Instead, those who tuned in to this vigil with the Holy Father were witnesses to tens of thousands of youth holding candles aloft - and sucking in each and every word of the Holy Father - in silence. They waited on his words and then all knelt in reverence to the Blessed Sacrament during Eucharistic Adoration. Once again, the youth choir chanted beautiful hymns of praise culminating with the Tantum Ergo. 27 candidates for Confirmation were presented to the Holy Father, coming from all parts of Australia and the world.
I will make this public confession. Reading about the preparations for this WYD, I took a cynical approach - from the rejection of the vestments intended to be worn to the descriptions of what would transpire at each venue. Instead, I am truly humbled by the dignified and reverent approach adopted by Cardinal Pell. This has been a truly extraordinary experience to witness from the youth and those who have worked behind the scenes to make it a significant and meaningful event. Email from the 4 corners of the globe continue to pour in to EWTN's local hosts. One person wrote from somewhere in the Middle East where there are no Catholic Churches. They thanked EWTN for the opportunity to attend Mass, albeit electronically.
God bless Mother Angelica - a living saint! And God bless Cardinal Pell for this magnificent display of Catholic faith. May the Australians and all who have watched the telecasts, draw inspiration. May the Holy Spirit continue to guide these young people as they return home from the encounter with their earthly Shepherd - Pope Benedict XVI!
God bless Pope Benedict and all these youth. They are the hope of the next generation.
**Accept into your hearts and minds the sevenfold gift of the Holy Spirit! Recognize and believe in the power of the Spirit in your lives!**
Blessed be God!
Thank you for posting this. For a truly worldwide, totally positive event, WYD has gotten zero new coverage. A gathering of over a half million people gets trumped by a handful of idiots protesting the war on some street corner in Berkeley. I am personally acquainted with 30+ young people who made the pilgrimage (my own son had to cancel due to a health issue). We had hundreds of adults and teens from the Boston area attend this event, yet all the local media could cover were three women who had themselves ordained priests. The attendance of this “oridination” was far less than the local participation at WYD. It sickened and discouraged me, as well as my kids. Seeing this, and other WYD threads posted here helps to restore some of my faith in the FR forum that, frankly, has been shaken of late.