprinkling water from their water buckets from overpasses, dumping buckets (much to the amusement of the children) and filling water bottles (much to the liking of the pilgrims). As we approached the gate, we were dismayed to find it had been closed! We had to "proceed to Gate 5", and thankfully we found a nice (and by nice, I simply mean less bumpy) spot in front of a large screen.

Campsite in Section J-5

We, sadly, did not see the Pope in person, but we got the next-best-thing. Also, we met a friend! I desperately hope she doesn't find this blog, and if she does, please forgive me! I forgot how to spell her name. Sageta? Sageta. A funny and joyous woman from Lithuania. After learning she traveled alone, we invited to hang out with us. Throughout out our prayer service, a little hurricane made its way through WYD! Thankfully our tent and tarps remained intact. Sageta was thankful dad brought a tarp. That night, we were mortified then joyous at the announcements that 3 children had been lost, then found. What saddened me the most was when I woke up, 23 children had been missing throughout the night. What made me most happy was the announcement at the end of the Mass (in the morning) that somehow, by the Grace of God, all the children were found! I know 26 is nothing out of 1.5 million, but we were very, very happy to see these children safe and sound. During Mass, we did not receive Communion, sadly. Once word got around that there was a priest with the Host, people flocked together and it was distributed before we got there. So close, yet so far... That is also how we felt about the Pope. Nonetheless, it was an AMAZING experience, and we learned the next World Youth Day will be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil!

Pope on the big screen

I thank God for these weeks and as I walk home from the farewell dinner, the thoughts in my head resound "We're done!" Now back to my summer assignments, I suppose... I am extremely grateful for everyone who supported us in our travels - World Youth Day is the experience of a lifetime!

Samuel G. Nicacio

Mass Intentions for the Closing Papal Mass with Pope Benedict XVI

Dear friends, family and parishioners,

As we prepare for the five mile pilgrimage walk to Cuatro Vientes (Four Winds airfield) for our vigil prayer service tonight, Adoration, and the closing papal Mass on Sunday, we ask for any intentions that you would like for us to offer up on your behalf. Feel free to comment on this post with your intentions.

peace,
larry

Fear and Inspiration

When we arrived in Madrid I was feeling overwhelmed. The crowds, the heat, the fear in watching my daughter nearly being crushed while attempting to (along with Kristin) get food at McDonald's for 8 of us that were attempting to be a part of the opening Mass. Truly, if she had lifted her legs off the ground she would not have fallen...that is how tight that crowd was...

WYD Crowds waiting for the Opening Mass to begin

The following day we attended a Mass that was overcrowded, hot, and not easily understood (Bishop Rollie from the Philippines). I just wasn't sure I would find the intimate, growing experience that I was looking forward to in this Pilgrimage. Yesterday, a few of our group went to the Love and Life Center for catechesis and Mass.

Love and Life Center (English speaking center)

There were 15,000 people and it was the intimate experience I had been looking for.  The Archbishop from New York (Archbishop Timothy Dolan) gave the talk focusing on evangelism.  He shared his humor, his experience and his commitment to sharing the faith.  During the actual Mass there was clapping as if to say AMEN, but when it came time for Communion, there was such a hush it was inspirational to see how seriously 15,000 people were taking this part of their faith. It really re-energized my spirit and made me feel more prepared for the days to come. God truly knows what I need and when I need it.

Laura

Theology of the Body

I have a few things I would like to share; meeting the founder of Project Rachel and attending the Theology of the body talk.

Vicky Thorn was and is the founder of Project Rachel. She is so sweet and so sincere in her talks. She wants everyone to know what the doctors and the teachers of sex education don't tell us. One of the most exciting things I learned (maybe some of you know this) was that within the first 24 hours of a baby's life a mother can be blindfolded and been able to pick out their child from their scent. A father can do the same thing and pick out their child by feeling the back of the hand. To me it showed how different the man and woman are. It also showed me how bonded the mother and father are to their own child. The mother has that special nurturing nature and the father has a protective/tactile nature. It's a special thing when you really think about it.

