Pilgrimage 2011 Part VI: Reality and Peace

I need to start out this post with a little youtube video clip. The scene comes from the recent film, Rise of the Planet of the Apes. If you're at all familiar with the original classic movie starring Charlton Heston, then you know that in that movie, his character Taylor crash lands on a mysterious planet (spoiler: it's earth in the future) where humans are slaves to sentient, thinking, talking monkeys. The most recent film kinda/sorta/maybe explains how that all came about. Just imagine: you, a scientist, starts giving a monkey this experimental drug that's supposed to cure Alzheimer's disease. You then notice that the monkey is getting incredibly smart, incredibly fast. Then this happens:

Pilgrimage 2011 Part V: The Nature of It

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted. My bad. School and all that...it's been a month and a half since I've gotten back from pilgrimage. Hopefully, some of you are still interested in what went on over there.
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The week I spent in Madrid was incredible. Because I relied on God so much and let him into my daily life in Madrid, His grace was able to transform me.

In what was probably the smartest move, the Spanish WYD planning team decided to make an English-speaking centre, titled "The Love and Life Centre." Every day, the centre would have concerts and catechesis in the morning, mass and question/discussion panels in the afternoon, and more prayer events and concerts in the evening - all for English speaking pilgrims. Sure, we english speakers had the option to traverse around Spain finding other catechesis/mass sites that were in english...but then, we wouldn't have been able to take part in the awesomeness at the Love and Life Centre, that could host 15,000 people.

Pilgrimage 2011 Part IV: Pick a Side

So! Finally, after asking for the intercession of our Heavenly Mother in Medugorje, and after using those graces to push me through Days in the Diocese in Valencia, Spain, I finally arrived with my parish group in Madrid, Spain, for World Youth Day. It was, in one word: awesome. And I mean that in the true sense of the word. The whole week spent in Madrid opened my eyes and my heart to the wonder of God, and I was left in a state of awe. I fell in love with Him again.

Pilgrimage 2011 Part III: Pressing On

There is no way for me to describe my Valencia portion of the pilgrimage except in a very travel log-ish way. You'll see.

After Medugorje, I went to Valencia, Spain for my Days in the Diocese (Aug. 11th to 14th), which is the celebratory days leading up to WYD organized in neighbouring dioceses. 

Everyone say "Hello Valencia!"

By this point, I had split from the group that went to Medugorje, Holy Trinity Parish (they went to Peralta for their DID), and had joined up with my own parish, Christ the Redeemer. Valencia was difficult. It was difficult not because there was a lot of overt spiritual formation happening or being given to us, but because there was a distinct lack of overt spirituality, further made apparent by poor organization by the diocese and a lack of a sense of welcome.

Pilgrimage 2011 Part II: The Breaking Point

Where was I? Ah yes: 2 rosaries back-to-back can be uncomfortable, if you aren't used to it. But after my spasm upon realization that we WERE saying a second rosary before mass, I squeezed out a "Thank you God, for this second rosary. I want this." And I prayed the Sorrowful mysteries, albeit a bit distracted, along with the 60,000 other faithful in Medugorje.

Makani had told us that the first week or so would be particularly tricky. He warned us that our words of "I want this, God" would not be matching what our hearts really felt. But he told us to persevere. And I didn't always have a rebellion towards my circumstances...it was a bit of a rollercoaster.

Pilgrimage 2011 Part I: The Beginning of the End

Before I left for Europe, I wrote a blog entitled "Whatever Happens, Happens", concerning a hermit named Makani Marquis, and his talk to Vancouver pilgrims about the omnipotence and omniscience of God. If God is God, then He is the most powerful being in the universe, and anything that happens to us happens because He either directly or permissively wills it. And if we truly get into a state of accepting what God places before us and want it, then we will find an immense sense of peace. I wanted to take all of that to heart on my pilgrimage this summer. I wanted this to be a true pilgrimage; an offering of myself to God, and in that way, constantly praying to Him.

Makani also said that we need to make ourselves open to that peaceful acceptance. And so I listened to him wholeheartedly! I brought a camera to take some pictures, but I left my cellphone, my iPod, and my laptop at home. I didn't even bring a watch. And so there I was, getting on the plane, with no creature comforts. It felt very weird for the first few days. I kept freaking out because I would feel my pocket expecting a Nokia, but it would be empty. I would want to listen to music on my iPod, but instead had to talk constantly to people, really take in the surroundings, or - God forbid - pray.

Pilgrimage 2011: A Mini-series (Introduction)

I landed in Vancouver just 3 days ago, after having spent 4 weeks in Europe on pilgrimage. I went to Vienna to catch up with old friends. I travelled by bus (13 hours) to Medugorje, Bosnia, for the yearly youth festival. And as the climax of the pilgrimage, I travelled to Valencia, Spain for Days in the Diocese, and then to Madrid, Spain for World youth Day 2011.