World Youth Day Recap

Tina (aka Chicken), Rosie and Me at the sleep over at Randwick. We spent all night under the stars waiting on the Pope!

So I returned from Sydney about a week ago after an incredible week at World Youth Day. Amazing. 149 different countries represented through 250,000-plus Catholic young adults. Here are some of the big ideas I took away...

Salvation
We can never earn our salvation. It was freely given by Jesus’ sacrifice, and if we strike out on a journey of “repayment” to God for all our sins, not only do we nullify the point of Jesus dying for us, but we waste our time and talents. Instead of focusing on trying to do what God asks of us, we focus on what WE can do for Him. Which ultimately is nothing. God didn’t create us because he needed us. He created us because he wanted us. He delights in us, and He loves nothing more than when we turn to Him—away from our sins—and fully accept His grace. One of the Bishops who gave a speech was talking about gifts. He said there are 3 criteria for a gift to be appreciated. A)It must be freely given. B)It must be freely accepted. C)It must be used frequently. Basically, if someone gives you something and you do not use it, but just store it on a shelf, it is not enjoyed or given purpose. We were created that we might “have life to the fullest.”

Worship
I have often thought the definition of worship was defined in “praise and worship” which is often singing songs of praise. But I have been thinking more and more about how worship is simply appreciation and recognition of God and His goodness at every moment of the day. Appreciation for the blessings and challenges. Recognizing and giving Him all glory for every good thing. And even thanking Him for the challenging times, as he uses these times to grow us. He doesn’t cause the bad times… those are typically the result of people’s bad decisions. But he will use those times to develop the skills we need for our journey. So, in all we do, we should worship God. Praise Him and bow down before him. Give Him all the glory, as He does things so great that we cannot even fathom.

Friendship
I was gifted by meeting an amazing girl from Canada named Meaghan. She is 21 and beautiful-- inside and out. She's preparing to enter a convent in Michigan at the end of August. She will be cloistered for the first eight years before taking her vows. I consider it an incredible gift that Jesus chose to share His future spouse with me. I got to spend a whole week getting to know her, and she changed the way I think. Her love for God was tangible. And she is incredible! Only the best for God! I am so blessed that God loaned her to me for a week, especially when she only has about 5 left before she is removed from the world for so long. I consider our friendship an amazing gift. Please pray for her as she prepares for this huge next step.

Following the Holy Spirit
One evening during WYD, a friend and I were having an intense conversation. One of those pivotal chats where you know that when you walk away, you’ll be a different person with a new outlook to ponder. So we were walking to the train she had to catch to go home. It was 11:15pm, the place she was staying was a 30 minute train ride away, and we were told the trains stopped running at midnight. The place I was staying at was about a 5 minute bus ride away from where we were standing. As we were having our conversation, I was watching the screen in the train depot. It was counting down the minutes until her train came. 17. 9. 4. 1. We had to finish this conversation. So I had a decision to make.

I knew that to finish the conversation, I would have to get on the train. But I also knew that if I jumped on the train and rode the 30 minutes to her house, I probably wouldn’t be able to get a train back into Sydney. After about 2 seconds of discerning, the train came roaring into the station. “I’m coming with you,” I said. She was shocked. We jumped on board the train and had one of the most pivotal conversations of probably the last 3 years of my life. It was a divine appointment. She needed someone to be there for. And I needed someone to be there for me. In my sharing so openly with her, she felt loved. Wanted. Needed. In her listening to me—her serving me, she found a purpose. She felt she had been living without purpose for a while. And while obviously I am not her purpose, she felt purposeful for the first time in a long time. That was the gift she received from the conversation.

For me, I needed to share my story. A story I often hold back for fear of judgment. I shared it openly with her, as I haven’t with anyone else. She spoke to me of forgiveness. She reminded me that no amount of guilt or shame can change things, but that my repentance was all God desired. Jesus died for just such a purpose. And she reminded me that no amount of good deeds done can repay His grace. But by giving Him the glory in all I do, I can lead others to that grace.

In that train ride, a lifelong friendship was born. Both our lives profoundly impacted, through the intervention of the Holy Spirit. Another thing I took away from that event was how I believe God wants me to discern His will. As we were having this conversation, I knew we were meant to finish it. I could feel God speaking through my friend. I knew it was a kairos moment. I also knew that for this divine appointment to happen, I was going to have to take action. I was going to have to get on the next train when it came. I also knew that once I got off the train, I might not be able to go back to where I had come from. But I trusted. And all God wanted me to do was take one step—from the platform onto the train. That was all I needed to give… my yes and my step forward. Then He took control. The train took me the distance. It was just that easy. And my yes only had to be for that ride. And when the ride was over, I get off… stand on the platform again and wait for the next train. Just because I stepped on one train does not mean I have to remain on it forever. Just til the next leg of the journey.

