Day 4 and beyond

Well the past four days have been a blast, but it was time to return home.  Amazingly we were in one of the only cities in Europe which still had international flights departing from its terminals, so volcanic activity and all, our trip was to end smoothly.  As our van departed from our hotel for the airport, I reflected on how this short trip had changed me.
 
 The first realization I came to was that how often I take for granted our Faith and the ready availability to get into a church to pray. On this trip I tried to get into a total of 14 Churches and I was only able to get into 4.  Out of these four I had to pay to get into three of them.  From talking to some of the local priests, mass attendance is very low so they are looking forward to having pilgrims from around the world in their city to help rekindle the desire for Christ in the Eucharist.  I fell proud to be part of this collective.

   The second realization I came to was that as Americans we have greatly lost the capacity for true socialization.  Hotels and homes in Europe are quite small compared to our American standard.  This is primarily due to space constraints, but at the same time I witnessed this "problem" as we would see it, become a solution to a much greater problem.  When a house is small, you do not "live" in your house.  You sleep in your house, you get ready in your house, but you "live" in the community.  I loved seeing people both young and old gathering in masses in the squares and streets of this old city nightly for the sole purpose of socialization.  As Americans we tend to socialize out of our houses with the people we invite to these events.  In a sense we loose the potential for meeting new people through the shared experience of a cafe or street show.

   The final realization I had was that this trip was not only about how I was changed, but how I changed Spain.  I wonder how many security guards had to turn away tourists who were asking to go into a church not to see the art, but to pray? This was our request.  I wonder how many hotel guests were surprised to see a group of Americans saying Mass in the breakfast room of the hotel?  I wonder if the Government will notice that I spent 26 euros on churches but none on the palaces or art museums? I know I am just one person, but I can't help but think about these events multiplied by 2 million.  This will be World Youth Day. How would you like to be a part of this change?  I know I am excited to be part of it!

  Over the coming months I will continue to update this blog with relevant information for our trip in 2011.  I hope you will check back frequently for these updates as well as continue to be in prayer for our trip as well as World Youth Day.

  In Christ,
     Patrick