"You see, the Church is alive – and has a future!"
WORLD YOUTH DAY(s) – Cologne, Germany
Last month (16th to 21st Aug.) about 120 Missionaries of Charity Sisters, Brothers and Fathers descended on the city of Cologne – not as you would expect, to respond to some disaster, but to pray. The theme of this year’s gathering was “we have come to adore Him” and we were invited to lead a prayer of adoration day and night in one of the 19 churches welcoming the young people. We were to pray for them, to be a witness as a praying community and to present the spirit and life of Mother, whom the Holy Father held up as one from whom “we learn what it means to adore.”
We think this is the first time the Fathers, Sisters and Brothers (active and contemplative) have worked and prayed together. It was a great occasion to meet each other – … Two of our volunteers from Paris who were there described the organisation as “typically MC” (can’t imagine what they mean!). All agree however, that once the adoration had begun, an atmosphere of deep joy and serenity reigned in the church. Sisters were sent out into the city armed with prayer cards and medals to invite the young to come and pray. At the side of the church the exhibition on the life of Mother (from Rome) was set up. It provided a powerful spiritual experience for all who passed through. Some of the young were left speechless at the realisation that the dying man in Kalighat was the same Jesus whom they held in the Eucharist. Similarly, the revelation that Mother had lived a spiritual darkness yet gone on in trust and love challenged the young to reflect on their own sense of commitment. With the exit door leading into the church, many were seen to come out in tears dans to sit quietly in deep prayer. Our Brothers said that seeing so many coming to pray and sing brought a renewed belief in the young and their search for what is good. The Corpus Christi Fathers and MC Priests offered a beautiful to welcome to those wanting the sacrament of reconciliation – and they were fully occupied all week. At the church exit, another group of MCs provided prayer cards and leaflets on Mother’s message. These were a great success and it is thought that not many left Cologne without an image of Mother Teresa.
Saturday 25th was set aside as a day of pilgrimage to the Marian Field, 25 km from the city. 800.000 set out by metro, bus and on foot. A band of 20 MCs bravely set out on foot – praying, talking, singing, joking, greeting people on the way. A change had come over the city with people watching, waving and smiling from their balconies, families coming out to offer cups of water.
One of the Sisters broke her slippers on the way and couldn’t go on. The group called out to an old lady waving from a balcony to ask if she had some spare slippers. At first she said no, but then brought them in and produced a new pair of leather sandals. These had belonged to her husband who had died two years earlier and she had not wanted to part with them. Now, she was happy to give them, asking only that the MCs pray for her husband.
At the Marian Field we arrived in the wrong place (naturally) but were delighted when the Pope passed just next to us. He has given a tremendous welcome. A little shy, but enthusiastically, he encouraged the 1 million present to discover Jesus. Looking out over the vast crowd, he said,”You see, the Church is alive – and has a future!”
Please pray for the young who, after the elation of World Youth Day, need a welcoming local church.
By Br. Marc-Daniel MC - Missionaries of Charity Active Brothers
"We have come to worship him!"
World Youth Day 2005 a milestones,
a great event in the history of mankind.
An experience of God's inescapable presence and nearness,
tender care and concern.
The XX World Youth Day (WYD) 2005 was one more of the milestones of a great event in the history of mankind. During those August days in the beautiful land of German-,- there were different kinds of encounters: there was the encounter with God in prayer. listening and adoring Him like the Magi, and there was the encounter with God in one another, irrespective of color, culture, language or nationality. It looked like a mosaic of great artwork. An ocean of one million young people from 193 countries of the world, many cardinals, 800 bishops and ten thousand priests met in Cologne. Germany. a city of extraordinary beauty and charm. It is in this city of history-. tradition and antiquity which Divine providence chose through the Magisterium of the Church to hold such an important event of faith and history.
