Our Lady of Victory Parish

What to make of the biggest gatherings of young people ever in history? Every three years or so, hundreds of thousands sometimes even millions) of youth converge on a particular site designated by the Holy Father to enjoy the presence of the Pope and each other, to “hang out” with the Holy Father, to celebrate their faith enthusiastically and joyfully, in music, song, catechesis, and in a Mass like you’ve probably never seen before: an open-air Mass with a make-shift stage, and up to a million people entering into the Eucharistic sacrifice together, literally camping out overnight to stake their claim to be able to participate.

It is a truly unforgettable experience. Pope John Paul II instituted these great festivals of our faith in the 1980s, and dubbed them “World Youth Day” (WYD). I have been privileged to attend three of the twenty-some WYDs: Rome in 2000; Toronto, Canada in 2003; and most recently, Sydney, Australia this past July, with a large group of youth from the West Side of Cincinnati. Each WYD has its own theme song, sung during the prayer services and Masses throughout the week. The one for Sydney 2008 includes these lyrics: “Every nation, every tribe, / come together to worship You. / In Your presence we delight, /we will follow to the ends of the earth.” They are addressed to Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, of course, Who is encountered in a powerful, even life-changing way in these global prayer and praise festivals.

The words took on a very literal meaning, as our group of 50 literally traveled some 10,000 miles to the “ends of the earth” in Sydney, taking two days by airplane to get there. But it certainly was worth it to see the joy of the youth in being able to meet fellow pilgrims and fellow disciples of Christ from every nation on earth. There was time for a lot of impromptu fun of course: music, dancing, hacky-sack games, trading souvenirs from your home countries (as our youth came back with stuffed koala bears, boomerangs and the like). But the main reason the youth came was to meet Jesus Christ head-on, and to listen to