The Final Chapter (teasers)

Beach Day, gay parade, condom in my face, biggest World Youth Day?, Vigil body-dodging, grace bomb, temporary imprisonment, concelebrating with the Pope, sunset, Pizza Hut again, Sugar Loaf, meat parade.

I'll fill it out as I can tonight!  It's our last night in Rio, so we're going to live it up!

The Victory of the Cross

Yesterday was all about the Cross, and how fitting for Friday.  

It started off with very little suffering...we took the morning and midday to soak up the first rays of sunshine we've seen since day 1 and chilled on the Copacabana beach.  The dudes had a blast getting beaten up in the surf and the ladies held down the fort taking in a little extra vitamin D.  I wish I could show you the waves!  There were a good couple that were probably in the 15-20 foot category, and man do they pack a punch!

After a quick shower and change, we went back to Copacabana to greet the Holy Father again.  This time I didn't bother with my fancy camera and just used my iPhone.  I posted his driveby on my YouTube channel.  Here's the link:

http://youtu.be/6-3eLVPXzb0

I was able to screen capture a front image and a back image as he whipped past us.

Unfortunately, he was favoring the left side again , but still a huge thrill to be so close to the new Pope.  I'm reminded of Acts 5:15.  Check it out.

On Fridays during World Youth Day, they always have a specia dramatic portrayal of the Stations of the Cross, and this was by far the most amazing Stations I've ever been to in my life...no joke, no hyperbole.  The reflections they had at each station were spot on powerful points to ponder for teens, covering everything from how we treat the poor to breaking our addiction to social media.  The music was spectacular (and I'll completely admit to being a snob when it comes to music, especially liturgical music).  The Holy Father then had some great words to encourage us all to really examine what the Lord is trying to personally give us through his gift of love on the cross and what we can give the Lord through the crosses that we carry.  "No matter how big or small our crosses are, the Lord carries them with us."

Full text: http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-wyd-way-of-the-cross-full-text/?frommarfeel=yes

This is where things got hairy.  

The girls wanted to stay for the post-concert to see Matt Maher perform, but the guys were tuckered out, so one of the other chaperones and I walked them back to the hotel.  Stephen and our videographer Ryan stayed with the ladies.  Back at the ranch, I kicked off my sandy Nikes and took a little rest on the couch in my room.  We were going to have Mass when everyone returned from the concert, so I couldn't get too comfy.

As I began to dose, Stephen knocked on the door.  I opened the door and noticed immediately something wasn't right.  He said "Padre, it's been a terrible night."  He was still riding the adrenaline from whatever had just happened.  His brow was sweaty and there as a focus in his eyes I've never seen before.  

"Masked protestors stormed the concert.  Some had gas masks and others had facial coverings that said 'F*** the Pope'."

As he caught his breath, he told me how, as Matt was playing, some 200 protestors just rushed the stage.  The military police present went on high alert, but the masked morons, as I like to call them, were already into the crowd.  Stephen and Ryan grabbed the girls and, by their good instincts, got the heck out of there and brought the girls to safety away from all the commotion.

Here's the only article I can find that documents last night's incident: http://www.demotix.com/news/2294789/protesters-crash-world-youth-day-festivities-rio-de-janeiro#media-2294774

The girls were pretty shaken, but everyone was OK.  We had a relatively silent dinner as we all took in what happened.

This morning we were able to talk about it a little, having now a little separation form the incident.  

For good news, we have been offered to watch tonight's vigil from a roof top balcony.  I think we're going to take it :)

We're a pretty resilient group, we 2 million Catholics are!  We'll certainly play it safe, but no doofus with a mask on is going to take our joy.  The faith shines its brightest when it is persecuted, when it stands against ignorance and protest with steadfast hope and perfect charity.

Please pray for the peace of Bazil.  These protestors are angry not at the Church per se, but at their government.  May they respond to their civil woes with peaceful protest, leaving us pilgris to worship our Lord and to intercede for the World's Youth.

Where we were

You can't see us, but we're there!  Bottom center of shot.

This was right at the start of the welcome.

Popacabana

Sorry for no post last night...I was simply too tired.  

Yesterday was an amazing day.  The weather still left much to be desired, but the cold dampness couldn't take away our joy--or the joy of the 1.5 MILLION people who gathered on Copacabana to greet the Holy Father.

We started the day with Mass in the hotel.  Well, it was actually outside on the breakfast terrace.  I fear the length of my homily may have exposed the kids to hypothermia, but what can you do? It was the feast of St. James! 

Stephen got word that Pope was to arrive on the beach just two blocks from our hotel, so we walked down the street to stake our claim.  There we stood for four hours.  You have to be ruthless (or even #fearless) when standing your ground at a papal event.  People who randomly walk up 2 minutes before the Pope arrives feel they have just as much a right to be up front as you do, you who have stood in the same spot in the cold rain for 4 hours.  It's a matter of justice.  Throw some bows.

Pope Francis arrived just after 5:30 PM.  He drove right by us in the open-air popemobile, just 10 feet from where we stood.

I got no pictures of the moment.  Not because I wanted to take it in and enjoy the moment, but because my Canon T2i, as good a camera as it is, failed me by not being able to focus fast enough in the ever dimming light.  I'll see if I can get someone else's photo to post here.

The best part was how excited the teens were. It's a special moment when you see the Pope in person for the first time.  You can see the seeds of faith begin to bud out from its earthy covering.  And it makes perfect sense too; the Pope, as the successor of St. Peter takes on the charge the first pope received from Jesus himself: "Peter, I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail, and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:32).

I'll let him say it in his own words: "Looking out to this sea, the beach and all of you gathered here, I am reminded of the moment when Jesus called the first disciples to follow him by the shores of Lake Tiberias. Today Christ asks each of us again: Do you want to be my disciple? Do you want to be my friend? Do you want to be a witness to my Gospel? In the spirit of The Year of Faith, these questions invite us to renew our commitment as Christians. Your families and local communities have passed on to you the great gift of faith, Christ has grown in you. I have come today to confirm you in this faith, faith in the living Christ who dwells within you, but I have also come to be confirmed by the enthusiasm of your faith!"

Full text: http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-prayer-service-with-wyd-pilgrims-full

The Lord is up to something in this Pope Francis!  

Cardinals, and I'm not talking St. Louis

This morning we went to a Catechesis session with...wait for it... Cardinal Dolan from the Archdiocese of New York.

He spoke about the virtue of hope and the threats to that hope, and it was awesome.  We had the double blessing of getting to attend Mass with him.  His homily was a variation on the World Youth Day theme, "Go and Make Disciples," telling us that before you can go, you must first come.  Come to the Lord!  Find your identity in him and in nothing else.

At the end, we met Cardinal Pell, the Archbishop of Sydney, Australia.

We had to visit the Cathedral as a group...you can't be on a Catholic pilgrimage and not visit the Church that is the spiritual heart of the place.  We got a sweet group shot there too.

Tonight will bring us to Life Teen's XLT event an tomorrow we'll welcome Pope Francis!

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!