WYD preparatory event unites young Catholics
The B.C. Catholic
Young adults enjoying a taste of the World Youth Day experience heard from their archbishop and a media priest.
“World Youth Day is a particularly powerful way in which so many young Catholics around the world have discovered their vocation, whether it be matrimony, holy orders, or consecrated life,” said Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB.
“God has selected this particular time as a gift to you for your discernment. If you take a single prayer in your heart, take the prayer to follow God’s will.”
The archbishop addressed more than 300 youth and adults at St. Patrick’s Parish in Vancouver May 27 for an event called Journey to Mercy. Many of the youth were to attend the international event in Krakow, Poland, in July. Others had an opportunity to experience something of WYD at home.
“It’s really wonderful to see so many young people from the Archdiocese of Vancouver prepare to go to Krakow,” Archbishop Miller said. After blessing the youth about to make the trip, he urged them to pray for their intentions when in Poland, and to keep an open and sincere heart.
Attendees brought clothing to donate to Covenant House, which tied in with the event’s general theme of mercy and fellowship.
“Having the support from the youth and the Catholic community means a lot to us because it’s all peers helping peers,” said Mark Savard, the development officer at Covenant House. The donations “help bring the youth from a place of helplessness and despair to independence.”
“For the youth we serve, it’s about giving a hand up, not a handout.”
The night featured the archbishop; Father Thomas Rosica, CSB, the national coordinator for WYD 2002 in Toronto; and Polish ambassador Krzystof Olendzki.
“Vancouver has the largest (Canadian) population going to WYD,” announced Father Rosica to cheers. The priest, the chief executive of Salt and Light Television, recounted his interaction with Pope John Paul II, who had conceived WYD in 1986.
Preparation for the Toronto 2002 WYD was going on when the September 11 attacks in the U.S. occurred. An escalation in event security, among other factors, led to Father Rosica and the police chefs of Canada holding a meeting with Pope John Paul II.
After each of the police chiefs had spoken with the Pope, Father Rosica said, “Half facetiously, I asked him why he had started WYD. ‘Who put that thought in your mind? It was a heck of a lot of work for me.’ I said this with a smile.”
“He paused, and in a deep voice told us, ‘I love young people, but they’re so alone. When they come together they look around and see each other, and that gives them strength and gives them force.'”
Father Rosica was greatly moved by this, and finally understood what Pope John Paul wanted from WYD: “to take people out of solitude and loneliness, and help them realize they’re not alone.”
“Every time I go to these events, I realize that this is the response to solitude and loneliness,” noted Father Rosica. “This is the response to the idea that I’m the only one who is living like this; I’m the only one who is trying to live a good and decent life. (At WYD), you meet all kinds of people.”
