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Monday, July 21, 2008

World Youth Day in Australia draws 400,000+ to see Pope Benedict XVI

Youth Day Said to Reveal an Australian Secret

Youth Day will be held in Madrid, Spain 2011 see article below

    By Anthony Barich SYDNEY, Australia, JULY 20, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Australians are more spiritual than they thought, says the auxiliary bishop who headed up the organization of World Youth Day. Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney told ZENIT that the youth event, which ended Sunday with a closing Mass attended by some 400,000 people, transformed regular citizens into pilgrims.
    Though the prelate admitted Australians are very "comfortable" with their "good life," he said there was an overwhelmingly positive response to key events, including the 250,000 who cheered Benedict XVI through Sydney's streets after he arrived to a crowd of 150,000 at a disused shipping port, Barangaroo.
    This proves, Bishop Fisher suggested, that Australians are less apathetic and more enthusiastic than they may have thought themselves to be.
    "We often talk of Australia as being a secular country, as if the view that religion has to be privatized or abolished has won," the bishop said. "But the day the Pope arrived, I was astonished. Surely all the people were at Barangaroo welcoming him; there can't be more. But there were more and more lining the streets of Sydney to see him in the papal motocade. "We know in fact that most people still say, when asked, that they believe in God and they pray sometimes and say they're Christians.
    So Australia isn't as agnostic as it's portrayed. "That's been demonstrated in the way people have responded to a spiritual event -- not with hostility." Blueprint Bishop Fisher said he believes it will be Australia's youth that will reinvigorate both the social and spiritual life of Australia, with the working of the Holy Spirit, of course. He contended that the Pope outlined a blueprint for the social and spiritual renewal of the nation.             "We've seen a new generation that have their own passions and ideals, which resonated with the things we heard the Pope saying about what they could do and what they can do with God's grace for the world," Bishop Fisher said. "[The Pope] has provided us with a program for the spiritual and social renewal of our country and offered young people the encouragement and inspiration to go out and do that. "We're going to have 125,000 Australians come home to their parishes, schools, universities and agencies, whether they were pilgrims or volunteers at World Youth Day.
    We would hope that there's going to be a new life and energy in every corner of the Church, especially youth ministry, which will obviously be bigger and better as a result of World Youth Day. "There are so many people newly committed to working with young people, who will be leading and serving the Church, some of which is unpredictable. "Previous hosts have reported that things have sprung up in their countries that no pastoral planner proposed. It was the confidence and inspiration it gave to young people when they got home." A variety of Sydney citizens were transformed into pilgrims, drawn by the positive spirit of the Australian and international guests, the prelate noted.
    "Train and bus drivers have asked to take extra shifts because they love being part of this; policemen have told me that they've been thanked by people on the streets for the first time in their lives," Bishop Fisher said. "Whether it's train drivers of security or health officials, they became pilgrims too, sharing the experience."

Other resources:www.ewtn.com/wyd2008/images.htm#
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WYD 2011 TO BE HELD IN THE SPANISH CAPITAL, MADRID

VATICAN CITY, 20 JUL 2008 (VIS) - In the Angelus prayer following this morning's Mass, Benedict XVI presented young people with certain reflections upon the Virgin Mary, a young woman who received "the Lord's summons to dedicate her life to Him in a very particular way, a way that would involve the generous gift of herself, her womanhood, her motherhood.

"Imagine how she must have felt", he added. "She was filled with apprehension, utterly overwhelmed at the prospect that lay before her. The angel understood her anxiety and immediately sought to reassure her. 'Do not be afraid, Mary. The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you'. It was the Spirit Who gave her the strength and courage to respond to the Lord's call, ... Who helped her to understand the great mystery that was to be accomplished through her".

The Pope went on: "This scene is perhaps the pivotal moment in the history of God's relationship with His people. During the Old Testament, God revealed Himself partially, gradually, as we all do in our personal relationships. ... The Covenant with Israel was like ... a long engagement. Then came the definitive moment, the moment of marriage, the establishment of a new and everlasting covenant. As Mary stood before the Lord, she represented the whole of humanity. In the angel's message, it was as if God made a marriage proposal to the human race. And in our name, Mary said yes.

"In fairy tales, the story ends there, and all 'live happily ever after'. In real life it is not so simple. For Mary there were many struggles ahead, as she lived out the consequences of the 'yes' that she had given to the Lord. Simeon prophesied that a sword would pierce her heart. When Jesus was twelve years old, she experienced every parent's worst nightmare when, for three days, the child went missing. And after His public ministry, she suffered the agony of witnessing His crucifixion and death. Throughout her trials she remained faithful to her promise, sustained by the Spirit of fortitude. And she was gloriously rewarded".

"We too must remain faithful to the 'yes' that we have given to the Lord's offer of friendship. We know that He will never abandon us, ... that He will always sustain us through the gifts of the Spirit. Mary accepted the Lord's 'proposal' in our name. So let us turn to her and ask her to guide us as we struggle to remain faithful to the life-giving relationship that God has established with each one of us".

After the Angelus, the Holy Father pronounced greetings in Italian, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese. He then bid farewell to the young people with these words: "The time has come for me to say good-bye - or rather, to say arrivederci! I thank you all for your participation in World Youth Day 2008, here in Sydney, and I look forward to seeing you again in three years' time. World Youth Day 2011 will take place in Madrid, Spain. Until then, let us continue to pray for one another, and let us joyfully bear witness to Christ before the world".
PV-AUSTRALIA/ANGELUS/ 080720 (550)