It's amazing how much one can do in a day. I woke up bright and early this morning for our first day of catechesis. Catechesis sessions typically include praise and worship, a teaching on a certain topic with Q&A typically given by a bishop, followed by Mass. My session was held at the Sydney Entertainment Center and was filled predominately with Aussie pilgrims but also had a good number of Americans, Canadians, and other English-speaking people. You can see a couple of pictures below showing my experience there.
After catechesis I had lunch with a group that you can see below. See, you have to be in groups of 6 to get a meal. So far I have gotten together with groups from Chile, California, Australia and Poland. What would seem like a hassle to most people actually is a good way to spend some time meeting new people, especially when it takes 45 minutes to get your meal! I met one young man from Bonn, Germany which is where I stayed during the last World Youth Day. What would be the chances that maybe he knew that family?! The name of the family didn't ring a bell for him. Oh well! My conversation with him reminded me of my great conversations with Till and Ingmar while I stayed with them and I'm glad that the inconvenience of waiting for dinner brought me to that experience.
I returned to the Opera House today to listen to some Christian acid jazz. It was pretty darn good and certainly a new experience for me as I never even knew there was such a genre in the Christian realm. I also witnessed the high energy and rhythm of the Alleluya Band just outside of the Opera House. The crowd really got into this act and believe me it wasn't hard given how fun the music and the dancing was. I've been taking lots of videos on my cell phone which I'll have to upload when I get home. I guess I should be using my REAL video camera. But that is just one too many cameras I think in my bag.
After spending some time at the Opera House I headed back down to the Sydney Convention Center where I got to see a workshop on John Paul II's Theology of the Body. It was a PACKED venue (which you will see below) which I was very impressed by. The session was fun and interactive and really put into perspective who we are, what we are made for, and what the word "marriage" should mean to us as Catholics, that is, how it relates to Christ and the Church and us and Christ in Heaven.
I wish I could write more but this is about when the eyes begin to get heavy. I hope you have been finding these interesting. Do you have any questions?? Feel free to leave me a comment and I'll try to answer it for you!
After catechesis I had lunch with a group that you can see below. See, you have to be in groups of 6 to get a meal. So far I have gotten together with groups from Chile, California, Australia and Poland. What would seem like a hassle to most people actually is a good way to spend some time meeting new people, especially when it takes 45 minutes to get your meal! I met one young man from Bonn, Germany which is where I stayed during the last World Youth Day. What would be the chances that maybe he knew that family?! The name of the family didn't ring a bell for him. Oh well! My conversation with him reminded me of my great conversations with Till and Ingmar while I stayed with them and I'm glad that the inconvenience of waiting for dinner brought me to that experience.
I returned to the Opera House today to listen to some Christian acid jazz. It was pretty darn good and certainly a new experience for me as I never even knew there was such a genre in the Christian realm. I also witnessed the high energy and rhythm of the Alleluya Band just outside of the Opera House. The crowd really got into this act and believe me it wasn't hard given how fun the music and the dancing was. I've been taking lots of videos on my cell phone which I'll have to upload when I get home. I guess I should be using my REAL video camera. But that is just one too many cameras I think in my bag.
After spending some time at the Opera House I headed back down to the Sydney Convention Center where I got to see a workshop on John Paul II's Theology of the Body. It was a PACKED venue (which you will see below) which I was very impressed by. The session was fun and interactive and really put into perspective who we are, what we are made for, and what the word "marriage" should mean to us as Catholics, that is, how it relates to Christ and the Church and us and Christ in Heaven.
I wish I could write more but this is about when the eyes begin to get heavy. I hope you have been finding these interesting. Do you have any questions?? Feel free to leave me a comment and I'll try to answer it for you!
A Packed House for Christopher West's Intro to Theology of the Body
The Opera House...I can't take enough pictures of it.
Sydney Harbor Bridge at Sunset
Alleluya Band from Malawi with African Song and Dance
New friends from Kansas and Bonn, Germany
New Friends from Poland
An Aboriginal Dance Troop Opens Up Morning Catechesis
Bishop Saunders Talks About Using The Gifts and Talents Given to Us
My Lunch Was Had With These Young Aussies with Lebanese Heritage
Reasonaxis, Catholic Acid Jazz
A View Across the Harbor from the Operah House
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