Here are the links to each of the days, if you are just starting to read.
Nicholas Scalfano
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Day 14: The 32-Hour Tuesday
We got on the bus to go back to Berlin, and somehow Lucas (our tour guide from the Shrine of Divine Mercy) showed up. To be honest, everyone's first reaction was "They couldn't send Conrad?"
Everyone except for a select few slept. If you know me at all by know, you know that I was one of the select few that stayed up, along with Emily and Hope. In our delirious states, we took selfies with all of those around us who were sleeping.
Around 1 AM, our bus came to a halting stop. We were stopped in the middle of traffic at 1 AM on a Polish Highway. People slowly woke up, because the constant motor of the bus running did not make a noise, and I started to low-key worry that we would miss our flight, but after about an hour of waiting, we started moving, and ended up passing a wreck that occurred.
Everyone went back to sleep, and I started to slowly drift asleep as we crossed the border into Germany. When I awoke, we were not there yet, but we were close. And another few people were awake, so we cut up, and woke everyone else up.
When we arrived at the Berlin airport, we had 3 hours before our flight. We got off the bus, and it was extremely cold, still with 0% humidity. and we were hungry.
I ate a bagel for breakfast, and spent my Euros on a toothbrush and toothpaste, because I was too lazy to dig it out of the bottom of my big backpack, stained with the love of the Lord, the stains of the Field of Mercy, and the rains of Krakow.
After my mediocrely pleasing bagel, and an unending desire for some Tony Chachere's and Louisiana Hot Sauce, I made my way to the bag check-in.
The German security, again, was much more entertaining and speedy than America's. The guy at Security Protocol had very large glasses, and reminded me of Conrad (I am sure also had a gay card stored somewhere in his wallet). HE made fun of the many shampoos and toiletries I had with me (because I stole everything that was provided to us at the hotels in the beginning of the trip. He laughed his way through my Security check and made sure that all of the workers saw my large bag of liquids.
Alas, I made it through security without any problems, and without having to exercise any demons of security officers (see Day 1 if you've forgotten). We boarded the plane, and began our journey back to the USA. On the plane, we traveled against the wind, making our trip longer than the first. I watched many movies, since our flight took place with the Earth's movement of the sun, our 7 hour time change elongated our day to travel with the sun. The first movie I watched was Captain America: Civil War, and upon viewing that dark movie, I decided to go with something lighter, next: none other than Barbershop 2, which was a nice comedy to get me through the flight, and through Emily's constant stirring and awkward sleeping positions on the airplane seat next to mine.
We landed in Newark, New Jersey, and saw the familiar skyline of New York City. Of course I started singing "What'd I Miss?" from Hamilton the moment we exited the plane and worked our way through customs.
We had another 7-hour layover in Newark, fun. But first, we had to change terminals, and re check in our luggage, and go through another Security Check. One of the nuns (I won't disclaim which one) bought a sausage from Poland to bring back to her order, and she didn't tell customs about it, so that we would not be delayed. ("Bless me, Father..") So I helped her by telling her when the sniffing dog was roaming around looking for foreign meats and such, so that we could turn around and walk the other way.
Once arriving in our terminal. We ate, and ate, had mass in the airport, and ate some more. (Because airport food is SO cheap, right? No.)
Our last flight was delayed by an hour, and so was my happiness. When we finally boarded, it was 8 PMish, and I sat down in a window seat, and before the plane took off, or even moved, heck, before the safety, I was out. I slept so hard, and awoke to the shaking of the plane hitting ground in New Orleans around 12 AM. I made it! I was home. We exited into the airport, and I soon realized that one should never fall asleep before a plane takes off. Wait until you are in the air, and then let your ears get use to pressure, then sleep. I learned the hard way. May my ears have mercy on me.
We exited the airport after getting our baggage, and we immediately felt the Louisiana humidity. We boarded the UL bus that originally brought us to NOLA, and after saying that we would all stay up and bond for One Last Time (another Hamilton reference), I fell asleep again, and awoke to the sound of the cheering as helicopter parents (and Sarah EC and Victoria) finally got to see their kids (and friends) again. Praise. The. Lamb.
Jesus, I Trust In You.
Nicholas Scalfano
Day 13: Free Day in Krakow
After getting a wonderful night's sleep, we woke up and began our last day, Day 13, in Poland. We were free to roam about the city and do what we wanted. I decided to go to the Shrine of John Paul II with a few others.
We woke up early to get on the tram. Since WYD was officially over, the city was no longer shut down; all the shops were opened, and the streets were filled with regular Krakowians instead of pilgrim after pilgrim. Many of the pilgrims left the previous night, since WYD ended. So we got on the tram, and it was weird, because it was full of people going to work, and actually using it as a form of regular transportation.
We arrived at the end of the tram line, and walked to the Shrine. From the outside, one could see multiple buildings, none bigger than the huge shrine itself, with a tower to go right alongside it. (At this point, it has been over a month since I was there, so I cannot really recall everything) When you first walked into the Shrine, you are immediately reminded of Divine Mercy Shrine (which was less than a kilometer away) because of the modern architecture, instead of the Gothic forms of many churches in Poland. This Shrine was recently completed just a few years ago.
With tall walls in a round shape, the inside of the building was very moving. Huge murals covered every inch of the walls, with scenes of the early Church and epic Biblical Stories depicted through colored shards of glass. They were intricately, vivid, yet still had a simple eloquence about them.
On the side, as in many other churches, there were smaller altars, to the Black Madonna, John Paul II himself, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Our Lady of Fatima, and so on. At the altar of Our Lady of Fatima, the cassock that JPII was wearing when he got shot was on display. This was a very moving display, and was heartbreaking on a certain level. Blood stained the pure white cassock. Some parts just had drops of blood, but the bottom of the right side, a huge bloodstain covered the majority of the side. Just two days before, we saw a reenactment of JPII forgiving the man who shot him, and it was not until viewing the actual cassock that everything suddenly became real. A man attempted to murder the Holy Father, there are bloodstains to prove it, yet he lived, and forgave the man, and JPII is now a Saint to prove that the merciful love of the Father overcomes all.
After viewing this, I looked to the right, and noticed a staircase going down below the Shrine, but no one was going down. But I am me, and I went down them. This was a true hidden gem. Sr. Nina and I walked down a hallway, to a smaller circular room with an altar that contained a relic of JPII, with paintings that depicted JPII in different religious aspects of his life. Around that, in a hallway that went in a circle around the altar, were many more smaller altars that were tributed to different Saints and Holy Figures. In one room, the original tomb stone of John Paul II laid on the ground, with a relic of JPII engraved in it. (He had to change tomb stones when they renamed him a Saint).
After this, Sr. Nina, and Allie, Rainey, and me went to what used to be the Jewish ghetto. We saw the original factory that Oskar Schindler (Schindler's List) opened, where he saved many Jews from suffering in the Holocaust. After that, we ate at one of the oldest restaurants in the area; it survived the raids of the Germans. The food was fantastic, and served as our last authentic Polish meal.
After this, we explored the area, and came across a memorial for the Jews killed in their own ghetto during the Holocaust, where the Germans would line them up and kill them. It was heartbreaking to stand on the street where this happened. We explored some more, and found some remaining excerpts of the Ghetto Wall. One remaining piece was actually the wall to a Pre-School.
We met back at the hostel for 4, and walked to a church that was hidden in the middle of an alleyway, and we had our last mass in Krakow. Afterwards, we had another hour or so to do our final shopping and Lody stops. Then we went back to the hostel, and got our stuff. The bus was supposed to arrive at 10 PM to bring us back to Berlin, but the bus didn't arrive until 11, which means we were stuck on the streets of Krakow with all of our baggage for an hour.
We got on the bus, and that ended our last day in Poland, Day 13.
Nicholas Scalfano
We woke up early to get on the tram. Since WYD was officially over, the city was no longer shut down; all the shops were opened, and the streets were filled with regular Krakowians instead of pilgrim after pilgrim. Many of the pilgrims left the previous night, since WYD ended. So we got on the tram, and it was weird, because it was full of people going to work, and actually using it as a form of regular transportation.