Not only did I find the previous fact interesting I also discovered how much the father changes through out his wife's pregnancy as well. I'm sure most mothers know how the father changes through the 9 months but to me I had no idea. They start to become protective in a very sincere way, they start to do more things and prepare for the new life they are about to bring to the world, they start getting sickness just like the mothers, and he also starts to gain weight and other issues. To me it's like the mother and father are going through changes so they can prepare themselves. Not only do they go through physical changes they go through emotional changes. The reality of knowing that you are about to have responsibility for a child really makes you change your thoughts on things. How am I going to raise this child in the Catholic faith? How do I raise my child in the world we live in now? Will I be a good parent? Will I make the right choices for my new family? and even more.

These were my favorite parts of the Project Rachel talk. The things that stuck out most to me.

Now, last but not the least I got to see my favorite Theology of body speaker. His name is Jason Everette. I even got to sit right in front of him in the second row. I got so happy and excited. And took many pictures. There were 3 other speakers including Vicky Thorn. But I admit I payed the most attention to Jason's talk.

The biggest thing I got out the talk was when he talked about how guys are not living up to their nature. At least that's what it sounded like to me.

Men these days don't take the opportunity to initiate love to women. This meant that guys aren't taking the first step to get to a woman's heart. They expect the women to make the first move so he can go along for the ride until it stops. Girls are very subtle, I know this first hand, and when girls like me try to talk to a guy and try to see if they like me I come off as really subtle and they have no clue. Guy are more blunt and straight forward with it. It only makes sense that guys should make the first step to initiate love. Not to mention their protective nature and provider. And when I say "..take the first step" it doesn't have to mean the guy has to bluntly say will you go out with me, but to just get to know them on his own time. Like holding the door open, taking their coats, going to adoration together, or something small and seeing how that goes. The main point Jason was saying is that girls shouldn't have to initiate love first because we, girls, are waiting to give our love and affection to people.

Oh one last thing during the first 6 weeks of the baby's life the father becomes very nurturing. he starts taking care of the baby and the wife in a way that is different from their protective nature. So pretty much the mothers get a great 6 weeks after the baby is born and the the men return to their natural selves.

This is what I got the most from his talk and loved every second of it. I understand guys in a better way and know that I really shouldn't take things personally. (though I don't know why it took me this long to realize all of it. I guess it's just from the experience from being at WYD with all the Catholics from around the world.)

God Bless,

Can't wait to home!

Gabbie Reiser

I Saw...The Pope!

What a life changing experience this pilgrimage has been. Us pilgrims have been blessed and given the opportunity to see amazing cathedrals, castles, buildings, and fountains. Some of the greatest moments however came from meeting new people from all over the world, finding each other in tremendous amounts of people, and seeing people unexpectedly. For those of you who know Sarah and Tuan who helped with Life Teen last year, we ended up being able to see and talk to them as they were there with a group from Seattle. This may not seem too exciting, but seeing two certain people out of a group of over 500,000 is quite special.

Before the Opening Mass

                                      

Last night, I was able to attend a Eucharistic healing session at the Love and Life center (the English speaking center for pilgrims) along with about eight other pilgrims from our group. The spiritual experience was the best I have had so far on this trip. We were among about 10,000 other pilgrims all worshiping together. When the Blessed Sacrament entered the stadium, you would have been able to hear a pin drop. All 10,000 or so pilgrims were dead silent, kneeling and praying. I thought that it would be difficult to have an intimate time with God in such a large setting with so many people, but fortunately I was proven wrong.

During adoration

                                     
Seeing so many people excited to express their faith has been awesome, however it has created a problem that we have had a hard time dealing with; crowds. Until you are here, you don't realize how many people there actually are. After the opening mass, our group decided we would try to avoid large crowds at all costs mainly for safety purposes, which unfortunately meant that we skipped greeting the Pope into Madrid. I was a bit sad that I wasn't able to see the Pope arrive. This morning however, I was awoken in my hotel room by tons of sirens outside on the street. I looked off my balcony to find hundreds of pilgrims lining the blocked off street below. There were a bunch of police officers on motorcycles and in cars, and there was a helicopter overhead. I realized it could only mean one thing; the Pope was coming! I grabbed my camera and rushed downstairs in my pajamas. A couple minutes after I got to the sidewalk, Pope Benedict XVI drove by less than 10 feet from me. I was so excited that I got to witness this, especially since I wasn't beeing pushed up against a wall by a huge crowd!

THE POPE!

I hope everything's going well in the 'Couve!

God Bless,
Devon Zahm