ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE DELEGATION JOURNAL
Jay from the Cathedral: Today was our second day of catechesis in Manley. Although we did not get any beach time, today's presentation from Austrialian Bishop Toomey made up for it. Personally, he was my favorite. The Bishop spoke mainly about science and religion. The bishop said we use science to understand God's creation more and we should be afraid of what we will find. As a skeptic of creationism and "the seven days" his speech showed me I could believe in God's creation while learning about the world. His final message stuck in my head: "You were created and chosen by God to be who you are, and in his plan you are part of the salvation of the human race."
After Manley, we headed to the pray the Stations of the Cross at Barangaroo. It was a large performance and memorable.
In the evening, we saw Steve Angrisano and Jesse Manibusen at the Domain.
Gillian from St. Joe's Fullerton: It's hard to believe that it is already Friday and that we are approaching the climax events of World Youth Day. It has been amazing traveling through Sydney and seeing so many people on fire for Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit has blessed me with the chance to talk to many people and it is both humbling and encouraging to know that all 46 or so of us from Baltimore are among 500,000 other people who have come above all, seeking Jesus Christ. Our main event today was the Stations of the Cross. The first station was at St. Mary's Cathedral and those portraying Our Lord's Passion moved through the streets of Sydney to Darling Harbour and the Opera House before arriving at Barangaroo for the Crucifixion. The music and the prayer and the portrayal were all beautiful powerful reminders of how much Jesus loves the world. What was even more striking was again the relaxation that, thanks to Jumbotrons various sites, the entire city was praying the Stations of the Cross.
Another highlight of World Youth Day for me was the Catechesis talks we had Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings. I enjoyed each bishop's talk on the Holy Spirit; Friday's theme was mission and evangelization, and our bishop Tom Burns of the UK's military diocese, encouraged us throughout his talk to be faithful witnesses to the Gospel and spoke about how to be Christ's witnesses without telling us directly how to be witnesses. I was especially moved by Bishop Burns' call to make church whoever we are, even in unusual circumstances. In his career as a naval chaplain, he realized this was his call because he was often the light of Christ on the vessel and sometime had to celebrate the mass on missiles and torpedoes. The bishop reminded us that wherever we go, we are part of the Body of Christ and must therefore bring and build the Church and the Kingdom of God to and in our world. This idea of being a living, breathing, fully alive witness for Christ was beautifully illustrated for me this evening when I stopped at a pharmacy to buy more film for my camera. As I was putting my change away, the teenager was working behind the counter asked how World Youth Day was going. In the brief conversation Cheryl, Georgina and I had with him, it was pretty clear that he just didn't understand why all of us pilgrims cam to Sydney but was impressed anyway that we made our journey. To me, this young man represents all the people in the world. The world might not understand, what we do but it is still watching us as we continue on our earthly pilgrimage. The question becomes: what are we showing them? Are we, by our presence, truly living witnesses?
As Friday closes we are looking forward to our pilgrimage walk to Randewick Racecourse for our overnight vigil and mass with the Holy Father. Our day will start with mass with the 50 United States Bishops and the other American pilgrims who have come to Sydney. 6 of us will be altar servers for this liturgy, and I will be one of three sacristans. The weather looks good for tomorrow and we are excited for a prayerful and joyous start to the final part of our World Youth Day Pilgrimage.
