August 7 2011
Issue 6
A WYD Prayer Newsletter
The Road to Madrid A faith journey for those who go and those who stay at home
A service from Church Resources
www.johngarratt.com.au
Subscribe to CathNews Perspectives The new, weekly email from CathNews For an in-depth look at World Youth Day 2011
www.cathnews.com 2
Issue 6 A WYD Prayer Newsletter
On the Road to WYD
Sixth of a series of six Newsletters
In this issue SECTION 1: FOOD FOR PILGRIMS Prayers & reflections to sustain pilgrims as they travel the inner journey – on the road to Madrid or at home.
Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady, Valencia, (built during 13th – 15th Centuries)
A prayer for all pilgrims My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will, does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you and I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road although I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death, I will not fear, for you are ever with me and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Amen Prayer of Cistercian monk, Thomas Merton OSB
3
SECTION 2: WORLD YOUTH DAY Experiences from earlier WYDs & getting the most out of WYD at home or abroad
SECTION 1: FOOD FOR PILGRIMS Aspiring to True Greatness What does it mean to be great in God’s eyes? Is it media attention, financial success, knowing powerful people? Or is it to share the purpose and passion of Jesus Christ developing one’s skills and using one’s energy so that the world is a better place for people to live in; tackling poverty, letting people know they are loved; working to release those who are oppressed in any way. God’s plan for us is that we live lives of meaning and value: ‘I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.’ (John 10:10) Prayer: Lord, having felt your love and the freedom you have brought to my own life, help me to share that same love and freedom with others. Amen
Our treasure treasure lies in our inner life. It is our inner life which affects our perception of the world and determines our action and reactions to it. We tend to ignore this inner life, but it refuses refuses to be ignored. Gerard Hughes
Making Prayer a Permanent Part of My Life ‘Two things are needed for survival: oxygen and prayer!’ – words of a young woman at the Prayer 2010 Conference in Brisbane. Without oxygen we die. Without prayer our spiritual life stagnates. ‘We need to pray regularly. If we sustain genuine prayer in our lives, eventually sincerity will weed out insincerity, selflessness will weed out selfishness, and grace will weed out sin. Simply put, at some point in our lives, we will either stop praying or stop our bad behaviour. We won't be able to live with both. Our biggest danger then is to stop praying.’ Wise words from Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. If we are serious about keeping fit, we work out a plan to exercise on a regular basis. Let’s do the same for prayer – plan a daily schedule: • a time for prayer • a place for prayer • a way to get started in prayer. Suggestions: Morning Offering – a good way to start the day. Making short ACTS of Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving and Supplication. Saying a decade of the Rosary. A prayerful reading of the Bible. Being aware of the presence of a loving God, both around and within. Conversing with God as with a friend. There are many ways to pray, bringing to life our relationship with God. Prayer:
With the disciples we ask, ‘Lord Jesus, teach us how to pray!’ 4
Getting to know Jesus, the Shepherd, better In previous centuries in the Middle East, sheep were a store of wealth – having sheep was like having a bank account. A shepherd guarded his flock at night and then led them to water and pasture during the day. Jesus presents himself to us as ‘the good shepherd’, the authentic or true shepherd who will ‘lay down his life for his sheep’. The sheep know his voice and follow him. And if one of his flock gets lost, the shepherd leaves the others to go in search of the sheep that is lost. Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for being our shepherd! Help us to listen to your voice – and to follow you always. Amen
Christ has no body now on earth but ours, no hands but ours, no feet but ours; ours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion looks out on the world, ours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good and ours are the hands with which He is to bless us now. -
Champions of the Faith:
Saint Saint Teresa of Avila
St Mary Mackillop
1842 – 1909
Australia’s first saint, Mary Helen MacKillop, was born in Fitzroy, Melbourne, on January 15, 1842. Together with Fr Julian Tenison Woods, Mary founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph in 1867, an Order dedicated to the education of poor children. Mary faced many challenges, not least her excommunication by Bishop Shiel in September 1871 – which was lifted five months later. By 1891, there were 300 sisters working in nine dioceses in Australia and New Zealand. An ordinary Australian woman, yet a woman of heroic holiness, goodness, warmth and determination, Mary died on August 8, 1909. On October 17, 2010 Mary MacKillop, Saint Mary of the Cross, was declared a saint by Pope Benedict XVI. A favourite saying of hers was: ‘Never see a need without doing something about it!’
5
SECTION 2 WYD - EXPERIENCES, TIPS & PRAYERS
A Great Adventure
Onward to WYD Madrid The Theme for WYD Madrid 2011: ‘Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith.’ (Colossians 2:7)
Preparing for Madrid – Pope’s encouraging words: I often think back on the World Youth Day held in Sydney in 2008. There we had an experience of a great festival of faith in which the Spirit of God was actively at work, building deep communion among the participants who had come from all over the world. That gathering, like those on previous occasions, bore rich fruit in the lives of many young people and in the life of the whole Church. Now we are looking forward to the next World Youth Day, to be held in Madrid in August 2011. Part of being young is desiring something beyond everyday life and a secure job, a yearning for something really truly greater. Is this simply an empty dream that fades away as we become older? No! Men and women were created for something great, for infinity. Nothing else will ever be enough. Saint Augustine was right when he said “our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you”. The desire for a more meaningful life is a sign that God created us and that we bear his ‘imprint’. God is life, and that is why every creature reaches out towards life. Because human beings are made in the image of God, we do this in a unique and special way. We reach out for love, joy and peace. God is the source of life!