We arrived at the end of the tram line, and walked to the Shrine. From the outside, one could see multiple buildings, none bigger than the huge shrine itself, with a tower to go right alongside it. (At this point, it has been over a month since I was there, so I cannot really recall everything) When you first walked into the Shrine, you are immediately reminded of Divine Mercy Shrine (which was less than a kilometer away) because of the modern architecture, instead of the Gothic forms of many churches in Poland. This Shrine was recently completed just a few years ago.
With tall walls in a round shape, the inside of the building was very moving. Huge murals covered every inch of the walls, with scenes of the early Church and epic Biblical Stories depicted through colored shards of glass. They were intricately, vivid, yet still had a simple eloquence about them.
On the side, as in many other churches, there were smaller altars, to the Black Madonna, John Paul II himself, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Our Lady of Fatima, and so on. At the altar of Our Lady of Fatima, the cassock that JPII was wearing when he got shot was on display. This was a very moving display, and was heartbreaking on a certain level. Blood stained the pure white cassock. Some parts just had drops of blood, but the bottom of the right side, a huge bloodstain covered the majority of the side. Just two days before, we saw a reenactment of JPII forgiving the man who shot him, and it was not until viewing the actual cassock that everything suddenly became real. A man attempted to murder the Holy Father, there are bloodstains to prove it, yet he lived, and forgave the man, and JPII is now a Saint to prove that the merciful love of the Father overcomes all.
After viewing this, I looked to the right, and noticed a staircase going down below the Shrine, but no one was going down. But I am me, and I went down them. This was a true hidden gem. Sr. Nina and I walked down a hallway, to a smaller circular room with an altar that contained a relic of JPII, with paintings that depicted JPII in different religious aspects of his life. Around that, in a hallway that went in a circle around the altar, were many more smaller altars that were tributed to different Saints and Holy Figures. In one room, the original tomb stone of John Paul II laid on the ground, with a relic of JPII engraved in it. (He had to change tomb stones when they renamed him a Saint).
After this, Sr. Nina, and Allie, Rainey, and me went to what used to be the Jewish ghetto. We saw the original factory that Oskar Schindler (Schindler's List) opened, where he saved many Jews from suffering in the Holocaust. After that, we ate at one of the oldest restaurants in the area; it survived the raids of the Germans. The food was fantastic, and served as our last authentic Polish meal.
After this, we explored the area, and came across a memorial for the Jews killed in their own ghetto during the Holocaust, where the Germans would line them up and kill them. It was heartbreaking to stand on the street where this happened. We explored some more, and found some remaining excerpts of the Ghetto Wall. One remaining piece was actually the wall to a Pre-School.
We met back at the hostel for 4, and walked to a church that was hidden in the middle of an alleyway, and we had our last mass in Krakow. Afterwards, we had another hour or so to do our final shopping and Lody stops. Then we went back to the hostel, and got our stuff. The bus was supposed to arrive at 10 PM to bring us back to Berlin, but the bus didn't arrive until 11, which means we were stuck on the streets of Krakow with all of our baggage for an hour.
We got on the bus, and that ended our last day in Poland, Day 13.
Nicholas Scalfano
Monday, September 5, 2016
Day 12: Closing Mass/ Rain, Walk, Repeat
We woke up on Day 12, still outside, to some man onstage doing what I believe was a mic check. IT sounded like, "Ya ven de vock, (pause for .5 sec) shuh." It actually sounded like the hottest beat of 2016 was about to drop. After denying to myself that I slept outside and that my face was wet from dew, it became reality and I got up. My back was not happy. But I was. :)
We ate our mediocrely pleasing pre-packaged meals, and took down our refugee tents, which were stellar, then we began the morning.
The only thing on our agenda today was the Holy Mass with Pope Francis, the conclusion of World Youth Day, which you may watch here.
Fun fact: A Spanish group translated "papa" to "potato," calling Pope Francis "Potato Francis" on a huge 20 foot banner.
Potato Francis rode through the millions of people in the Field of Mercy, and got to the stage. Mass began with the Year of Mercy Theme Song. Mass went as usual, and the readings had themes of mercy and forgiveness, and the Gospel was the story of Zacchaeus and the tree.
Pope Francis gave his homily, which you can read here. (Please read)
In the first obstacle Potato talks about, I can relate. A lot of times I do feel too small for God; I am just one person among billions. Although I may have my prideful moments, I do feel very awkward and small sometimes. But that is wrong! God is not too big for me. He is there for me, and He dwells inside of me! And there is a difference between humility and pity. Humility is not thinking bad of yourself, it is just not always thinking about yourself. Pity is saying "I'm so small! I'm so weak! I am nothing!" I know sometimes I use pity to build up my pride, which is a dangerous habit, especially if you try to get your friends to help you "feel better."
The second obstacle was of shame, which I do struggle with, but not as much as the others.
The third is of others:
I will be completely honest here. I have been extremely blessed with some amazing friends, and often times I take advantage of that. And we have grown up in the faith, and we have kind of distinguished ourselves from those who do not outwardly practice or talk about faith. So, honestly, we, especially me, will find ourselves on both sides of this spectrum. Sometimes people will mock us for being faithful to the Lord, and for the most part, we have each other for support. But on the other hand, we will find ourselves judging those who are not of the faith. Who are not outwardly practicing, and we will purposely avoid them at all costs. By doing so, we remain still, doing our own thing and going our own way. Our way is not the Lord's way, though.
If there is one thing I have learned at a public college (after 3 weeks), it is that college is not a Catholic School. The majority of people here are not practicing believers. A good amount are, Praise The Lamb! But if we keep the faith among our own selves and don't spread it, what is the point of calling ourselves Christians? We are not living out the call to make disciples. I can sing "Here I Am, Lord" all I want, but if I don't live up to line "I will go, Lord, if you lead me," I am not following the Lord's will, and I am not going anywhere with my life. And neither is the person I am being called to go to. If that is not selfishness, I do not know what is.
And I know this is going to be different. "Love your enemies." Jeez, that is hard. Imagine someone that you really just dislike. Imagine that one person in high school, or in that group message, or that person who argues the faith with you. Now picture them running to Christ and embracing Him, asking for mercy, and then POOF, God forgives him. For me, that is a hard image to imagine. It is a difficult way to think about your enemies. But it is how we should think of them. Instead of looking at and pointing out their flaws, we should find their strengths and love them for the good they do and the love they are. Is that not what Jesus does with you and me? He looks past our faults, so we also should look past our enemies' faults.
Jesus tells Zacchaeus that He must stay at his house, just as Jesus wants to stay in our hearts, and in our homes, too.
After the homily, Potato Francis continued the mass, and the sun got even hotter. Nick's scalp was burning. But it was okay, because Christ in the Eucharist was about to enter Nick's body. After the mad rush to communion was over, the closing rights were given, and Pope Francis then announced the location for the next World Youth Day: Panama 2019. First thought in my head: heat. Fire of the Lord. I am not so sure if I will be attending this one, but if the Lord wants me to, I shall go. The mass ended, Potato left in peace, and we were stuck with 3 million people wanting to leave the same place at the same time. World Youth Day was officially over.
Then, the first aid people came around and forced us to drink bottles upon bottles of gas water. It was dreadful. But we eventually walked out of Campus Misericordiae and unto the rod, where we were immediately halted by about 500,000 people who were not moving in front of us. We waited in the hot sun for about 45 minutes, asking God to cool us off with some wind or something. Let's just say God answered our prayer with the "or something" part. A large, dark cloud loomed over us, and the floodgates of Heaven were opened as God showered the water part of mercy upon us. It was chilling rain, and I, being the stubborn person I am, waited until I was soaking wet to take out my poncho. We were freezing. But we started moving again!
