Justin's WYD 2008 Pilgrimage

I'm Home!

2008-07-29T22:04:00.002-04:00

After a 24-hour journey that began around 9:30AM on the 29th (Sydney time) I have arrived back home in Waltham on the same day! I can say that I've never actually been HAPPY that my bags didn't make it home with me. They missed the flight from Vancouver to Montreal (as I almost did) and so it will be shipping to my house tomorrow morning. It was nice not to have to wait for it to come around the conveyer after spending an entire day traveling.

It's great to be home and it's great to be back to Summer! I head back to work tomorrow and I'm even going to a Red Sox game tomorrow evening! I must be insane.

So as much as things will go back to normal I hope things will never be the same. I will certainly look back on my two weeks on the other side of the world in the Land of the Southern Cross with great joy for the rest of my life. It was an unbelieveable experience and I thank my family, friends, everyone at Life Teen and all those who I don't even know who have been praying for me and have been part of the journey with me through this blog. I again look forward to talking to you in person and sharing my stories and I look forward to Madrid, Spain in 2011!

The 24-Hour Journey Home Begins

2008-07-28T19:21:00.002-04:00

Wow, free internet access at the airport?! Unheard of! Anyways, I'm sitting here waiting for boarding to my Air Canada flight. First I'm off to Vancouver then Montreal and then finally to Boston. Time to go!

Day 14 - The Lakes Way and My Return to Sydney

2008-07-28T12:06:00.003-04:00

So when the hostel you try to call doesn't go through because the number is disconnected, should you be concerned? I should've been. After driving EIGHT straight hours from Brisbane, I arrived in Forster to realize that the YHA hostel there was no longer in existence. This place wasn't like a normal city at home where a hotel has 24-hour reception and stuff like that, and I surely wasn't going to drive any more, so that left me with only one choice: to sleep in the car. I broke out all my warm clothes and my foil blanket given to us by World Youth Day and went to sleep. I had to start the car and pump the heat a couple of times during the night but I made it though.

I got up early enough to catch sunrise at Cape Hawke in Booti Booti National Park and then moved down the Lakes Way to the largest tree in New South Wales which you can see below.

It's past 2AM here and so I really need to go to sleep so that I can catch my flight tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see all of you from home again! I hope that this blog has made you part of the pilgrimage that I have made and I hope to talk to you about it in person when I arrive home! I will be home Tuesday evening, July 29th!

Sunrise

Elizabeth Beach

A very big eucalyptus tree

Day 13 - Brisbane and the Journey Back South

2008-07-26T23:38:00.004-04:00

So I can't spend long on this post as I am running out of time again! I went to Mass here in Brisbane this morning and I will begin my journey back to Sydney. Here is some of what I have seen today. Hopefully I can update again soon!

The Cathedral of St. Stephen with the Shirne of Blessed Mary MacKillop next to it

The boardwalk through the mangroves of the Brisbane River

Boats parked in the river

I walked past this place the night before. Crazy.

The Baptism Font

The Crucified Jesus above the alter

The Virgin Mary

Another view of the cathedral

Blessed Mary MacKillop, Australia's first and only blessed

Day 12 - Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Burleigh Heads

2008-07-26T23:11:00.004-04:00

I awoke in Byron Bay to something amazing...the SUN! So I continued my journey north through a region called the Gold Coast. My first stop was at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary where I finally got my wish to hold a koala. The one I held actually was an older one (I wouldn't have been able to tell you that.) And they have some serious claws. Mine was getting a little antsy and almost clawed my face off. I still love them though. In another part of the park there is a large kangaroo area which was probably the most popular spot in the park since you can feed and pet the kangaroos here. It was pretty awesome. Speaking of kangaroos, did you know there is such thing as a tree kangaroo? I didn't, until I saw one. Very interesting. Who knew?!

After spending some more time there I figured with it being early afternoon that it was time to move up the coast to the beach to enjoy the returning sun. I went to the town of Burleigh Heads and lounged out on Burleigh Beach for a few hours. Now I've never been to California, but I figure this place is what you would expect to see at a California beach. Surfers and bodyboarders, young and old, all donning wetsuits dominated the area. You could almost sense that surfer culture surrounding you. Anyways it was great to finally get some sun again and get my feet wet and lay back on the beach for a while.

From there I was off to my final destination, Brisbane, Australia's third largest city. I arrived later in the evening and headed to a Belgian Beer Cafe in the center of town and watched some rugby on the TV. It was Australia taking on New Zealand, so basically everyone in the city was watching it. After that I just headed back to my place which was about a 20-minute walk away and called it a night.

A tree kangaroo...I kid you not.

A view of the city of Surfers Paradise from Burleigh Beach

Surfers galore at this beach

Mission accomplished. Holding one of those irresistable koalas.

A wombat. I'm pretty sure I've seen a few of these guys on the side of the road.

