Of Popes and Pizza Cones

Day two as been a big day.  Please disregard any typos as it is both late and m Bluetooth keyboard seems to have died, so I'm having to rough it with on-screen iPad keyboard.  #firstworldproblems

If my feet could tell the story of today, they'd cast a rather dim light on what was, overall, an excellent day.  My Fitbit tells me I was just shy of 20,000 steps on the day.  Too bad it can't take into consideration time you spend standing...

So this is where the day had its rough spots.  Because WYD doesn't want to be responsible for invalid sacraments, every priest had to per register themselves online then show up at the Cathedral (which is a strikingly ugly building; let me cruise Google images and steal one to put here):

Maybe some modern artists can find something that glorifies God in that, but all I see is a concrete sand castle.  But I'm not here to complain.  I'm sure it's beautiful when its full of people praising the Lord.  

But anyway, priests had to go the basement to get their official credentials.  And "plethora" wouldn't even begin to describe the number of priests that come to WYD.  There were probably 1,000 priests from all over the world present just in the hour and a half it took me to get my priestly street cred.

Waiting for travel buddy, and having some new-found peace of mind knowing that I was accredited and free to go, I was struck by the day's first moment of grace: the Lord very clearly said to me, "Look at all your brothers!  Look at the generosity of heart in these my priests!"  And I couldn't help but to start praying. Nowhere else in the world, at I other event, will I ever be surrounded by so many brothers in the Lord's priesthood.  It took my breath away for a brief moment.  What a joy it is to be thankful!

Here's a picture of an Italian priest praying Morning Prayer as he waits in line. #fidelity. Pray for this guy.  Something didn't square away with his paperwork, so they didn't have his credentials.  He was obviously peeved.  May they be able to fix the problem and may he have peace. 

Another grace was that I bumped into two Aussie priest friends from seminary.  On the left is Fr. Mark and the small guy in the middle is Fr. Dishan. 

We got out of there and made a move for the Vocations Fair.  The kids on our trip had their eyes opened to the bigness of the world today...every 20 seconds they were captivated by another nationality and got a picture with the group.  Any parents reading this will find a section of your child's photos absolutely filled with group shots featuring flags representing at least a quarter of the world's nations.

Then we got hungry ad needed to make a move to get back to Copacabana for the opening Mass.  A few stops on the metro landed us at the perfect place to try out what's called a "Kilo restaurant," an ingenious innovation in the dining experience.  You grab a plate, put whatever and how much of it in your plate, then pay by the weight.

I don't think Stephen, the youth minister in charge of our group, understands "rest for the weary," for we were back on our feet finishing the last 1.5 miles to the Mass as pilgrim pedestrians.  

The Mass was on the beach, which was universally decided to be the best location for a WYD Mass perhaps ever.  That is, except when the tide came in and soaked all our stuff.  I'm sure we'll laugh about it later...

But what an event!

That was our view of the stage, probably 100 yards away.  The wall of humanity was dense, so this shot probably covers several thousand pilgrims...and we were a good 100 yards in front of the midway point of the crown.  Here's what was behind us:

Could we possibly have hit a billion??

Before Mass started we prayed an international rosary.  It was cool hearing our teens pipe up when the language they're studying in high school was featured in one of the decades.  They prayed loud and proud!

Like many Catholic events, the official opening Mass started late.  And here's one last gripe, last one, I promise.  The most of the music left much to be desired. One glaring exception was this young woman who sang the Panis Angelicus post-communion.  She gave the angels yet one more thing to be jealous about.

It rained on and off during the Mass, but we stayed pretty dry.  That is until one rogue wave washed ashore bringing ankle-water 20 feet into the crowd.  It felt good to be honest, but it also meant that wearing shoes was no longer a possibility.  You might be asking, why were you shoes on the beach in the first place? Checkmate. You've got me.

