WYD 2008: Final Thoughts

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



St. Augustine is quoted as saying "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." To be honest, I was not familiar with this quotation until I saw it referenced in a travel magazine on my flight back from Sydney. My limited Internet search failed to confirm the attribution to the great 5th century bishop of the north African city of Hippo and Father of the Church. In any case, I suppose this saying is a nice affirmation of my desire to travel. Although I'm not as well-traveled as some people I know, the trips that I have take have been eye-opening opportunities for discovery and learning.

This explains, in part, why my wife and I decided not only to attend the World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia last week, but to take our kids with us. While traveling with children does present some challenges, it also provides them with wonderful learning opportunities. My daughter, Isabelle's enthusiastic reaction every time she saw the Sydney Opera House or heard the pope's voice was priceless. Barring any unexpected issues, we expect to be in Madrid, Spain for the next WYD in 2011.

Interestingly, St. Augustine was also referenced prominently during the WYD. In his homily for the Opening Mass, Cardinal Pell, the archbishop of Sydney, adapted a sermon given by St. Augustine in entreating us not to leave behind the spirit of the WYD upon its conclusion. During the prayer vigil, Pope Bendict reflected at length on St. Augustine's exegesis on the Holy Spirit: as the unity and communion between God the Father and God the Son, as divine love ("God is Love" 1 Jn 4:16), and as gift, i.e., as a never-ending spring that quenches our deepest thirst (cf. the story of the Samaritan woman at the well (Jn 4:10).

As I wrap up my final blog for the XXIII WYD, I'd like to share some thoughts from the Concluding Mass celebrated on Sunday. First, the liturgy. The Mass was celebrated in a traditional, solemn manner, very much in keeping with Pope Benedict's liturgical preferences. Instead of detracting from the exhuberant spirit of WYD as one might expect, the dignity and grandeur of the Eucharistic celebration complemented and intensified the spirituality of our week-long pilgrimage by appropriately focusing our worship on the Lord.

Finally, the pope's homily. There were too many wonderful insights shared to pick out just one or two themes to reflect on. I hope that many will take the time to read the complete text. Of course, the subject of his discourse, indeed the whole WYD, was the connection between the Holy Spirit and the mission to proclaim the Good News. I hope that this blog was the fruit of the Holy Spirit and contributed to this mission in a small way.

In conclusion, I would like to reproduce the challenging set of questions that the Holy Father posed to the pilgrims gathered at Randwick:

What will you leave to the next generation? Are you building your lives on firm foundations, building something that will endure? Are you living your lives in a way that opens up space for the Spirit in the midst of a world that wants to forget God, or even rejects him in the name of a falsely-conceived freedom? How are you using the gifts you have been given, the “power” which the Holy Spirit is even now prepared to release within you? What legacy will you leave to young people yet to come? What difference will you make?

And if all of this seems a bit daunting, especially now that the WYD has concluded, perhaps the pope's mini-homily just before the Angelus offers a few words of inspiration.

Dear young people, we too must remain faithful to the “yes” that we have given to the Lord’s offer of friendship. We know that he will never abandon us. We know that he will always sustain us through the gifts of the Spirit.