World Youth Day Saga-Part 1

(France)

From August 11 to August 25 my life has been like it was never before. It was breathtaking, full of fun and adventure. I have never been as active as those days in my entire life. Why? I went to Europe along with 20 others for the World Youth Day. 84 days had passed and I can still recall every moment.

My Travelling Companion

On the night of August 11, we were lucky to have a meditation with a priest. He told us the story of Tobit and how the Archangel Rafael guided him on his travel. In the same way that the he guided Tobit, the Archangel Rafael would also guide and guard us in our journey. Europe is a strange continent to me. It was my first time to go out of the Philippines, let alone to ride an airplane. Although excited, I was a little nervous. But knowing of a travelling companion with me gave me peace of mind. I was confident that everything would go on just fine.

Archangel Raphael and Tobias in the book of Tobit.

I Set My Foot on the Road

The trip was superb. We had a nice meal in the Airplane. I watched four movies. I was super relaxed. And I felt super happy. First because I was going to Europe and second I was really super excited about what would happen next. We had prepared for the World Youth Day for more than a year. We had waited for this for more than a year. And we had been excited about this everyday for more than a year.

We arrived in Paris, France at about 2:30 in the afternoon. Our itinerary included visiting Paris and Rome aside from the main event which is in Madrid, Spain. We walked to our Hotel. We got lost and we were really tired when we got to our hotel after about 2.5 hours walking.

Me and my backpack in front of one of the train stations in Paris 

An Opportunity for First Times

After freshening up, we went to have mass in the nearest church which is the St. Ambrose Church at 7:00 pm. It was my first time to attend a mass in a language that I could not understand. It was in French.

 It is interesting to note that it was still bright even if it is already evening. The sun sets that night at about 10:30pm. 

            The next day, we woke up at 6:00 am, did our morning prayers and other preparations and breakfast at 8:00 am. We had French bread, Croissant and coffee for breakfast. It was my first time to have those at breakfast. The World Youth Day really was an opportunity for first times. Well, practically, everything that happened to me during our trip was my first time - to go outside the Philippines, ride an airplane, go to Europe and eat European food, travel for 15 days with only ten shirts and 4 pants (Whew! How did I survive?) Etcetera.

           

            While I was there, I couldn’t help but think that there’s a lot to be thankful of. First of all, I thank God for the opportunity, my sponsors for making the World Youth Day happen to me, my friends and my family who supported me, our group leader who put a lot of effort to organize this event.

What? I’m not On a Vacation?

The Louvre Museum in Paris, France

            After breakfast, we went to the famous Louvre Museum. It was kind of euphoric going there. Going to a place I’ve only read in books is amazing. I just couldn’t explain my emotions. We were given 1.5 hours to explore the humungous place. At first, we were taking our time looking at the famous sculptures and paintings but as the time allotted came to an end, we ran from one place to another just to see the famous Mona Lisa and Venus. We even got lost. Lucky the guards were friendly. But we arrived at the meeting place 10 minutes late.

            Our group leader was getting furious and was trying hard to hide it. We needed to go to Notre Dame for the 12:00 noon mass. It was already 11:45 am. We only had 15 minutes to go there. And guess what, no one among us knew how to get there. Of course I couldn’t be trusted on this. It was my first time, remember? I just put my confidence on the group leaders. They look at the map and off we went. So from Louvre, we walked to Notre Dame. It was far from a leisure walk. We had to walk fast while it rained. I didn’t have my umbrella. I was so not prepared. I thought it does not rain in Europe during summer. Lucky one of my fellow delegates had her umbrella. I walked with her.

Under the umbrella on the way to Notre Dame Photo: coutesy of  Joy Torculas

            As we were walking in the rain, many thoughts came to my mind. First, I was in a foreign land. I knew no one. No one was there to offer me shelter. It’s like I’m all alone. We were all alone. It was the first time that it dawned on me that we went there not to have a vacation. What we were doing was a pilgrimage. And a pilgrimage requires a sacrifice. A sacrifice we can offer up to Our Lord for all our intentions especially for our love ones.

Identifying God in His Creations

            We arrived at Notre Dame a little late for the mass. There were many people and we had to fall in line just to enter. There were more tourists than people who attended the mass. I can’t blame them because Notre Dame is a really beautiful place. We went around the Cathedral after the mass that’s why I know. The two Rose Windows were beautiful. And so were the Gothic Architecture and Gargoyles and Chimeras. Everything was awesome.

