This past weekend, my youth group got the amazing opportunity to go to World Youth Day at Home Detroit 2016. I had never been to a youth conference, or anything like this before, so I didn't really know what to expect. My Mom and sister had the opportunity to celebrate World Youth Day with Pope Benedict XVI a few years ago, and I have always enjoyed hearing them speak about their journey. When I found out my youth group would be participating in a similar, more condensed, local event, I was so excited to go.
When I got up on Saturday morning and drove to my church, I had a lot of questions. Would there be lots of parishes there? Would there be Polish food? Will the weather hold up? I really had no idea what I would be experiencing this weekend. Before we left to drive to the event, we were all given the World Youth Day at Home T-Shirts. They had a picture of Pope Francis on the front, with the words "Vote For Mercy" framing it. This set the tone for the entire event- Mercy. Although I have heard a great deal about mercy since the Jubilee Year of Mercy began, this event changed the way I saw mercy.
One of our first activities was the "Pilgrimage Walk". The purpose of the walk was to be in solidarity with those at World Youth Day in Poland, who had to do a much longer spiritual walk. Fortunately, our walk was only around the campus, but unfortunately, it rained. Actually, it poured, but this did not break our spirits. We were all here for a reason-to connect with others and share our faith, and a "little" rain was not going to ruin that. While we were on the walk, we were given a list of questions to discuss with people from other parishes. Through this experience, I met so many cool teens who shared the same passion for my faith as I did, and it was truly inspiring.
Throughout the day on Saturday we were given talks by the truly inspiring Mike Patin. Often it can be difficult to get teens excited to listen to religious talks. Nothing could be farther from the truth with Mike. He knew how to engage us, and I could tell everyone there was truly influenced by what he had to say. He talked a lot about mercy, forgiveness, and other topics that made us really take a look at our faith and our actions.
We also did some cool corporal and spiritual works of mercy stations which helped us understand how to show mercy on global and local levels. We learned how one company was dedicated to providing clean water to developing countries, by collecting and donating gently used tennis shoes. We made blankets for the Pope Francis Center in Detroit, gift bags for the sick, and decorated crosses for people in nursing homes. We got to experience a new way of praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, which made this prayer even more special. Also, there were exhibits on "Miracles of the Eucharist". Saint Pope John Paul II had stayed at this same campus back in 1987 when he had visited the United States. We got to see the room in with he stayed and the kayak he used during his visit. I thought it was so cool, getting to experience some of the same things an actual pope, and saint got to experience not too long ago.
After an amazing dinner featuring some awesome pierogies, we got the opportunity to participate in Eucharistic adoration, and hear an inspiring talk from Bishop Byrnes. Perhaps the best part of the night was the beautiful mass we all celebrated together. We had the awesome opportunity to get to hear a homily given by the archbishop, and connect with each other and God in the best way possible, through the Eucharist.
Although we were planning on sleeping outside under the stars that night, like they were doing in Poland, the rain spoiled that for us. Sleeping in the gym wasn't that bad though!
The next morning we had our closing ceremony and prepared to leave. The closing ceremony was a tribute to everything we had done that weekend, and made me a little sad to leave. We sang "Blessed are the Merciful" one last time together, were given a bottle of Holy Water and a blessed rosary, and then were sent forth to spread the message of mercy to the world.
I am so grateful for the amazing opportunity to attend World Youth Day at Home Detroit, and feel incredibly inspired. Before I went, I was feeling kind of hopeless, because I feared many of the youth didn't care about their faith anymore. Now my faith is restored after meeting so many amazing, inspiring youths. I am also so inspired to share mercy with everyone possible, and in every form, and I was reminded once again how amazing Jesus is. It was truly a life changing experience.
-Theresa
