TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2008

World Youth Day was upon us!
Early that morning we rose to dress, pack, and leave, half of us traveling to our catechesis site to drop off our equipment, the rest of us heading to the city to get our accreditation and sit in on a few briefings for our various volunteer activities for the week. As we made our way to Darling Harbor through the city streets, and then walked along the water, I couldn’t help being overwhelmed by the amount of people that had suddenly descended upon Sydney. Where had they all come from? The answer to that question is not simple, because every group we passed was from a different corner of the world, and with over 150 countries represented at the event, I feel we probably covered every corner!

I knew that among the crowds would be a large group of 90 pilgrims from Indianapolis, and I desperately wanted to find this gathering of familiar faces. Fr. Jonathon Meyer, leader of the group, had passed on his Australian mobile number to me before leaving the States, but as I tried it a few times after I knew he would be in the country, I was disappointed with no answer - the phone wasn’t working! It was a blessing, really, because it forced me to rely on the Divine Providence of God to come across the group, but I certainly was doing everything in my power to search for them. I was constantly scanning the crowds of people looking for an American flag, a tall, skinny priest…anything to give hope of Hoosiers!

As we made our way through the convention center, the four of us girls who had agreed to pick up the accreditation ran into several people we knew along the way. I continuously found it amazing throughout the week how many friends I saw! I guess it’s because I live here and we’ve been working on this event for quite some time so we’ve met lots of the organizers, which means I know more than the average pilgrim, but still, it was so interesting!

We had a bit of time to kill so we just plopped down near the door of the auditorium we would soon need to enter for our briefing. I just sat there staring off into space, thinking about nothing and everything, and would you guess who walked right by me?
Fr. Meyer!
I couldn’t believe the incredible Providence of it - God had answered my prayers, and much sooner and easier than I thought! I was so ecstatic. It turned out the group from Indy was also animating a catechesis site (this just in) and Fr. Meyer was waiting for the briefing as well, which was lovely because it gave us a little chance to catch up. He explained the problem with the mobile phone, and wasn’t sure when it would be working. He outlined the group’s plan for the day, though, so when I had the chance I was hoping to head the same places they would possibly be to providentially bump into them again! It just so happens that was unnecessary though, because after parting with Fr. Meyer and then leaving the convention center an hour or two later after another briefing, I saw I had a missed call and voicemail from his mobile number! Guess he got it working…
Listening to the message, it wasn’t Fr. Meyer, though. It was Ben Syberg, an old friend from high school!

The story of Ben is that after bumping into him in January while I was home and explaining the new path my life was taking, he decided he was going to do everything he could to get to WYD himself! I hadn’t heard, though, whether he was able to make it or not, so one of the reasons I wanted to find the Indy group was to answer that question. No need! Ben’s message confirmed he was indeed in Sydney and calling him back I found out their exact location, which I promptly made my way to. I almost tackled him when I saw him! It was so exciting to see an old friend after such a long time, and in a foreign country at WYD! It was amazing to hear how hard he had worked to get there. Ben is in the seminary, so he employed some good letter writing skills (asking for donations) and the power of prayer to help him on his journey. I haven’t spoken to him since he returned, but it was pretty clear God wanted him to be there for a reason. I wonder if he was able to realize what that reason was!

There were a few others I knew among the group as well: Chrissy Beiriger, one of Jenny’s good friends and classmates, Peter Jansen, another old friend’s brother, and Katie Berger, a youth minister I was around a lot in high school. I met a few new people as well.

I hung around with them for a little while - by this time we were in Barangaroo, which is where the Opening Mass was being held. In fact, Barangaroo was a place (that looked very much like it used to be a parking lot?) on the Northeast side of Darling Harbor, created specifically for some of the large events of WYD. Among those events were the opening Mass, the Papal arrival, and the Stations of the Cross followed by a concert. I’d like to know how many people it was estimated this place could hold, because it ended up being completely packed and then some for the Opening Mass. As you can imagine, it was a HUGE amount of space. Just that morning in one of our briefings, one of the WYD staff had told us it took her 17 minutes to walk across it empty…I had no idea how long it was going to take walking across it packed with people.

This is something I was thinking about though, and the reason for that is this: I needed to sit in the VIP area for the Opening Mass because I was given a very special privilege. I was among 40 people who received the Eucharist from His Eminence George Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sydney and the main celebrant of the opening mass of WYD 2008. There were well over 200,000 people there and I went up on stage in front of all of them to receive the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ! O, it was exhilarating! However, the exhilaration began long before the Mass even started. I had NO idea how to even get to this VIP area! Luckily I crossed paths with the director of the Sydney Uni chaplaincy, who also was looking for this allusive entrance. Together we found the general area, but got split up a bit on the way through the gate - there were quite a few people, and it just so happens the International Liturgy Team (ILT) was also walking through at that same time! A bit of chaos, really! However, it turned out lovely because I got to have a quick chat with the American representative on the ILT, and see a few friends I had made the night before at the countdown (also part of the ILT). Once I got through to the VIP seating area, even though I showed the lady at the entrance my ticket saying that I was to be receiving Communion from the Cardinal, she told me to just sit anywhere. Anywhere being on one of the maybe 2,000 white chairs set up for all VIPs. As I walked in just behind was another girl in the same situation - she too was receiving Communion from Cardinal Pell and as we sat down, quite far from the stage, we wondered how he would know we were among the 40 people if we were sitting in the middle of a bunch of other people? It was puzzling, but we began chatting anyway, assuming somehow it would all work out.

