After World Youth Day in Rio

Very official looking banner at the street where they usually do parades like for Carnaval

It's been a few weeks since I was in Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day. I had a rough time upon returning! I got back home in the middle of the afternoon Wednesday, a few days after the closing Mass. The very next day, I went to work. That Thursday and Friday was rough because I hadn't yet returned to a normal sleeping schedule. And because I make some ridiculous Catholic decisions sometimes... that Friday after I returned, I went to a young adult Catholic conference at a nearby parish! Had that all weekend! In brief summary of that conference, I liked the keynote speaker, the workshops were helpful, but more importantly, it was great for networking!

Well, Aggie Network-ing works too #AggieCatholics

Narwhal flu?!

So, because of the constant rain and being out and about in that rain nearly every day while we were in Rio, members of my group got sick. You know, usual cold and cough stuff. Praise God that I didn't get sick while we were Rio-ing it up, but I definitely became sick after we returned home! Again, typical cold and cough stuff. Nothing exotic like some sort of animal flu from...I don't know...Peru or something.



So yeah, it was rough after getting back from Rio. But now that I'm recovered and have caught up on sleep (mostly), and now that I've had some time living a post-World Youth Day life, I've had some time reflecting on how it has impacted me.

First, let's get the usual awkward question out of the way.

But let's have a prequel! A flashback!

So last year during Texas' tax-free weekend, I was out and about looking for new shoes and more specifically, new and good shoes for walking around for my trip to Rio de Janeiro a year later (yes, after my executive decision to go, I started making material preparations (and yes, those shoes worked out great)). But in the process of selecting those pair of shoes in the store, I ran into a high school friend that I hadn't seen in a long while. Insert small talk and brief catching up. While the purpose in visiting a shoe store doesn't leave much to be asked as to why we found ourselves in this shoe store, the obvious question was still asked by my friend as to why I was purchasing new shoes. I awkwardly and gladly explained that these new shoes were for lots of walking during World Youth Day. Thankfully my friend already had an idea of what World Youth Day is because her older sister went once and came back wanting to be Catholic (their family isn't Catholic). Not only Catholic but super Catholic. Insert awkward laughter. But then my friend asked me ...

...the awkward question...

"...so are you going to be a priest when you get back?"

Lol. I gave her the shortest answer I could, given the circumstances (I mean, shoe buying is serious stuff) while still being truthful.  I replied with, "haha, we'll see", and she gave this weird look. We then carried on with our tax-free shoe shopping sprees.

Now that I've been to World Youth Day for the first time and have had some time to let those experiences marinate in my memory and soul...my answer to that question remains the same from before World Youth Day. But here in this blog post, I am able to offer more explanation since I'm not in the process of purchasing tax-free shoes for some crazy out-of-country trip a year later.

My answer? Ultimately, what makes us the happiest and most at peace (in a profound way, though not without trial and suffering out of love) is living out life according to how God created us to be. He calls us to live our lives in various states and as Catholics, we call these states in life as single, married, or religious life whether as a brother/sister, monk/nun or priest. But it takes careful reflection, prayer, and discernment with God's help to figure out which of these states of life He's calling us to be that will bring about our greatest joys and peace. So, the short of it is...I'm currently single, but open to the idea of religious life or married life. One of them, I desire more because it attracts me more. But I think the best way I can describe where I am in all this is that I'm in an ice cream parlor with only enough money for 1 scoop of ice cream, and the two available flavors are both very good. But I keep coming back to the original flavor that looked good to me. And I'll leave it at that for this blog post. In summary, World Youth Day did not all of a sudden compel me wanting to be a priest. Or religious brother. Definitely not nun or sister =P. But I haven't ruled the religious option out.

Just tryin' to be more like St. John Bosco

What World Youth Day did help me regarding religious life is gaining a better appreciation for those who have already answered that call. World Youth Day was chock full of priests and religious! (In fact, remember that my group cheered every time we saw one! And we had a friar with us too!). Without a deeper understanding of who they are and for what purpose they serve, religious people in the Catholic Church seem like a bunch of suppressed but holy individuals who do nothing but pray all the time. It's easy to forget that they are just normal people. Granted, they've chosen a life that is radically different than our modern understanding on how to live life. They do not live for their own sake, and they have sacrificed life's greatest things not because those things are bad, but because they are really good. And that's a beautiful. Hence, we cheered. Not only that…but…there seems to be a rise of friends in my proximate circles who are pursuing the religious life, and I can't help but celebrate their decisions!

Now, to the meat of why I originally wanted to do this blog post.

How did World Youth Day impact me?