We decided to walk home since our hotel is smack at the end of Copacabana beach. From where we started, it was probably a good 2 miles.  The rain started up again in earnest, and by this time we were chilled to the bone.  I asked the girls if they would have come had the sales pitch included standing in huge crowds in a cold rain and walking barefoot several miles.  They were honest, but the tension broke and all was well when we found... the pizza cone.  We had heard tales of a beach-side restaurant that sells pizza in a cone, and that these mythical munchies could only be found on the Copacabana beach.  So, having received the Bread of Life to nourish our souls, we now feasted upon the dough of righteousness.  Not a complaint from anyone.

Pilgrimage can do powerful things in people.  Vacations and tours are often experiences over which the participants can exercise much control, but not so with the pilgrimage and the adventure.  World Youth Day is both, pilgrimage and adventure.  The stress of crowds and public transportation and rain and hurting feet and tidal waves and strange liturgical music would cause a vacationer or a tourist to freak out, feeling that their trip had been compromised, that someone or something had taken from them the full satisfaction of their experience.

But the pilgrim takes it all in and Ida thankful, thankful just to be there.  Thankful to get to Mass, to find treasures like Brazilian pizza cones, to meet all kinds of fascinating children of God from every corner of the world along the way, to have brothers and sisters walking that cold, wet road alongside them. Barefoot.

The Rest...

OK, back from an epic dinner.  Ate way more than I should have, but knowing what lay ahead, I know that I'll need those calories.  There's lots of walking to be done, especially in this heat.

Anyway, where were we?

I did want to share with you the view from the top.

Simply stunning.

The next few hours are a total blur.  Those who know me know that I have the gift/curse of being able to fall asleep anywhere, just about any time.  The cool air from the bus AC and the soothing, motherly voice of our pilgrim guide awakened my narcolepsy.  It wouldn't surprise me the slightest bit if there are pictures of the "Drooling Padre" floating around the internet at this very moment.

We got to our hotel and checked in.  It's a nice place (free wifi!) only a giant's stone's throw from Copacabana beach where the opening Mass and the official greeting of Pope Francis will take place in the coming days.

Speaking of Pope Francis...I'm shocked he made it out alive from his whirlwind drive through downtown upon his arrival.

Here's a pic from Vatican TV showing how a lack of proper barricading can lead to significant lapses in one's ability to protect the Papal entourage:

 

It was like that at several points along the route.  Some people even managed to reach inside the papal car.  It's been said that Pope Francis got out once during a traffic jam and kissed a baby.  He may be Fearless, but I bet he's driving his security team nuts.

But the excitement around his arrival can't be ignored.  Here's a better picture from Getty that shows a much more orderly procession:

So, glued to the tube in my room, I watched our Holy Father return to his native continent for the first time as Pope.  I suppose we could have, or perhaps even should have, been out there on the streets, waving our American flags, hopeful that we could box out the nuns for a two-second flash of white driving by.  It would have been worth it, but, considering our lack of sleep and how busy the day already had been, I rest assured that we chose the better part.

At this point, the troops were getting restless.  They attacked the room their youth minister and I are sharing and demanded that we march on the city in search for food.

As darkness began to envelope us once more, so too did a tropical storm.

Some local Brazilian pilgrims pointed us toward a grocery store where we were promised milk and honey, and refuge from the storm.  The plan was to get a snack to tide us over till dinner, so we went ahead and followed this gaggle of Rio Thugs into some back alleys.  You can do things at World Youth Day with limited concern that you normally wouldn't do under any circumstances.

Some kids got pizza, the girls got pita and hummus.  I settled from some fresh-baked French bread and a wheel of Brie--what country am I in again?  The only thing that could have made it better would have been a wide glass of a dark and rich Bordeaux.  If only there weren't minors present...