You can actually feed and pet the roos here. Sweet!

This one has a joey

Those tree kangaroos eating

Day 11 - Byron Bay

2008-07-26T22:46:00.003-04:00

Well it rained ALL day today. Somewhat unfortunate has it really left me with nothing to do in a town that I'm sure is really nice when it's not pouing every five minutes. After trying to fight the rain to walk around and possibly make it to a nearby lighthouse, I finally was soaked enough to call it quits and head back to the Main Beach Backpackers where I was staying. I took a nap in the afternoon. During the evening I headed to a nice restaurant called The Balcony and then decided to make some friends at a boisterous place named Cheeky Monkeys. I met folks from the Netherlands, England, Ireland and of course from different parts of Australia. I had a great time and it was just what I needed after quite a lonely, crappy, rainy day. I have only one picture to show for it! That's how nasty it was. Enjoy!

You can see the lighthouse I PLANNED on walking to

Day 10 - Port Macquarie, South West Rocks and Dorrigo

2008-07-24T21:02:00.006-04:00

Hey everyone! I have about a half hour to tell you all about yesterday so here we go! I stayed in Port Macquarie as I mentioned in my last post. I got up bright and early per usual and realized that it was still raining. I wondered how this would effect my plans for the day. I headed to the breakwater near the beach in the center of town. You are actually allowed to paint the rocks that line the water apparently because every single rock was painted that was nearest to the road, some even out several feet. Some look like they were professionally done. It was cool to see all the things that were commemorated: anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, trips, deaths and even beer.

I grabbed some breakfast and wondered what would be the best way to spend this day because of the gloomy weather when suddenly it hit me: it's raining, why not head to a rainforest!? That makes sense right? So I did. After pitstopping in the town of South West Rocks, I headed inland to Dorrigo National Park and spent most of the day there walking through the rainforest. It was pretty cool given the time of year. The canopy did a great job of keeping me relatively dry during most of my walk but by the time I had about 2km left to go before getting back to the rainforest center, the skies really opened up and not even all the cover I had could keep me from getting really wet. Again it was nice to be alone. There was barely anyone there outside of a group of schoolkids who were doing the short circuit, not the long one I was doing.

After my time at the rainforest I had a choice to make. I could either head straight for Byron Bay or I could take the "Waterfalls Way" would would take me further west. It was like 3:30PM and my decision to continue west, well, it wasn't a good one. I did get to see Ebor Falls but by the time I got to the road to see Wollomombi Falls, it was getting pretty dark and it was a dirt road with cows crossing it. So I said no way. Especially since I was realizing now that I had a fairly serious gas situation on my hands. I was under a quarter of a tank and I was some 70+ km from the closest town. So I had to CONTINUE west, just for the purpose of filling up, knowing that I would have to backtrack to go east. Basically, I went 140km or so out of my way. That's pretty bad but I guess if that's the biggest mistake I make then that's not too too bad. But what did kill was the fast that I paid over $100 for gas!!!! Geez, I won't feel so bad when I fill up and it totals $60-$70.

Oh the fun didn't end there though. The road to get back to the northeast to the town of Grafton which is right off the Pacific Highway was CRAZY. It was all twists and turns and switchbacks. My car HATES me after that drive, that's for sure. When I arrived in Grafton, they said I was pretty lucky not to see a kangaroo on the road. I'd say so too, I saw signs saying that there were kangaroos and possibly cattle crossing over unfenced areas! ARE YOU KIDDING?! If I had hit one of those it would've been really bad news. Anyways, I made to Grafton unscathed and was forced to stay there last night.

Right now I am in Byron Bay, having left Grafton early this morning. It is STILL raining, very hard at times. Sometimes it looks like the sun could break out, and then it pours again. I have to figure out what to do on yet another rainy day. I hear that we should finally get good weather back tomorrow. I hope so! I'll be staying in Byron Bay tonight and I'll let you know how today goes!

Vines hanging down over the trail path

Not bad for not having someone to take it! This is me behind Crystal Shower Falls

Tristania Falls

Upper Ebor Falls

Lower Ebor Falls

A view of Port Macquarie

I think Nehemiah wants to surf

South West Rocks

A view from a lookout heading up to Dorrigo National Park

I guess it was a PERFECT day for a trip to the rainforest!

Day 9 - Hunter Valley

2008-07-23T09:26:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone. I've arrived in Port Macquarie and am staying at Port Macquarie Backpackers (yes, I'm back to sharing rooms it seems). It's funny. The Internet is free here on one computer but that computer doesn't allow access to Facebook or really anything that I'd like to use (like say Remote Desktop) and I can't upload pictures because the computer is under lock and key! SO for now let me just tell you what I did today.