I don't know that it really did anything truly revolutionary for me. Some people come back from World Youth Day truly changed and greatly convicted to make life-changing decisions. So, as an example, while I didn't come back from World Youth Day wanting to become a priest, one of my second cousin's came back from WYD Toronto wanting to become one. From what I heard, he went through with that and is currently in seminary. One of my favorite Catholic speakers and apologists, Matt Fradd, had a deep conversion moment when he went to WYD Rome 2000. And, after some digging around, I'm sure it will be easy to find stories of people who come back from World Youth Day drastically changed. And more power to them for that! But that's not how I left World Youth Day.

First, World Youth Day reminded me that I have grown lax in my day-to-day practice of my Catholic faith. Our group leader (and I love that he makes us do this) makes it a point that we try to make Mass every day any time we're on pilgrimage. We were supposed to have a priest with us so we could conveniently have Mass, but he had to back out of our trip at the last minute. Instead, we attempted at going to Daily Mass at various parishes close to our hostel in Rio. Daily Mass used to be something that I could make once a week, but work has been so terribly busy over the past year that it's been difficult to do that. Therefore, it was refreshing to encounter God through His Word and His Body in the celebration of Mass throughout the week while we were in Rio.  In addition to going to Mass every day (or attempting to, since we didn't make it every day), we prayed the Liturgy of the Hours every day! Like, we packed (Shorter) Christian Prayer books and 4-volume sets with us! And praying the Psalms at certain hours of the day is a great way to sanctify the day in union with the rest of the Church because the Liturgy of the Hours is the 2nd official prayer of the Catholic Church (1st being Mass, ;-) ).  Daily Mass and Liturgy of the Hours were things I kept up with for a while in the past few years, but I stopped due to being busy…not devoting the time… etc.  In addition to those, we had opportunities to go to Adoration throughout the week. I also used to go to Adoration on a consistent, once-a-week basis, but lately it's been super difficult due to my busy work schedule. And that's a shame, because spending time adoring our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is one of my favorite ways to pray. In Rio, it was really nice to return to our usual church to spend time in Adoration, usually after having a hectic morning and lunch. And then there was that time we had Adoration with Pope Francis and 3+ million of our bros and sisters. That was something. Really, our whole time in Rio for World Youth Day was an immersion in Catholic prayer life through things that are not new or foreign to me because I used to do these things consistently. But by having these opportunities at World Youth Day, I was able to engage in these prayer experiences consistently once more that are easily accessible and doable back at home. So, since getting back from Rio, I've at least restored praying Liturgy of the Hours (at Night, at the very least). Still working on how I can make it to Daily Mass and Adoration consistently again… and a daily Rosary, too.

Secondly, World Youth Day showed me what joy in being Catholic looks like. Yes, but on a grand scale! Through a worldly lens, it becomes exceedingly perplexing as to why anyone would A) want to be Catholic, B) be a Catholic and spend lots of money to travel across the world to a meeting place where the Pope will be, and C) be Catholic and be joyful about it. And yet, from the moment we were on our way to Rio at the beginning…it was evident that this World Youth Day thing is a big deal. And I began to savor what it all meant during our first day in Rio. That first day, we were warmly/enthusiastically welcomed by Brazilians, met so many others, sang songs, danced in the streets, photos taken, trinkets exchanged, smiles, laughter, and just pure joy!

The prevailing theme throughout the week was encountering people from all over the world and the Church and sharing our joy in being Catholic! I mean, it's not the same kind of joy that you'd find in Rio a year from now at the World Cup. That is a passionate, competitive joy and rivalry out of love for fútbol. The joy expressed at World Youth Day stems from this unity we as Catholics have in our faith because our faith is in Christ.  As much as I would love this explanation of joy to be longer than the previous explanation on how I'm a lazy Catholic, I don't know how to say in words the joy that I experienced and saw firsthand during our trip to Rio. It's one of those "you had to be there" sort of things. And then, on top of that…there was a plethora of religious people present and they too shared in our expression of joy! And we, my group, were often overjoyed in just seeing a priest or nun (and others) walk by! So yes, World Youth Day showed me what joyful Catholicism looks like. And that's great because even before World Youth Day, I was already joyful in being Catholic, but now it is nice to know that I'm not the only one, haha. After World Youth Day in Rio, I feel more comfortable in sharing that joy with others with no discrimination whether Catholic or non-Catholic.

Lastly, this World Youth Day inspired me to have an excuse to travel the world every few years. And if I start saving for the next World Youth Day after the previous World Youth Day…then… I should be okay. Just to name a few, it's been in the Philippines, Denver, Cologne in Germany, Sydney, Toronto, Madrid, Buenos Aires, etc and of course Rio De Janeiro. Come at me, Krakow 2016! YOU ONLY POLAND ONCE! Blessed Pope John Paul II is impressed.

