Wednesday 10 August 2016

Post Pilgrimage Ponderings

So I’m sitting in my seminary room, in my pyjamas, on the first night of the first day of semester two. But you won’t hear anything about this until Friday night* at the earliest because of the first-year internet fast (an exercise in material detachment). The primary thought running through my mind right now is: how on earth did everything happen so fast? One minute I’m blogging away in Italy, next minute I’ve pilgrimaged through Poland, experienced World Youth Day, and am now back in my rightful place at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd.



There actually is a very reasonable (but perhaps not satisfying) explanation for my absence. The moment our plane touched down in Warsaw the day after my last post, our pilgrimage schedule went wild. I was very tempted to force myself to continue with the blog updates, but I knew it would not be a wise choice. First of all, Fr. B made me promise to get proper rest, which would be patently impossible if I had to toil away online each night. Second, Fr. B’s famous words “adapt and prosper at all times” were constantly echoing through my mind. To “adapt and prosper” means to recognise what can be achieved and what can not, with proper reference to God’s will in our lives. I knew that WYD was first and foremost an encounter with Jesus, the blogging was a secondary luxury. If I forced myself to continue pushing out updates, it would mean less sleep, which could potentially lead to missing encounters with our Lord in the people and places of Poland. Fortunately, I slept well enough to keep my eyes wide open, and as a result I felt His presence every step of the way. The words I’m about to say next are a kind of summary of my interior experience of WYD in Poland.



As everyone who has read my previous posts would know, when I left for WYD, I had no idea what to expect. My primary aim was to keep and open heart and be receptive to what God might be trying to tell me amidst the chaos. My guess was that travelling through Italy and Poland would be a prayerful experience that led me into a deeper spiritual relationship with Jesus (and that it was! To a certain degree). But nothing could have prepared me for the real purpose God had in mind…

It was during WYD in Krakow, in 2016, that I fell in love. I fell in love with my Diocese of Broken Bay. And when I say Broken Bay, I don’t mean the physical landmass that constitutes our ecclesial district, I mean the body of Christ, the actual people who are the soul of our local Church. I simply could not have expected to meet such an amazing group of people, and bond with them on the level I did (I refer now to the group affectionately nicknamed “the magic bus”). It was through my encounter with their genuine faith, love and friendship, that I met Christ. Almost everyday of the pilgrimage, I felt as though I was growing in love for God out of a sheer sense of thankfulness for these people in my life.

As I mentioned in a brief sharing I gave at our post-pilgrimage retreat in Warsaw, my experience of Broken Bay has sometimes been a lonely one. The five or so years I spent as youth minister in Woy Woy parish, while extremely rewarding, was often difficult due to lack of support. I think any form of ministry can feel like a slog when one person’s enthusiasm remains in isolation. More recently there’s the fact that up until this month I’ve been the sole seminarian for Broken Bay. Sometimes I could not help but feel like I was: “doing it alone.” But this WYD has cut straight through this manifest untruth. Broken Bay is alive, and it has a vibrant core of young people at its heart. We are certainly not alone, we are just spread out, and it took a unifying event like WYD to bring us together.


The youth of our diocese have so much to offer. The friends I made a WYD bear with them a spirit of joy, an attitude of hope, a strong sense of the faith and a myriad of talents too numerous to count. When my particular pilgrimage group came together, it only took a few days to realise we had something really special. It was no wonder then that it was unanimously chosen that we be called the “magic bus.”


No words can adequately describe the feelings that have been left in my heart after this incredible pilgrimage. I’m at once feeling the sense of heightened elation one gets after making a new friend (multiplied by the thirty-five persons in my bus group), and also saddened that the whole experience is over. The rational part of me recognises that where I am now is my “real-life,” and WYD was just a God-given gift to help me along the way. But that doesn’t stop me from secretly wishing it wasn’t so.


One thing is for certain, it’s only been a few days and I’m already missing my new friends like crazy. But this morning, as if like a voice from the heavens, one of my senior seminary brothers delivered a preaching which related to WYD. He said something like:

“Over the break we’ve developed many new relationships. And as seminarians, just by being ourselves, we have the ability to bear witness to the presence of Christ in our lives in a special way. So, let us not let those relationships fade away. Let us nurture them so as to as to keep the light of Christ burning bright in all our lives.”

I agree completely. However, from my own perspective, it seems as if it was my new WYD friends witnessing Christ to me, not the other way around. But the message remains the same: it is of paramount importance that we maintain these special relationships forged on pilgrimage. These friendships don’t feel to me like fleeting joys, rather they feel like pillars of encouragement and support planted by God in my life. Already I’ve felt a change in myself. It’s like my heart has been expanded with joy and excitement. No longer do I feel isolated, instead I feel a surge of energy and vigour. I have a new and very personal resolve to dedicate myself to this formation process, so that one day (God willing) I might be a priest worthy of serving these amazing people.


I think I’ve made it reasonably clear now how God has been at work in this whole experience. He gave me the opportunity to see some wonders of the world, but more than that, he gave me new friendships that I hope will become as enduring as they are fruitful. It is through this incredible encounter with my diocesan brothers and sisters that God has enlivened the Spirit within me, and given me the strength and resolve to move forward on my journey of priestly discernment.

Peace and blessings,
Sam.


*or Thursday morning, if I happen to exploit the brief window of wifi that opens before class at uni.

2 comments:

  1. Good day my brother in Christ!

    It is great to hear, not simply of your adventures, rather your very experiences.

    I can personally understand your remarks with regards to the difficulties of running a youth ministry with a lack of adequate support, though I found ultimately it tends to be a test of ones convictions and help us realise where we are on our journey. There were many times when I fell short (if not all the time), though the love of ones parish community, more so, the very individuals with whom one interacts, is a true driving force. Bearing witness to the love of God will always have its difficulties. We must stay rooted - WYD2011 "Firm in faith" - that we do not fall away.

    I encourage you in your current endeavours as you prepare yourself, being nourished spiritually, emotionally and mentally. The love of God leads us to shine light on the truth, that in God we "live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). Abide in His love, building the interior life as you study. Be patient. When it is time, allow the overflow of charity to bring His love to the world.

    I and the whole of the Broken Bay are praying for you.

    Tomek

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    1. Much thanks Tomek for your wisdom and support mate. Be assured of my prayers.
      Sam

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