Dear friends, life is not governed by chance; it is not random. Your very existence has been willed by God, blessed and given a purpose (cf. Gen 1:28)! Life is not just a succession of events or experiences, helpful though many of them are. It is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful. It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom; it is in this – in truth, in goodness, and in beauty – that we find happiness and joy. Do not be fooled by those who see you as just another consumer in a market of undifferentiated possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective experience displaces truth.
Christ offers more! Indeed he offers everything! Only he who is the Truth can be the Way and hence also the Life. Thus the “way” which the Apostles brought to the ends of the earth is life in Christ. This is the life of the Church. - Pope Benedict XVI- WYD SYD Opening Ceremony
Monday, July 28, 2008
Pope Benedict to the Youth- Life is Not Random!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Our Return Home
Hello to the world "up over" we've officially made it back from the world "Down under"! Our plane arrived at Dulles airport at 9:00pm last night and we had a very joyful reunion with our families. Ellen even brought us homemade chocolate chip cookies!
MamaLu, I've just noticed your "wisecrack" about the pizza and Mexican food....let's just say that all pilgrims will be fasting from sausage, tuna and granola bars for at least two weeks after our return....we need fruits and veggies!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Yummy Mexican Food....and other things
Hello Parents, Family, and Friends!!
I finally have been able to find a few moments in an internet cafe to update you on our World Youth Day experience. It has been quite difficult to find internet available but our dear friend Mary Beth has been doing an excellent job sending updates from her host families' computer.....THANKS MB!!!!
It's 7:45pm and we are back in Randwick at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart parish after having spent last night in the field with Pope Benedict XVI. Wow! What an ecperience! The youth (not to mention the adults...lol) are pretty physically exhausted but so very spiritually refreshed! We decided to keep tonight pretty low key....after our walk back home from the racetrack we took nice, hot showers and settled in for afternoon "nap time." Presently, we are having dinner in various restaurants in the area. Msgr. Brennan went with a group for pizza.....yum...and the rest of us checked out a local Mexican restaurant....hurray for the beans and rice!
It's important to say as our WYD experience draws to a close....that parents, you have amazing teenagers! They have really opened themselves up to the movement of the Holy Spirit and have become witnesses of Christ's message not only to the people of Sydney but to all of us adult chaperones as well. Their behavior has been excellent. They have enjoyed such activities as trading USA items for items from other countries, (for example....Claudia traded a USA flag for a shoe from Holland) singing, hiking through the city and going to the beach after dark.
All in all, we have had a great time! We will be home soon and are looking forward to warm hugs from family and friends....and a party.....at Mr. Gómez's house (more on that later).
Tomorrow, we're headed off for the zoo and a ride around the Harbour!
Good night family! Hope to update again soon!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
World Youth Day 2011 Will Be In Spain
Let's get sellin' those hotdogs, kids! Who's on for next Sunday?
Mass with Our Papa(s)
Last night our Holy Father blessed us at a candle light vigil at the racetrack. One of the teens said that he knew why we couldn't see the stars in the sky (besides the fact that it was cloudy...lol) it was because everyone was shining so brightly! Everywhere you looked you could see thousands of candle flames flickering in the gentle Sydney breeze. Msgr. Brennan celebrated a beautiful Mass for us in the field. It was cold but we huddled together to sing praise and share in the Table of our Lord. What a sight!
Thank you to everyone at home who worked so hard to get us here. God bless you! Know that we are praying for you and we love you. We're about to participate in the closing Mass with our Papa. We'll be home soon with lots of stories and pictures. Hope you're watching from home and that you are as blessed as we are.
See you soon!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Bring in the Pope!
So today the Pope arrived in Sydney from his retreat. A lot of people gathered to welcome him in. It was kinda hard to see him, because the boat was really big, there were lots of people, and the sun gets in your eyes. No matter - he's here. With us.
We love you Holy Father!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Down Under and Havin' Fun
No, nobody's having fun here. Lol!
Hey, Ma! Dad! No hands! And we're makin' lots of friends. Where's Papua New Guinea, anyway?
Hello All!
So after we left Cowra, last Sunday, we hit the town of Bathurst and spent the night there. The kids had a lot of fun there. Some passed out and went to bed early because they were so tired, while others kept dancing the night away. They had a lot of fun doing line dances, I believe.
Then we left and took a bus, the train, and another bus to make it to our home Sydney parish. We had a great barbeque as a welcome. The next day we traveled to the Harbor and saw the Opera house. Then we did more walking aroung trying to figure out where things were and we occasionally got to things only a couple of hours after things had closed. Unfortunate, but our pilgrims were very flexible. We had opening mass that day as well. It was beautiful. And until today the lines for food had been short, but today it took a good 45 minutes to get dinner.
Speaking of today, we went to a church in the morning for a lesson on the Holy Spirit and Mary in the Catholic Church, we went to the Expo and went to a concert. We headed back early to get some laundry done, but getting back early too us some time so we actually got back late/ but earlier than the day before. Good thing we planned early. Tomorrow the Pope will come to the World Youth Day events! We are all so excited! After morning Catechist we will go see him! It will be a wonderful day!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
The Bonfire
The bonfire was loads of fun! And it sure was a BIG bonfire! A couple of kids played against visitors from Zambia. They were really good. The Zambians won partcially from the lack of participation from the American side. We had roasted lamb for dinner. And the potatoes were good. Patrick sang in front of everybody. West Virginia was a song he sang. Some Zambians did a dance and we taught some australians some of our cheers, like the Jesus Jive. We also roasted marshmellows. They tasted different. It tasted more like sugar candy than the marshemellow taste, but they were still good roasted. Overall it was a blast and everyone had fun!
Arriving...
Hello All,
We have all arrived safely and had a wonderfully warm welcome! It took many hours to arrive but aside from a few food poisoning victims, all are well.
Yesterday, was aboriginal day. We saw dances preformed and painted boomeranges in three colors. Yellow, black, and white are important colors to the aboriginals. We then also participated in some games. One was like basketball but called net ball. In it there are only two people that can shoot and score.
Today, we had mass and then our host families took their pilgrims around town on tours. Some visited art museams, some went to a rugby game, some went to the look out, some went to the Japenese Gardens, and most of everybody saw some kangaroos. Then later tonight there is supposed to be a bonfire.
