CHURCH

MADRID: WORLD YOUTH DAY
"HAVE GRAND DESIRES"

EDITED BY FABRIZIO ROSSI

The Way of the Cross in the center of Madrid, the Prayer Vigil, the Mass at the Cuatro Vientos airport…
There will be about a million young people participating in the 26th World Youth Day in Madrid, August 16th-21st, on the theme "Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith" (cf. Col 2:7). In a message last August, Benedict XVI had sent them these words: "I would like all young people–those who share our faith in Jesus Christ, but also those who are wavering or uncertain, or who do not believe in Him–to share this experience, which can prove decisive for their lives. It is an experience of the Lord Jesus, risen and alive, and of His love for each of us." It was John Paul II who conceived the idea of this day when, in 1985, he invited young people to St. Peter's Square for the International Youth Year and 350,000 of them turned up. Thus were born the World Youth Days: Buenos Aires (1987), Santiago de Compostela (1989), Czestochowa (1991), Denver (1993), Manila (1995), Paris (1997), Rome (2000), Toronto (2002), Cologne (2005), and Sydney (2008). This time, too, young people have responded, organizing a journey that for many is complex, from every corner of the world. What are they looking for? With what desires do they decide to set off? We asked four young people preparing to leave for Madrid–from Russia, Australia, Italy, and Taiwan–to tell us their stories.

VIKA
Moscow (Russia)
A FIXED POINT
IN LIFE
Icame to know of the WYD in a meeting with Archbishop Paolo Pezzi with young people in Moscow. It was among the announcements. I said to myself at once, "I want to go." But how? I began to ask, "Lord, if You want it, too, do something." After some months, I was asked to accompany a group of Franciscans to the WYD. It was the answer I was waiting for. From that moment, every month we met the Archbishop to read the Pope's message to young people. We spoke about it and listened to witnesses, or simply drank a cup of tea together. All our questions came out there: What does it mean to be "planted in Christ"? Is there a bond stronger than anything? Am I standing on solid ground? In this way, we helped each other to be serious about life.
I have asked myself a hundred times: Why do I want so much to go to Madrid? My answer is simple. In the Church, I have met something beautiful, and my life has been completely revolutionized. So I am going to ask that this encounter may be forever. This journey, though, is not possible on one's own. Even the Pope spoke of "fixed points." For my life, the Pope is a fixed point. This is why I am going to meet him, so as to come home to live, here in Moscow, what I will receive, and in this way reaching everyone.

YA HAN
TAIPEI (TAIWAN)
I THOUGHT: HOW CAN I GO WITHOUT BAPTISM?
Iam not baptized. I saw my grandfather praying and I said to myself, "It would be wonderful to know this God." But I didn't dare go into the church until his funeral. I saw kind people there, full of warmth. So I began to go to Mass, and later spotted a leaflet on the notice board. It was an invitation to the WYD. It struck me, but I thought: How can I go if I am not even baptized? At that moment, a Christian came along and told me, "Go. It is certainly worthwhile." So I signed up immediately; it was the last day.
There will be 300 of us from Taipei. My group numbers 17 young people. In these months, we met a number of times to prepare for the WYD. Every meeting was an occasion for getting to know our traveling companions: some priests, some youth from the parish, and other university students, not all of them baptized. We spent a day with other groups from Taiwan. To see others like me who are preparing to meet the Pope evoked an emotion I cannot describe. It made me want even more to go to Madrid, where pilgrims will arrive from all over the world.
I was very struck that the Pope has invited us not to follow the dominant mentality blindly, but to look for "a personal relationship with Jesus Christ"–and to consider Him a true friend. So at the WYD, I would like to meet other young people with this desire, to know God better.

TIM
Melbourne (Australia)
A PROPOSAL FROM BISHOP JOE
Iwill go to the WYD with another 100 young people from Sandhurst, near Melbourne. I am only 22 years old, but I will be leading the group. Our Bishop, Joe Grech, asked me to do so last December 10th. That day was his birthday. Two weeks later, he died suddenly at the age of 62. I owe a lot to him; he was a friend and a father. Now that I have finished my courses in Engineering, I have decided not to look for any job for a year: I will devote my time to following the young people of the diocese, as Bishop Joe had asked me to do. We will make the pilgrimage to Madrid in his memory, and we will visit places like Ávila and Segovia, because Bishop Joe was very devoted to St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross. Over the past months, we have been preparing for the event, not only from the spiritual point of view, but also from the practical one. For example, to save up some money, we organized barbeques, market stalls, and concerts.
He was very keen on this pilgrimage, and would have wanted to take all of us. He wanted us to experience the universality of the Church and to realize that, as believers in the world, we are not alone. Australia is very secularized: for many, faith is only attending Mass on Sunday. Instead, after being at the WYD in Cologne and that in Sydney, I have seen that belonging to the Church means much more. So, even though we have never met, I can say to you all, "God bless you."

SAVERIO
BARI (ITALY)
THAT WAY OF LIFE
IS FOR ME
Iam soon going to graduate in Economics. At first, I did not want to go to the WYD. But I was struck by how much another final-year student was keen on it, even though she was unable to afford the ticket to go. A teacher took her seriously and asked her colleagues to support her. Before this movement of people, I, too, said "yes." I will go with a score of friends, and with a lot of questions, like: What road should I take? What do I want from life? I have questions that are beyond the fact of a job, as the Pope wrote: "Part of being young is desiring something truly great." This year at the university, I was already like this, and to think that when I signed up, I was only looking for a diversion... Then, astounded by how a friend of mine was changed in some relationships, I got to know people of CL. I did not know what it was, but I was interested in the way they were living. Now, sharing an apartment with these friends, the way we treat each other and eat together keeps on surprising me, and together we are facing our studies seriously. After graduating, I will look for the same company in daily life, so as to go on seeing this beauty.