Back to the hotel we went.  As I was halfway through my journaling and blogging, a call came to my room--the phones here sound like air raid sirens--informing me that our group was to meet in the lobby to head out to dinner.  We ended up at a churrascaria, the mack daddy of all "buffet" restaurants; a meat parade, as it was called, where succulent roast animal after succulent roast animal is brought out before you and carved on your plate in "Be Our Guest" themed celebration -- "Let us help you we'll keep going...course by course, one by one, till you shout, 'Enough, I'm done'."  Anyone?  Anyone?

The youth minister has long legs and a fast walking tempo.  He and the nimble teens got a good lead on me, but I didn't mind.  It gave me some alone time to think and to pray the Rosary.

And here I sit, just after midnight, finishing up my post.  It's been a great day, a blessed day. And I have a feeling tomorrow will be even greater.

The Pope Has Arrived -- And so have we

The day started off in darkness.  Complete, uncomfortable darkness.  That is, except for the four UFOs that were flying around the moon.  

Our flight from Miami, while crowded to the max with World Youth Day pilgrims all sardined together in a vintage Boeing 767 -- for real, the plane was probably last updated when they used it in the airplane scenes of Home Alone-- was thankfully uneventful.  It was a strange overnight flight, though, in that most flights of nine+ hours usually involve a timezone change of six or seven hours.  Brazil, or Rio at least, is only one hour ahead of EDST.  So whatever sleep you got--or didn't get--was all that you'd be getting that day.  

Chris Dube of Dube Travel met us after Customs and got us on our airconditioned bus, something we were all VERY thankful for, as Brazil, though a Southern Hemisphere nation in the dead of winter, is BLAZING HOT.  I'm talking ninety degrees hot.  This priest didn't plan for that.

We went straight away to the part of town where the famous "Christ the Redeemer" statue dramatically overlooks the whole of the city.  Having a few hours to kill before our tour time, we marched to the local parish church and inquired about celebrating Mass.  I assume it was so easy to accomplish because Rio is in full pilgrimage mode, but it could just be that this fine city has a soft spot for sweat-soaked priests and pilgrim groups.

As we prepare everything for Mass, a frantic sacristan barged into the vesting room begging us to give way to an Australian bishop who wanted to celebrate Mass before his tour up to the statue.

How do you say no to a bishop, a successor of the Apostles?  You don't.

So we had Mass with the Bishop of Broken Bay in Sydney.

Then we got in the little train, and rode our way up the spectacular funicular to the Christ the Redeemer statue.

It's hard to do the statue justice.  It's tremendous, in every meaning of the word.  The views from up there are truly heavenly, even as you gaze down upon the bustling city of Rio de Janeiro from above the clouds.  There's even a chapel in the pedestal upon which our Lord is standing.

Gotta run.  Dinner time.  Will finish later.

It starts

Here we go!  We're all checked in at the Atlanta Airport.  Mom's are saying goodbye, lots of love.  

Some thoughts on World Youth Day, 1 day away

I made a promise to one of the men in formation for the Diaconate that I would blog about World Youth Day.  Here's post 1!  24 hours from now, I'll be on an American Airlines flight down to Rio to celebrate the perhaps most epic Catholic event in history, World Youth Day.

While registrations are said to be low, I imagine that non-registered pilgrims will show up in the hundreds of thousands.

I'm fortunate to be traveling and pilgrimaging with a conglomerate group from Atlanta's Cathedral parish and the official Life Teen group.  From what I understand, your's truly will be the priest-celebrant for the Life Teen XLT event mid-week with Randy Raus and Matt Maher.  Twitter's @SouthrnCatholic is even rumored to be giving a talk. #InThePresenceOfGreatness






Sorry for the lame photo placement.  Blogger doesn't let you do much and is quite finicky.  

There's also been lots of buzz surrounding security concerns.  The Rio police force has even expressed some worry over the event.  Apparently, Pope Francis has decided not bring the armored and bullet-proofed popemobile.  He'll be riding open air.

