Monday, 5 September 2011
Monday, 29 August 2011
ND Students in Spain for WYD - Pilgrim Reflection No.7!
By Pilgrim Chantal Khoury
WYD Spain was one of The most amazing, life changing experiences I have ever journeyed.
Words don't even come close in describing the lessons learnt and the journey one experiences during this single week. A week full of youth, laughter, singing, dancing, culture, and the strength and courage shared by millions whom are joined together by one faith. You can hear so many stories, see so many pictures, watch so many videos of this amazing event; but nothing comes close to actually experiencing it for yourself!
The joyful positive energy that flew through the center of Madrid could turn any frown upside down ;) Many of you may have heard about the organized protest that occurred on our 2nd day in Madrid. Being in the center of it all was a real eye opening experience. You can hear of all the things that some people have to say about what we believe, but when you witness something like we did in Spain - reality hits you hard in the heart. Yelling back seemed pointless yet 'viva il papa' still rang through the dark mob..just as it did the previous day.
Although we could not understand what the protesters were yelling, we understood what they were saying through their facial expressions of anger and gestures of frustration. at one point it was almost like you could see the devil prowling through the crowd.. Praying was our only weapon of destruction..and prayers were needed now more than ever... And so we continue to pray for Spain and the rest of our world.
All in all, WYD was the day that was a week of a lifetime one which I am still trying to absorb! What a trip, what a journey!
I'm so pumped for RIO!!!!!!!
ND Students in Spain for WYD - Pilgrim Reflection No.6!
By Pilgrim Matthew Hill
WYD was a very spiritually uplifting time, as well as a lot of fun.
For me personally, seeing a few million people of a similar age as myself gathered together adoring God, the Blessed Sacrament, in complete silence with the Pope, both at the Evening Vigil during Benediction, and at the consecration during the Final Mass, was tremendously inspiring. Seeing things like this definitely reminded me that we are not alone in striving to love our Creator. Journeying together as a group through Egypt and the Holy Land with Cardinal Pell, and then seeing him deliver an awesome pro-life talk in front of hundreds, was a massive encouragement to stand up and fight for God and life .
Coming straight from the place where Christ lived and died , in the tiny land of Israel, and then seeing the countless numbers from all around the world at WYD in Madrid, definitely reminded me that the Catholic faith, although small in its origins, had certainly reached to the ends of the earth, as Christ had intended to be.
The week was heaps of fun too. Simply being in a foreign city with millions of enthusiastic Catholic youth buzzing around was enough to get you pumped, as well as checking out some of the pubs with our gang, and conversing with foreigners about our Aussie homeland and our faith in common. The journey had a great impact on me and will be an experience I will never forget
ND Students in Spain for WYD - Pilgrim Reflection No.5!
By Pilgrim Kamela Maka
"I need to be strong and not let satans plans get to me, nor shall i be bitter, nor shall i hate or be afraid. For the Lord God's love is abundant with overflowing graces and joy. Forgive me father for my tears of self-pity, Lord I understand that you have plans for me and right now you don't want me to do the things that I want to do. Christ never abandons me, he carries me when I cannot walk and leads me when I cannot see. Hear my cry Lord and help me not go astray. May i be strong enough to accept your will and obey it obediently and faithful."
(Student Kamela Maka, Australian Catechesis, World Youth Day Spain)
"When we choose to love and care we are affirming our faith"
(Archbishop Philip Wilson, Australian Catechesis, World Youth Day Spain)
ND Students in Spain for WYD - Pilgrim Reflection No.4!
By Pilgrim Jessica Nohra
What a note to end on!
Our brilliant pilgrimage was finally concluded by the WYD week in Madrid, Spain. I don't think Madrid city knew what had hit it when a flood of pilgrims including 3,000 Aussies stormed its streets by day and by night.
Our time in Israel had just flown by and for me was extremely tough since I had one less able leg, yet what an enormous blessing it was. I truly believe we all received an overflowing of graces from Our Lord while praying
at holy places such as the Holy Sepulchre. After a three hour flight to Spain we were all ready to hit our beds rather than the loud streets of Madrid. Yet I think adrenaline kept us all going strong!
Our time in Israel had just flown by and for me was extremely tough since I had one less able leg, yet what an enormous blessing it was. I truly believe we all received an overflowing of graces from Our Lord while praying
at holy places such as the Holy Sepulchre. After a three hour flight to Spain we were all ready to hit our beds rather than the loud streets of Madrid. Yet I think adrenaline kept us all going strong!
The week of WYD included a huge Aussie gathering, catechesis every morning led by Bishops from around the world, daily Mass, culture festivals, a Vocation expo topped off by lots of Tapas and Sangria!
For me the week was about growing in fellowship with those I was on pilgrimage with and also developing a deeper love for Our Lord and His Church.
At the final vigil on Saturday night we became soaked, after a summer rain decided it would show its face after a whole week of clear skies, yet with two million other wet pilgrims around you who was complaining!
The next morning we awoke and readied ourselves for Sunday Mass which was celebrated by the Pope with over 2 million people. For me this was a clear image of the universal church;
people from all different walks of life coming together to celebrate the same thing - the suffering, death, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ - the Mass!
So I would like to thank you all for your prayers and ask you to continue to pray for the fruits of WYD in all the young people who attended and especially in Spain.
