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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.