I WASN’T one of the crowd at WYD08 to soak up the atmosphere but viewed many of the events from the comfort of my easy chair through the medium of television.
How proud I am to be Australian, even prouder to proclaim my Catholicity.
The portrayal of the Stations of the Cross was particularly moving.
The spectacle of the Masses, the walk across the bridge, the exuberance of the youth, the joy they were evidently experiencing, the whole outpouring of faith among a group which is usually pilloried because of some of the things they do, all contributed to my belief that the future of the Church is in safe hands.
But these events are only peripheral, the public face of our faith. What really matters is what is within our hearts and how we portray this to others.
I now wonder what effect WYD had on the generation between those who were schooled in the faith in the ’40s and ’50s and those who are of the generation participating in WYD.
The former (to whom I belong) are still filling the pews on Sundays, the hope is that the latter will do the same.
But what about the others?
To me they are the “lost generation” of Catholics and many parents who belong to the first group have suffered agonies of conscience about the fact that their children have turned their backs on practising their religion. Some even feel the clergy blames them for the lack of vocations.
Many are sending their children to Catholic schools but if the children don’t have the example of their parents being part of the Church community it does not become an important part of their life. Of course there are exceptions and it always delights our generation when we see a mum and dad coming to Mass with babies, toddlers and older children.
So, the church is dealing with the youth – they see a future in awakening them to life in the Spirit – can some impetus now be given to our “lost generation” to encourage them to come back?
Or does it consider it to be too late to do anything about them and the hope for the future of the Church lies entirely with the youth of today? Will they be the ones to evangelise the “lost”?
Finally, writers of letters-to-the-editor in the print media have expressed dismay about the fact that women were not represented in the entourage surrounding the Pope during Mass and, as a woman, I can understand their feelings but it didn’t bother me during WYD.
This is how the Church is now, but it is not to say that it will always be so, and those who would pursue the issue of more participation by women should be guided by the Holy Spirit about the timetable for change (if indeed that is God’s will).
Personally I can’t see the difference between whether it is a male or a female, celibate or married, who celebrates the Eucharist – the important issue is that it is Christ present among the faithful.
Pray that the breath of the Spirit moving across our great nation through WYD will become a breeze and then a mighty wind making Australia a great Christian nation and those who portray us as “secular” can be silenced.
PAT CANNARD
Murrumba Downs, Qld
