Wherein the Pope Waves at Me

A picnic lunch in the middle of the road, sitting under the watch of a policeman for two hours, feet kicking my bum while I stretch out on blacktop: it doesn't sound like  a great night.

But when Benedict XVI passed by, I jumped and waved like a preteen meeting Justin Bieber. I had thought I would cry, but instead, shocked that I'd seen one of my favorite spiritual writers, the leader of my Church, the symbol of our unity, I turned to Mrs. Bird: "Wha-wha - did you see that? That was the POPE! That was the Pope!"

Posted by Sarah

"Queridos amigos"

"Beloved friends," Benedict XVI began his address to the pilgrims gathered for the World Youth Day Vigil last night. Young people from the North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia milled around Cuatro Vientos all day, braving a crush of bodies, temperatures over 100 degrees Farenheit, and clouds of dust and rocks in the shadeless sleeping area, all vying for a good spot to celebrate Mass with the Pope today. And, boy, was I glad to watch from my room.

When I woke up yesterday morning, I did not think I could walk the pilgrimage to Cuatro Vientos, even after three cups of coffee.  My feet ached; my head ached; I could barely open my bleary eyes.  At Mass, I prayed for the grace to know my limitations, and I decided that I could do this; I had to do this for Christ crucified, for all the pilgrims who had braved worse conditions over the centuries.  And I especially had to do this for all people who were forced to make similar journeys.  In El Salvador this semester, I'd learned about the guindas during the civil war, when people were forced to flee from their own homes, hiding in the mountains from soldiers and bombs, walking for weeks to refugee camps where conditions were not much safer. This would be easy in comparison, a voluntary guinda in solidarity with refugees everywhere.

With this in mind, our suffocating metro ride and our trek in the unwavering sun to the vigil site was bearable.  We arrived at Cuatro Vientos around 3:30 p.m. and found D5, our sleeping area.  It was already full.  A fine, dry dust blew into our eyes, our noses, our teeth.  We set up our sleeping bags next to a fence, on the side of the road, rocks hard against our backs.

On Closed Metro Stops and Spilled Hot Chocolate

Hope in the kindness of strangers should not be lost. That is what I learned after Friday evening touring the Plaza Mayor and Plaza del Sol here in Madrid. All week our group had been trying to find a good place to get authentic tapas in Spain. Tapas are sort of like American appetizers, but traditionally the Spanish order a bunch of these little plates and share them around the table for their meal...both delicious and community-building!

We decided to try the Plaza Mayor and found a little pub on a street right off the Plaza that had a lot of charm and character. The host was extremely welcoming and grabbed our Betsy Ross flag and led us to our table. We each ordered an entree and a plate of tapas to share with various culinary delights, including fried prawns, crab pate, chorizo, and blood pudding. Some of our group was brave enough to try everything on the plate...I was not. As we were finishing, we heard a lot of commotion in the street outside the window. Crowding around, we saw a group of demonstrators, which made all of us very nervous. The host sensed some panic, so he came over to calm us down and assure us that it was nothing personal against us Catholics. Some people in Spain are protesting the cost that ensued from hosting World Youth Day. He told us that we should not be scared; if we walked out calmly and stayed together in a group, we would be absolutely fine. His attention to our needs really meant a lot to us.

The commotion died down as we left, but security was tight on every street we entered. Right before exiting the Plaza to find a Metro stop, someone in our group saw an advertisement for a little shop selling churros. Now, I had been raving about trying Spanish churros since we got to Madrid. When I was in high school, I saw Samantha Brown eating churros and hot chocolate in Madrid on the Travel Channel. Spanish hot chocolate is as thick as Hersheys syrup, and you are supposed to dunk these fried strips of dough into it to soak it up. When I saw Samantha enjoying them, I swore to myself that one day I would do the same. Someone told us we would not be able to get them in the summer, so I did not have my hopes up, but seeing this shop, everyone knew we had to stop. We exited with our bag of twelve fried donuts and liter of thick, rich chocolate and promptly spilled the chocolate all over the street in front of the store. One of the waiters saw what happened and led Sarah inside to give her a new bottle on the house. Once again, our spirits were lifted by the generosity of a stranger looking out for us.

We loaded our group on the Metro bound for a station near our hotel and rode in the crowded train with people from all countries chanting for their homeland and for ¨Benedicto!" As we left the Metro with a few women from Spain, we came to a halt where the turnstiles were roped off with police tape. The women with us, sensing some confusion and probably more than a little bit of stress, offered us directions in English to get back on the Metro to a station nearby. In the midst of a stressul, anxiety-ridden evening, it was so nice to have people around us who were helpful and sensitive to our needs in a strange city. Knowing this kindness was one piece of preparation for the vigil, but you will have to read our next blog to find out more about that adventure.

Posted by Kate

Photos of Catechsis and Mass at the Love and Life Center

Oh, And You Thought I Was Done Talking About Loyola!