In summary, I had a really positive experience at World Youth Day in Rio De Janeiro. While it didn't do anything totally revolutionary for me, I had a blast and such a blast it was to share these experiences with my fellow pilgrims from SEAS and STA and 3.5+ million others. I now have a better idea of what it means to be part of the universal Church united in Christ like I expected I would. And I definitely had all these bonus experiences like seeing Pope Francis in unique ways, making friends with people from all over the globe and so much more. Man, I feel like I could blog a lot about my experiences.

OH WAIT!

...I did.

...so maybe I blogged nearly every night/early morning of our trip to Rio on behalf of my group, including the pre-Rio retreat that we had. It also served as a way to let our family and friends know that we didn't get caught in Brazilian riots or other perilous foreign affairs.

Here's the link: setonaquinaswyd13.wordpress.com (or if you're already on this SEAS/STA blog and seeing this post being cross-listed...then...this is awkward)

Whew. This was a long blog post.

Can't wait to do it again! #Krakow2016
- JD

Narwhals // "Narwhal tracking project helps chart species' future", X-Ray Mag
Fr. Zoltan Lendvai // Day In Photos, NY Post
Bl. Pope John Paul II // Papal Pose for Photographers, Tradition In Action

Singing to Jesus...Literally

I think every Christian can understand the idea of singing to and for Jesus.  Through song we praise and worship our Lord and Savior. Walk into any Christian church on a Sunday and you'll find the congregation (and choirs, if applicable...though usual) singing hymns and songs praising the glory of God.

And praise God that we're able to hear such songs outside the walls of our churches. One of the ways we can do that is through the radio. I know of several Christian/family radio stations here in north Texas. Obviously, in order to fill the air waves with Christian music...you need Christian music artists.  And I'm sure we can list all our favorites!

From what it seems like to me (and I could be wrong), a lot of Christian music artists also double as worship leaders.  And by "worship leader" I mean they lead congregations/groups of people in worship of our Lord through song whether they're singing/playing solo or with a band.

Thank goodness we have such people who help us focus our minds and hearts towards the Lord through praising and worshipping in song! And oftentimes, we, the congregation, really feel the power of praise in song. Like, it gives more sense of legitimacy and intention in our prayer through song. St. Augustine is often quoted in saying:

He who sings well, prays twice.

(though apparently he didn't really say that exactly, but...that's a famous mis-quote).

So if Christian music artists and worship leaders help bring our focus and attention towards God through song, and then there's that whole Gospel-according-to-Matthew idea about Jesus being present whenever two or more are gathered in His name...then yes, combining these two help bridge our prayers to Jesus, Who is present because two or more are gathered (unless our churches consist of only 1, =P).

Now, I have to ask the awkward question...

What would it look like if I were to take a famous Christian artist/worship leader leading a large congregation, and place that artist/worship leader, hypothetically, in front of Jesus Himself? Like, Himself in the flesh. Like, able to reach out and touch. Would the focus of the Christian music artist/worship leader be different? Would we, the congregation, have a different, perhaps more profound, sense of our praise and worship knowing that Jesus is truly there in front us?

(you can fast forward to ~4:20 for the song to start...the first 4 minutes are exactly what the big screens of Copacabana Beach were showing so you'll see what I could only see during Saturday night's vigil of World Youth Day...Pope Francis had asked for silence...after that, some brief reflections in different languages...then Matt Maher sings)

I think that YouTube video helps answer that awkward question.

So yeah, I was there on the beach! So was Jesus. So was Pope Francis. So was Matt Maher. So were 3+ million of my fellow Catholic brothers and sisters. I think the lyrics of Matt Maher's "Lord I Need You" really resonated with a lot of us that night since Jesus was truly present in the Eucharist, and we all recognized the necessity of God in our lives. And looking at various comments on YouTube videos after the fact...it seems as though this was many people's favorite moment/song through all of World Youth Day. And I agree!

This scene is especially striking to me because here we have a famous Christian music artist and worship leader on his knees facing Jesus literally and singing to Him literally...and focusing on Him literally...yet at the same time leading the 3+ million of us to do the same. At slightly higher elevation is Pope Francis, the successor of St. Peter, sitting and adoring in reverence with his helpers kneeling...all of them before Jesus elevated above everyone else.  Without a doubt, with everyone facing towards the Eucharist, the focus was definitely on Jesus. It makes it easier to worship and focus on our Lord when you can see Him. Even if I didn't know what was going on...to see Matt Maher kneeling as if facing something (not the crowd)...I would begin to ask what it is exactly (or rather, who) he is facing and why?

Maybe the YouTube video doesn't convey the profoundness of singing this song to Jesus while kneeling...maybe this blog post doesn't even convey that...but, I assure you, as a first-hand eyewitness to these moments...this experience was profound but ... normal to me.

