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.
When we were at WYD Toronto in 2002, we went to sleep next to a puddle, that by morning was our "bed" but now 11 years later the best of memories, always include it was worth sleeping in the Mud to be with JPII. The girls may not like the wet and rain now, but they will never forget this adventure! Thank you for blogging, so wish we were there with you! Praying for you guys!
ReplyDeleteGod Bless!
The Sommer's