Notre Dame, Paris, France

Don’t get me wrong. I know I told you that we went there for a pilgrimage. Why then did we go to Louvre in the first place and why did we go around Notre Dame admiring the place? Isn’t that what we do when we are on a vacation? Sure we went there for a pilgrimage. But we cannot eradicate the tourism side of us because we are humans. We also admire places. Besides, recognizing God in His creation is also a form of prayer, right?

We Went From One Station to Another

How many places can you go to in one day? I’m not really sure. Because when I go out, which I usually do, I only go to one place, take a stroll, chat with a friend over a cup of coffee and then go home. But that day in Paris, we went to 4 places – Louvre museum and Notre Dame, Basilique du Sacre Coeur (Basilica of the Sacred Heart),  Chapelle de la Rue du Bac (Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal), and the famous Eiffel tower. (These are places far away from each other.) Take note that the sun sets at 10:30 pm so we were able to go to these places. We were so tired and exhausted. Our feet were aching. We felt the consequence of lack of exercise. (Our group leader told us to exercise but we were stubborn.) Nonetheless, we were happy. The reward of our pilgrimage was far greater than the pain we experienced.

The Historic Site of Versailles Palace

            The next day, already August 14, we went to the Historic Site of Versailles Palace. It was the most amazing place I saw. I felt like a true princess when I went there. I would imagine being dressed up very nicely while walking through the Hall of Mirrors with the chandeliers above my head and visitors around, partying and having fun! The palace was really huge. Not only that, it has a very wide garden. It was the most beautiful garden I ever saw. I even couldn’t believe my eyes that a place like that exists. But it exists! It was overwhelming.

To tell you the truth, I knew nothing about the place until we got there. Again, I was stubborn because I didn’t do my assignment, which is to research about the place we were going to visit. I should have researched. Because when I went there, I was totally blank. Empty. I could only admire but I can’t tell the relevance of the place to me. Luckily, one of my fellow delegates studied the history of the place. It was her (term) paper! So she told us the story of the Last Queen of France Marie Antoinette, the French revolution, her execution, etcetera. Oh, the history is really interesting. You should read it too.

A shot from the window of Versailles Palace
Photo: Courtesy of Joy Torculas

Then we went back to Notre Dame to hear the 6:00 pm high mass in honor of the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady which is the day after – August 15. Unfortunately, we were not able to see the procession after the mass because it was time for us to prepare for the night train to Lourdes.

A Bath at Lourdes

Our last stop in France was in Lourdes. Just a backgrounder, Lourdes was the place where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette 18 times and where Our Lady revealed the “Miraculous Spring” which supplied water to a huge part of France later on. Our Lady asked St. Bernadette to “drink at the spring and wash in it.” Since then, many pilgrims have followed that instruction of Our Lady of Lourdes. We were one of them. We also drank at the spring and not only washed our face. We bathed.

Bathing is a custom of Pilgrims in Lourdes. Many testified that their illnesses were cured after bathing and after drinking water from the spring although it was not scientifically proven that the water contained medical properties. St. Bernadette said that they were healed by their faith and prayers.

Our Lady in the Grotto
Photo:courtesy of Joy Torculas

The water from the spring was really cold. It was freezing. When I got out from the water, the water on my body dried immediately. Perhaps my body released some kind of a heat to dry the water faster. I felt different. I felt so fresh. A kind of joy enveloped me. It was like Our Lady was there to watch me and assure me that everything is going to be alright.

The Way of the Cross 

The leaflet given to us in Lourdes said that the bath is not complete unless we do the Way of The Cross and have confession. We were able to do the way of the Cross. However, we were only able to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation in Madrid. The way of the cross in Lourdes was like really walking in Calvary although I believe that the Calvary of Jesus was more difficult. I cannot really testify on this because I have not been to Jerusalem or the real Calvary. I can only imagine. (Pardon my wild imagination)

 The lifelike bronze statues that depicted the 14 Stations of the Cross helped us to picture the Passion of Christ (as if we were also one of those women who marched with Him in Calvary) and to meditate on the kind of suffering He has gone through and the meaning it has to our lives.

The 14th Station - Jesus is Laid in the tomb and covered with incense
Photo: Courtesy of Joy Torculas

It was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception that night (August 15) so we attended the candle procession in Honor of Our Lady where thousands of Pilgrims gathered. Some of the people we met there were also World Youth Day delegates who took a detour in France. That concluded our pilgrimage in France. The following day, we were on the road to Madrid, Spain, the venue of the World Youth Day Proper.


PS. Next on Life is Beautiful: World Youth Day Saga-Part 2 (Spain)