The way I see it, Pope Francis is FEARLESS.  Since his election earlier this year, he's taken numerous opportunities to show how little concern he has for typical protocol.  He frequently wanders away from his security entourage when in Rome; I imagine he wonders why he should be isolated even more when he's on his home continent.  He will not cower in fear when the world's youth want to be close to him, especially at a moment when he can manifest the closeness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yet, might reason dictate he take a more balanced approach?  Ought not the visible head of a major world religion and head of state take precautions to ensure his safety? There's also precedent.  I can't remember anyone getting upset over Pope Benedict using the special protective popemobile in Sydney or in Spain.  After all, if Pope Francis is a beloved pope, shouldn't he want to stick around as long as possible?  Depends on one's priorities, I suppose.

Security is close on my mind.  Because of the alertness and concern for well-being and safety I was raised under, I feel I have a heightened awareness, a hyper-sensitivity toward possible danger.  Don't get me wrong: I'm confident that World Youth Day is going to be awesome, prayerful, and safe.   Yet it would be naive and foolish to disregard the statistics that Brazil is one of the most dangerous countries in the world.  If something tragic happens, especially if it's done with express hatred of the Catholic faith or the person of the Holy Father, I'll be happy to go down in history as "and Companions" in the liturgical celebrations of "Pope St. Francis, Martyr, and Companions".

Please God, don't let it come to that!  Keep your children safe, let this be a tremendous outpouring of your grace!  Bring your sons and daughters back to your mercy through the Sacraments, through powerful expressions of faith, through an unshakeable hope!  Rain down your Spirit of peace upon the people of Brazil.  May our witness of the Love of Christ conquer the violence in their hearts.  May the joy of your pilgrims bring light to the darkness of broken hearts!

+WDG on the Supreme Court SSM Decision

Below is the press release from the Archdiocese of Atlanta re: the Supreme Court decision on California's Proposition 8.  Atlanta Catholics RISE UP.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

REGRETTABLE DECISION MADE BY SUPREME COURT

ON DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE THREATENS RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

STATEMENT BY WILTON D. GREGORY, ARCHBISHOP OF ATLANTA

ATLANTA - Today’s unfortunate decision by the U.S. Supreme Court striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act is extremely disappointing.  The Catholic Church promotes and defends marriage by teaching about marriage’s authentic meaning as a lifelong, exclusive, and fruitful communion of one man and one woman. Today’s decision is part of a public debate of great consequence. The future of marriage and the well-being of our society hang in the balance.

For the time being, the U.S. Supreme Court left standing Georgia’s constitutional amendment protecting marriage as a union between one man and one woman, so there will be no change here.

Catholic teaching protects the dignity of every human person, all deserving love and respect, including those who experience same-sex attraction.  This is a reality that calls for compassion, sensitivity, and pastoral care.  But no one –especially a child, is served by marriage redefinition. 

I ask for prayers as the Court’s decisions are reviewed and their implications further clarified. The Catholic Church will continue to stand for the truth of marriage and the good of children.

Audio file of the statement by Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory is attached.

For more information, contact Pat Chivers at pchivers@archatl.com or 678-480-6865.

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Easter, Year C

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.  Enkindle in them the fire of your love.  Send forth your spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.

St. John paints a gorgeous picture for us of what Heaven is like in our second reading today.  He describes it as beautiful as a bride to meet her groom, a place where there is no pain, where every tear is wiped from every eye, where God chooses to dwell with his people forever.

Yet our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells us that the attainment of such blessedness is not a given; St. Peter and St. Paul tell the brothers “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.”  Being a Christian ain’t easy.

One of the hardest things I do as a priest is to preach the truth with every word and with every action of my life.  And I know that’s a primary struggle for every Christian.

We live in a world that constantly changes its values and morals but we worship a God who does not change.  We worship a God who says his truths are eternal.  Yet how often, and how easily, the Church is dismissed as antiquated and out-of-touch. 