We celebrated Mass in the Basilica after I visited the Holy House, and how could I let you miss that?

The St. Ignatius Basilica is GORGEOUS.

Well what else do you expect of Baroque architecture?  Baroque art was part of the Catholic Counter Reformation in response to the (you guessed it) Protestant Reformation. At the Council of Trent (1545-1563), the Church encouraged artists to return to dramatic and emotive art, emphasizing the grandeur and beauty of God and the Church.  With Baroque art, there's no such thing as "too much;" if you want to put dozens of cherubs and saints and marble inlay and gold everywhere, you got it right.  And the architect who built the St. Ignatius Basilica got it right.

We entered the Basilica a collective, "Oh!" Our necks craned upward, eyes dancing over every surface, stunned by the overwhelming beauty and detail in every corner.  I tripped several times; I think that's how to recognize good Baroque architecture: you forget to look where you're going.

The contrast of light and dark in the Basilica - very Baroque - was quite evident.  Although colors like burgandy and evergreen dominate the walls, the gold accents and sunlight streaming through the dome create contrast, reflecting the high stakes of faith that many felt during the Reformation and Counter Reformation. 

But the beauty of the Basilica did not limit itself to things seen.  Every time we spoke or sang, the sound echoed in clear voice for several seconds after.  And each time, I stood smiling, not wanting to continue speaking until the echo had finished, prolonging the celebration of the Mass for the sheer joy of that sound. 

Posted by Sarah, with thanks to Kate Ressel as Art History Consultant

Complete Surrender: My experience with Blessed Mother Teresa

Up until now, this pilgrimage has been an excercise in the unknown and the unexpected. Based on God's penchant for pushing us out of our comfort zones, this makes complete sense.  However, perhaps one of my most powerful experiences stemmed not from stumbling on a cathedral that I had no clue existed, though believe me there have been some inspirational cathedrals, but rather on careful reflection on the life of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a true saint of our times who I have grown up hearing about my entire life. 
Located gloriously near our hotel, a blessing to our travel-weary group of pilgrims, The travelling museum exhibit, "Mother Teresa: Life, Spirituality, and Message" contains photos, a comprehensive telling of Mother Teresa's story--often in her own words and relics.  It also offers pilgrims a chance to pray and reflect on the inspirational example of Mother Teresa by providing a place of prayer. 
Blessed Mother Teresa's life truly corresponds to what has proven to be a major theme of World Youth Day: having the faith to totally abandon oneself to the will of God.  "I surrender myself completely to the good God's disposal" reads one of the first quotes of the exhibit.  Mother Teresa stands as a dynamic example of blind faith in the will of the Father.  From her initial answering of God's call to become a religious sister with the express vocation of spreading the love of Christ as a missionary, to her later deeper understanding of her vocation to form the Missionaries of Charity and carry the light of Christ into the slums of the world by serving the poor of the poor, Mother Teresa was always willing to give everything over to God.  The exhibit reveals that Mother Teresa made a private vow early in her ministry never to hold back anything from Christ--or suffer the pain of mortal sin.  I found myself inspired and almost intimiated by this demonstration of reckless abandonment to God. 
The exhibit goes into great depth dealing with what Mother Teresa came to call "The Darkness," that period of her life when she felt completely cut off from Christ.  It is perhaps one of the most profound examples of the so-called, "Dark night of the soul."  After her death, the media made much of this period in Mother Teresa's life, almost as if they were trying to discredit her faith in God.  The exhibit, however, shows this "Darkness" for what it truly was and how Mother Teresa eventually came to be thankful for it.  In this period of intense interior desolation, Christ was allowing Mother Teresa to experience the deep sorrow and anguish He himself felt at the plight of the poor who lived without Him.
Mother Teresa was truly a modern saint and one of the most powerful elements of the exhibit is to see the fruits of her labors alive and well.  The Missionaries of Charity are constantly walking around the exhibit and are happy to talk and answer questions.  One sister from the Czech Republic took a picture with members of our group and recalled her experience as a small girl of seeing Mother Teresa years ago when she visited her country. The sister's face lit up as she recalled the encounter.
We are called to be Christ to the earth; to serve as He served and to love as He loved.  One sees this truly in the life of Mother Teresa.  The exhibit opens with a picture of the children of Calcutta.  They are looking at Mother Teresa with eyes that brim with tears, trust, and love.  Even though it is the only picture in the exhibit that Mother Teresa doesn't appear in directly, it is the most accurate picture of her I have ever seen.  In fact, it is perhaps such a beautiful portrait because she doesn't appear in it.  Mother Teresa did not care about leaving a legacy by which she would be remembered and glorified, she cared about doing the work of Christ on earth.  That is what the photo shows.  I realized as I stared at that picture that this is precisely how children would have looked at Christ.   Then it struck me, the children in the picture are.

Videos From the Mass at the Basilica in San Sebastian