Before World Youth Day I knew the term “offer it up,” but I always had difficulty putting it into practice. By taking up my cross my eyes were opened and I was given a new perspective that helped me become more aware of the crosses in my life so that I could better offer up any discomfort or affliction for the benefit of others. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “By His passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to Him and unite us with His redemptive Passion.”
God tested my faith many more times during World Youth Day, but by inviting God into the troubling times, and by focusing on His cross in order to bear my own, I was able to persevere and trust that God would get me through.
I was challenged to “rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks in every circumstance” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) whether I faced the fatigue from lack of sleep, frustration with the language barrier, the blisters on my feet or the long journey in the sweltering heat toward the vigil and closing Mass site at Cuatro Vientros.
We can all learn a lesson from the reaction of pilgrims to the surprise storm that hit during the overnight vigil with the Holy Father. Even though the youth were battered by pouring rain and harsh winds, they stood firm in their faith, praying with conviction that God would carry them through the storm. We all have storms in our lives, and whether the storm is a drizzle or a hurricane, keeping our eyes fixed on the cross can give us the strength to praise God in our sufferings — to take up our cross and follow Him.
(Walsh, 21, is a primary and elementary education student at Memorial University in St. John’s, Nfld.)
Embracing her cross at World Youth Day
By Michelle Walsh, Youth Speak News
If it were up to me, Madrid would not have been my first choice for World Youth Day. Unlike most people, I am not a fan of the heat. In fact, I am slightly heat intolerant. When I found out I would be taking this pilgrimage, I knew it would be a challenge and that God would somehow use this trip to teach me how to take up and embrace my daily cross.
God took His first opportunity during the opening Mass when I began to get overheated, weak and overwhelmed by the crowd. Nearly fainting from heat exhaustion, all I could do was pray the words, “Jesus help me, Mary protect me.”
After my group fought its way through the crowd, we found refuge in an air-conditioned restaurant where others nursed me back to health with the help of some pilgrims from Ireland. Throughout my sufferings, God gave me the grace and strength to rejoice amidst the chaos and offer up my weakness for the conversion of the youth at World Youth Day. I was inspired by the way my friends and fellow Catholics came together to help me and I found myself thanking God for allowing me to be a victim — something I had never been able to do before.
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