One week before WYD 2008

'You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.' Acts 1:8

In less than a week, we will be off to Sydney, Australia for the World Youth Day (WYD). The WYD is a week-long international religious gathering of youth and young adults held in different parts of the world every two or three years. The event consists of liturgical celebrations, catechetical sessions conducted by bishops, and cultural festivities. The culmination of the WYD is an evening prayer vigil and (the following morning) eucharistic celebration with the pope. This year, the host will be the archdiocese of Sydney.

This will be the sixth WYD that I have attended. The last one was in Cologne in 2005. The Cologne Weltjugendtag was also the first WYD celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI following his election earlier that year. At the time, our older daughter, Isabelle, was 16 months. This time, we will also be taking our younger daughter, Gabrielle, who is now 16 months.

Naturally, we are quite excited about our upcoming pilgrimage, though also somewhat anxious about the long journey ahead. On July 9, we will travel from DFW to LAX and spend a little more than 24 hours at my parents' house in PV. We leave for SYD the evening of July 10, cross the international date line and then arrive the morning of July 12 after being in-flight for fifteen hours. (Hopefully, our seats are equipped with DC power for the DVD player!)

During our time in Sydney, we will pray for the intentions of our family members and friends and for an end to war and injustice. We hope that you will also keep all WYD pilgrims in your prayers for a safe and faith-filled journey.