João ChagasVatican WYD official: "Young people will be more involved than in previous editions".Ten years of WYD in Madrid: a manifestation of faith for Spain and the worldLaura belongs to a parish in Madrid, where she has been a catechist for teenagers for several years. She will go to the WYD Lisbon with the group of pilgrims from his parish. In this interview with Omnes, he tells us with a lively faith about his experience in a previous WYD and his wishes for the next one.
Have you been to a WYD before? What was your experience?
I was alone at WYD 2011, in Madrid, I was 17 years old. I remember a very nice moment. During a prayer we sat next to pilgrims from another language. It was a very hot day, we were thirsty and hungry, and they said to us: "Do you want some cake? It's a super small gesture, but I thought: "These people don't know us at all and they are offering us from their table". We started snacking with them and talking, as much as the language allowed. I found it very nice to see that language was not a barrier to sharing with each other, and to see how we had everything in common. It reminded me of the gospel of the first Christians, who put everything in common.
Another thing that impressed me a lot was how many people from Madrid who did not have faith approached us and asked us questions when we were on the bus or walking along the streets. The testimony of the Christians, seeing so many groups, the joy, challenged the people of Madrid who did not live the faith. The simple fact of living, of being together, of bringing His joy was already questioning for others.
Then I also remember that I was impressed by the echo it had in my family, who, although they don't go to the parish very often, started to welcome pilgrims. In fact, we still have a relationship with the pilgrims we welcomed at home. To see in my family that generosity, that welcome, how they took care of them, was also a testimony for me, to see that they were open to welcome those whom God sends.
I also remember the moment in Cuatro Vientos, when we were next to the fence and the police were there, there were whirlwinds that carried away the mats and with the storm several towers fell down. The police at the fence were astonished, they told us: "It is unthinkable that this meeting would take place in any other circumstances. It is obvious that you are Christians. For any other event with the same number of people we would have needed four times more police equipment".
Then, they exposed Jesus, the Holy Hour began, and suddenly we all knelt down and that moment of anguish, of uncertainty, calmed down. His peace was experienced very strongly. It reminds me of the gospel of the calm storm, Christ was present there, in that monstrance. We all knelt down and it was like feeling his peace.
What are your expectations for WYD? Lisbon 2023?
My greatest desire is to welcome the seed that He wants to plant in me. It is a moment in which I feel that Jesus is going to pour out His grace, and He is going to plant seeds, with the generosity that characterizes Him. I want to have the soil open to be able to welcome His word and what He wants to tell me through the Church, prayer and the simple events of the pilgrimage. And then I also have a great desire to live it in community with the young people of the parish. May Christ be the center and may He be the one who truly unites us to one another.
I think WYD can be an opportunity. There are many young people who do not normally come to the parish and have signed up because their cousin, their friend is coming... Or young people who used to come some time ago and have stopped coming. I really want them to meet Jesus, to get to know him, to be able to transmit his love to them, and that what has changed my life will also change theirs. For me the parish has been the place where I have had my relationship and my life with Jesus, and I would like to be able to open the Church to others, so that others may experience that the Church is a mother and that there they may encounter Life in capital letters.
How are you preparing for WYD?
The Gospel of the sower is coming to me very well, I am praying a lot with it. Because Christ sows on the roadside, on stony ground... His generosity is such that he sows everywhere, but it is up to us to take care of that land. If I really want to welcome his Word, great, but I will have to take care of the land, remove the weeds, oxygenate it, fertilize it... And that is a daily work, it is not going to WYD to take that seed, but already today I want to live like that, taking care of that relationship with Jesus and widening my heart.
I am also praying a lot with Gethsemane, I have it very present, and I was amazed reading the Gospel of Luke that there is a moment in which it says: "Jesus went up to the Mount of Olives, as was his custom". As it was customary! He doesn't say, "Okay, it's the time of the betrayal, I'm going to the Mount of Olives." No, He was going to the Mount of Olives as usual. That moment of surrender is the culmination of a daily surrender. Praying with this Gospel, Jesus said to me: "Laura, I live this moment of surrender, of prayer, of abandonment to the Father every day". I want this "as usual" of Jesus to be my "as usual".