For the record, when I got off the train, I had to wait 30 minutes for the next train. It took me back into Sydney where I caught the bus, got off at the wrong stop, and just about the time I realized I was lost, a guy asked me if I knew where I was going. I told him, and he told me I was in the wrong area of town, flagged down a cab for me, told him where to take me, and the cab dropped me off at my house. This leg of my journey also reminded me of my life. How I often choose the wrong path. But even when I am lost, the Lord provides someone to find me, put me in a cab, and set me back on my track. It also reminds me of why we are meant to walk the Christian journey in twos. When I was with my friend, we worked together to find our way. Even better, when there were thousands of pilgrims following certain routes, there was no way to get lost. But when I struck out on my own, I didn’t get lost because I didn’t know where I was going. I got lost because I was distracted by the things of the world. Distracted by my ipod, by the people walking past me on the street, or by being concerned with my safety. We need to help each other to keep our focus.

So, I have decided that in my life, I need to be more like I was that night on the platform. I may not have planned the trip, but if I feel like there is something happening that I am meant to be a part of, I will board the train. Just take that one step. Because the events that happen as a result of that one step may very well change my direction for the rest of my life. And as someone who can get caught up in the destination, rather than enjoying the journey, it is freeing to know it’s designed to be that easy. I don’t have to know my “perfect path.” I just have to follow when He calls. Eventually, all those times I chose to follow will make up my “perfect path.”

Prayer
I saw SO many types of prayer this week. Different languages, sounds, volumes, postures, times of day, etc. It was amazing. You realize how large God really is. His diversity. His creativity. His desire for intimacy. His capacity to love. When you think about how very different each individual is. Yet He loved us so much, he created diversity and similarity. He gave us people similar to us so that we would feel understood and accepted. He gave us people different from us so that we could be enhanced by ALL the beauty of the human race. He made us all so different so that we would never get bored, but always have something new to experience. To be in a place and experience God’s amazing creativity. His use of color, language, textures, scents, dress, music, etc. to create the diversity of cultures literally leaves me in awe. It’s funny how we can be so egocentric. But as I stood amidst all these individuals--- so varied but each one uniquely created, loved and in intimate relationship with God, I realized that our God is SO much bigger than we can fathom. That He truly does possess a love that surpasses all understanding. We will never understand Him, but we can strive to love as He does and pray for grace, because we will always fall short.

Power
Crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge with Ang-- and 250,000 other pilgrims!

We have the power to make a difference. A massive one at that. Look at Mother Teresa. Ghandi. MLK Jr. Or even bigger than all of those, Jesus. He was in public ministry for 3 years and died at 33. And look at the impact of one man. With divine assistance, we can make a profound difference. We are empowered to do such. Seems like sometimes we look at ourselves and see the seed for a Redwood. We know that there is something great inside of us. But God looks at us and sees the Redwood Forest. He sees our seed, the trees it will grow, and the sees those trees will yield as well. He sees our impact over the ages. We are so powerful. Always use that power for good.

Grace
I believe there are so many graces that were given and received over the course of this week. I can feel them in my own life. Areas that I had been struggling in, while my struggle still exists, for the first time in a long time, I can envision overcoming the struggle. I can envision a new life that will be free of those struggles. I have hope. A renewed hope. Just looking at all the people around me and knowing the lives they will touch. It can be easy at times to look at our world and focus on the bad. But I really believe that if each one of the people at this event let’s their light shine, the brightness that will stem, not only from them but from the lives they have touched, will brighten our world significantly.

Well, that is all for now. Pictures coming soon! We are back on the road as of yesterday. We are in Queensland most of the next couple of months. If you are interested in where we will be over the next couple of months, here you go (date and city)!

August 3 Monto
August 5 Biloela
August 8 Theodore
August 9 Emerald
August 14 Clermont
August 16 Mackay
August 17 Rockhampton
August 19 Townsville
August 20 Ingham
August 22 Cairns
August 28 Tully
September 1 Rockhampton
September 3 Yeppon
September 7 Rockhampton
September 14 Mackay
September 16Gladstone
September 20 Brisbane
September 21 Port Mcquarie
September 27 Brisbane