Sunday, August 7, 2016

The Pilgrimage is just beginning…

We are all back from World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland. Even so, the journey has just begun for us.  The theme of our pilgrimage was all about mercy, and as a group coordinator, my highlight was seeing acts of mercy spread like a contagion.  Somehow we all had become super aware of each other’s needs.  This really shined through in the final trek into and back from the Saturday Vigil and Sunday Closing Mass with Pope Francis and almost 3 million people!

We walked 3.5 miles to the campus of these events, spending the whole day in blazing hot sun, but complaining was not what I observed.  I saw pilgrims carrying other pilgrims' bags and food, sharing umbrellas as shelter from the sun, paying attention to those needing rest, collecting water, building shelter from the sun for others, enduring difficulties, sharing with neighbors, waiting in hour long lines to bring coffee to the group, complimenting each other, and if an impatient word escaped one’s lips, nobody got offended.



 Our site for the Vigil and Final Mass
3 million people

Sure we can support big causes, but Jesus gives us countless opportunities to practice mercy every moment of every day.  No opportunity should be wasted, and these small acts of mercy will form the basis of everything else in our lives.


Our departure from the Closing Mass was not so easy either.  The shortest route back had come to a complete halt in a human traffic jam.  So, we took an alternate route.  Aside from getting stuck in a rain storm, when we all worked together to keep sleeping bags and important items dry, 3.6 miles later we were to the point where we might be able to catch a bus.  It was not looking good.  We had a few minor injuries in the group, and there were no buses to be found, just masses of pilgrims.  We had no choice but to continue farther.  The group persisted in spite of exhaustion and pain.  Just about when I feared mutiny, a half mile later, we saw it!  The bus we needed, our ticket home.

So, we are home now, but these lessons of mercy are built into our lives.  This is the true pilgrimage; Krakow 2016 planted a seed that will grow and blossom over the rest of our lives.  We will post pilgrim reflections here over the next several weeks…please keep checking back.  You won’t want to miss them.

Prayer Request Update:

After the Closing Mass, we returned to Wadowice, and that night, the resting place for your prayer requests presented itself to us.  After all the trials of the journey, we placed the bundle of prayer requests at the feet of Saint Pope John Paul II.  He will watch over them, and may many be granted in accordance with the will of Jesus.

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