So our journey began. Our 12 kilometer journey back to the hostel in the pouring down rain. We split up into different groups, unintentionally, because everyone traveled at different speeds. There was no use waiting for a tram, because everyone else in Poland wanted to get on. So we walked the whole way back. We actually came across a point where all the trams were stopped and they were forcing people off. Glad we weren't on there! Anyway, we made our way back, and I am proud to say that my group was the first to arrive back at the hostel, meaning we got to take the first showers. Now I know that this journey cannot be described, because it took 4 1/2 hours to get back. All you need to know is that we had ponchos on, it was raining, and we were walking. That is all there is too it. PTL we had energetic people in our group of 7 to keep us wanting to move forward and not stop. My thighs have been recovering since,
We got back, and waited for the others, who slowly arrived groups at a time. A few of us decided to go out to dinner at a fancy restaurant to spend our remaining Zlotys, since we were going to journey back to America soon, so we put on the fanciest clothes we had, dragged our poor feet to the Krakow Square, and found an Italian Restaurant named "The Spaghetti." So we got to eat our "local spaghetti" (sounds funnier in my head, WYD theme song). Then I did some shopping for souvenirs for my siblings, and made my way back to the hostel to sleep after a long and wet day.
Thus ended day 12.
Nicholas Scalfano
We ate our mediocrely pleasing pre-packaged meals, and took down our refugee tents, which were stellar, then we began the morning.
The only thing on our agenda today was the Holy Mass with Pope Francis, the conclusion of World Youth Day, which you may watch here.
Fun fact: A Spanish group translated "papa" to "potato," calling Pope Francis "Potato Francis" on a huge 20 foot banner.
Potato Francis rode through the millions of people in the Field of Mercy, and got to the stage. Mass began with the Year of Mercy Theme Song. Mass went as usual, and the readings had themes of mercy and forgiveness, and the Gospel was the story of Zacchaeus and the tree.
Pope Francis gave his homily, which you can read here. (Please read)
In the first obstacle Potato talks about, I can relate. A lot of times I do feel too small for God; I am just one person among billions. Although I may have my prideful moments, I do feel very awkward and small sometimes. But that is wrong! God is not too big for me. He is there for me, and He dwells inside of me! And there is a difference between humility and pity. Humility is not thinking bad of yourself, it is just not always thinking about yourself. Pity is saying "I'm so small! I'm so weak! I am nothing!" I know sometimes I use pity to build up my pride, which is a dangerous habit, especially if you try to get your friends to help you "feel better."
The second obstacle was of shame, which I do struggle with, but not as much as the others.
The third is of others:
"It was no longer an interior one, but was all around him. It was the grumbling of the crowd, who first blocked him and then criticized him: How could Jesus have entered his house, the house of a sinner! How truly hard it is to welcome Jesus, how hard it is to accept a “God who is rich in mercy” (Eph 2:4)! People will try to block you, to make you think that God is distant, rigid and insensitive, good to the good and bad to the bad. Instead, our heavenly Father “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good” (Mt 5:45). He demands of us real courage: the courage to be more powerful than evil by loving everyone, even our enemies."
I will be completely honest here. I have been extremely blessed with some amazing friends, and often times I take advantage of that. And we have grown up in the faith, and we have kind of distinguished ourselves from those who do not outwardly practice or talk about faith. So, honestly, we, especially me, will find ourselves on both sides of this spectrum. Sometimes people will mock us for being faithful to the Lord, and for the most part, we have each other for support. But on the other hand, we will find ourselves judging those who are not of the faith. Who are not outwardly practicing, and we will purposely avoid them at all costs. By doing so, we remain still, doing our own thing and going our own way. Our way is not the Lord's way, though.
If there is one thing I have learned at a public college (after 3 weeks), it is that college is not a Catholic School. The majority of people here are not practicing believers. A good amount are, Praise The Lamb! But if we keep the faith among our own selves and don't spread it, what is the point of calling ourselves Christians? We are not living out the call to make disciples. I can sing "Here I Am, Lord" all I want, but if I don't live up to line "I will go, Lord, if you lead me," I am not following the Lord's will, and I am not going anywhere with my life. And neither is the person I am being called to go to. If that is not selfishness, I do not know what is.
And I know this is going to be different. "Love your enemies." Jeez, that is hard. Imagine someone that you really just dislike. Imagine that one person in high school, or in that group message, or that person who argues the faith with you. Now picture them running to Christ and embracing Him, asking for mercy, and then POOF, God forgives him. For me, that is a hard image to imagine. It is a difficult way to think about your enemies. But it is how we should think of them. Instead of looking at and pointing out their flaws, we should find their strengths and love them for the good they do and the love they are. Is that not what Jesus does with you and me? He looks past our faults, so we also should look past our enemies' faults.
Jesus tells Zacchaeus that He must stay at his house, just as Jesus wants to stay in our hearts, and in our homes, too.
After the homily, Potato Francis continued the mass, and the sun got even hotter. Nick's scalp was burning. But it was okay, because Christ in the Eucharist was about to enter Nick's body. After the mad rush to communion was over, the closing rights were given, and Pope Francis then announced the location for the next World Youth Day: Panama 2019. First thought in my head: heat. Fire of the Lord. I am not so sure if I will be attending this one, but if the Lord wants me to, I shall go. The mass ended, Potato left in peace, and we were stuck with 3 million people wanting to leave the same place at the same time. World Youth Day was officially over.
Then, the first aid people came around and forced us to drink bottles upon bottles of gas water. It was dreadful. But we eventually walked out of Campus Misericordiae and unto the rod, where we were immediately halted by about 500,000 people who were not moving in front of us. We waited in the hot sun for about 45 minutes, asking God to cool us off with some wind or something. Let's just say God answered our prayer with the "or something" part. A large, dark cloud loomed over us, and the floodgates of Heaven were opened as God showered the water part of mercy upon us. It was chilling rain, and I, being the stubborn person I am, waited until I was soaking wet to take out my poncho. We were freezing. But we started moving again!
So our journey began. Our 12 kilometer journey back to the hostel in the pouring down rain. We split up into different groups, unintentionally, because everyone traveled at different speeds. There was no use waiting for a tram, because everyone else in Poland wanted to get on. So we walked the whole way back. We actually came across a point where all the trams were stopped and they were forcing people off. Glad we weren't on there! Anyway, we made our way back, and I am proud to say that my group was the first to arrive back at the hostel, meaning we got to take the first showers. Now I know that this journey cannot be described, because it took 4 1/2 hours to get back. All you need to know is that we had ponchos on, it was raining, and we were walking. That is all there is too it. PTL we had energetic people in our group of 7 to keep us wanting to move forward and not stop. My thighs have been recovering since,
We got back, and waited for the others, who slowly arrived groups at a time. A few of us decided to go out to dinner at a fancy restaurant to spend our remaining Zlotys, since we were going to journey back to America soon, so we put on the fanciest clothes we had, dragged our poor feet to the Krakow Square, and found an Italian Restaurant named "The Spaghetti." So we got to eat our "local spaghetti" (sounds funnier in my head, WYD theme song). Then I did some shopping for souvenirs for my siblings, and made my way back to the hostel to sleep after a long and wet day.
Thus ended day 12.
Nicholas Scalfano
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Day 11: Saturday Evening Vigil (Part Two)
As I write this continuation of Day 11, we recognize today (August 26) as the Feast Day of Our Lady of Czestochowa, or the Black Madonna (Thank you, Sarah EC). Please continue praying for my intention.
Update: Blogger did not save this post, so I am having to retype the whole thing; I apologize. Jesus, I trust in you.
The video picks up at 39:00. Here is the link.
So, as I continue, I pick up with "Love to Those Who Feel Indifferent." A woman walks around the stage. There are other people on stage, but are too busy on their phones, video games, or work stuff. She desperately tries to get their attention, but they are absorbed in their tablets and phones, spending time on social media and whatnot. Finally a man comes out his glass cage that was his phone, and begins to dance with the woman. It is a beautiful scene of how beautiful humanity has the potential to be.
How often, me especially, do we live life through our phones and not our bodies? Social media can be a beautiful thing, but it has turned into a means of "having relationships." Relationships are meant to be lived in person. To spend time with that person, to love them fully as a human being, and not a picture on a screen. This skit really reminded me of America, in how, when you walk down the street, you'll see nothing but people on their phones. You'll be in a restaurant, and instead of talking to the person next to you, you'll send them a text. What happened to legitimate communication? To authentic, real relationships? Pope Francis got some words for us, alright (you'll see/read later).
