Today the only task was to make it to the site of the vigil, and that we did. The journey was long and tough, hot and crowded. I don’t think it compares directly with one of those ultra marathons that goes across the Sahara Desert, but it certainly felt like it. The anticipation and excitement was electric as a representatives of the worlds Catholic Youth made their final pilgrimage to wait for the Pope at the vigil site.
For me, it feels like each of the daily themes has been experienced in this day alone. We arose, and set out determined to make it to the vigil site. Through the heat and humidity we continued on, enthused by our longing to be there and knowing the joy that would come when we arrived. And now, as I sit watching the Pope giving his address to us, a certain stillness has passed over the camp. Yes there are still groups finding their places and police going past, but within the camps we are focused and still. Maybe this is what Christ meant when he said ‘where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in your midst’. His presence has drawn us here, and like Mary, we have journey and come to our rest with Christ.
And finally, when the Pope addressed us, he began by thanking us for the journey. He called it a journey of joy, and that is what it was. Joyful, he said, because ‘joy is missionary’. In each face that we see, in each smile we create or have put on our face, it is a witness to the joy that Christ brings when he is present with us. That then will be my challenge during this vigil, not to frown and not to complain. But instead to recognise the smile of Christ in each of the pilgrims I encounter our in this field.
Matthew Janvier O.Carm
