The following is a short reflection that I wrote whilst in Spain a few months back. I had thought that I had accidentally deleted it, however it has turned up in my email drafts folder on my phone.
Pope-Cannon - Final Mass Preparation
There are loads of expressions surrounding third times; ‘the third time’s a charm’, ‘good things come in threes’ etc, and entering my third WYD sleepout I was not sure what to expect. If I have learnt anything from my previous two WYD’s it is that WYD has a habit of never being what you expected. The physical stresses of this WYD were just one of the many unexpected surprises. Firstly having to endure the hot sun for many long hours and then to be confronted with a wild electrical storm, this WYD has certainly been a test physically. It is however in these moments that we are drawn closer to our God.
Whilst sitting in the hot Spain sun I had a chance to ponder the sacrifice of Christ. I recalled my experience earlier in the WYD week when I was blessed with the privilege of being part of the team to carry the WYD cross and icon into the Australian gathering. Carrying the cross of Christ is not meant to be easy. Carrying the icon of our mother Mary was not an easy task, even with the weight spread between eight people, sitting in the hot sun was not easy, and enduring the wind and rain during the storm was not easy, but none of these compare with the sacrifice of Christ.
During the electrical storm there was not much that could be done except to sit tight and pray that I would not be struck by lightning. It was during this wild storm, when the prayer vigil was halted because of the storms intensity, that I was reminded of our recent days spent in the Holy Land sailing on the Sea of Galilee where we reflected on the scripture passage where Christ comes walking across the water in the midst of the storm. Reflecting on this gave me great courage during the height of the storm.
The rest of the WYD vigil and final Mass were as any other; a great witness to the world that as young people we enjoy getting together for a massive party, but we enjoy even more the opportunity to come together and pray, celebrating the fact the Christ has risen from the dead as the Saviour of all mankind.
I would like to finish this post with one final thought from one of the speakers that I was privileged to hear at this WYD. He proposed that when asked the question ‘How are you?’ to respond not with the usual ‘good’ or as we often do in Australia answer how we are not… ‘not bad’, but rather say ‘I’m blessed’. The opportunity to attend a third WYD has shown me that I am truly blessed.
matthewsmicromusings 