The next segment was entitled "Forgiveness to Those Who Have Done Us Wrong." Honestly, this one was so simple, yet so profound, and every heart in that Field of Mercy moved with this skit. Hopefully, we are all aware that Pope John Paul II got shot in 1981 in St. Peter's Square. A shot that was supposed to kill, but he lived. He then forgave the man who attacked him that day. Using no words, and just music, the forgiveness scene was portrayed on the stage. We saw a live presentation of Pope JPII forgive the man, and then hug him, showing that God's mercy abounds. "Our sin is but a drop in an ocean of mercy" (Diary of St. Faustina, 718).
"Joy to Those Who Are Unhappy" was the name of the last segment. In a very prevalent reality, we saw a group of people unhappy with their lives, as a result of drug addictions, sexual encounters, and so forth. Then St. Faustina (and this was totally not supposed to be funny, but I laughed out loud when she did this) pulls a basketball out of nowhere, and they are inspired to start dancing and playing and just have fun with each other, as we were made to do.
A man then gave a testimony about how he was addicted to drugs and was very distant from his family. After leaving home at 11, he started using drugs and stopped going to school. The list went on and on. After a visit from his father, he exclaimed that he wanted to change, but he kept doing bad. But he had a rehabilitation process, and received peace, and helped run a house for reforming addicts.
Now to the part everyone was anxious to hear: Pope Francis' address to the young people.
Please, please, PLEASE! Read this before you continue reading this blog, if you are even reading at this point. READ THIS! It is Pope Francis' speech. I will only be doing reflections on it, and not reciting it. In case you missed it, here's the link.
After reading, many thoughts occurred to me. "Gee, I need to change" being among the first. He reiterates what the skit said about being disconnected from society; we live life in front of screens. We find comfort in that, but when we come into contact with other physical human beings, something powerful happens. An example of when I encountered this was when I joined a theater company with a bunch of people I had never met before: Lagniappe Theatre in Alexandria, LA. I had performed in shows at my High School, but I basically grew up with these people, so I already knew them, and we were nice acquaintances. But when I joined Lagniappe, of course there were temptations to get on my phone during free time and scroll through Instagram. Or just sit in a corner and claim that I am "pondering life." But, by the grace of God, I decided to get out of my comfort zone and introduce myself to some people. And I can say that these people that I've only known after one or two shows have grown to be some of my best friends. I know this may be a lame example, but it's just a personal testimony from me that proves that powerful things happen when you interact with those around you. When you show the love that Christ showed in knowing that we all need to be known as loved. So what do we do, we love. And love is powerful.
Pope Francis, upon reflecting about the world's current state, says that we are constantly tearing each other down and building barriers to shield us from others. We find faults in others rather than their merits, their strengths. I was a boy scout (for about 3 months), and I loved the idea of merit badges! We all need to be recognized for our strengths. Of course we should be aware of our shortcomings, but we should not be defined by them.
"Our response to a world at war has a name: its name is fraternity." As Pope Francis said this, I honestly thought he would be giving the common answer of love. All we need is love, right? Well, yes (I type this as I sing the Beatles in the back of my head). But more specific than love, we need a brotherhood, a fraternity, a communion. I have two biological brothers, Praise the Lamb. But I'm called to have 7 billion. As soon as He said that we needed fraternity, I immediately started thinking about how we say we need love and blah blah blah, but to actually be love to other people is to recognize those that you and I don't necessarily like as our brother. And there are a lot of people I don't like. We need to focus on the family, as well. I have been so blessed by great parents, and I have an awesome family! Are there things I wish we could do better, such as nightly prayer together? Yes. But for the most part, my family is straight up 100. But I will go to friend's houses, I'll talk to others about their home lives, and it scares me. There are families that disown their children, that divorce because of a petty argument, that kill their unborn children, and they pretend like everything is fine. Some people are good actors, most not so much. We see this world hurting so much, we see families broken and hurting, about to fall apart. That's not love, and that's definitely not fraternity, not communion. We must strive for peace with our brothers, me especially, in order to obtain that true brotherhood, whether it be among myself and someone who called me a name, or a country dropping bombs on the next.
He goes on to say that we should not be "sofa Christians" We confuse happiness with a sofa. It makes us feel comfortable and safe, kind of like our phones do, as mentioned earlier. This sofa allows us to not make any decisions because we are perfectly content as to where we are. I love what Pope Francis says here,
"Little by little, without even realizing it, we start to nod off, to grow drowsy and null while others-- perhaps more alert than we are, but not necessarily better-- decide our future for us. [...] We didn't come into this world to 'vegetate,' to take it easy, to make our lives a comfortable sofa to sleep on. No, we came for another reason: to leave a mark. [...If we don't,] then we end up paying a high price indeed: We lose our freedom."
I could read that over and over and still just bask in the truth of that statement. It reminds me of when Benedict XVI said, "This world will offer you comfort, but you were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness." To be honest, I took a nap in my bed in the dorm at ULL today. Upon typing this, I feel kind of bad. Gotta live life, I can't make friends in my sleep!
He challenged us pilgrims to trade in our sofas for walking shoes, to get us up and moving in life. (Keep in mind that we were sitting in a field that was not recently mowed, and was not the least bit comfortable. Guess we were winning at the whole "greatness" thing, huh? But honestly, I wouldn't have minded a sofa by now.) I had just bought a pair of walking shoes for this specific pilgrimage, so an English teacher would probably point out my shoes as being a metaphor for a new life.
And as we meet new people, as we live our lives, we build bridges. We concentrate on what brings us together, and not what tears us apart, what divides us. These bridges build brotherhoods, build fraternity, and family. They build trust, which leads to ultimate peace. And I think that we could all use a little peace right now.
After the Pope was finished speaking, a huge applause erupted. Then, we had Eucharistic Adoration. You know how I said that the day we had at the Mercy Centre was the most amount of people I've ever adored with, well this one Trumped it (it was yuuuuge). I had adoration with 3 million people. I adored the God of the universe with 3 million people. The Spirit was definitely busy that night. We sang the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in adoration, with each decade being sung in a different language. It was another beautiful representation of bridges being built, of the Church being one, as we knelt in the dirt at Campus Misericordiae. We then had Benediction with Pope Francis.
After, we prayed an evening prayer that is a tradition in Poland. It is a prayer to Our Lady of Czestochowa. It was beautiful, except whoever ran the huge screens in front of the sections was not doing a good job. In the middle of the prayer, a huge white screen popped up, asking us to not throw our flags at the power lines. Okay...thank you? I'm praying now. Ok, I forgive you, year of mercy. It really killed the mood though. Okay, rant over.
Then we got to sleep with 3 million people, outside, under the stars. Except I didn't sleep. Thank you to the Italians, who absolutely loved chanting and beating drums all night. There was also a couple that was absolutely inseparable right next to us. It's World Youth Day, not World Spoon Day, thank you. Year of Mercy, Nick. Year of Mercy. I also got to sleep next to two brothers in Christ I made on the trip, Luke and Joseph. When I say next to, not an inch separated us (or a centimeter, thank you metric system). Talk about fraternity, right?
Thus ends Day 11, with a sunburnt, but peaceful Nick.
Nicholas Scalfano
"Today's world demands that you be a protagonist of history because life is always beautiful when we choose to live it fully, when we choose to leave a mark."
Update: Blogger did not save this post, so I am having to retype the whole thing; I apologize. Jesus, I trust in you.
The video picks up at 39:00. Here is the link.
So, as I continue, I pick up with "Love to Those Who Feel Indifferent." A woman walks around the stage. There are other people on stage, but are too busy on their phones, video games, or work stuff. She desperately tries to get their attention, but they are absorbed in their tablets and phones, spending time on social media and whatnot. Finally a man comes out his glass cage that was his phone, and begins to dance with the woman. It is a beautiful scene of how beautiful humanity has the potential to be.
How often, me especially, do we live life through our phones and not our bodies? Social media can be a beautiful thing, but it has turned into a means of "having relationships." Relationships are meant to be lived in person. To spend time with that person, to love them fully as a human being, and not a picture on a screen. This skit really reminded me of America, in how, when you walk down the street, you'll see nothing but people on their phones. You'll be in a restaurant, and instead of talking to the person next to you, you'll send them a text. What happened to legitimate communication? To authentic, real relationships? Pope Francis got some words for us, alright (you'll see/read later).
