It's now early September, and the journey season of the summer is now over. It was a hectic time, but so very well worth it. That doesn't mean that I'm not planning to travel soon, but I have some weeks before I'm on the road again.
My last post had me preparing to head to my retreat on Enders Island, Mystic, CT. The retreat center, Saint Edmund's, is a wonderful place, and the island itself is small and beautiful. While the weather was perfect to be ocean-side for a week, it was also just a great setting to re-encounter Christ and His Spirit - and it was a blessed time simply to get away and slow down, rest, read, pray, walk, and "simply be" with God. There was a wonderful opportunity to sit down at each meal with some of the other people on retreat. Even while we were able to get to know each other, we also had great conversations about our work in the Church and how the Spirit continues to guide us in our ministries.
One of the evenings early in the week saw us caught in the middle of a great thunderstorm that came off of the mainland and head out into the ocean. It was just so awe-inspiring to witness nature be so violent in the course of a short time, but also how calming and refreshed everything was following the storm. The next evening came one of the greatest sunsets that I had ever seen. And, like most things, while you take a picture to capture that moment, that memory, it doesn't do it justice . . . the best picture of the event is kept alive and fresh in one's mind and memory.
After about ten days back at the parish, I and my group from Saint Alphonsus were off to World Youth Day (WYD) in Madrid, Spain. (This was my fourth WYD.) We flew from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, before making our final stop in Lisbon, Portugal. Before we headed into Spain, however, we had the blessed opportunity to make a [rather quick] stop in Fatima. What a wonderful and spirit-filled place! I had the opportunity to be the main celebrant for our group of pilgrims from Pittsburgh. (Three of my diocesan priest brothers concelebrated with me.) That was a moment I'll treasure for quite some time!
Our immediate voyage into Spain did not take us to Madrid, but, rather, to the ancient city of Ciudad Rodrigo. This is where 168-or-so pilgrims from Pittsburgh (plus a number of other from various countries, such as the Philippines, China, Belgium and the Congo) spent a week in the "Days in the Diocese" program, where we were introduced to Spanish culture, workings of the Church in Spain (and, in particular, the Diocese of Ciudad Rodrigo), and engaging with the local people through service and spiritual opportunities. Never having participated in Days in the Diocese before, this was a fortunate opportunity that I'm glad to have done. Not only were the people of Ciudad Rodrigo very gracious and open to us, but they were able to provide for us a witness of faith - and even a lack-thereof! (Not that we wanted to see anything said or done against our faith, but it was there in a small portion. A bigger event was to happen in Madrid - but more on that later....)
After affirming our faith for about five days, our celebration culminated in the celebration of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is the patronal feast of their cathedral. On the night before the feast (literally "night", because we began at 11:00 PM!), the pilgrims from Pittsburgh joined in with the faithful of the city in a procession from San Andres Church (the oldest in the town) to the cathedral, with some of the men carrying a statue of the Blessed Virgin through the streets. It was awesome! Some of our guys from Pittsburgh volunteered to carry the statue through the streets - a truly moving moment to see the faith of the youth shining through in that moment. When we arrived at the cathedral, there was a period of a vigil service with Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. During this time, we had three excerpts from Scripture read - all three in three languages: Spanish, French and English. I was honored to be asked to read the Gospel in English. The bishop gave an excellent homily about how Christ, truly present before us as the Bread of Life, was the foundation of our faith. It was very simple, but extremely profound. Following the vigil service, we returned back to the boarding school that we were staying at (which the cornerstone read "797" [I'm not joking - a building from the late Eighth Century!]), which was good, because it was somewhere between 12:30 - 1:00 AM! The next day, we gathered at the cathedral to celebrate not only the Solemnity of the Blessed Mother's entrance into heaven, but to be sent by the bishop to Madrid and the celebration of WYD.
