What Can We Learn From World Youth Day?

photo by mushroom and rooster

This week’s World Youth Day (Tuesday 15th to Sunday 20th July) has the distinction of being the world’s largest youth event, with almost a quarter of a million attendees. It’s been the largest event that Australia has ever hosted, attracting more than 150,000 international visitors – that’s more than the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

The media coverage of this event has predominantly focused on the first visit to Australia of Pope Benedict XVI and the impressive ‘mass Mass’ of 150,000 young Catholics – which is understandable for an event organised by the Catholic Church.

Official event organisers are proclaiming World Youth Day as a ‘celebration’ – as is proven by the tens of thousands of international pilgrims who have travelled thousands of kilometres from their home countries and converged upon Sydney with enthusiasm, prayer and song.

But what exactly has triggered the fervour of these pilgrims?

Well, many are giving credit to the Holy Spirit:

‘We don’t speak the same language, but we can understand each other because of the presence of the Holy Spirit,’ said 25 year old Matheus Safraid from Brazil.

‘I’m ecstatic to be here,’ said 21 year old Maria Lees from the US. ‘I’ve been waiting for two years to make the trip and it’s going to be an amazing experience. I can already feel the Spirit moving through all of us.’

‘There is a unity among all the young Catholics who have come here,’ agreed 20 year old Renee Powell from New Zealand. ‘I think the week is going to go off with a blast. The Holy Spirit has been moving around this event.’

Whatever the cause of their fervour, it’s been a whirlwind few days of religious intensity for the tens of thousands of international visitors.
‘The biggest thing is the energy you feed off here,’ confirmed 20 year old Angelica Brady from the US, ‘all the dancing and singing’.

This might all be well and good for the world’s Catholics, who have a centuries-age reputation for intensity in the expression of their faith, but what lessons can the non-Catholic world learn from World Youth Day?

Well, World Youth Day has been valuable in demonstrating that despite global trends toward political correctness and secularism, Christianity is still relevant in our world. Even more importantly, that worshipping God is still a priority for many members of the younger generation.

‘Sometimes, particularly in Australia, people feel that young people are not particularly interested in religion, and on one level it’s true,’ said Bishop Christopher Prowse of the Melbourne Archdiocese. ‘But deep in their heart, they have a yearning to seek out God and they’re doing that precisely at the moment, like never before.’

Even young secular Australians, who have watched the arrival and antics of tens of thousands of Catholic pilgrims with bemusement, agree that there might be something of value in the Christian faith.

‘World Youth Day is about inspiring young Christians to live their lives in the path of Jesus,’ said an 18 year old woman from Victoria. ‘If someone believes and it inspires them to do good things, then that’s great.’

‘Besides, in a world of so much pain, what is so wrong with having a bit of God’s love?’ agreed 17 year old Ross from New South Wales.

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