The next segment was entitled "Forgiveness to Those Who Have Done Us Wrong." Honestly, this one was so simple, yet so profound, and every heart in that Field of Mercy moved with this skit. Hopefully, we are all aware that Pope John Paul II got shot in 1981 in St. Peter's Square. A shot that was supposed to kill, but he lived. He then forgave the man who attacked him that day. Using no words, and just music, the forgiveness scene was portrayed on the stage. We saw a live presentation of Pope JPII forgive the man, and then hug him, showing that God's mercy abounds. "Our sin is but a drop in an ocean of mercy" (Diary of St. Faustina, 718).
"Joy to Those Who Are Unhappy" was the name of the last segment. In a very prevalent reality, we saw a group of people unhappy with their lives, as a result of drug addictions, sexual encounters, and so forth. Then St. Faustina (and this was totally not supposed to be funny, but I laughed out loud when she did this) pulls a basketball out of nowhere, and they are inspired to start dancing and playing and just have fun with each other, as we were made to do.
A man then gave a testimony about how he was addicted to drugs and was very distant from his family. After leaving home at 11, he started using drugs and stopped going to school. The list went on and on. After a visit from his father, he exclaimed that he wanted to change, but he kept doing bad. But he had a rehabilitation process, and received peace, and helped run a house for reforming addicts.
Now to the part everyone was anxious to hear: Pope Francis' address to the young people.
Please, please, PLEASE! Read this before you continue reading this blog, if you are even reading at this point. READ THIS! It is Pope Francis' speech. I will only be doing reflections on it, and not reciting it. In case you missed it, here's the link.
After reading, many thoughts occurred to me. "Gee, I need to change" being among the first. He reiterates what the skit said about being disconnected from society; we live life in front of screens. We find comfort in that, but when we come into contact with other physical human beings, something powerful happens. An example of when I encountered this was when I joined a theater company with a bunch of people I had never met before: Lagniappe Theatre in Alexandria, LA. I had performed in shows at my High School, but I basically grew up with these people, so I already knew them, and we were nice acquaintances. But when I joined Lagniappe, of course there were temptations to get on my phone during free time and scroll through Instagram. Or just sit in a corner and claim that I am "pondering life." But, by the grace of God, I decided to get out of my comfort zone and introduce myself to some people. And I can say that these people that I've only known after one or two shows have grown to be some of my best friends. I know this may be a lame example, but it's just a personal testimony from me that proves that powerful things happen when you interact with those around you. When you show the love that Christ showed in knowing that we all need to be known as loved. So what do we do, we love. And love is powerful.
Pope Francis, upon reflecting about the world's current state, says that we are constantly tearing each other down and building barriers to shield us from others. We find faults in others rather than their merits, their strengths. I was a boy scout (for about 3 months), and I loved the idea of merit badges! We all need to be recognized for our strengths. Of course we should be aware of our shortcomings, but we should not be defined by them.
"Our response to a world at war has a name: its name is fraternity." As Pope Francis said this, I honestly thought he would be giving the common answer of love. All we need is love, right? Well, yes (I type this as I sing the Beatles in the back of my head). But more specific than love, we need a brotherhood, a fraternity, a communion. I have two biological brothers, Praise the Lamb. But I'm called to have 7 billion. As soon as He said that we needed fraternity, I immediately started thinking about how we say we need love and blah blah blah, but to actually be love to other people is to recognize those that you and I don't necessarily like as our brother. And there are a lot of people I don't like. We need to focus on the family, as well. I have been so blessed by great parents, and I have an awesome family! Are there things I wish we could do better, such as nightly prayer together? Yes. But for the most part, my family is straight up 100. But I will go to friend's houses, I'll talk to others about their home lives, and it scares me. There are families that disown their children, that divorce because of a petty argument, that kill their unborn children, and they pretend like everything is fine. Some people are good actors, most not so much. We see this world hurting so much, we see families broken and hurting, about to fall apart. That's not love, and that's definitely not fraternity, not communion. We must strive for peace with our brothers, me especially, in order to obtain that true brotherhood, whether it be among myself and someone who called me a name, or a country dropping bombs on the next.
He goes on to say that we should not be "sofa Christians" We confuse happiness with a sofa. It makes us feel comfortable and safe, kind of like our phones do, as mentioned earlier. This sofa allows us to not make any decisions because we are perfectly content as to where we are. I love what Pope Francis says here,
"Little by little, without even realizing it, we start to nod off, to grow drowsy and null while others-- perhaps more alert than we are, but not necessarily better-- decide our future for us. [...] We didn't come into this world to 'vegetate,' to take it easy, to make our lives a comfortable sofa to sleep on. No, we came for another reason: to leave a mark. [...If we don't,] then we end up paying a high price indeed: We lose our freedom."
I could read that over and over and still just bask in the truth of that statement. It reminds me of when Benedict XVI said, "This world will offer you comfort, but you were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness." To be honest, I took a nap in my bed in the dorm at ULL today. Upon typing this, I feel kind of bad. Gotta live life, I can't make friends in my sleep!
He challenged us pilgrims to trade in our sofas for walking shoes, to get us up and moving in life. (Keep in mind that we were sitting in a field that was not recently mowed, and was not the least bit comfortable. Guess we were winning at the whole "greatness" thing, huh? But honestly, I wouldn't have minded a sofa by now.) I had just bought a pair of walking shoes for this specific pilgrimage, so an English teacher would probably point out my shoes as being a metaphor for a new life.
And as we meet new people, as we live our lives, we build bridges. We concentrate on what brings us together, and not what tears us apart, what divides us. These bridges build brotherhoods, build fraternity, and family. They build trust, which leads to ultimate peace. And I think that we could all use a little peace right now.
After the Pope was finished speaking, a huge applause erupted. Then, we had Eucharistic Adoration. You know how I said that the day we had at the Mercy Centre was the most amount of people I've ever adored with, well this one Trumped it (it was yuuuuge). I had adoration with 3 million people. I adored the God of the universe with 3 million people. The Spirit was definitely busy that night. We sang the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in adoration, with each decade being sung in a different language. It was another beautiful representation of bridges being built, of the Church being one, as we knelt in the dirt at Campus Misericordiae. We then had Benediction with Pope Francis.
After, we prayed an evening prayer that is a tradition in Poland. It is a prayer to Our Lady of Czestochowa. It was beautiful, except whoever ran the huge screens in front of the sections was not doing a good job. In the middle of the prayer, a huge white screen popped up, asking us to not throw our flags at the power lines. Okay...thank you? I'm praying now. Ok, I forgive you, year of mercy. It really killed the mood though. Okay, rant over.
Then we got to sleep with 3 million people, outside, under the stars. Except I didn't sleep. Thank you to the Italians, who absolutely loved chanting and beating drums all night. There was also a couple that was absolutely inseparable right next to us. It's World Youth Day, not World Spoon Day, thank you. Year of Mercy, Nick. Year of Mercy. I also got to sleep next to two brothers in Christ I made on the trip, Luke and Joseph. When I say next to, not an inch separated us (or a centimeter, thank you metric system). Talk about fraternity, right?
Thus ends Day 11, with a sunburnt, but peaceful Nick.
Nicholas Scalfano
"Today's world demands that you be a protagonist of history because life is always beautiful when we choose to live it fully, when we choose to leave a mark."
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Day 11: Saturday Evening Vigil (Part One)
We woke up early on Saturday (Day 11) to begin our journey to Campus Misericordiae ("Field of Mercy"), where the Saturday Evening Vigil was to be held. We packed our bags the night before, including our sleeping bags, snacks, extra clothes, sunscreen, and toiletries, etc.
Luckily, our nuns have been well-versed in how to World Youth Day the right way. The vigil started around 6:30 PM, but they recommended that we get there early so that we could get good "seats." So we left around 8AM, and caught a tram. The tram could only go so far, and we had a 12 kilometer journey. The tram went as far as 7 kilometers, and we had to walk the rest. Praise the Lamb for Sr. Nina, who studied the Tram system and got us as far as we could without walking.