[An interesting aside: There were five Pittsburgh priests in Ciudad Rodrigo. All five of us wore our "blacks", our clerics, every day. The priests in Ciudad Rodrigo did not. At least, at the beginning of our time there. The Church in Spain is undergoing an intense persecution, and a number of the priests there have basically abandoned the wearing of their clerics. (And I don't want to judge, because being persecuted CAN wear one down to a point where an individual wants to simply remain anonymous.) But the presence of the Pittsburgh priests did something to the clergy of Ciudad Rodrigo, because over the course of the week, there was a change in clothing. From "civies", to the wearing of a dark / black polo shirt, to gray clerics, to the black clerics. Apparently, the five of us helped the priests of Ciudad Rodrigo to find the courage to wear the "symbol" of who they are, and who they are called to be by the nature of their ordination. It was an interesting evolution to see over the time that we were there. I continue to pray that they have the courage and zeal to not be anonymous, but visible signs of Christ in their community.]
After a brief stop in Salamanca, we entered into Madrid for the celebration of the 26th World Youth Day. We stayed at a sports complex a short distance outside of downtown Madrid, but not too far away by bus or train. Our group quickly learned the stops of route 102, and found the Metro pretty easy to figure out. Though we did A LOT of "hurry up and wait", we were able to get a shady spot for the Opening Mass. I was able to concelebrate and distribute the Eucharist - and meet up with a classmate of the Archdiocese of Atlanta from seminary, as well!
Our first full day of WYD did not proceed as we would have hoped, and there were some eye-opening moments, but I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything in the world. We tried to get to a catechetical session, but the volunteer said it was full (and admitted that he wasn't too positive where the church was), so we, along with another small group from Pittsburgh, did our own catechesis, and were able to catch a quick, but good lunch before we headed into the Sol section of Madrid to catch a bus that would take us (and the pilgrims from Saint Teresa of Avila Parish) to Avila for a day trip. I wish that we could have spent more time there! Avila is just so rich in spiritual history that I would to have liked to soak it in! But we had to head back to Madrid, which was about an hour away.
When we returned to Madrid, we decided to stay in Sol, since we were scheduled to have a Holy Hour with Bishop Zubik, Bishop Walterscheid and the pilgrims from the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Unknown to us was the fact that the government had authorized a protest from 8:00 - 10:00 PM in the Sol section. You could imagine our surprise and concern when we came out of the restaurant from dinner, and, looking at the streets around us (and even the one we were on), protesters were gathering to speak out against: WYD, the cost of WYD on the Spanish government and citizens, the Pope and the Church in general. Anyone wearing a WYD backpack or any priest in his blacks or religious in their habit was a target of yelling and / or violence. An older gentleman stopped me and warned me that if we were to go in the opposite direction, we would be in perilous danger. We ran into the group from Saint Teresa's, and decided to pray for our safety and the protection against the anger of the protesters. (I recommended the prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel.) After we finished praying, we noticed our Pittsburgh bishops walking up the street toward the protest. We stopped them, and two of the other priests with me went to scout out a safer route, while I stayed with the bishops and the rest of the group. After some time, we headed up to the church (Santa Cruz / Holy Cross), and had the Holy Hour. Unfortunately, the groups from Saint Columbkille and Saint Louise de Marillac Parishes could not join us, for the protesters were still gathered right outside their hotel. It was a powerful Holy Hour - and one that we all needed.
The rest of WYD was not as concerning, but there were things that frustrated us, including a sickness that seemed to be running through various members of the Pittsburgh pilgrims. (I did get sick, but only a head cold on the last few days - but I'm still getting over it. [Just a lot of congestion - but am feeling a lot better than I did a week or so ago.]) One of the more interesting things that happened to me personally was to receive some "protest propaganda" shoved right at me as I was walking with my group. When I opened up the paper, there was a paragraph on how the Church needed to accept the use of condoms, with a condom in the paper. It was an awkward moment, but I just discarded it, and prayed for those people who thrusted it to me.
A HUGE highlight for the group was the ability to be about 10 - 20 feet from the Pope and Popemobile as it passed through the crowds for the Welcome Ceremony on Thursday. You could see some of the youth becoming so alive in that moment. (Or, as I should really say, "moments", since the Holy Father passed the group twice!) They got some great pictures and video, and, hopefully, an understanding of who the Holy Father is to us as Catholics.
The Stations of the Cross were beautiful. The statues that they used for the Stations truly depicted the scenes of Scripture that were used for our reflection. The music, also, brought the Stations to life, and we were able to enter into the Paschal Mystery in a unique way in this celebration with the Pope and our sisters and brothers from throughout the world.