This was profound to me because I was sharing this moment with surrounded by, truly, the universal Church from all over the world. And to kneel there together adoring Christ, recognizing my need for Him...I couldn't help but be grateful for the gift of spending that hour adoring Him with humility. But this experience at World Youth Day was also normal for me because I'm a fan of Matt Maher, and I listen to his music often (maybe just a few days earlier I saw him live in concert in Rio de Janeiro). And I often go to adore Christ in the Eucharist on my own, usually after work or before/after Mass. And sometimes I go to Adoration where there is some sort of music leader leading adoration, praise, and worship.

But...as cool as it is do have Adoration done this way with song, with the Pope, with other people, etc... my favorite way to adore Christ is in silence, usually in an empty-but-open Catholic church.  There's a greater profoundness spending that time with Jesus truly present in the Eucharist when it is just Him and me in silence, free from the distractions of other noises and other people. And I mention this because I'm at a point in my journey of faith that I don't require music to be playing in order to praise and worship our Lord. And though Adoration is a form of worship of Jesus for us Catholics...I think it's important for us Catholics to know that Adoration is possible without all the bells and smells of a setting like this experience at World Youth Day or at retreats.

Anyway, don't get me wrong... it is still very much a good thing that our worship leaders and favorite Christian music artists, and choir ministers lead us in praise and worship of Jesus in our churches. But I think to do that before our Lord, truly present, brings about a deeper and more profound sense of focus and really helps us call to mind a deeper sense of why we even sing to Jesus in first place.

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You. Every hour I need You. My one defense, my righteousness. Oh God, how I need You.
- JD

Praise band from Hearts On Fire Rally 2009 // xuthiensun, Flickr

The Silence of Millions

Earlier in the evening while people were staking out spots on the beach

The night of the Prayer vigil at Copacabana Beach with Pope Francis was a crazy^3 time. Do recall that this was not Plan A to have it at the beach because Plan A involved a long trek to Guaratiba, which had flooded due to the week's rains. So, I'm sure Guaratiba had the capacity to handle millions of people, but Copacabana does not.

The purpose of Saturday night's Vigil during World Youth Day is to share some time in prayer together with everyone and the Pope. There was some sort of theatrical drama/ceremony involving St. Francis and the cross, followed by a talk by Pope Francis regarding that. But after that, he initiated Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, which in Catholic terms means to adore and worship Christ truly present in the Eucharist. Not just a mere symbol of Christ's body in the form of a wafer, but the very body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ under the appearance of bread. 

Apparently this night, there were 3+ million people

Because of our distance away from the stage/altar, we had to view what was going on the stage via big screens along Copacabana. We were between the last and second-to-last big screen. For whatever reason (due to me being distracted by the sights and sounds of the thousands around me, and the big screens not necessarily showing what was going on), I missed when Pope Francis exposed the Blessed Sacrament (Eucharist) in the monstrance. I didn't really get the hint until I started seeing a bunch of people around our camp kneeling, because that is the usual posture whenever Jesus first gets exposed for Adoration.

After seeing those around me kneeling, I knelt myself. It was cold and windy, but it felt comfortable to kneel supported by the sand underneath the tarp we laid out. Then the big screens started showing more frequently Pope Francis and his helpers kneeling before Jesus in silence. After a brief while, everyone I could see all around me was kneeling. Pope Francis asked for some moments of silence, and all conversations had stopped. No one really moved around. All were adoring Christ, even though we were multiple football fields away. 

The silence was loud, if that makes sense. Imagine the entirety of Copacabana Beach tightly packed with people...and all were in silent Adoration. The only sounds that I could hear were the crashing of the waves, and the rotors of an overhead helicopter or two. But other than that, no human voices could be heard. The silence was loud and profound to me. The silence seemed to expose the reality of this intimate moment between humans and Christ. This intimacy made for a legit, prayerful experience with a real, authentic encounter with Christ. And all this shared with others.

See, this is what's beautiful and awesome about being Catholic! We are united in the Eucharist, which is the source and summit of our faith. And to share these silent moments with our brothers and sisters gathered together from across the globe is an awe-inspiring expression of what it means to be Catholic. I felt joyful and peaceful to be here with all my bros and sistas in Christ with Christ! And like I normally do when in Adoration, I tried being intentional with my prayers consoled by the fact that yes, Jesus was right there on the beach.

Sure, the silence was eventually broken by the crowds in the streets because they didn't get the memo that we were in Adoration (hey, they couldn't see the screen). And yes, they continued the Holy Hour with reflections and reflection songs.

But in the small handful of moments in silence in Adoration there on Copacabana Beach last Saturday night, I remembered the reason why millions even gather for World Youth Day in the first place: to encounter Christ and His bride, the Church.

Having all sweetness within it,
- JD

View of Copacabana Beach on Saturday Night // Catholic News Agency, Facebook

Change of Plans

We actually left Copacabana Beach. There were some health and safety concerns so we decided to head back to the hostel. Nothing alarming. We're all good :-)

Further updates later.