Once we got off the tram, there were no pilgrims visible, except the ones that were in our own group. This was a first for everyone, considering there were 3 million pilgrims within Krakow, so to not see a blue, red, or yellow backpack was both relieving and unsettling. Relieving because we would not have to deal with the large crowds, and unsettling because we were completely trusting in Christ (and Google Maps on my phone) that we were walking the right way.
We finally ended up at the field, and we received small, blue, stringed backpacks. This was to be our food rations for the next 26 or so hours. We then made the rest of our journey across the field and to our section, F8. From the section, one would say they were not good seats, but looking at a map, they were nice. We also had a huge jumbo screen in front of our section, showing what was going on onstage, PTL. We passed through our section, past the moderately smelling Portable Toilets (no one had used them yet), and to the front left corner. We were one of the first groups, among thousands, that arrived at Campus Misericordiae. We chose the front left corner for two reasons: we were right in front of the screen, and no one would crawl over all of our stuff to get to the entrance/exit. It was about 11:30.
We set up camps, with tents and sleeping bags galore. Leave it to a bunch of Southern Louisianians to really rig up some tents using metals poles, ribbon, and ponytails. Now I could talk about how awful it was, being in the blazing hot sun for 7 hours before anything interesting happened, but here is a quick summary: it was hot, people showed up, it was hot, people showed up. We found small ways to entertain ourselves, but it was not until the Vigil started that we got extremely excited (partly because the sun was going down).
The Vigil started, and to watch it (which I highly reccomend, it has an English person speaking over the other languages so you can understand), click here.
The Pope arrived in the Pope Mobile, as millions of people whooped and hollered. He had other people (youth) who rode with him, as millions of other Catholics watched in envy. "Bowl of Spaghetti" was sung in the background. The size of the stage was the size of an American-sized NFL football field, even though it looked like the size of Melone from where we were.
A Polish cardinal formally greeted the Holy Father, and he greeted all of us to Poland. This was probably the sole weekend that everyone attends.
They then went into 5 skits. The first was "The Faith to Those in Doubt," which depicted a scene of a teenage girl at a party who was uncomfortable. She leaves the party, and is then revealed to be Sister Faustina. Pictures of the Body of Christ (a bunch of people) zoom out to become the image of Divine Mercy. A girl went up and testified to her confession experience. She happened to go to Confession on Divine Mercy Sunday at 3 PM, in the same Cathedral St. Faustina prayed in. She had not been before. After the priest said that she gave a beautiful confession, and explained the situation, she left the church feeling new, convicted, and loved.
The second scene was called "Hope To Those Who are Discouraged," and opened with a video, depicting 9/11, the war in Syria, and other devastating events. There was a skit that involved the word "no," and a bunch of dancing. I don't know what it means. But then a woman got up and testified. She studies in Syria, and is working on a masters degree. She spoke on how her city had been destroyed, and how the meaning of their lives has been reduced to nothing. She explained how a lot of us do not know what exactly is going on in Syria. You could tell the authenticity in her voice. She shared that every day, they are gripped by fear. Fear that they may come home to an empty house, or that they may not come home at all. They are surrounded by death and killing. "God, where are you? Why have you forsaken us? Do you even exist? Why won't you have mercy on us?" They spend time each day asking this question, to which they have no answer. "Could this be the end, where we are born to die in pain? Or are we born to live life, and live it to the fullest?" She went on to explain some people she knew that had been killed. A 13 year old boy, a brother and sister who's house had been destroyed and the roof caved in on them, and her best friend. They are all martyrs who had died for no reason except their faith. Although they go through this toil and strife every single day, they still serve and bring food to people and help all those in need. Their faith in Christ is the only thing getting them through. She believes that God exists through all of this pain. "Jesus, I Trust In You."
It is here that I would like to reflect. Being at WYD, I have been made aware of how bad the situation overseas is. Here in America, we tend to think, "I'm safe, so I'm not going to worry." "If it ain't broken, don't fix it." Brothers and sisters, the world is broken! That's the last thing anyone wants to hear, but the truth is the truth, it's objective. Our brothers and sisters in Syria are dying. They are dying. I've lost some friends before, to car accidents, to cancer, so on and so forth. We can hardly ever prevent these natural causes. But this, what's happening over there, this is something that we can fix. She asked the questions, "God, where are you? Why have you forsaken us? Do you even exist?" How often has God spoken to you directly? How many times has he spoken to you through other people? For me, it's the latter. We are called to be Christ to these people. So where is God? He's sitting in America, not going to do anything because he is perfectly safe. No, that's not a good representation of God. But we, as the Body of Christ, MUST be present to these suffering people. We can't stand idle. We can't. Does God exist? Does He exist in me? In you? Why are we forsaking our own brothers and sisters? This is not okay. We must offer up fasts for them, pray without ceasing, and ultimately BE CHRIST. He didn't die so that we could praise Him. He died so that we could live, and offer our lives for others, too. I am challenging myself and all of you to be Christ. BE that merciful love. Love when you don't have to. Christ freakin died for you and me. "Whatsoever you do, to the least of my people, you do unto me." What are we doing with the least of God's people? If they can serve their own people while being persecuted, we, who aren't being physically hunted, can do something to help.
What's going on is real. We can't sit idle. We can get up, and we can change the world. We are one Body in Christ, and we do not stand alone. Jesus, I Trust In You.
Thus ends PART ONE of Day 11.
Nicholas Scalfano
Luckily, our nuns have been well-versed in how to World Youth Day the right way. The vigil started around 6:30 PM, but they recommended that we get there early so that we could get good "seats." So we left around 8AM, and caught a tram. The tram could only go so far, and we had a 12 kilometer journey. The tram went as far as 7 kilometers, and we had to walk the rest. Praise the Lamb for Sr. Nina, who studied the Tram system and got us as far as we could without walking.
Once we got off the tram, there were no pilgrims visible, except the ones that were in our own group. This was a first for everyone, considering there were 3 million pilgrims within Krakow, so to not see a blue, red, or yellow backpack was both relieving and unsettling. Relieving because we would not have to deal with the large crowds, and unsettling because we were completely trusting in Christ (and Google Maps on my phone) that we were walking the right way.
We finally ended up at the field, and we received small, blue, stringed backpacks. This was to be our food rations for the next 26 or so hours. We then made the rest of our journey across the field and to our section, F8. From the section, one would say they were not good seats, but looking at a map, they were nice. We also had a huge jumbo screen in front of our section, showing what was going on onstage, PTL. We passed through our section, past the moderately smelling Portable Toilets (no one had used them yet), and to the front left corner. We were one of the first groups, among thousands, that arrived at Campus Misericordiae. We chose the front left corner for two reasons: we were right in front of the screen, and no one would crawl over all of our stuff to get to the entrance/exit. It was about 11:30.
We set up camps, with tents and sleeping bags galore. Leave it to a bunch of Southern Louisianians to really rig up some tents using metals poles, ribbon, and ponytails. Now I could talk about how awful it was, being in the blazing hot sun for 7 hours before anything interesting happened, but here is a quick summary: it was hot, people showed up, it was hot, people showed up. We found small ways to entertain ourselves, but it was not until the Vigil started that we got extremely excited (partly because the sun was going down).
The Vigil started, and to watch it (which I highly reccomend, it has an English person speaking over the other languages so you can understand), click here.
The Pope arrived in the Pope Mobile, as millions of people whooped and hollered. He had other people (youth) who rode with him, as millions of other Catholics watched in envy. "Bowl of Spaghetti" was sung in the background. The size of the stage was the size of an American-sized NFL football field, even though it looked like the size of Melone from where we were.
A Polish cardinal formally greeted the Holy Father, and he greeted all of us to Poland. This was probably the sole weekend that everyone attends.
They then went into 5 skits. The first was "The Faith to Those in Doubt," which depicted a scene of a teenage girl at a party who was uncomfortable. She leaves the party, and is then revealed to be Sister Faustina. Pictures of the Body of Christ (a bunch of people) zoom out to become the image of Divine Mercy. A girl went up and testified to her confession experience. She happened to go to Confession on Divine Mercy Sunday at 3 PM, in the same Cathedral St. Faustina prayed in. She had not been before. After the priest said that she gave a beautiful confession, and explained the situation, she left the church feeling new, convicted, and loved.