The USCCB Mass for all the pilgrims from the United States was pretty good. Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York gave an awesome homily about how Peter's encounter with Jesus literally turned his life "upside down" - reflecting on the martyrdom of Saint Peter on his cross. The journey to the vigil site was HOT (as was pretty much the whole time we were there)! However, since one of our youth came down with the same head cold that I was developing, I took him to one of the hotels where our sick pilgrims were staying. I, therefore, was not with the group when they entered the vigil site, and ended up being a part of a large group that was prohibited from entering for quite some time. An intense thunderstorm passed through (as you may have heard from the news), and so I left my place "gateside", and tried to find some shelter - not from the rain, really, but more from the lightning. After walking a good bit, and unsuccessful in my attempt to find shelter, I headed back to the vigil site, and spent a good 30 - 40 minutes trying to find my group.
My group was in one of the farthest areas away from the stage. There was a hillside blocking any sight of the stage, and the closest large screen was about 300 yards away, if not more. We did have a speaker in our area, so we could hear everything pretty well. As I walked down the hillside to get to them, I could only think that I was entering a refugee camp - there was a fence blocking out the area for the people to stay, and there were people on either side of the fence talking. That was on my right side. On my left were police and their vehicles, making sure that no one became too rowdy or out of control. It felt very odd - it was like nothing I had ever experienced on a WYD. (I felt like I was a "chaplain to the damned".) It felt like forever to walk along the fence and find my group, but I did. I quickly set up camp, and went to sleep. I was just happy to be with the group.
The next morning, we awoke to announcements being made about lost children needing their parents to pick them up; about how only concelebrating priests and bishops would receive the Eucharist, since the wind of the previous evening's thunderstorm knocked over the tent where the Blessed Sacrament was being reserved; about how the people had to clear the roadways and proceed to their assigned areas so that the Pope would be able to drive around and see as many people as possible; how the Pope was glad to be there, and would like to see all the flags flying as high as possible; and about how there was an 83-year-old Polish lady who had lost her group - this announcement being made only in Spanish, English and Italian. It was a strange morning.
The Mass, though, was wonderful - and though we could not receive the Eucharist, it was a great catechetical moment to remind the youth that the obligation for Sunday is not to receive the Eucharist, but to attend Mass and to be a part of the community of faith, to be a part of the full, conscious and active participation of worshiping God.
Returning to the sports complex after two long days was wonderful - just in the fact of getting a shower and washing all the dirt and dust off. Our group finished packing, and at 11:30 PM, boarded the bus to take us to Lisbon for our return flight home. Flying from Lisbon, back to Philadelphia and then back to Pittsburgh, it was a good time to rest, catch up on some sleep, and then see family and friends at the airport to welcome us home. And it was SO GOOD to come home . . . and to sleep in my own bed.
WYD, despite what I wrote above, was an overall wonderful experience. We know that the negative moments are going to creep in to any event. Unfortunately for my group, they happened around some of the most pivotal events of the WYD experience itself. But I am very glad to have gone. I gained a deeper appreciation for my faith, for my vocation as a priest and shepherd, and for the people the Lord has placed in my life to get me to where I am. I am grateful for the opportunities to have been a witness to the faith, not only for the world, but more for those who were with me throughout the pilgrimage. Yet I am also thankful for the witness of faith that they provided for me. And I am glad to have shared this experience not only with some of my brother priests, who are some of my best friends, but also with my sister. She was great to have around . . . and not because "she's my sister", but because of the silent communication that we share and have developed over the years. Plus, it was good to have the "24-hour comedy channel" (as our cousins would put it) there with me to help me in not becoming too stressed at moments.
Will I be going to WYD in Rio de Janeiro in 2013? I really don't know at this point. Part of that depends on where I am assigned to at that moment. The other part is dependent upon whether the Lord needs me to be a witness of faith at that WYD, or if my witness will be needed more here. Would I like to go? I think so, for a variety of reasons - but I'm not going to think about it right now, and take the decision slowly for now.
My summer journeys have ended. They were good - they were long. And while it's good to be home, it's also good to have traveled and experienced my faith in these relaxed, yet intense ways. I can't wait to see where the Lord takes me in my journeys - both physically (including future assignments) and (more importantly) spiritually. Until the next leg begins, I'm going to take it slow and see what plans the Lord has in store for me.
Enjoy the journey . . .
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