World Youth Day (WYD) is a gathering of young people from all over the world with the Pope. It is at the same time a pilgrimage, a celebration of youth, an expression of the universal Church, and a powerful moment of evangelization for the world of youth. It is an invitation to a generation determined to build a more just and united world.
“Mary arose and went with haste” (Lk 1:39) is the bible quote chosen by Pope Francis as the motto of the World Youth Day that will be held for the first time in the capital city of Lisbon, Portugal. The biblical phrase opens the account of the Visitation, a biblical episode following the Annunciation. Mary of Nazareth is the great figure of the Christian journey. She teaches us to say yes to God. She was the protagonist of the last edition of WYD and will be so once again in Lisbon.
Members from CWB arrived in Lisbon on July 31st. For some, it was their first time meeting in person so they were really excited. With that same excitement, we wanted to start our blog post, but before that we wanted to meditate with a really fascinating phrase from Angele Regnier.
“As you deal with your own fears, know that the living and active sword is there for you! The Lord will give you a Scripture verse for your situation. It’s the living Word of God. It’s always speaking, and there are always new treasures to be found.”
The narrations of the resurrection often use two verbs: to wake up and to get up. Through them, the Lord urges us to go out into the light, to allow ourselves to be led by Him to overcome the threshold of all our closed doors. The Mother of the Lord is a model for young people on the move, for those who do not remain still in front of the mirror contemplating their own image, nor get absorbed in social media. She is entirely focused outwardly. She is the Paschal woman, in a permanent state of exodus, going out of herself towards the Other, with a capital “O,” which is God, and towards others, brothers and sisters, especially the needy, just as her cousin Elizabeth was at that time.
Please continue to pray for the learning of our pilgrims and for the Pope’s intentions.