The second scene was called "Hope To Those Who are Discouraged," and opened with a video, depicting 9/11, the war in Syria, and other devastating events. There was a skit that involved the word "no," and a bunch of dancing. I don't know what it means. But then a woman got up and testified. She studies in Syria, and is working on a masters degree. She spoke on how her city had been destroyed, and how the meaning of their lives has been reduced to nothing. She explained how a lot of us do not know what exactly is going on in Syria. You could tell the authenticity in her voice. She shared that every day, they are gripped by fear. Fear that they may come home to an empty house, or that they may not come home at all. They are surrounded by death and killing. "God, where are you? Why have you forsaken us? Do you even exist? Why won't you have mercy on us?" They spend time each day asking this question, to which they have no answer. "Could this be the end, where we are born to die in pain? Or are we born to live life, and live it to the fullest?" She went on to explain some people she knew that had been killed. A 13 year old boy, a brother and sister who's house had been destroyed and the roof caved in on them, and her best friend. They are all martyrs who had died for no reason except their faith. Although they go through this toil and strife every single day, they still serve and bring food to people and help all those in need. Their faith in Christ is the only thing getting them through. She believes that God exists through all of this pain. "Jesus, I Trust In You."
It is here that I would like to reflect. Being at WYD, I have been made aware of how bad the situation overseas is. Here in America, we tend to think, "I'm safe, so I'm not going to worry." "If it ain't broken, don't fix it." Brothers and sisters, the world is broken! That's the last thing anyone wants to hear, but the truth is the truth, it's objective. Our brothers and sisters in Syria are dying. They are dying. I've lost some friends before, to car accidents, to cancer, so on and so forth. We can hardly ever prevent these natural causes. But this, what's happening over there, this is something that we can fix. She asked the questions, "God, where are you? Why have you forsaken us? Do you even exist?" How often has God spoken to you directly? How many times has he spoken to you through other people? For me, it's the latter. We are called to be Christ to these people. So where is God? He's sitting in America, not going to do anything because he is perfectly safe. No, that's not a good representation of God. But we, as the Body of Christ, MUST be present to these suffering people. We can't stand idle. We can't. Does God exist? Does He exist in me? In you? Why are we forsaking our own brothers and sisters? This is not okay. We must offer up fasts for them, pray without ceasing, and ultimately BE CHRIST. He didn't die so that we could praise Him. He died so that we could live, and offer our lives for others, too. I am challenging myself and all of you to be Christ. BE that merciful love. Love when you don't have to. Christ freakin died for you and me. "Whatsoever you do, to the least of my people, you do unto me." What are we doing with the least of God's people? If they can serve their own people while being persecuted, we, who aren't being physically hunted, can do something to help.
What's going on is real. We can't sit idle. We can get up, and we can change the world. We are one Body in Christ, and we do not stand alone. Jesus, I Trust In You.
Thus ends PART ONE of Day 11.
Nicholas Scalfano
Friday, August 19, 2016
Day 10: Catechesis 2.0, Stations of the Cross/free evening
On Day 10, Friday, we went to Catechesis again. We left earlier than last time so that we would not have to wait for trams or long lines, so that we could listen to each talk that morning. Security was tougher this day, and I had to give them my (sealed) energy drink, because I am just the most threatening person on the planet. Sr. Lizbeth had to turn in her sunscreen, because apparently she could have sprayed some pagan with her sunscreen. But we did make it into the arena in time for catechesis.
After Cardinal Dolan finished, an Iraqi refugee testified to mercy, as ISIS took over her original home, killed her relatives, and destroyed Christian communities. She challenged us to say the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and to replace "us" with a more specific intention. Hers was "For the sake of your sorrowful passion, have mercy on ISIS and on the whole world." This was a new and fresh way for me to pray this powerful prayer. The enemies we have, we must pray for and must show mercy to.
We then had a Q&A (1:37:45), which is definitely worth listening to.
There was one question and answer that stood out to me. The question was asking if truth really existed, since we are taught to make our own truth.
He answered: "Look, if there is ever a place to ask that question, it is right here in Krakow, because Krakow is where two of the greatest horrors in the history of humanity occurred. Krakow saw what happens when you deny truth. Krakow saw what happens when you make up your own truth. Krakow saw what happens when truth becomes defined by us, and not by God. Krakow saw the Nazis, Aucshwitz, Katyn forests (where 100,000 Polish intellectuals were shot in the head). Krakow saw Nazi atrocity on steroids. And when the Nazis were defeated, Joseph Stalin came in and Krakow continued to see the culture of the lie, where objective truth, the dignity of the human person, and the sacredness of human life was trampled upon. That is what happens when we believe that we can make up truth. Hitler believed he was following the truth. That there were certain people, like Jews and Poles, that were meant to be eradicated. Stalin believed the truth as he defined it. THAT is what happens when truth is subjective. THAT shows us that truth is objective.
Pope Benedict called it the dictatorship of relativism. Contemporary people think, 'Oh how liberated we are. We make up our own truth; we aren't shackled by handcuffs by what other people say God defines as truth. We're free.' Uh-uh. You're slaves! You live in the worst dictatorship of all: the dictatorship of relativism because truth is objective. And as Jesus said the Truth will set you free!"
Honestly, this hit me hard. How often do we make up our own truth? All. The. Time. We make exceptions to the faith, exceptions that are lies. We come up with stuff that would bring others down and ourselves up, just like Hitler and Stalin. I have friends that make up their own truths about the Catholic Faith, about Confession and the Eucharist. If the truth is objective, and Jesus Christ IS the truth, then the Catholic Faith is real and is truth. The Eucharist is truth, is Jesus.
As Catechesis ended, we left the Tauron Arena, and headed to the JPII Sanctuary, only to find it closed, because Pope Francis was going to visit the next day. Mercy, mercy. Have mercy on the guards, Nick. We would go another day (Monday).
We then went shopping in the market square. I also washed my clothes in a laundromat for the first time (quite the experience). After hearing about the nuns' experience (they witnessed a man openly snorting Cocaine right in front of their faces. Now that I think about it, I wonder if it was laundry detergent...), we were anxious to see how it would go.
After getting yelled at by only one Polish lady, we finished and headed back to try and see the Pope in a courtyard outside the window where he was staying at the Archdiocese of Krakow. We never got in, because it got full, so Sarah C., Cameron E., and I went to see the Pope's motorcade as he rode by, waving. After, we went to go eat, and went to sleep, because we had to rest our bodies for the long day ahead of us.
P.S. Also on Day 10, seeing as it was Friday, they help the Stations of the Cross with Pope Francis in Blonia Park, but we did not attend. Watching the video later, I discovered that it was very artfully and craftfully done. Very much worth a watch.
Thus ended Day 10.
Nicholas Scalfano
To watch the video of the morning, click here. (I highly recommend watching it, if your wifi is better than ULL's wifi.) It started with a video of Chris Stefanick as a narrator. One of his main lines in it was, "Jesus didn't die to receive your praise. We can always praise Him. He died to receive our [burdens]." He then walked out, started with some fun, and then brought out Sister Gaudia Skass from the Sisters of Divine Mercy after showing a video bout Auschwitz.
Sister gave a talk on the cross, and Divine Mercy. In all honesty, I had never heard a talk on the cross so interesting as the one she gave. She started by asking us to to take out a crucifix and hold it in our hand as she spoke. I wear a large crucifix around my neck each day to remind me to unite my sufferings to Christ, and I'll never look at it the same. She related the cross and mercy to us personally, and really showed us what Divine Mercy does and should mean in our society. If you do one thing today, watch her talk (It's at 16:45, beginning with a brief video). I want to just quote her whole talk in here, but just let her speak for herself.
She spoke on Saint Maximilian Kolbe, and said that his death was a natural consequence of his lifestyle. She then asked what would a logical, natural consequence for your lifestyle? After talking about Maximilian Kolbe and his personal sacrifices and crosses, she said, "Don't be afraid to face the truth, because heroes aren't born out of illusion, heroes are born out of truth. Even if its the truth about your weakness, offer your weakness to Jesus and He will make you a hero."
She went on about the cross, and asked us to turn our crucifix in our hand around.
