WYD Pilgrimage - final sermon

Readings: 1 Thess. 1:1-5. 8b-10; Ps 149; Mt 23:13-22

There are many images of Mary being crowned, not least in the apse windows of this church and, to my mind, these celebrate Mary’s Queenship which is distinct from her Assumption which we celebrated a week ago. Her coronation, then, completes and perfects her life, so that although the Assumption is the end of her earthly pilgrimage of life – and there are many images to show this, her ‘dormition’ or death – there is something still more to come after that end. There is still another aspect of her life to celebrate: her Coronation.

So too, our pilgrimage has come to an end. But there is still something more to come. The journey home, of course, but also still another aspect of WYD to celebrate, something to crown it all. That something is holiness, becoming a saint. And we see this reflected in Our Lady. The graces that Mary received from God in her earthly pilgrimage were crowned by God in heaven with the reward of eternal life at His side. The promises given her were finally fulfilled and perfected in her Coronation as queen of all the saints; queen because she is so full of grace, and super-eminent in charity. And we? We have been given so many graces in this pilgrimage. We will have discovered something more about ourselves, made new friends and discovered something more about the Church. Above all, I hope, we will have come closer to Jesus Christ, and discovered anew just how much God loves us, and just how much he gives us with every breath we take. All these graces, every good thing we do, and every gift we have comes from God, the Father of all goodness, who (as St Paul says), has chosen us.

And we have been given all these so that God can crown them, and reward us with sainthood. With union with him, with the fullness of salvation, and eternal life. If … we persevere in grace, if we remain open to God’s Spirit. So, the graces that we have been given still await their coronation. We still await the fulfillment of God’s promises, and we await the perfection of our lives by Christ. We await, as St Paul says, the coming of God’s Son from heaven. So, let us look out for him.

He is found in the Mass and the sacraments, recognized in the Blessed Sacrament whom we adore and receive in communion. He is encountered in the forgiveness we extend to those who hurt us … in the mercy, reconciliation and peace we offer to those who offend us. He is seen in the poor whom we serve, feed, wash, visit, and help. Above all, he is seen in the love that we have for the other, who is not a stranger but a neighbour, not just some guy I sat next to on the coach, but a brother or sister, a friend. If we await and seek Christ, and we find him in these ways and more, then the graces God gives us will well up to eternal life. Then, by God’s grace we too, like Mary, will merit to be crowned with the glory of the saints, and rejoice with God in heaven forever.

In our pilgrimage we have had some glimpse of this … Eternity, I know you’ll say, given the interminable coach journeys etc, but also, I hope, a glimpse of friendship, love, delight, exuberance, peace, and joy, and feasting like kings and queens - which is what eternal life with God is (!), and to a more perfect degree than we can even imagine, and greater than any earthly pilgrimage can barely hint at.

Pilgrims' End

After showers and final packing we set off for London. Despite the long journey ahead the coach's air conditioning certainly made the hours fly by. We made very good time until we left the the ferry at Dover but the Father Ted DVDs took some of the sting out of the slow journey to North London. We arrived at St. Dominic's and made our way to the Lady Chapel to celebrate Mass for the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. In his homily, Brother Lawrence pondered the distinction between Mary's Assumption and her Coronation. He pointed out that likewise the journey to God does not end with the end of a pilgrimage but continues and only takes us to new heights.

Get set for Rio in 2013!

See Br. Lawrence's retrospective here.

Madrid: Vigil and Mass with the Pope

On Saturday we packed up what we would need for the Vigil and Mass at Cuatro Vientos Aerodrome. Brother Lawrence had thankfully arranged that we could stay at a Dominican convent to avoid the afternoon sun. After lunch, siesta and Mass with the Filipino Dominican group with whom we had shared Atocha, we set out for the aerodrome. As we approached the area we were held up by police, who had closed the road. This turned out to be quite a good turn of luck as we were able to see the Popemobile drive past at close range. (One of our pilgrims caught it on his phone camera. it is available on his blog here).

The apporach to the site did not, however, really lift our spirits. We were not able to enter our assigned area due to over booking and above the aerodrome hung black and angry looking clouds. As we found a good spot, slivers of lightning cut the evening sky at an ever more regular rate. Despite the impending weather the Pope was greeted with gusto and sheer joy. As he began his address the rain started to fall but this became intolerable as the winds picked up. The 'huracán' (as the official announcement described it) became too much and many of the pilgrims sought refuge in one of the Eucharistic adoration tents. Our tent proved very sturdy but sadly at least two tents were decimated by the high winds. The Holy Father's address was interrupted. He left telling the pilgrims in Spanish:

Thank you for your joy and your resistance. Your strength is stronger than the rain. Thank you. The Lord is sending us his blessings with the rain. With this, you are living by example.

After a short time the storm passed and the Pope returned to finish his address and expose the Blessed Sacrament. One could not help see some symbolism in this. From frantic irritations suddenly there was peace and silence and over a million people focused on the living Lord.

After the Pope left an eruption of man-made fireworks filled the sky, after which people had the opportunity to visit some of the remaining Exposition tents for confession and rosary. Despite the conditions spirits were high throughout the night and the sounds of laughter, singing and even bongos were a constant hum.

Most of the people in our group were awakened in the morning by a loud announcement looking for an 83-year old Polish woman (who was thankfully found). There was a sense of anticipation and excitement as the Community of St. John led Lauds with a beautiful musical setting. The arrival of His Majesty King Juan-Carlos and Queen Sofia made it clear the Mass was about to start.