- JD

Limited Updates

I'm out here on Copacabana Beach with countless others waiting for Adoration to begin in a few hours. The original plan was for all the pilgrims to be at a place designated as Campus Fidei, a large field outside of Río. But due to the rains this past week, Campus Fidei was deemed too muddy. Instead, JMJ decided to have the Vigil and Closing Mass here at Copacabana Beach. It's insane! So many people, tents, tarps! This works out for us because the beach is only a mile away from our hostel, but we're staying here at the beach tonight. It's funny because you can't tell it's winter in Brazil and people are swimming and stuff. So, I won't be near any way for me to charge my iPhone, so updates will be limited. I also won't be able to update the other blog like I have been. Follow the happenings live on EWTN or rio2013.com

- JD

I FOUND MY PEOPLE!!!

As I'm going through these days in Rio, I see so many different people from all over the world. It's so cool to see Brazilians, Germans, Italians, Argentinians, USA-icans, Canadians, Mexicans, Japanese, Koreans, South Africans, Jamaicans, Vietnamese, British, Spaniards, French, Chileans, and many, many more. But one country I've been expecting to find is the Philippines! But I haven't been able to see them until today (Friday)!

Ok, so there was that time the other day where we saw a group of Filipinos, but it was a small group, and they were from Libya (Libya-pinos). Did that count? Meh. Got a picture but it didn't seem satisfactory to me to meet a group not originally from the Philippines.

Today, we were on our way from the hostel to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (our church where we have been having catechesis and Adoration) when I saw Filipino flags waving in a group ahead of us.

I FOUND MY PEOPLE!!!

I awkwardly stalked the caboose of their group and started talking to him in Tagalog. Small talk and the obvious questions. Turns out they were headed to the Basilica as well in order to go to Mass, which is the same reason why we were headed there. When we arrived, my group took our pews.

Turns out that the Philippines was hosting a Holy Hour of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, which is Jesus truly present: body, blood, soul. and divinity! We caught the tail end of that hour so we made it in time for Benediction. I was just absolutely thrilled to hear songs and prayers in Tagalog and was even able to follow along with the usual responses thanks to memory and humble knowledge of Tagalog. And the church was filled with groups of Filipinos! Made me want to go, "psst! hoy!" and point with my lips or something.

In this moment, I realized how this experience further emphasized the global, universal reach of the Catholic Church. No, no, no...not as a means for controlling the world...but...as a way to really living out her mission to make disciples of all nations by teaching what Jesus taught. To hear and pray in different languages helps drive that point home, and to see this with the Filipino groups there in Adoration resonates with me.

After Benediction, marking the end of Adoration, we stuck around for Mass. We knew going in that the Mass would be in Vietnamese, but language doesn't matter because the Mass is fundamentally the same no matter what language it is in. But when Vietnamese groups from all over the world started gathering in the church and started doing praise and worship songs, and their bishops didn't put on their vestments, we realized that this was actually not Mass. We realized that this was their catechetical session which followed the same format for our catechetical sessions, which include songs and a lesson from a bishop followed by Mass. Yeah, we didn't stay for Mass because it wouldn't be for another hour or two.

After leaving the church, we saw the Filipinos in the front courtyard/parking lot. I awkwardly stalked a different group to kindly ask them for a combined group photo. Which ended up being awkward because as soon as I got near them, they initiated their own group photo. 

But...after some exchanging of Tagalog and English... I managed to get this to happen:

:-D !!!

- JD

Celebrating Vocations

So a tradition we started during our pilgrimage is to cheer and applaud every clergy, religious sister and brother that we encounter while walking around. It's really cool because oftentimes they have a moment of confusion, embarrassment, and then gratitude. As Catholics, we hold in high regard those who choose this calling in life because without priests, we do not have the sacraments, without religious we don't have some of the committed spiritual and material outreaches of the Church, and many other reasons as well.

The clerical and religious lifestyles are visible signs of living a totally radical life in the modern world, and future ages to come. So we thank those who choose this life because we know with a particular degree of certainty that they are being who God calls them to be.

- JD

First Sighting: Pope Francis

So this is how we saw Pope Francis.

Long story short, our trip back to the city from the Christ the Redeemer statue involved splitting our group into two different groups for riding the train down. This involved a lot of time waiting for the second group. Insert lots and lots of singing and dancing for the first group with Brazilians and other instant-friends.

Then insert another tremendous amount of time waiting for a city bus to take us back near to our hostel.

When we left the bus stop, we made it halfway before seeing our fellow hostel-mates, the Dallas Shepherd's Cafe group, just singing on the sidewalk. We decided to join in and meanwhile, we heard sirens off in this distance on the opposite side of the avenue that was by where we were.

