FAMVIN 2008 Reflection
July 9-13, 2008 - St. Stanislaus' College, Bathurst,
Australia
Renée Cloutier, ’10SJC Speech
Pathology
After being on a several different planes for a total of 30 hours,
we finally arrived in Sydney, Australia, but we still had to take a
3 hour bus ride to St. Stanislaus' College in Bathurst - the site
of FAMVIN 2008! The theme of our gathering was, "Experience
Family, Witness and Mission: God's Story and Ours," which expresses
exactly what we experienced at FAMVIN. It was incredible to
meet members of our Vincentian family from all over the
world. Over 30 countries were represented, from lands far and
wide, such as Brazil, Zimbabwe, Taiwan, Solomon Islands, Italy and
many from host country Australia!
The variety of cultures, combined with everyone's overflowing
love for Christ and the poor, was constantly being displayed in our
daily activities. Whether it was a simple morning warm-up
activity, one of the social gatherings we had on the history of
Bathurst, a song or dance performed by one's country, or reflecting
on what it means to be Vincentian, there was so much joy. We
listened to stories about our international Vincentian family, but
it wasn't until the candlelight prayer service during the Opening
Ceremony, as a representative from each country lit a candle, that
I realized the power of St. Vincent de Paul's influence and the
magnitude of what it means to be Vincentian. Vincentians
gathered together from all over the world sharing the same desire
to do as Vincent did - serve the poor and those in need while
spreading the Good News.
Presentations about St. Vincent de Paul, St. Louise de Marillac,
Blessed Frederic Ozanam, Blessed Rosalie Rendu and St. Catherine
Laboure inspired and enlightened us as we shared and heard insights
from our international family. Knowing that there are members
of our international family in Zimbabwe that have the same love and
compassion for the poor as us Americans do is empowering.
Sometimes it is easy to think that the individual service we do is
hopeless, but we must always remember that we are not alone.
As we sang together during our Vincentian Family celebration: "I
am, you are, we are Vincentian!" The great joy, faith,
fellowship and love we experienced has empowered our Vincentian
spirits, which we look forward to sharing with the St. John's
community when we return to school in August.
Opening Mass Reflection
July 15, 2008 - Sydney, Australia
Amy Furman, ’10 CPS Public
Relations
Today, we journeyed from our hotel to Barangaroo, the site for
World Youth Day 2008's Opening Mass. The journey was a little
long, but we, the Brooklyn Diocese group of approximately 162
pilgrims, prayed the Rosary as we walked to the train
station. After the train, we joined thousands of other
pilgrims flocking to the Opening Mass. We chanted, sang songs
along the way and met people from various countries around the
world. We even ran into our friends from Brazil and the
Solomon Islands who we had met last week at the FAMVIN
(International Vincentian Family) Gathering. The journey to
Mass was inspiring in itself as so many pilgrims representing the
Catholics of their country made the journey to Sydney and then to
Barangaroo to attend Mass with fellow Catholics from around the
world.
The Mass was celebrated by George Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of
Sydney. It was a colorful Mass with a welcome from the
aboriginal community of Australia including readings and petitions
in various languages and inspiring music. Cardinal Pell's
homily was moving. He encouraged the youth in attendance to
pray for an openness of heart and for the willingness to take the
next step in our faith journeys. He also urged us to remember
to listen and pray over the course of the week as the excitement of
World Youth Day can prove to be very distracting.
Overall, the Opening Mass was an incredible experience and a
perfect start to World Youth Day. There was such a large
crowd in attendance, yet there was almost no pushing or shoving or
people verbally complaining. For me, the Opening Mass served
as a real example of a world peace that can be achieved through
faith and love in God and in neighbor.
Papal Welcome Ceremony
July 17, 2008 - Sydney, Australia
Erin Westover, ’09 SJC Psychology/Speech
Language Pathology
Thursday, July 17th was the official arrival of our Holy Father,
Pope Benedict XVI, to World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney,
Australia. Just imagine the level of excitement buzzing
around the busy city - flags flying, pilgrims singing and cheering
"Viva Il Papa!" and "Be-ne-dic-to!" in anticipation of being in the
presence of the spiritual leader of our Church. Now take that level
and multiply it by 10. This is how I was feeling that morning
as soon as I woke up. The Pope, who I had seen only four
months earlier at the Youth & Seminarian Rally in Yonkers, NY,
had started a pilgrimage alongside us to speak to us and celebrate
the power of the Holy Spirit with the young people of the
world!
We began our day with catechesis at St. Joseph's Catholic
Church, in the Sydney suburb of Camerpdown. Bishop William
Morris of the Diocese of Toowoomba, Australia, had come to pray
with us and gave us a catechetical lesson through his homily.
It was incredible hearing what he had to say and increased my
excitement again tenfold. After this session, we began our
journey to Barangaroo, the harbor-side site where Pope Benedict
would soon arrive. There were so many people there.
Everyone was yearning to get close to the Holy Father. I was
overwhelmed with emotions.
The time had finally come. The huge TV screens showed the
Pope arriving on a huge cruise ship filled with representatives
from a variety of countries! It was so beautiful. We
all watched as he got off the boat and into his 'Popemobile.'
