Download For 12 days in Krakow, I got a taste of heaven…. When reflecting

For 12 days in Krakow, I got a taste of heaven….
When reflecting back on the experience of leading a group of pilgrims to World Youth
Day 2016, the biggest challenge is picking a place to start.
From Mass before the Black Madonna of Czestochowa, complete with a hauntingly
beautiful chant of “Lord prepare me to be a Sanctuary,” during Communion, to the chilling walk
through both of the Auschwitz concentration camps, where we were forced to confront the worst
of our humanity, to the week-long joyful gathering together of 2.5 million young Catholics, the
pilgrimage experience was packed with so many life-changing highlights that it’s hard to pick a
favorite, or 2, or 3 from among them!
What does stand out clearly though is this: for 12 days in Krakow, I got the most real taste
of heaven I’ve ever been blessed with. As a cradle Catholic, who has studied, lived, and worked on
the inside of the Church since the day my parents took me home from the hospital – with the
obligatory stop at La Ermita to present me to our Blessed Mother – I’ve had a lifetime of powerful
experiences and life-changing moments compliments of our Church and faith. World Youth Day
outdid them all. What made it so different? It’s hard to explain, but perhaps can best be summed
up in this: the entire week was absolutely, completely, ALL about Jesus Christ!
On the first official day of World Youth Day events, following the Opening Mass which
was celebrated by Cardinal Dziwisz, St. John Paul II’s long-time secretary and friend, I was taken
aback by the sight of flags from 187 countries, tied high up on 20-ft poles and fishing rods, waving
back and forth for as far as the eye could see in every direction. A quarter-million people gathered
in Blonia Park that evening, and as impressive as the sight of the flags may have been, it was the
music the flags were waving to that really left a mark. “Jesus Christ, you are my life, alleluia,
alleluia.” As we were getting caught in the emotion of the moment, the truly Catholic – universal
– nature of our Church hit me deeply as I took it all in. The world – clearly present in the
multitude of flags - was gathered together under the 1 flag of Jesus Christ – there were no borders,
no conflicts, language didn’t really matter, as we all communicated through the joy of a smile.
This day set the tone for the week ahead.
Wednesday brought with it our pilgrims’ most personal encounter with Christ at the
Mercy Centre. The Knights of Columbus rented out Krakow’s sports arena, the Tauron Center, for
the full week of World Youth Day. After being momentarily locked out of the arena due to
capacity crowds inside, we were greatly rewarded for our patient waiting as 20,000 young Englishspeaking pilgrims came together for an impressive evening of music, catechesis by Bishop Robert
Barron, and the real highlight of the night – Adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament!
As the Blessed Sacrament processed through the crowd, the silence of the arena moved grown
men to tears. This wasn’t a lighting and special effects gimmick – the presence of Jesus Christ was
palpable, we were in the midst of REAL holiness, and every soul in the building sensed it, knew it,
and fell to a knee. And here is where words, pictures, and videos fail. 20,000 strong witnessed
something surreal, something special, something other-wordly that night. 20,000 strong got a real
taste of heaven on earth. And as Matt Maher led us all back together in song, 20,000 strong
weren’t afraid to proclaim it loud and clear: “Oh death, where is your sting? Oh hell, where is your
victory? Oh Church! Come stand in the light! The glory of God has defeated the night!” Similar
crowds packed in to the American Airlines Arena for a Heat playoff game or Beyoncé concert
aren’t as loud or as energized as the crowd at the Mercy Center that night. And to think we were
still just getting this whole WYD thing started…
On Thursday, as the heat and physical demands of the trip began to take its toll, we
decided to skip the daily Mass after catechesis – sorry, Father! – and opted instead to head back
out to Blonia Park 6-hours early for the official Papal Welcome Ceremony. Under a light but
steady drizzle that would go on for nearly the full 6 hours of waiting, we settled into our spot
right along the metal barricades – all signs seemingly confirming our gut-feeling that Pope Francis
would pass in his Popemobile right down that aisle. And then things got really exciting. A group
of Polish military and police officers came marching through, each one taking his/her own place
every 25 feet along the barricade. More guards came in waves on vehicles, the noise to our right
intensified, a large truck of photographers and videographers passed through and then there he
was – Peter! With a look of intense prayer in his eyes, joy in his heart, and his trademark smile,
Pope Francis passed right by, maybe 6-10 feet away from us, and he turned to wave in our
direction, too! The magnitude of the moment was not lost on our group of pilgrims, more than
half of whom were encountering the Pope in person for the first time in their lives. We came back
out to Blonia Park on Friday for a beautiful meditation on the Stations of the Cross connected to
the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy and on Saturday, we ventured out on a 10-mile trek to
Campus Misercoridae where we would celebrate a Candlelight Vigil Prayer Service with Pope
Francis, camp out overnight, and then celebrate the Closing Mass on Sunday morning.
As we listened to the Holy Father speak to us on all these beautiful occasions, my wife
picked up on an important detail – on what really makes the experience of World Youth Day
unique. As Pope Francis spoke and asked questions of the crowd, he prompted louder responses
repeatedly. As my wife put it, “it’s as if he’s looking for more energy and noise from the crowd.”
I’ve been blessed to attend Papal events in Rome in the past and the energy and noise of the WYD
crowd WAS different. When travelling to Rome, we often go, “to see the Pope.” But at WYD, it
wasn’t about the Pope, it was about Jesus Christ! The greatest energy and the biggest cheers
weren’t for the Holy Father, or for the other giants of our contemporary Church – Cardinal Tagle
of the Philippines, Cardinal Dolan of New York, Cardinal O’Malley of Boston, or Bishop Barron of
California among them. No, WYD was all about Jesus Christ himself and the 2.5 million gathered
there joyfully celebrated HIM.
These few key moments of the pilgrimage are but a tiny fraction of all that we witnessed
and lived in Krakow. In the coming weeks and months, each of our pilgrims will have the
opportunity to share with you their own unique experiences and encounters. Pope Francis invited
us, “The joy that you have freely received from God, freely give away: so many people are waiting
for it!” That joy changed my life, the joy set me on fire again, and I can confidently say it did the
same for the 7 other COTLF pilgrims and the millions of others who attended from around the
globe.
For 12 days in Krakow, I got a most real taste of heaven and it is an incredible grace and
blessing to bring it back and share it freely with all of you, who rallied around us to make this trip
– and this dream – a reality.
On behalf of our pilgrims, I wish to say thank you. May God bless you. May God bless this
parish. And to JESUS CHRIST alone be all the glory and praise. Amen.