Minutes later, the sirens could be heard again. We could tell there was a motorcade of security and several vehicles being escorted. Some of us run over to the street and I wasn't totally paying attention but later figured out that this could possibly be Pope Francis because who else would be enough of a dignitary to merit this sort of escort at 9PM at night?

Well, as soon as I get over to the street, my group was already yelling that they saw Pope Francis waving out the window of his car wearing his papal white. I didn't get there in time to catch it on video but I did catch the tail end of his motorcade. Oh well...

But! How cool is that!? We were the only pilgrims on that street at that time and for him to pass by at that moment was a very unique experience. Besides, it must have been nice for him to see us because while we were watching the news during dinner, it seemed like the last thing he did was escape protestors standing outside of whatever federal building he was at when meeting with Brazil's president.

Either way, even though I missed seeing him with my own eyes, I know I'll get to see him very soon!

Like...on Copacabana Beach later today (Tues).

- JD

Saturday July 20

The day started out with bacon. Despite going to bed at 2AM, I had a harsh wake up call at 7AM with the ordinary, intended wake up call by our group leader. But that was immediately followed by the fire alarm going off, which was immediately followed by the fire alarm being turned off. I thought to myself how this was a really effective way to wake us all up since the guys slept downstairs and the girls upstairs. But it turned out that the reason why the fire alarm went off was because the breakfast crew was attempting to cook bacon and created a lot of smoke in the kitchen. There was so much smoke that we made the obligatory Catholic joke that this was incensing the kitchen. After all that, I got up and started taking pictures and helping our friar cook bacon (that's a pun).

Breakfast was ready at about 7:45AM and was a feast of plain and blueberry pancakes with the bacon, some sausage, and eggs as well. 

Just before 9AM, we headed over to the church proper in order to have Mass.  A few of the other guys and myself were called over to the parish hall in order to help out the Schoenstatt's couple's retreat get set up for their own breakfast. That was cool, for me anyway, because I got to talk to some of my favorite families and talk about our trip to Rio. Mass was celebrated by their Schoenstatt priest (which by the way, Schoenstatt is a lay movement in the church with a great devotion to Mary that originated in Germany). It was cool during Mass because the priest acknowledged us pilgrims and gave us a special blessing for our trip.

After Mass, we returned to our meeting place in the other building. We prayed Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, and then the silent portion of our retreat ended. After some discussion on logistics, we broke off to different houses for showering. This would be our last time to shower before Rio. It was here that I found out a #FunFact about my parish and how there is only one shower facility on the entire grounds located in an old rectory. I stuck around for a while talking to a few others who didn't go off to go shower immediately.  I actually went back home to go shower, which worked out nicely because I got to see my dad before he left for work, my bro having just returned from rehearsal, and my mom. After showering, I headed back up to the church.

By the time I got back, a good chunk of the others had made it back and were setting up for lunch. For lunch, we had deli sandwiches and a lot of leftover bacon. Turkey bacon lettuce tomato sandwich was delicious. It was here during lunch that I lost a game of "What Are The Odds?" (It's like a variation of the dares of Truth or Dare with probability) and had to drink lemonade mixed with maple syrup. It was lemony sweet.

After lunch, we did several activities. One of these was prayerfully reading the end of the Gospel according to Matthew where Jesus commissions His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. We did this via Lectio Divina (Latin for divine reading), which is a really, really old way of prayerfully reading Scripture not to form our own interpretations of Scripture, but rather, to be open to what God wants to say to us in a particular passage. We shared as a group, and most of us focused on the part where it says that the disciples doubted as well as the last verse where Jesus says that He will be with us until the end of the age. It was good discussion to help us enter more deeply into the theme of World Youth Day which is to go and make disciples of all nations.

At some point after lunch, Fr. Patricio who celebrated this morning's Mass graciously came by to hear confessions for an hour for everyone. 

After Lectio Divina, we broke into our small groups for the trip. This makes managing a group of about 30 easier by having smaller groups of people. My partner ended up being the woman who is from Brazil, so I'm grateful for that in case of situations where that would be useful. My group includes 2 from STA, and 2 from SEAS (which includes my unofficially adopted bro-minarian!)

With all those activities completed, we had some time go have brief lessons in Portuguese! My small group partner graciously gave us some brief conversational phrases to help us out whenever we're down in Rio. It throws me off because Portuguese looks and sounds like Spanish but it isn't.

At some point, Fr. Patricio finished up with hearing confessions and gave us all another blessing for our trip before leaving.  That was neat! Feeling blessed, indeed!

We all went to the 5:30PM vigil Mass. After Mass, I got to talk to other friends who happened to be at the Mass, and we got to talk about our upcoming trip to Rio.

Then after all that we cooked bacon cheeseburgers for dinner then had free time after that.

