Perspective

We are now one week away from WYD! This morning on my way to the office, the signs of WYD are all around -- literally. The banners have gone up over the weekend, the event tents are now filling the parks, road closure signs have started to pop up on the streets and pilgrims have started to arrive (big backpacks and confused looks are a good giveaway). Even in the office, despite our exhaustion, the excitement is building (perhaps because the arrival of WYD is soon to be followed by a bit of hibernation!)

My weekend was spent in the same manner as the previous two weekends -- in the office. However, I was not alone as just about everyone in the WYD office is working overtime at the moment -- just what you would expect before such an event. The difficulty, of course, is maintaining a level of joy about something that causes so much work. (my prayer lately has been for joy and sanity -- everyone seems to appreciate this one) At the office, I joke with people asking them if they will still be Catholic after working on WYD. It is always gets a good laugh and a reassurance that they will; however, in my prayers, I ask God to be merciful if they decide to miss a mass or two in the wake of it all.

But as the pilgrims start to arrive, our spirits are lifted a bit. WYD makes no sense without them and for too long now, our work has been fueled by faith -- now our belief is beginning to manifest itself. As I have walked around the last few days, my heart has begun to realize the gift that this all is -- and how privileged I am to be part of such an event. "Everything is gift," my novice director told us -- how right he was. As I stand before such a monumental event, I am forced to recognize that no effort of mine can make this succeed or fail. WYD is a moment of grace -- a gift from God to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. My biggest job now is to trust that God will cultivate the work that has been done, and get out of the light so this field may grow in God's light.

The lead-up to WYD has reminded me that I am called to be a servant. It has also reminded me of how much I need God's grace to live the life I have been called to live -- there is nothing like something as big as WYD to remind you of your place on this earth. As I write, I think this is what the press and various critics seem to miss -- that we need events in our world that are big enough to capture our imagination and at the same time remind us of our limitations -- and of our potential. I am neither as big or as small as I may let myself believe. So my prayer for those pilgrims en route to Sydney is that they encounter the world here -- the universal Church here -- so that their senses can capture sights, sounds, and feelings big enough to hold their understanding of God, and at the same time recognize the ability to nurture that understanding often occurs in the simplest acts of charity to those around us.

Let us pray for this and for so many intentions that are brought to Sydney over the next week. Until next time, many blessings and G'Day!