The XX World Youth Day was held in Cologne. from 15 to 21 August 2005 as announced by the late Pope John Paul II three years ago in Toronto. Canada. Unlike other World Youth gatherings. the WYD in Cologne was special. There were two popes: the servant of God Pope John Paul II in heaven and our beloved Pope Benedict XVI on earth. The assistance from heaven was very evident, especially with regard to the weather. According to the reports received, there could have been heavy showers, as the sky was grey. But it did not stop the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from going to Marienfeld (Mary's field) and camp there for the wonderful vigil and then spend the night in the open, as did the shepherds near Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth. I prayed much to Pope John Paul II to help us from heaven, as the young people were so dear to his heart till the last day of his life on earth. To the young people who gathered under the window of Pope John Paul II in St. Peter Square, where they chanted John Paul's name for two days. he said: "I have been looking for you, and now you have come to me. 1 thank you for this. " While these last words of the late Pope John Paul II to the young people continue to resound in our ears, we can count on his spiritual presence and assistance from on high. I still feel that he did really help us from heaven on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 August 2005. The weather became pleasant and free from showers, except a rain of heavenly graces on the thousands who gathered around the altar together with our Holy Father Benedict XVI. It was a real experience of God's inescapable presence and nearness, tender care and concern. Blessed be the name of the Lord, now and forever.
Fr. Sebastian M.C.
The route to Cologne, Cambodian youths pray for Italians:
“They have forgotten their faith”.
CAMBODIA – WYD 12 August, 2005
Rome is the first leg of a pilgrimage of 10 Catholic youths coming from Cambodia; they will reach Cologne on 16 August with high hopes of “finally feeling part of the universal Church”.
Rome – Feeling part of the universal Church through an exchange of faith and culture with youths from all over the world who witness to Christ, as well as praying for those who – like Italian young people – appear to have forgotten their faith. Such are the expectations of 10 Cambodian youths traveling to Cologne in a pilgrimage via Rome, Assisi and Milan.
The youths are accompanied by a Cambodian sister and by a priest who is studying in France. AsiaNews caught up with them during their stay in Rome and interviewed two who have undergone different experiences and who have diverse needs, but who share a desire to concretely live out the concept of “belonging to a large family”, even if this is only a “small and undefended minority” in their country.
Sokha is 23 years and comes from a Buddhist family. She studies at the University of Phnom Penh and lives in a hostel run by the Church: it is right there that her “gradual conversion” to Christianity started, when she took part in voluntary activities. Last year, she was baptized. “I come from a very numerous Buddhist family but since I started to work with the sisters of Mother Teresa, an activity suggested by the hostel, my life has changed.” What amazed the girl most of all was the love freely offered to the poorest of the poor and the idea that poverty is not a fault, quite the contrary. She said: “Buddhism considers that your present condition is a consequence of the life you led in the past. You must bear your sins within you all your life and even in your following life, perhaps incarnated as one who is poor; the idea of mercy foes not exist, nor does the concept of the person, there is only individualism.”
Now Sokha’s greatest desire is to “swap with youths in Cologne our faith and cultures”. “When I was invited to the WYD in Cologne, I expected to meet John Paul II: now I am sorry he will not be there, but anyhow I am happy and I cannot find the words to describe how I feel.”
Naah is nearly 26 years old and his family is Catholic; four years ago, he entered the seminary in Phnom Penh, and he started to study philosophy after two years. “I am really happy, for me going to Cologne is like responding to the Lord’s call. At the WYD, my eyes and mind will be wide open to receive him.”
Even the friends of Naah and Sokha who were unable to attend told the two youths they were happy just because Cambodian youths “were uniting” with the Catholic world.
Sokha said her friends “are praying that our trip goes well”. Meanwhile, the friends of Naah asked him to “see for them too the beautiful things awaiting us in Italy and then with the Pope in Cologne.”
The seminarian said: “At St Peter’s, I prayed very much for the unity of the Church in Cambodia and for Italian youths: I am worried about news we hear about youths here who are taken up by the well-being of their society and who have forgotten their faith because of this quest for ephemeral happiness.”
For this reason, the Cambodian youths would like to “talk about their country, about the beautiful things but also about the poverty and above all to communicate the great need to testify to Christ without fear.”
In a country where Buddhism is the state religion, it is difficult to find the right means to communicate the Gospel without offending the majority. Naah is convinced that “not words are not necessary, love expressed in actions is enough”. Meanwhile, Sokha chooses to talk about her voluntary work with the Church, with the sisters of Mother Theresa and other concrete ways in which Catholics help the poorest of the poor.
Fr Legnani, missionary of the Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions in Cambodia and organizer of the trip to Cologne, confirmed the great enthusiasm of his young believers. “The Cambodian church is young, reborn in the nineties after fierce repression: these youths are its hope and vital lifeblood.” |
