Louland T. Escabusa, CICM
Much has been said about the recently concluded World Youth Day. Yet, with the impact of the event and the richness of the experience it offers not just to young people but to the whole Church, there is still so much more that ought to be said. So, here is my take on the WYD 2023, held in Lisbon, Portugal in early August.
My confrère, Joseph Gao and I, formed a group of 17 young people for this event. Save for one who is from St. Benedict’s Church, all our members are from parishes where our congregation, the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary [CICM], is serving [nien from Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Taipo; five from St. James’ Church, Yau Tong; two from Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Pok Fu Lam]. We were composed of students [who had to secure schoolwork in-between] and young professionals: most of us were first-timers for the World Youth Day.
It served us well that our group started our formation for preparations in March to bond as a group, to raise funds, to pray together. At one point the meetings were every week. When we were in Lisbon, it was visible that there was an overarching attention by members to look after one another.
There in Lisbon, it was easy to be lost in the sea of pilgrims who flooded the streets, subways, and venues. Everywhere we went, droves and droves of young people were with us. I felt sorry to the local people for the inconvenience we caused and for putting to a halt to their normal lives. However, it was not a crowd we were forming. There was an air of joy everywhere. The energy of the young is superlative as they wore and waved their flags and shouted the countries where they came.
Exchanges, not just of pleasantries and souvenirs, but stories of faith and of life, were common. Many groups of pilgrims chanted cheers along subways; burst songs of praises on the streets; and spontaneously danced their ways to the venues. On many occasions, it felt like a celebration. It was a celebration—of life, of faith from different nations.
To see the flag of Hong Kong waving among a hundred other flags brought me so much pride and joy. For we who are involved in youth ministry, to see them participate in the event and experience the joy of being a believer with fellow believers in World Youth Day, is a crowning glory.
Our young people have so much to deal with at their level: pressure from school, from the family, and work. But they have so much to offer, too. This is very clear in our group considering the involvement and contribution of some from the planning, booking, plotting our itinerary, and navigating the places on its realisation. We may not be as many as the pilgrims from Spain [the most at around 40,000]; or as expressive as the Latinos, but we were there. It is already a big difference.
In one his interviews prior to WYD Pope Francis explained why he chose “Mary arose and went with haste”[Luke 1:39] as the theme for World Youth Day, saying that Mary’s attitude is a lesson for all her peers, for “as soon as Mary knew she was going to be the mother of God, she didn’t stay there taking a selfie or showing off.” Rather, “The first thing she did was to set out on a journey, in haste, to serve, to help.”
Our group also joined the Rise Up Encounters, the World Youth Day catechesis which challenges young people to reflect on major themes like Integral Ecology, Social Friendship, and Mercy. On the mornings of the second to the fourth day, these Rise Up Encounters took place in the church assigned to us. They were organised by language.
For Cantonese, it was our own Bishop Stephen Chow Sau Yan, SJ, who led us into these reflections. It was also an occasion for us to be with the pilgrims from our diocese, as well as with other Cantonese-speaking pilgrims.
I must say that many from our group considered Rise Up Encounters as one of the high points in the entire participation, especially the third day. On the third day when we reflected on Mercy, we had the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, confessions, and Eucharistic celebration.
One shared that it is a different level of joy to worship and join the Mass in big numbers, but the encounter with Jesus is more intimate and personal in small ones. I like it when they themselves expressed the connection they felt because that is one of the things we hoped for in participating in the World Youth Day: to meet him, to strengthen and to renew our commitment to him, or find from him answers to the questions that bothers our hearts and minds.
As a priest who joined the World Youth Day, one of the highlights of my participation was helping in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. On the third day of the Rise Up Encounters, we had the grace to hear the confessions of Cantonese-speaking pilgrims in the church where we were assigned. The day before that, Joseph and I also went to Reconciliation Park for our scheduled confessions.
Reconciliation Park had 150 confessionals, built by prisoners from the northwest of Portugal. They “were built with sustainability and inclusion in mind, using recycled material, which will be used again after the event.”The pope himself administered the sacrament to three pilgrims there.
On the day that we went there, as with any other venue, we had to fall in line with other priests who came to confirm their presence for confessions.
The line was long but it was encouraging to see that the line of pilgrims waiting to confess was much longer. Fervour renewed to see many pilgrims patiently waiting for their turn to confess. Through this sacrament, the pilgrims were called to experience the love and mercy of our Lord, and many headed the call.
In the end, the joy felt far outweighs all the inconvenience. When the body recovers from exhaustion, the joy permeates the soul. And when we are joyful, we forget our own needs
Another moving event for me was during the vigil night before the Missioning Mass on the last day. As the August evening covered Lisbon, more than 1.5 million of us gathered in Parque Tejo to celebrate the vigil with Pope Francis.
Before the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, there were reflective stage performances, stories of encounters and transformation conveyed through music and dance.
Naturally, the venue is loud and noisy. But the moment the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament started, the whole place which contained more than 1.5 million of us, fell into absolute silence. No one was talking, no background music; nothing but silence. One could almost hear one’s heartbeat. It was easy to be overwhelmed by the size and number of pilgrims. A sheer presence in the multitude is enough to feel the grace of the event.
But equally overwhelming were joyful, silent moments such as this. It is in knowing that we journey with other young people in our search for answers to our questions that makes the event remarkable. The event is meaningful when we realise the companionship that is there as we struggle for strength and renewal.
What makes the event life-changing are the encounters we have with Jesus, felt in the silence of hearts as he travels with us on the pilgrimage of our lives.
I have a good number of close friends who have joined World Youth Day more than once. Whenever they shared their experience, they were always beaming with joy.
They seemed to forget that the event is physically exhausting as it involves a lot of walking. They seemed to forget the late-night sleep and early-morning calls. They do not mention the struggle in reaching a venue because of the sea of pilgrims who are going the same way. There is no mention of the amount of time spent in waiting for meals, for your companions, for anything. And I guess, they were right.
In the end, the joy felt far outweighs all the inconvenience. When the body recovers from exhaustion, the joy permeates the soul. And when we are joyful, we forget our own needs.
To quote the pope, “Mary arose and went with haste. Mary did something that was not asked of her, something that she really did not have to do. Why? Because she loved, and whoever loves flies, runs, and rejoices. Joy is missionary! So, each of us has the duty to bring that joy to others.”