The Mass itself was wonderful. It is astounding that such a large and excitable crowd could behave so reverently, prayerfully and yet still joyfully. In his homily (full text here), Pope Benedict pointed out that the example of Peter's confession shows us that knowing God in not an impersonal relation but a truly personal one built on firm faith and living friendship.

Madrid: Flags, Flags and More Flags

One of thing that you can not fail to notice at WYD is the amount and diversity of flags. They are everywhere. They represent nations, regions, counties, religious orders, groups and I even saw a Brighton and Hove Albion flag. It truly was a vexillologist's dream. One of the most amazing moments was seeing a group carrying the flag of South Sudan, the world's newest nation. The flags however are not just a marker form the different groups; they point towards the diversity and universality of the Church. Despite all the different allegiances we carry, be that to Ireland or Yorkshire, Iraq and the Legion of Mary, we are one in Christ and united in His body under the unity of his Vicar, the Pope.

Of course flags are also helpful for keeping the sun off during the hot Madrid afternoons...

Madrid: Via Crucis

On Friday evening Pope Benedict led The Stations of the Cross. The service used traditional Holy Week Spanish statues for each station. The prayerful hush of the crowd was as amazing as the variety of music which accompanied the carrying of the World Youth Day Cross to each station. In his reflection following the final station, Pope Benedict reminded the pilgrims that:

The Cross was not a sign of failure, but an expression of self-giving in love that extends even to the supreme sacrifice of one’s life. The Father wanted to show his love for us through the embrace of his crucified Son: crucified out of love. The Cross, by its shape and its meaning, represents this love of both the Father and the Son for men. Here we recognize the icon of supreme love, which teaches us to love what God loves and in the way that he loves: this is the Good News that gives hope to the world.

(full text available here)

Madrid: The Pope Arrives

Just before noon on Thursday our group were listening to a homily from Archbishop Timothy Dolan. During a pause the church bells started to ring. Suddenly the whole city was filled with the sound of church bells: The Pope had stepped upon Spanish soil. The Holy Father made his way to the Nunciature, where he rested before the official Papal welcoming ceremony in Plaza de Cibeles.

As might be expected the crowd were excitable and in good voice. Many had waited since the early afternoon to ensure a good view and The streets were lined with pilgrims hoping to catch a glimpse of the Pope-mobile.

Our group found a good spot to colonise, which thankfully had a good view of one of the many screens that had be erected in the City centre.

When the Pope finally the crowd erupted with chants of Viva il Papa and Benedicto peeling out from the assembled pilgrims. The atmosphere was akin to a rock concert or a football match. During the excitement the Holy Father received the keys to the city of Madrid from the Mayor and made his way to the podium. As he began his address the excitement turned to energetic attention as the successor of St. Peter addressed the near million Catholics from around the world.

After a celebration of the Liturgy of the Word, the Pope called on all to base their life on the firm and solid foundation of Jesus Christ. He pointed out that this can be the only way "to build the civilization of love and life" (the whole text may be found here)

Madrid: Catechesis Sessions

For the first three full days in Madrid, catechesis was given by the Bishops present to the various language groups. We were very fortunate to be next door to our English language centre in the Royal Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha, which is served by our Spanish Brothers.



World Youth Day is a wonderful chance for the bishops to fulfill their teaching role in a far more prominent way and we had three interesting and diverse speakers from each corner of the Anglosphere.

On the first morning we had the Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn,Mark Coleridge address the assembled huddle. He warned that both secularists and religious people create "false-gods": Images and idols which they claim represent the true God. He encouraged the pilgrims to use World Youth Day as an opportunity to get to know and love the True God and to strip away the images and shadows that people have tried to restrict God to.

On the second Morning, His Grace Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York gave his seven point plan to deepening

our relationship with Christ, pointing out that it was very similar to keeping and developing our relationships with each other: He called on the pilgrims to spend time with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament; to get to know him through scripture and theology; to get to know His Mother; to share the Eucharistic meal with him and to talk and listen to him.

The final catechesis session was given by the Cardinal Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh Keith Patrick O'Brien. This of course was a special treat for our pilgrims from the chaplaincy of the University of Edinburgh of which is not only part of the Cardinal's diocese but is his Alma mater. His Eminence reflected on how his relationship with Christ had affected the path of life from the school yard to the scarlet.

Pilgrim Profiles: Luke Frith-Powell, Niamh O'Connell and Erin Scott

The final three profiles in one bigger podcast, taken whilst on the move in Madrid.(which explains the sound quality)

Welcome to Madrid!

After a very restful night we set off on the final part of our outward journey. We were pleasantly surprised to meet His Grace, The Archbishop of Birmingham, Bernard Longley, who came aboard the coach to offer his blessing on our group. We arrived at the Dominican school, in Atocha and set up for the night; with many people rejecting the gymnasium for the relatively cooler playground ( which also allowed for a quick game of football to break out.)

After collecting our pilgrim packs, food tokens and other practicalities we headed into the city centre, where Father Tim played tour guide and took the group around the Spanish capital. By six pm we started to make our way to Cibeles Square for the opening Mass of WYD. The streets were full of flag waving pilgrims and groups waiting for the Cardinal Archbishop of MadriD, Antonio María Rouco Varela, to officially open World Youth Day. Cardinal Varela declared in his homily that Madrid welcomed all the pilgrims with open arms and declared that they were the "B16 generation" that had come seeking God. They should however remember that God was seeking them too! After Mass the group had their first experience of using the food token scheme in the busy metropolis.