She told me her name was Jacquii and it was really loving talking with her - she was very agreeable and as it turns out, she was on her way to the States shortly after WYD to do her last year of uni there! She flew out on August 7, and is studying at Univ. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. On an exciting side note, she emailed me a bit after WYD and was asking about sororities - she said she’d really like to be part of one while she is in the States! And guess which one she is looking at? TriDelta! I’m still anxiously awaiting the results of her recruitment week. More on that later.

Anyway: I only knew of one other person who would be among those chosen for this special honor, and just 10 minutes after Jacquii and I sat down, Yvette found us. Yvey, as we affectionately call her, works at Mary MacKillop Place - a beautiful lady with a jolly disposition and a strong faith. It was really nice to have a conversation with her while we were waiting for the Mass to begin. Jacquii, Yvey and I quite enjoyed ourselves, making the most of a confusing situation.

As the three of us sat amidst the thousands of white chairs, Penitito, who was volunteering for WYD and lives at the CYS house, came walking by and stopped suddenly upon seeing us. “Aren’t you receiving Communion from the Cardinal?” he asked me. Well, yes. “You’re supposed to be sitting up there!“ he said, pointing towards the front…

right…..
“Follow me.”

Before we knew what was going on, we were whisked away from the white plastic chairs and sailed past the rows and rows of them, until leaving that area, we sailed still farther up towards the stage until we were finally plopped in the back row of a small section just at the base of the massive stage. As we attempted to resettle, now with less than 5 minutes to the beginning of Mass, we three looked at each other in astonishment, wondering how it had happened that we had ended up in such a wrong place, and thankful that in the nick of time, someone had noticed the error and corrected it. I began to imagine what would have happened if Penni hadn’t come by when he did, and as my thoughts turned to the sad possibilities, they were abruptly cut off as the gathering song began to play and the clergy began to process by. I knew we had been very blessed.

It was a beautiful Mass. The setting was incredible, and it was only the beginning. As I said, Barangaroo was located on Darling Harbor, but what I didn’t mention is that this point is where Darling Harbor meets Sydney Harbor, and it is right on the edge of the beautiful city of Sydney. Throughout the Mass, aerial shots were shown on the screen, and it was stunning: 300,000 people, both inside and outside the gates of Barangaroo, had packed this area by the water, with the skyline standing perfect guard in the background. The light was brilliant - the setting sun cast a pink, orange, and faint yellow glow across the blue sky, and the week they said would be overcast with rain and cool temperatures was warm and clear in defiance. Even Mother Nature was bowing with humility to the God who created her.

It was hard to tell, but I think there was a hush over that large crowd throughout the Mass. Those people gathered are serious about their faith - so to have such a massive sea of humanity turned with uplifted hearts towards a celebration of sacrifice and thanksgiving is incredible and a true witness to the Catholic faith. The homily was spectacular as well - it was clear that the poor Cardinal, after being bombarded with negative media the week before the event, was in much better spirits now that his vision of having a WYD in his archdiocese was playing out and that it was going off with such a bang. I was able to speak to him just briefly after the Mass and he had a new glow about him - it was wonderful to see him so happy!

When it came time for us to begin our procession towards the stage to receive the Eucharist, I was covered in goosebumps - I was so cold, so nervous, so excited. Yvey and I walked next to each other, both trying to stop shaking! It was such a special moment, such a special privilege, and I was amazed that it was given to ME! How beautiful to begin the week in such a way. Yvette and I were close to tears as we walked back to our seats - such a breathtaking experience!

We were directed to exit the stage and walk through its belly on our way back, and as we did we passed quite a few crew members, the good people who were keeping the Mass running on a technical level, and I was a bit surprised to see three of them crowded around a laptop watching a movie! They had NO idea what I had just gone through, why these people were walking past them, what it meant to be at such an event, where all these people had gathered from, Who they were in the Holy Presence of! If only they had been watching - what God might have done to change their hearts! I prayed that at some point throughout the week He would reveal Himself to them. I can’t imagine the crew of a WYD being so unaffected, despite their religious status!

As the Mass ended, I was filled with that peace we are to take forth, and there was much celebration as WYD had finally begun! Mingling with a few others who were in the same seating area (the one closest to the stage…not our former place among the sea of chairs) we climbed on to a platform to take a look at all the people around the venue, flying flags from every corner of the world. We were very slow to leave as we wanted to soak it all in, and meeting up with Beth, a good friend who had given a testimony in the lead-up to the Mass, we began chattering about our experiences and the days that were to come. Before we knew it, we had walked out of Barangaroo, and only 20 minutes later did we realize what a mistake that was! It only seemed like most people had left the venue because our little area was cleared, but there was a concert going on and dinner was being served within the fences and no one was allowed back in until everyone else had left. Basically, no one was allowed back in. Beth and I wondered around for quite a while, going this way and that, sharing a granola bar for dinner, and finally plopping down on the curb of some side street just outside Barangaroo, not really knowing what to do or where to go.

We decided to walk towards the streams of people leaving the grounds, and taking our place among them, made our way to Darling Harbor where she stumbled upon her pilgrim group, and I coincidentally met one of Alana’s friends from Texas. TALK ABOUT right place, right time! He had just gotten to Sydney that morning but didn’t know how to contact Alana - see, waving an American flag can come in handy!

Together we met up with Alana, who took us back to the temporary apartment of some WYD volunteers - right on the edge of beautiful Darling Harbor. From their balcony we watched the beautiful display of fireworks set off from Barangaroo to celebrate the official start of WYD.
Humbled and content with the blessings the opening had bestowed, I made my way home and went straight to sleep, preparing myself for both the challenges, pandemonium, and peace that lay ahead.