Would you like to win an

Armagh Diocesan Youth Ministry WYD fleece?! 

If you haven’t seen the fleece in real life you will be able to see it when you browse through our photos.  It comes in a beautiful night forest black colour with orange print and is still available in a couple of sizes. 

The fleece will be awarded to the best caption for the picture below.  Captions will be posted on the comments for this page but rememebr that the editor screens for suitability!!

So get thinking!!

It is hard to believe that the WYD week is over and Pope Benedict XVI has left Australia.  The group have had a great time and have all developed in their faith.  Most of us are ready getting ready to go home and some of the group have already begun their travels around Australia.

World Youth Day week is always packed and it has been impossible to find time to update the blog during this time.  The theme for this year’s World Youth Day was “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8).  It was a wonderful theme with many challenges put to young people throughout the world.  Fr Brian and I intend to put up some of the faith experiences and insights the group have been given during their time in New Zealand and Australia.  So take  another look in at the end of the week and hopefully we will have had time to put up more photos, videos and reflections.

If I were to highlight one major thing to affect the whole group it would be a new understanding of the sacrament of reconciliation.  Many of the group had an opportunity to experience this sacrament in a new light through discussion with Frs Brian, Liam and Zeb and with  Ryan McAleer one of our diocesan seminarians.

Do keep posted for some of our reflections on our return home and thanks for keeping track of us.

Kate

This is the first Mass we had together as a group since leaving Belfast on the 6^th July.  The readings and prayers were chosen to speak to the group’s mood.  There was a great deal of home sickness and tiredness after all the travel.  Although they were enjoying themselves there was a feeling of just being physically here but no more.  Fr Brian relayed this message to the group

Often we let the readings fly over our head when at Mass.  We use it as an opportunity to look around and see who is here, what they are wearing and to find out what colour Richy has in his hair this morning (Richy has a streak in hir hair that he changes every couple of days).  But the readings are symbolic and today’s have been chosen with a clear message.

The first reading began with ‘Now during those days the disciples were increasing in numbers’  That was true for us.  In New Zealand we were just a group of 64.  Now we are in St Charles Borromeo we have joined the young people from Kildare and Leighlin.  We will also be joined by more irish groups and by people from Spain and different countries as well as Ireland.  When we go down to the town today we will be joined by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims.  Indeed we are increasing in numbers.

WYD can be a hectic time of hustle and bustle so we pray in the Psalm ‘Keep me safe, O God, you are my hope’  During these days that is our prayer.  That the Lord will keep us safe and keep us right.

The Gospel was about living in Christ and questioning ‘where do we live?’  When we are at WYD home is very important.  We leave our homes and families behind which can leave us feeling homesick, nostalgic and wanting the things we have left behind.  We thank God for the generous welcome we have received from the people in this parish and we hope we will be excellent advocates of our country, parish and families.  That when we leave people will be saying how great the irish pilgrims were.

But in today’s gospel, Jesus is asking us to make our home in him.  He wants us to go out and celebrate our faith with joy.  To be joyful to walk in his footsteps and celebrate that joy. 

Over the next few days each one of us will be filled by the joys of the Holy Spirit in different aspects of our faith.  We will be touched in joy, in hope, in fun and in prayer. 

Ultimately we come to WYD and these celebrations so we may make our home in Christ.  Our hearts are restless until we rest in you O God.  In these next few days it is in him that we find our home.

And so we bring ourselves to this Mass.  Maybe we are a bit homesick.  We bring that to our Mass.  We ask that we find our home in Christ in love and in hope.  We pray that as we look at the people around us we may journey with joy and with love.

I feel like I have been neglecting you all this week.  Don’t worry, we are still here!!

It dawned on me yesterday that finishing this blog on our return home is unlikely.  There is so much happening here and I still haven’t had the chance to let you know about all the input we have been given through homilies and catechesis.

The WYD programme is well underway.  So far we have

• - Started our week in Sydney together with Mass for the Armagh Group (see Fr Brian’s words on Monday morning)
• - Spent Monday relaxing in Sydney (when some of the group went to the Zoo and others took a look around the town
• - Mixed and mingled with young people from various cultures by Sydney Harbour
• - Celebrated Mass in Barrangaroo with hundreds of thousands of young people. Cardinal George Pell was the celebrant and his message will follow later.
• - Been to one morning of catechesis led by Cardinal Murphy O’Connor. Cardinal Brady arrived at our catechesis yesterday and celebrated Mass with Cardinal Murphy O’Connor. It’s a great boost for the group to see our own Cardinal among the Cardinals from throughout the world.
• - Played a game of Aussie rules with some other irish pilgrims
• - Mixed with other young people in Hyde Park and
• - Not had very much sleep!!!

