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Andrew - Theresa - Joshua - Benjamin - Charlotte
What an incredible experience! We were part of a magnitude of people from all over the world with something special in common - a Love of God!!! I felt blessed with the gift of faith that we all shared and of being Catholic. What a truly empowering experience. So many young people absolutely buzzing with the love God has for each and every one of them.
We walked down the streets of Sydney amid large groups of pilgrims singing, chanting praises and praying. Pilgrimage is a journey of discovery of God, the world, the Church and humanity, and we were definitely on the journey!!!
We learned about our faith through catechesis and were able to ponder deeply our ideals for the future and what God has planned for our lives; this was a time for both reflection and discovery.
We participated in daily Mass, the Papal arrival, reconciliation, adoration, the Stations of the Cross, the Pilgrimage walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge and we celebrated the final Mass with Pope Benedict XVI , where we heard the announcement for the next WYD, 2011 in Madrid Spain, to a joyous outbreak of thunderous applause from the crowd!
We really did receive the power of the Holy Spirit, in the people we shared time with, and in the quiet moments we had.
To me, personally, a noticeable reality in all of this was that all these young people were representatives of families and parish communities from all over the world and the way in which the Holy Spirit had already worked in the lives of all these young people as a whole. The support and love for these young, healthy, energetic people from all over the world was evident and the real support of parishes and communities to make this experience possible by sending these young people out to receive power from the Holy Spirit had a powerful and memorable effect on me.
A huge thank you to everyone who helped to get us there. It was a truly amazing experience that will always be remembered. The sense of support we felt played a vital role in our attending and being witnesses of the Church in New Zealand to the world.
Theresa DÂ’Ath
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