However, I did duck out for a while in order to stop by a fellow brother Knight's 50th birthday at our Knights Hall. Of course, one does not simply attend such an affair without eating and socializing with others. Unfortunately, I ended up staying there longer than intended. On top of that, I had to make a Wal-Mart run aft that so I didn't make it back to meet up with everyone until 10:30pm. Bad idea.

I stayed up longer to blog and to do last-minute packing so that the morning wouldn't be as rushed.

Whew.

- JD

Starting to Hit Me

10:32PM Sunday July 21, 2013

Somewhere over Caribbean from Miami to Rio

This whole time that we've gathered together as a pilgrimage group and spent that time in retreat together, it didn't hit me. As we were flying from DFW to Houston and then Houston to Miami, it didn't hit me. It's been a constant feeling of some sort of indifference regarding that ... we're going to Rio!

In the moments leading up to boarding for the flight to Rio, it started getting more surreal for me. I think what helped contribute to that feeling was seeing other groups of pilgrims starting to gather at the gate. And my pilgrimage group seems to be a magnet for clergy and other religious, we were able to quickly befriend other seminarians and Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. What was really cool was inviting them to come pray Night Prayer from Liturgy of the Hours with us. And I even invited a group that we had met back in Houston because they were conveniently near us as well.

After we finished Night Prayer, that's when it started getting more real to me. That's when I realized other pilgrimage groups had gathered at the terminal. When it came time to board, some random guy from Grassroots Films took my group's picture and interviewed two of us. I bet that I'll show up on YouTube at some point, but because of him and his call for expressing our excitement for his video, that caused the other groups to be really excited as well. Lots of cheering at the gate!

That's when it started becoming more real for me. 

And now, here I am in a 767 sitting on my product on my way to Rio for World Youth Day!

I've been saying that it probably won't truly hit me until we're actually in Rio. Like, me seeing the Christ the Redeemer statue with my own eyes.

And I must remember that this is not a vacation, that I'm not going to Rio for the sake of Rio itself, but rather to experience the Church with my fellow sinners in order to grow in faith. I do not know what to expect, but I'm open to whatever experiences that are in store for me this week.

- JD

Not A Vacay

In all my brief discussions with other people about how I'm going to Rio, whenever I tell them...sometimes they immediately jump to some idea that it's going to be a vacation of sorts. Or, coming from some guys, the allure of Rio De Janeiro and attractive Brazilian women suddenly becomes the focus.

Then it gets awkward whenever I have to mention my reasons for going. I mean, maybe not to the extent that I talked about in a previous blog post ("Why I'm Going to Rio"), but rather just the quick, face-value reason of why I'm going: chaperoning a pilgrimage to Rio.

But I wanted to focus on how this is not a vacation. Yes, beaches and beautiful souls will be present, but those are not the focus of World Youth Day. This will be an encounter with the God and His universal Church! I mean, sooooo many people will be there from all over the world! And we will all have the opportunity to worship and encounter God together, especially through the Bishop of Rome, our supreme pastor, and his brother bishops as they teach the faith...through the Masses...through many other experiences that I have yet to find out about!

And this is a pilgrimage! We are coming from afar to have those encounters with God and His Church. We will welcome the sufferings, inconveniences, and causes of doubt and unite those with the sufferings of Christ so that we can find the strength to endure the trip itself, and whatever bodily, emotional and spiritual baggage we carry.

I don't know about other groups to WYD...but I know we are taking the opportunities to deepen our prayer life by making prayer a constant thing everyday. That is through praying the Liturgy of the Hours, intercessory prayer, the Mass, devotions like the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet, praise and worship (led by a friar!), and other ways as well.

And so, I mustn't fall into the idea that this is a vacation, because it won't be. Yes, there will be times for fun and relaxation, but that is not the ultimate purpose in going to World Youth Day. It is much deeper than that.

So...-raises glass-... we are going Rio de Janeiro! We leave for the airport in a few hours!!!

St. Sebastian, pray for us! Because-apparently-the-city-of-Rio-is-technically-named-after-him!

-JD

The Start

FRIDAY JULY 19, 2013

And I'm grateful that I took off work the day that our parish groups were coming together. 1) I didn't have to go to work, 2) I actually ended up needing practically the whole day. 

1) ? So I attended a drum corps competition Thursday night and I stuck around afterwards to meet up with people I know who are in it.  Got to my car after all that and discovered that it wouldn't start.  Long story short, I waited a very long time for AAA to show up. And I was 30 minutes from home. That's how I didn't make it bed until like 2AM.

For 2), I tried waking up early to get packing started. 7AMish. And the whole day involved actual packing, making sure all the electronics and Internet stuff were prepared for this trip, a very delayed lunch with the family at a local Filipino restaurant, a Wal-Mart run, and more actual packing.  By the time I tightened the last strap on my hiking backpack, it was less than 30 minutes to the start of Daily Mass.