God Bless x
ND Students in Spain for WYD - Pilgrim Reflection No.3!
By Pilgrim Alison Collet
It's really hard to comprehend summing up the most amazing three weeks of my life into a few short paragraphs. Speaking to some of the other pilgrims and experiencing this myself since I've been back... there are no other words to describe such a journey. It was simply... amazing!
To use a cliché, this pilgrimage has honestly been life changing. I began it knowing Christ to a certain extent but wanting to know Him so much more. I knew that there had to be more out there and I was determined to find out exactly what "it" was!
After an overwhelming two weeks, following the footsteps of our ancestors in Egypt and those of Jesus Himself in the Holy Land, I reached Madrid and began to understand the reason for Salvation a lot more. One of the reasons that Christ came to the Earth was to reveal the love of His Father to us all through His humanity. As I began to meet and greet many friends from Sydney and Australia, it became clear that we had all travelled so far for a sole purpose. Like many of the other millions of young people, we all wanted to meet in this place to share in this one aspect of our lives, our belief in Christ.
We took what Fr Simon had said before we left for the overnight vigil quite lightly. Those whom we had been travelling with had become more than just fellow pilgrims, they were like our extended family. He said, “You will miss them”. This is true. The places we visited and things we had experienced were shared amongst a tight knit group and is something that will be remembered for the rest of our lives. Surely the images of places we've seen coupled with stories they describe will forever be implanted in our minds but what remains is the life-long friendships that have formed in our hearts.
Plane trips and long car rides may keep us apart but what holds us together, what binds us together with the millions of other young Catholics around the world is the faith entrusted to us by our ancestors. The love and knowledge of Christ is the most valuable gift we could have ever asked to have come away with. We all began this journey with expectations and pre-dispositions about who God is and a miraculous revelation but what we have found is that God Himself exists in the people we have met and the relationships formed. This remains the greater and most invaluable gift.
It's really hard to comprehend summing up the most amazing three weeks of my life into a few short paragraphs. Speaking to some of the other pilgrims and experiencing this myself since I've been back... there are no other words to describe such a journey. It was simply... amazing!
To use a cliché, this pilgrimage has honestly been life changing. I began it knowing Christ to a certain extent but wanting to know Him so much more. I knew that there had to be more out there and I was determined to find out exactly what "it" was!
After an overwhelming two weeks, following the footsteps of our ancestors in Egypt and those of Jesus Himself in the Holy Land, I reached Madrid and began to understand the reason for Salvation a lot more. One of the reasons that Christ came to the Earth was to reveal the love of His Father to us all through His humanity. As I began to meet and greet many friends from Sydney and Australia, it became clear that we had all travelled so far for a sole purpose. Like many of the other millions of young people, we all wanted to meet in this place to share in this one aspect of our lives, our belief in Christ.
We took what Fr Simon had said before we left for the overnight vigil quite lightly. Those whom we had been travelling with had become more than just fellow pilgrims, they were like our extended family. He said, “You will miss them”. This is true. The places we visited and things we had experienced were shared amongst a tight knit group and is something that will be remembered for the rest of our lives. Surely the images of places we've seen coupled with stories they describe will forever be implanted in our minds but what remains is the life-long friendships that have formed in our hearts.
Plane trips and long car rides may keep us apart but what holds us together, what binds us together with the millions of other young Catholics around the world is the faith entrusted to us by our ancestors. The love and knowledge of Christ is the most valuable gift we could have ever asked to have come away with. We all began this journey with expectations and pre-dispositions about who God is and a miraculous revelation but what we have found is that God Himself exists in the people we have met and the relationships formed. This remains the greater and most invaluable gift.
Sunday, 28 August 2011
ND Students in Spain for WYD - Pilgrim Reflection No.2!
By Pilgrim Madeleine Vella
If anything could have prepared us for the week we were about to experience, it was the flight from Tel Aviv to Madrid! One excited pilgrim after the next filed on to flight LY 397 and together we sang hymns and made up chants which only elevated the anticipation. As the plane landed on the runway and our excitement erupted into cheers and applause, it finally sank in that we had arrived in MADRID!
Throughout the week, I began to appreciate and understand the universality of our faith and the church. Surrounded by thousands of people that I had never met at the Papal arrival in Cibeles Square, I was hit with this confronting reality. All around me were people from countries I had only heard about or seen on a map; but there they were, in front of me, introducing themselves and discussing the mysteries of our faith. It began to really sink in how through our faith in Christ, we are united!
Walking the streets of Madrid as pilgrims, patriotically displaying our Australian flags, this universality was reinforced yet again. Stopping to take photos with Italians, swapping Facebook names with Polish pilgrims and learning a very fast-paced clapping game with Venezuelans encouraged me to celebrate our faith. At times it was difficult for me to comprehend that 2 million people had journeyed to this one city, as pilgrims for one unifying reason... FAITH. Faith in God, Faith in Christ, Faith in the Holy Spirit. This thought was extremely comforting and essential to the core of World Youth Day and the message it holds.
‘Planted and build up in Jesus Christ, Firm in the Faith!’ - the intermingling of cultures, races, languages and appearances, complimented with an overall Spanish influence brought the youth of the church to one place – Madrid. I definitely feel as though I was able to become firmer in the faith and I am now ready to share my experiences with others!
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