Madison Herald: Closing World Youth Day

Pilgrims pray before the beginning of Mass.

In addition to all of this, during the winds of the night before, many of the chapels had had to be dismantled. The Blessed Sacrament reserved in these places had had to be moved, and we were now told that there would be no Communion available for the crowds. It was a blow. On top of all of the sacrifices of the past day, we would not be able to join in physical communion with the Holy Father. One more thing to offer up.

But then, the joy. As Pope Benedict XVI came through the avenues, waving to the hundreds of thousands who had stayed the night, to the hundreds of thousands who had joined us this morning, it seemed no more than a small trifle to bury the troubles of the day. We were again together as a Church, celebrating our love for Christ and his vicar.

The Mass was incredible. To hear the Holy Father greet us, “Dominus Vobiscum” and to answer “Et cum spiritus tuo” and realize this was the response we gave not only today, to the pope, the vicar of Christ, but to every priest in every church around the world, was deeply impactful.

We sang, we prayed the “Pater Noster,” we listened as he spoke to us in his homily and in his address after the Mass. And during Communion, as we waited for the pope and the concelebrating clergy to receive, we prayed for the Church, that we could all be united in spiritual communion.

Journey of Faith