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
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