"Take a look at the cross in your hands, turn it around, and see the empty space on the other side. That’s the invitation for you. By this sign of the cross, of the crucifix, Jesus asks you today, ‘Do you want to live I did? Do you want to follow my lifestyle? Are you brave enough to choose mercy? Living for others, and dying for others? Mercy costs. We see it also costs Jesus His life. If you and I decide today to choose Jesus again, to choose His ways, to follow Him, this will also cost us much. Just think now about all the situations in contradiction to your plans: dreams. In contradiction to your will: that’s the cross. Maybe at first this will be little things. But these little things further prepare you for bigger offerings. And as you further feel that mercy costs, that it is really the cross of your life, heavy, ugly, painful, remember that this is where you are (on the cross), but on the other side is Jesus. SO don’t be afraid because He’s always with you; He will never, ever leave you. You will never be alone with your suffering, with your struggles. Following Jesus won’t be easy; He never said that, He never promised that. Following Jesus won’t be easy, but it will be beautiful. Living your life to the full, it is demanding, but fascinating. ‘If anyone wishes to come after me, He must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life, for my sake, will save it.’ Are you ready to say yes? If you are, put on your cross, and [venerate] it. Say it in your heart: ‘Yes, Jesus, I am ready to follow you. Amen.’”
The next part I would like to talk about is Catechesis with Cardinal Dolan. I believe I forgot to mention that I completely fangirled over him on Tuesday, and I even got a picture with him. Let's say that he acted like he already knew me, as he grabbed my neck and squeezed it in a brotherly way, asking me how I was. I just kinda stood there and smiled, and he was like, "Oh, that's nice." He is such a great man, and so charismatic as a speaker and lover of Christ. His talk begins around 1:06:30 at the same link provided above.
He starts, "Lord, make me an instrument of your mercy." He talks about the Apostles' guilt after Jesus' death. They locked themselves in a room, denying their friendship with Christ. They were filled with doubt, as to whether or not Jesus was speaking Truth. Then Jesus walked through the door. He asked us to imagine what Jesus would have said to them. Those that just betrayed Him and denied Him. What's He gonna do? The Lord says to them, "Peace be with you. Receive the Holy Spirit, who will heal your doubts and fears and guilt. Who's sin you forgive they are forgiven." Mercy. Mercy for you and for others. He sent them out. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Jesus makes the Apostles an instrument of His mercy.
In today's world, we need to ask Him to make us instruments of His mercy. This is so important! JPII said, "We are at our best when we give ourselves away in love to another person." We need salvation, we need mercy. We need GOD, we need a SAVIOR. Especially today. And it takes us to admit it before we can start being mercy. Cardinal Dolan reminded us of JPII forgiving the man who shot him three times.
How many times do people tick us off (a lot for me)? And how many times do we just want to lash out and attack them back. Jesus was literally betrayed and denied by his BEST friends. He died because of them. He died because of me. Yet, he still made me. He still puts every breath into my mouth as I breathe. He shows me mercy every single second of the day. So must we. We MUST show mercy, and not hate. I must love those around us, no matter how much I want to be salty towards them.
The next part I would like to talk about is Catechesis with Cardinal Dolan. I believe I forgot to mention that I completely fangirled over him on Tuesday, and I even got a picture with him. Let's say that he acted like he already knew me, as he grabbed my neck and squeezed it in a brotherly way, asking me how I was. I just kinda stood there and smiled, and he was like, "Oh, that's nice." He is such a great man, and so charismatic as a speaker and lover of Christ. His talk begins around 1:06:30 at the same link provided above.
He starts, "Lord, make me an instrument of your mercy." He talks about the Apostles' guilt after Jesus' death. They locked themselves in a room, denying their friendship with Christ. They were filled with doubt, as to whether or not Jesus was speaking Truth. Then Jesus walked through the door. He asked us to imagine what Jesus would have said to them. Those that just betrayed Him and denied Him. What's He gonna do? The Lord says to them, "Peace be with you. Receive the Holy Spirit, who will heal your doubts and fears and guilt. Who's sin you forgive they are forgiven." Mercy. Mercy for you and for others. He sent them out. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Jesus makes the Apostles an instrument of His mercy.
In today's world, we need to ask Him to make us instruments of His mercy. This is so important! JPII said, "We are at our best when we give ourselves away in love to another person." We need salvation, we need mercy. We need GOD, we need a SAVIOR. Especially today. And it takes us to admit it before we can start being mercy. Cardinal Dolan reminded us of JPII forgiving the man who shot him three times.
How many times do people tick us off (a lot for me)? And how many times do we just want to lash out and attack them back. Jesus was literally betrayed and denied by his BEST friends. He died because of them. He died because of me. Yet, he still made me. He still puts every breath into my mouth as I breathe. He shows me mercy every single second of the day. So must we. We MUST show mercy, and not hate. I must love those around us, no matter how much I want to be salty towards them.
After Cardinal Dolan finished, an Iraqi refugee testified to mercy, as ISIS took over her original home, killed her relatives, and destroyed Christian communities. She challenged us to say the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and to replace "us" with a more specific intention. Hers was "For the sake of your sorrowful passion, have mercy on ISIS and on the whole world." This was a new and fresh way for me to pray this powerful prayer. The enemies we have, we must pray for and must show mercy to.
We then had a Q&A (1:37:45), which is definitely worth listening to.
There was one question and answer that stood out to me. The question was asking if truth really existed, since we are taught to make our own truth.
He answered: "Look, if there is ever a place to ask that question, it is right here in Krakow, because Krakow is where two of the greatest horrors in the history of humanity occurred. Krakow saw what happens when you deny truth. Krakow saw what happens when you make up your own truth. Krakow saw what happens when truth becomes defined by us, and not by God. Krakow saw the Nazis, Aucshwitz, Katyn forests (where 100,000 Polish intellectuals were shot in the head). Krakow saw Nazi atrocity on steroids. And when the Nazis were defeated, Joseph Stalin came in and Krakow continued to see the culture of the lie, where objective truth, the dignity of the human person, and the sacredness of human life was trampled upon. That is what happens when we believe that we can make up truth. Hitler believed he was following the truth. That there were certain people, like Jews and Poles, that were meant to be eradicated. Stalin believed the truth as he defined it. THAT is what happens when truth is subjective. THAT shows us that truth is objective.
Pope Benedict called it the dictatorship of relativism. Contemporary people think, 'Oh how liberated we are. We make up our own truth; we aren't shackled by handcuffs by what other people say God defines as truth. We're free.' Uh-uh. You're slaves! You live in the worst dictatorship of all: the dictatorship of relativism because truth is objective. And as Jesus said the Truth will set you free!"
Honestly, this hit me hard. How often do we make up our own truth? All. The. Time. We make exceptions to the faith, exceptions that are lies. We come up with stuff that would bring others down and ourselves up, just like Hitler and Stalin. I have friends that make up their own truths about the Catholic Faith, about Confession and the Eucharist. If the truth is objective, and Jesus Christ IS the truth, then the Catholic Faith is real and is truth. The Eucharist is truth, is Jesus.
As Catechesis ended, we left the Tauron Arena, and headed to the JPII Sanctuary, only to find it closed, because Pope Francis was going to visit the next day. Mercy, mercy. Have mercy on the guards, Nick. We would go another day (Monday).
We then went shopping in the market square. I also washed my clothes in a laundromat for the first time (quite the experience). After hearing about the nuns' experience (they witnessed a man openly snorting Cocaine right in front of their faces. Now that I think about it, I wonder if it was laundry detergent...), we were anxious to see how it would go.
After getting yelled at by only one Polish lady, we finished and headed back to try and see the Pope in a courtyard outside the window where he was staying at the Archdiocese of Krakow. We never got in, because it got full, so Sarah C., Cameron E., and I went to see the Pope's motorcade as he rode by, waving. After, we went to go eat, and went to sleep, because we had to rest our bodies for the long day ahead of us.
P.S. Also on Day 10, seeing as it was Friday, they help the Stations of the Cross with Pope Francis in Blonia Park, but we did not attend. Watching the video later, I discovered that it was very artfully and craftfully done. Very much worth a watch.
Thus ended Day 10.
Nicholas Scalfano
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