So, Daily Mass is a good way to start our pre-WYD retreat.  Nevermind that I was halfway to the church when I decided to turn around and go back home because I forgot something.  When I finally made it to the church, I accidentally became part of the actual procession (but on the side of the nave away from the priest and servers, ;-) ). I noticed that the other parish group was there, sitting up at the front, and one of my favorite CFRs was with them (!!!!!!!). 

After Mass, you know how most Catholics who don't leave Mass early tend to be really social as soon as the recessional hymn is over? Cool, so that's what we did.  Caught one of my unofficially adopted bros (because he's a really good friend of my own blood brother, and he has refrigerator privileges in my house) on his way to the servers' vesting room,

After some socializing, we gathered with the group from St. Thomas Aquinas (STA) to do a variation on Evening Prayer from the Magnificat before heading to one of our other buildings to eat dinner.

Pizza and getting to know each other tend to go hand in hand on a Friday night because the combination of crust, sauce, and toppings is enough to rejoice and share that joy with others.  I got to know some of the guys from STA as we started our own inside jokes.

The rest of the evening involved going over some handouts, the presentation of t-shirts that we'll be wearing, rules, making sure we had the essentials packed, receiving other little things, and Night Prayer.

Br. Timothy, CFR led us in Night Prayer.  I miss his voice because it is quite suited for the way he leads the Liturgy of the Hours in song. Maybe at some point in the past year, I was really convinced he should release a CD...

After Night Prayer, we started the silence. We'll be silent (unless absolutely necessary) until mid-morning tomorrow. And this is really awkward, since there are new people to get to know, but I can't really do anything about that for now. But that's okay, silence forces me to focus on other things. And reflect.

I didn't go to bed until 1:30AM because I was working on transferring prayer intentions that I received from work onto strips of cloth attached to a carabiner for easy carrying. That took a long time because my grandmotherly, Catholic coworker gathered a lot of them from all over the office on my behalf. Then I attempted at blogging but decided to save it for today (Saturday morning).

What adventures await us today? Mass TWICE, showering, prayers, and getting to know each other. 

:-)

- JD

A Nerdy Perspective

The consequence of World Youth Day being far away in a land that is not north Texas is the necessity of aerial transportation.

Looks like we'll be flying from DFW to Houston. Then Houston to Miami. Then finally Miami to Río de Janeiro. That's a lot of flight time!

We'll be flying American Airlines, and I'm excited for this! I'm an AA kid since my dad works for them. So with my combined previous flying experiences (which there are many), my aerospace engineering education through college, and my work experience as an engineer for an airline seat manufacturer, there will be ample amounts of time for me to nerd out while flying from place to place.  In other words, I might know a thing or two about airplanes and the seats that go into them.

Lo unto the ones who have to sit next to me as I seemingly analyze the seats with scrutiny, care and knowledge!

- JD

"American Airlines Approach" // Irargerich on Flickr

Preparations

Behold: an incoherent and incomplete pile of things that collectively will be useful things for me on our trip to Brazil here in a few days.

No, I don't plan on bringing my Wii Fit board

And so it remains there as a pile until I find some decent time to pack and gather everything else.

This has been a hard week so far! Work schedule has been crazy and other post-work obligations have been demanding as well.  And thus, I'll probably get to this, oh ya know....Friday. the day where we finally gather everyone together to start our pre-WYD retreat.  Thank goodness I took off work on Friday so I can concentrate on...packing! Haha.

But!  This is not to say that I haven't done any sort of preparation whatsoever!

A few weekends ago, I helped collect prayer intentions from fellow parishioners so that we can take those intentions to pray for while we're at World Youth Day.  We were out there in the heat after Masses for two weekends and collected quite the handful, which is fantastic! What sticks out to me the most is the absolute gratitude that some parishioners expressed in us collecting these intentions, and I can't wait to start praying for those!  On my own Facebook/Twitter, I also asked for intentions. I let it slip to one of my coworkers that I'm going to World Youth Day and offered to take any of her prayer intentions, but she came back around and personally talked to a bunch of people in the office and asked for their intentions. How cool!

On the spiritual side of things, I made my Act of Total Consecration to Mary yesterday on the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel at a Carmelite monastery of Carmelite discalced nuns. No big deal. I know that making the Act of Total Consecration is something all of us St. Thomas Aquinas/SEAS pilgrims are doing so that the Act can be made during the trip, but a few of us decided to start early so that our Consecration could be made on a feast day (since no Marian feast days occur during World Youth Day).  I kept a near-daily "journal" of my spiritual journey and preparation for the Total Consecration via my blog.

So yeah, I've been doing work.  But...maybe not immediately practical, tangible work. Spiritual work, yes. But I can't pray my backpack into packing itself.

I'll keep this short because [I originally wrote this at 11PM], and I still [had] a full workday tomorrow. More updates to come!

- JD