Love and Life Site Activities Conclude, Pilgrims Prepare for Vigil with the Holy Father

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	Sister Elizabeth Ann of the Sisters of Life hands a schedule to a young pilgrim exiting St. Benedict's Church.

Friday, July 18, marked the last of three days of catechesis and activities for World Youth Day 2008 at the Life and Love Site. The Knights of Columbus, Sisters of Life and Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family once again welcomed thousands of young pilgrims from around the world to the campus of Notre Dame University in downtown Sydney.

Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo, N.D., told the young pilgrims, “Each of us over the these three days have reflected upon who the Holy Spirit is – as our friend, as our guide, as the one who is our Advocate – the third Person of the Trinity who dwells within our hearts and sets our hearts on fire with a deep love for Jesus and the Father.”

This has been the fourth World Youth Day for Bishop Aquila, who was a priest of the Archdiocese of Denver and director of the office of liturgy when Pope John Paul II came there for World Youth Day in 1993.

The bishop continued the catechesis saying, “Jesus still speaks to your heart, and just as the Spirit guided him in his mission as savior of the world, so too does the Spirit guide each one of us in the mission entrusted to us.” He then celebrated Mass for the pilgrims, who overflowed into the courtyard. Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio of Brooklyn, meanwhile, celebrated Mass and presided over catechesis at the Melkite Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel, which was also organized by the Knights and Sisters of Life.

Following another barbecue lunch, the activities at the Love and Life Site were temporarily suspended, so as to allow the Knights, sisters and other pilgrims to attend the WYD celebration of the Way of the Cross. They gathered near the stage of the Barangaroo district of Darling Harbor, where from 3-6 p.m. large screens projected a live stations of the cross procession and performance. Led by the WYD cross and icon, it featured professional actors in costume, choreographed dancing and music.

Sister Loretta Michael receives a blessing from Father Denis Heames, Knight from Midland, Mich., who was recently ordained for the Diocese of Saginaw.

Pope Benedict XVI was present at St. Mary's Cathedral, the site of the first station, and the procession continued to four more locations across the city, before continuing to Barangaroo. The sun descended as the last five stations, in which Jesus is crucified and dies, were presented. A cold breeze gave the pilgrims, huddled wearing sweatshirts and hats, a preview of what they should expect the next evening.

Returning to the Love and Life Site, Knights handed out hundreds of prayer cards, booklets and other items to youth passing by. Some of the materials, such as a booklet sharing real-life testimonies about experiencing the culture of life, were designed specifically for the Love and Life Site.

On Friday evening, the site featured the band Celtic Spring on the main stage and several more talks sponsored by the John Paul II Institute before continuing with eucharistic adoration and night prayer in St. Benedict's Church, led by Supreme Chaplain Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport.

Bishop Lori told those gathered in St. Benedict's that in spite of  the age-old search of the “fountain of youth,” only the Eucharist is the true “medicine of immortality,” in the words of St. Ignatius of Antioch.

“Of course, we respect life at all stages and seek want to preserve our lives as long as possible,” said Bishop Lori, “but simply prolonging our lives is not the key to our happiness.” He said the antidote against death must relate to “the desire for eternity that is proper to man,” citing Pope Benedict XVI.

“In the Eucharist, we taste and possess a love that is stronger than sin and more powerful than death,” the bishop continued. “Ours is communion with Christ, the physician of our souls who heals us from the ravages of sin and prepares us for eternity.”

At the conclusion of night prayer, Bishop Lori presided over an hour-long eucharistic healing procession. Assisted by Father Peter Pilsner, chaplain of the Sisters of Life, they processed with the monstrance and paused before each of the hundreds of pilgrims who came forward on their knees.

Following Mass on Saturday morning, the Knights and Sisters of Life will join the rest of the WYD pilgrims for the Pilgrimage Walk across the Sydney Harbor Bridge to Randwick Racecourse and Centennial Park. Dubbed the Southern Cross Precinct, it will be the site of the Saturday vigil with Pope Benedict, before the pilgrims sleep out “under the stars.”