If you’re expecting a standard account of World Youth Day, with all the interesting facts and significant events that journalists report, you might be disappointed after reading this blog. All of the professional reports are important to an extent; but if you want to know what it's like to be a pilgrim completely immersed in the fray of World Youth Day, this blog is for you. Whenever I try to plan some neatly packed itinerary for the day, some mishap or absentmindedness of mine rearranges my plans drastically. All is well though, because God works through my absentmindedness as well.
It’s certainly worthwhile to experience God’s presence through the communion of millions of other pilgrims, but I believe part of the World Youth Day experience involves casting into the deep by venturing off the beaten path. It's there that you find God in conversations with local residents, or in just observing the every day lives of Rio de Janeirans.
Two nights ago, after we celebrated Mass on the hotel rooftop, my roommate and I decided to really take in what Rio has to offer. So we ate at a truly Brazilian local restaurant. I had Brazilian farfofa, which is a flour-based dish with eggs, ham, and olives mixed in. Then we went to a salsa dance club, keeping in mind that God wants us to live life to the fullest and that includes having fun. And of course, saying I've gone salsa dancing in Rio is another phenomenal conversation starter.
The drawback was I slept late the next day, and missed the New Jersey group as they headed off to catechesis with Cardinal Timothy Dolan at Vivo Rio concert hall. All is well though, because I did manage to hitch onto the New York group that’s also staying at our hotel, and we had our morning catechesis at the beautiful Our Lady of Candelaria Church.
Bishop Lawrence Subrata Howlander of Bangladesh led the catechesis, with music by Jesse Manibusan. The Mass was also phenomenal. English speaking priests from around the world concelebrated with Bishop Lawrence.
So far I’ve met pilgrims from Australia, Argentina, Cameroon, Dubai, Hungary, Quebec, Taiwan, and of course the U.S. and Brazil. The main concentration of U.S. pilgrims came when I went to the USA Gathering at Vivo Rio last night.
Testimonies and praise and worship led by Jacob & Matthew, as well as Diane Rose, led up to the main event there, which was Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Bishop Edward Burns of Juneau, Alaska, gave a talk during the Exposition and told us how Venerable Pope John Paul II blessed one monstrance for North America, giving it to the North American bishops and instructing them to use it to pray for vocations. Bishop Burns then told us that specially blessed monstrance was the one within which the Blessed Sacrament was being adored that very night, right there with us in the Vivo Rio.
That time of adoration with fellow American pilgrims, who traveled so far to be part of World Youth Day, was one of those memories that becomes engraved in the soul. It would have been an ideal closing for the day, but our night did not end there. After the USA gathering someone, I don't know who, treated us to dinner at a place called Santo Scenarium. What I love about pilgrimages is the magnanimity of the people like whoever it was that bought us dinner. What I love about the restaurants in Rio are their juices, and the pineapple juice I had last night is worth mentioning. Every restaurant in Rio offers a wide variety of juices; I suppose this is due to the fact that the country owns the Amazon Rain Forest, thereby giving it access to an abundance of fresh fruit. I've grown especially fond of their acai juice.
As wonderful as Rio is in regards to juice drinks, their Internet access, at least in the hotels, is not so great. So even though I'd like to add more to this post I have to end it before the hotel's wifi automatically logs me off again.
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