6
‘Two of the great events in my life as a bishop were my pilgrimages to World Youth Day Cologne in 2005 and World Youth Day Sydney in 2008. ‘World Youth Day is a great adventure. Travelling to another country like Spain and participating in a WYD gathering is already an adventure. ‘But more important is the opportunity to discover what it means to be Catholic and so to be a follower of Jesus Christ in our modern world. ‘In Madrid you will have an experience of praying with the pope and hundreds of bishops and priests from around the world. ‘But above all, you will be with perhaps two million young people from different countries, all of whom want to share with you in the same great Catholic adventure.’ Bishop Michael Putney, Townsville
Going to Madrid..... Hi, I’m John Bannon and I’m a pilgrim heading to World Youth Day via the El Camino Way. I was raised a Catholic but have been blessed to experience a variety of Christian faiths. During my journey I’ve attended Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran and Pentecostal churches, but the Catholic Church is my home. I work as a sports journalist for ACP magazines and I often do long hours including weekend work. So, I appreciate the serenity and peace the Mass provides. I love travelling and I’ve tried to do an overseas trip each year since I’ve been 18, I’m now 27. I enjoy travelling because it’s enriching. Travelling teaches you love, humility, patience, compassion and to keep an open mind – all messages that are proclaimed in the gospels. I attended WYD in Sydney in 2008 as both a pilgrim and a member of the media. I’ve been to some pretty cool sporting events over the years but nothing matched the atmosphere and the excitement of being amongst thousands of young people sharing the same faith. It’s a cliché, but this pilgrimage won't be about the destination, it will be about the journey the people we meet, the faith we share and the places we experience. See you in Madrid!
Celebrating WYD at home.... I would have loved to have gone to Madrid. The truth is the money factor – and being a teacher makes it hard to get away. Instead I have been in charge of raising money for the student pilgrims from my school. This means I have had the opportunity to create WYD activities that promote awareness of the spirit of WYD for the school community. WYD Sydney was such a profound and heart warming experience for me. I was a student at ACU at the time and we organised the ‘Spirit Alive Fest’. It was a youth festival that welcomed pilgrims, families and friends, and featured drumming, theatre, jugglers, karaoke, bands, Indigenous culture and graffiti art. I was part of the entertainment, and also cared for the pilgrims staying at the university. So here I am, farewelling others – but looking forward to picking up on the vibrations of WYD from Madrid. I hope it has the same coverage that Sydney did as it was exciting to see the updates and live broadcast each day. It is a great celebration to be part of and a good way to understand other cultures and cultivate peace and understanding. It is a way to inspire us to be confident in our faith and encourage us to live the teachings of Christ in our daily lives. -
Maria Boulatsakos 7
Celebrating WYD in Australia As only a small minority can get to Madrid, it is good to see parish and diocesan celebrations under way at home. Rockhampton Diocese, for example, will be holding WYD celebrations over the weekend, August 20-21. The weekend will consist of speakers, creative workshops, prayer, entertainment, Mass, Adoration: youth@rok.catholic.net.au
Following events in Madrid To keep all at home abreast of events as they unfold in Madrid, Church Resources will stream daily news on CathNews (www.cathnews.com) and blogs each day from on the spot pilgrim bloggers. Not a Subscriber to CathNews? it’s simple. Go to the home page, and sign up. Also serving those at home is Xt3, which will provide live webcasts and video blogs from Madrid on the website, www.Xt3.com
Madrid Venue for WYD Papal Mass One of Madrid’s three airports, Cuatro Vientos, will be the site for the Saturday Vigil and the Papal Mass on Sunday August 21. Cuatro Vientos, literally ‘four winds’, was Spain’s first airport, opened one hundred years ago in 1911. Today the airport is used by small aircraft and is the site for an air and space museum. Pilgrims will be pleased to know that the airport is located just eight kilometres from the centre of Madrid, a distance easily walked if transport is not available.
When Madrid was announced.....
At WYD Sydney 2008, Spanish pilgrims (right) cheer the news: Madrid to host WYD 2011. (Photo: Catholic Weekly)
With best wishes to all WYD pilgrims, in Madrid and at home, from Church Resources. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to bring you these six issues. Our thanks go to all who’ve contributed to the series, especially John Bannon, Lisa Bright, Maria Boulatsakos, Sarah Coppola, Robyn Gallagher, Chris Nolan, Bernadette Toohey. Anthony Neylan, Editor editor@churchresources.com
Vaya con Dios! May God be with you! This Newsletter is available free for photocopying. It can also be found under the caption ‘WYD Madrid Prayer Newsletter’ on the CathNews website at www.cathnews.com
8