I have to say I have noticed that the group are very attentive to the messages given to them here.  The atmosphere in the large gatherings is great with loads of bands and talks for the young people to be a part of.

All the irish groups arrived safely.

After more travelling (another 5 hour bus journey and 3 hour plane ride) the group have arrived in Sydney.  I can’t believe we are here already.  It doesn’t seem like three years since we were in Cologne!

After a wee bit of changing around for variety everyone has been introduced to their new hosts and we have all spent our first night there.  The weather here is a bit like a bad summer day ay home.  The locals are cold but we are grand.

Last night the parish held their fortnightly Lifeteen Mass which we all attended and the young people attending WYD were commissioned.  Bishop Jim Moriarty from Kildare and Leighlin celebrated the Mass.  Our host parish is also host to Kildare and Leighlin, Clogher and Down and Connor so there is no chance of us missing the accents at home!  It is great to see so many young people at all the liturgies and gives us a taster of what is to come.

The journey from Christchurch was long starting with a pick up at 3.20am from our hostel and arriving in the parish at 9.30am (Sydney is 2 hours behind Christchurch).  Today we hope to get our bearings a bit more and head into the centre of Sydney to get a feel for the place.  The WYD programme begins tomorrow so it will be nice to see around when there are not so many crowds.  After Mass in the parish at 10am we will split into two groups with one set hopefully climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the rest heading to the zoo.  In the evening we will have a BBQ where we get the chance to meet all the pilgrims hosted in St Charles’ Parish and also the local parishioners.

I still haven’t had the chance to work out the video but I’ll hopefully get a go today.  Everyone here is well.  There is a bit of homesickness which is a combination of the long journey and the fact that we are so far away from home but as a whole we are grand.

Boy but time just flies!!  It seems like we only arrived in New Zealand yesterday and now we are getting ready to journey towards Sydney tomorrow morning.

We had a big ceili this evening in Hope Hall and everyone had a ball.  Check out our photos.  I think the most hilarious thing is that we all had to head out to Sydney to learn how to ceili dance!!!  The caller was amazing.  How she managed to get order out of all of us was beyond me.  A few of our young people got up to sing and play as did some of our New Zealand counterparts.  Well done to you all.  As well as the dancing we were well fed with different foods representing the cultures of the parish and some beautiful desserts.

What else have we done since I last wrote?  Well we were at mercy of the weather (not too unusual for us Irish) so the kayaking and grass planting was only possible on Thursday.  As a result everyone who really wanted to kayak got the opportunity on Thursday and the rest were planting grass on the beach before heading out with their host families.

“Why grass planting?” I hear you ask.  Well part of the Days in the Dioceses includes carrying out a social project day where the group give something back to the local community in exchange for their hospitality.  This environmental project in Nelson will prevent the erosion of the beach area and protect homes and wildlife on the shores and in the sea.  It is groundbreaking work apparently as other grasses planted in other countries have not proven successful.

At the same time as the planting the rest of the group went kayaking and walking in Abel Tasmin National Park.  It was a glorious day and a great time was had by all.  There were many tired eyes at the liturgy on Thursday evening but the group still managed to go out afterwards and take over the local irish bar.  By the sounds of it and the look of the pictures our group were the evening entertainment!!!

Today the weather wasn’t great and the group who were supposed to plant grass were unable to.  There were three activities in the local area organised for those who had not been canoeing so the grass planters were offered to join them or to spend the day with their families.  Those who opted for this mystery tour were brought to World of Wearable Art & Classic Cars Museum (where they saw a 50’s style dress made of cotton buds), then onto the Aquarium and finally on a winery tour and tasting.  I have put in a slideshow below of all these antics.

Archbisop John Dew flew to Nelson this afternoon to celebrate Mass with the people of Nelson and especially with the pilgrims travelling to Sydney from Nelson and Blenheim parishes and the Archdiocese of Armagh.  I videoed the Procession of the Gift for you as it is very different to something we would have at home and Fr Brian has a video interview with the Bishop which Annie McMahon kindly played interviewer for.  I hope to get the Bishop’s interview onto the computer tomorrow and onto the blog on Sunday.  If I manage to work it out I will post the Presentation of the Gifts video before I leave for Christchurch today.

The young people are not looking forward to tomorrow.  The families here have been so great.  Many of them said they feel like they were at home and it will be hard to leave.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those families who hosted the young people from the Archdiocese.  You have opened your homes to us so readily and joyfully and for this we will always be grateful.  May God bless you all the days of your life.