The problem is compounded by the fact, yes the fact, that the Church doesn’t love as it ought.  If the Church loved as it ought, there would be no question of her authority.  Jesus promised that through his new commandment to love, “all will know that [we] are his disciples.”  We would know the truth and the truth would set us free.

Now, when I say “Church,” I’m not talking about just the Vatican or the bishops; I’m talking about you and me.  Each of us, if we are to call ourselves Christian, is responsible for making it clear in our own lives how important God is.

Whenever a Christian chooses something other than love, we make it all the harder to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and we make ourselves and the whole Church less credible.

It follows logically that if we have not been won over by love in the deepest recesses of our hearts, we will not only not be a true disciple of Jesus Christ, we will also be dead weight slowing down the mission of the Lord to proclaim salvation through the forgiveness of sins.  And we certainly won’t win over anyone’s hearts.  We cannot give what we do not have.

Everything the Church teaches about faith and morals is 100% free from error; yes, emphatically yes: the Church speaks to us the will of God.  These are the teachings that we can and must live our lives by.

They are teachings that guarantee the promotion of true justice, giving to each person what is due to them as human persons.  They are teachings that ensure that the dignity that every person deserves is always upheld.  They each are a marble step on the real stairway to Heaven.  In living them out, we are assured of joy and blessedness in this life and the life to come.

Yet how hard it is to follow without love.

Do we have any fans of the now-old show 24, where Jack Bauer saves the world 8 times over?  Or Indiana Jones, or any other movie, really.  In so many films, one character, who sees a bigger plan and wants or needs the cooperation of another character who doesn’t see the bigger plan always uses the line: “I just need you to trust me!”

How many times did Jack tell his reserved and afraid-of-punishment techie coworker Chloe “I need you to trust me!”

Or another character in some other film says “We’re going to jump off this moving train while it’s crossing this huge ravine!”

The lady he’s with says “WHAT?  Are you crazy??”

He responds with “I need you to trust me!” and because she has a love for him that leads to an implicit trust, they jump and land on big puffy airbag and are safe.

Or Arnold’s famous line “Come with me if you want to live.” Because of Sarah’s love for her son John who tells her everything’s ok, she trusts this particular T-101 and follows.

You get the point: Fr. Michael watches lots of TV.

No, it’s that we are capable of doing just about anything if we love the person who is asking us to do it.  Do we love the Lord enough to do what he asks us?  Does our love for him lead to an implicit trust?

But it’s time for a serious question: what is love? (Baby don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me, no more).

For real, though…what is love?  Jesus said “this is my commandment, love one another.”  What does that mean?

Do we love one another with the same love that we love a pancake breakfast? Are we to love every single person with the same love by which we love a spouse?  Are we supposed to love each other with the love we have for our country or our favorite TV show?

Of course not.  But how do we define and (more importantly) live the love the Lord has called us to?

He told us himself: “Love one another as I have loved you.” (Repeat)

Do you know what the most important word in the command is?  …  “As.”

Love one another as Christ loves us.  And how exactly did Christ love us?  (Point to the Cross)

That’s how we are to love.  That’s what true love looks like.  True love can hurt.  True love gets us out of ourselves and hones us in on the true good of the other person.

The whole of our Christian life revolves around, starts in and finishes in love.  It’s not a warm fuzzie love, and certainly not a false love that says “You’re OK, I’m OK,” but a love that says I will die for you.

Think of it this way.  As you come forward to receive communion today, you’ll hear the words “The Body of Christ” but hear also the Lord saying “He I am for you.  Will you take my hand?  I need you to trust me.  Preaching my truth is hard in this changing world, but I am with you.”

When the host goes into your mouth, you’re jumping off the train of worldly values and into the Heart of God.  You’ll find no softer landing spot. 

Being a Christian, particularly a Catholic, isn’t easy.  It never has been and it never will be.  But the more we forget about ourselves and focus on loving one another as Christ loves us, the sweeter the task becomes. 

Praised be Jesus Christ, Now and Forever.