The excitement in me raised a little bit more. It actually
seemed to be bubbling up inside of me. He reached the stage
and started the service. Seeing the aboriginal people of
Australia performing for him and many languages welcoming and
thanking the Holy Father for his leadership was extremely
touching. At last, Pope Benedict addressed the crowd.
The entire crowd was clapping and shouting "We Love Benedict!" This
is when I noticed the joy beaming off of the Pope's face. It
was heart warming. He proceeded to thank and encourage the
pilgrims in attendance in English, Italian, Spanish, French, German
and Portugese; all of which he spoke fluently.
The service had come to an end and His Holiness went back into
the 'Popemobile' and made his way through the city of Sydney.
One of the priests we were traveling with had our group against the
railing of our section because he thought that the Pope would pass
right by us as he departed. A friend and I waited in hope of
being as close as possible. All of a sudden, we saw what
looked like hundreds of cops filling up the area around us.
Our hearts began pounding as we saw the Popemobile in the
distance. There he was, maybe 20 feet away from us! We
waved and he looked at us, smiled and waved back! It was the
most incredible thing I ever experienced!
World Youth Day General Atmosphere
Reflection
July 18, 2008 - Sydney, Australia
Kathleen Stegle, Niagra University ’09
Hospitality and Tourism Management
200,000 pilgrims flooded the streets of Sydney, each wearing the
colors of the Holy Spirit on their backs, each carrying their
country's flag proudly. Shouts of welcome, friendly 'Hello's,
waves and the desire to know 'Where are you from?' echoed
throughout the streets. Encounters on the subways, buses and
rails filled our days as we told our story of our travels while
many of the local residents listened eagerly. It was exciting
to hear everyone’s responses.
Our St. John's/Vincentian group of nine traveled with the group
of 126 from the Diocese of Brooklyn. We were all given blue
jackets for World Youth Day to identify ourselves. When we
all traveled together, it looked like a sea of blue. Pilgrims
from our group led us by carrying the American, papal and Brooklyn
diocese flags. We had great energy chanting "U-S-A!” cheers
and singing songs praising God. It was awesome.
Even when one person in our group was feeling tired; the energy
from the rest of the pilgrims lifted them up. It was an
indescribable feeling. When seeing fellow groups from America
as well as from all the lands of the world (some places I had never
heard of) all coming together to celebrate our faith. We all
came together to call on the Holy Spirit to help us be God's
witnesses and to do God's work here on earth. I have never
been so proud to be a Catholic!
Throughout our busy pilgrimage, filled with catechesis lessons,
Masses and opportunities to be in the presence of our Holy Father,
Pope Benedict XVI, it was touching to me to see our group
exercising our rights to freely speak and openly express our
religion. We walked through the streets announcing that we
were Catholic through word, like when we sang familiar church
songs, and action, such as when we prayed the rosary while moving
from one destination to another. Seeing the Pope was like
being at a concert! Everyone chanted "BENEDICTO!" and "Viva
Il Papa!" and rushed to the fences to catch a glimpse of His
Holiness, myself included. It was such a rush to be that
close to the leader of our Church.
At home, it may not always be the 'cool' thing to announce our
faith or even talk about it publicly. At World Youth Day, it
was absolutely the cool thing to do. This was the opportunity
of a lifetime; a spiritual journey proving to me that, without my
faith, I would not be the person I am today. World Youth Day
truly showed me the international Church and that we share this
beautiful Catholic faith together.
Evening Prayer Service and Overnight Vigil
Reflection
July 20-21, 2008 - Sydney, Australia
Dana McNally, ’10 SJC
Psychology
As soon as we stepped foot through the gate of Randwick Racecourse
and received our food, I knew that we were in for a miracle. Our
section was right in front of where the Holy Father would stand in
only a small amount of time. We arrived around 11:30 am and His
Holiness would arrive at around 7:00 pm that night. I spent the day
talking with my friends, playing cards, eating, meeting pilgrims
from around the world, but, most importantly, reflecting.
The theme Pope Benedict XVI chose for this year’s World Youth
Day comes from the Acts of the Apostles: “You shall receive power
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my
witnesses” (1:8). I gave these words specific consideration when
going into the vigil that night. God says that you will receive the
Holy Spirit and it will come upon you, and through this we will
become his witnesses.
When the Pope arrived, over 150,000 pilgrims from around the
world rose to their feet and simultaneously clapped and cheered. We
sat and listened to his address about the strength that encompasses
the youth of the world, and how we are the ones responsible for
telling the world of God’s wonders. I truly believe I was moved by
the Holy Spirit; not only with his words of wisdom, but the
adoration session that followed as well. The entire crowd was also
led in a candle light vigil that was accompanied by the theme song
“Receive the Power,” which we all sang in unison. It was such a
wonderful experience that will forever hold a place in my heart.
After his departure we all settled into our sleeping bags tightly
together and let the Spirit reign within us all as one. No matter
how cold or loud or tired; we were all there to become the
witnesses God wanted us to be.