I got up nice and early and gave you my previous post talking about the Taronga Zoo, then I headed into the valley. The area has like 100 vineyards (according to the first one I went to) and I went to like 5 of them and mixed in a choclate company and the BlueTongue Brewery. The wines were amazing (I bought a couple bottles, but I wanted to buy one from every place I went). I even tried some red sparkling wines which were quite good and different. The people were pretty awesome too, very conversational. These are small time operations. For most of them, they only sell their wines at their cellar door. It was a great day and it just felt great driving through the vineyards. It's exactly like I'd expected it would be, and it was just one winery after another. Crazy.

Next thing I knew it was 5PM and needless to say I was didn't think it was going to take THAT long to get around to these wineries. So I headed straight north to my next stop, Port Macquarie. It was a few hour drive and not very scenic (and not very light too since I was traveling after sundown). I saw my first rain since being here. It rained pretty hard in spots. I managed to use the correct stick on the steering wheel to operate my wipers. Upon arrival here, I headed down to an Irish pub to grab a late bite to eat and enjoy a couple of brews. Turns out a group from Switzerland that was here for WYD is also in town. I definately didn't expect to see anyone else heading up this way. The bartenders were quite amused by them and we all had some laughs with them trying to understand what the Swiss were saying.

All in all a great day. As for me, I'm going to get some sleep. The plan is to wake up tomorrow morning EARLY and head out to possibly see some dolphins going up the town's river and check out the beaches before taking the scenic route up to Byron Bay.

Here are the pictures!

The Pepper Tree Winery

BlueTongue Brewery...They brew an interesting Ginger Beer

Piggs Peake, my last stop on the day

A view of the vineyard of the Mount View Estate

The simple entrance to Mount View

A great view of the Hunter Valley from a mountain lookout

Ivanhoe Wines with the Chambourcin grape rows in the foreground

Sparkling wine and chocolate...Mmmmm

Day 8 -Taronga Zoo

2008-07-22T19:38:00.004-04:00

Alright guys, late update today (or early depending on how you want to look at it). There were no internet cafes open last night when I got into the town of Cessnock where I stayed last night at the Cessnock Hotel. It was the first time in a LONG time that I had an entire room to myself. I have to say it was quite nice.

Yesterday was mostly spent at the Taronga Zoo, north of Sydney in the town of Mosman. They had a really great variety of animals, many of which I was seeing for the first time in person. It was a very well-kept zoo. They had areas you could go into where you were right there with the animals, typically birds and 'roos. It was pretty awesome. You can see some of my favorite pictures below.

After spending several hours at the zoo I headed north on Route 1. Unfortunately I got on at the Falcon Street Gateway which doesn't have any cash booths to pay the toll, DOH! But no worries I called this morning and got that all taken care of. I took 1 north until I got to a "Tourist Route" that would take me here to the Hunter Valley and the town of Cessnock. This is wine country and the town has dozens of vineyards which I'll be checking out today. Anyways, the drive on the tourist road was awesome and it was certainly a welcome departure from just regular highway driving and being near the city.

So here I am today. It's coming up on 11AM and I'm about to make my way over to the vineyards. I don't know what kind of condition they are in at this time of year because it is quite cold. It got down to 32 last night for sure so we'll see. By the end of the day I hope to have made my way to Port Macquarie with a stop at the One Mile Beach in north of Newcastle and Cape Hawke via the Lakes Way. Don't know what any of that means? Check out Google Maps and you'll probably see what I am talking about. Vino awaits me!

It wouldn't be an Australian zoo without one of these guys

Komodo Dragon

Meerkats!

A lazy morning for this 'roo

Eating those yummy leaves

Not sure what this bird is but it was cool and made the sound of a Velociraptor talking

A BLACK swan...only in Australia

More kangaroos

I WILL hold one of these guys before I leave (or take one home)

Dingo ate my baby

Day 7 - Blue Mountains

2008-07-21T07:58:00.003-04:00

So with World Youth Day 2008 over, I now go from a pilgrimage mode to more of a vacation mode. So I left the Central Sydney YHA today and picked up my car at Avis. At this point I'm really excited but REALLY nervous about driving. I go and put my stuff in the trunk and the first thing I do is go and almost get into the passenger seat. Talk about a bad omen. I was freaking out. I go to use my directional, and oh wait...that's on the right. So instead I sent my wipers going. For the most part I have gotten a hang of it by now but God forbid I have to like parallel park or do anything remotely skillful with this thing.

I headed about 100km west to the Blue Mountains. Lonely Planet says that they are called that because of something that is given off by the eucalyptus trees...interesting! You'll see what I'm talking about in one of the pictures below.

Before setting off to see the mountains themselves I went to lunch in the town center and had fish and chips. But it wasn't just any fish. It's one that I'm pretty sure I have never had before -- barramundi. It was pretty darn good. Very thick, almost like chicken meat, except it was fish.

While I was finishing up my meal I was looking out at the street and saw a California group that I had seen at least 3 or 4 times during World Youth Day. They saw me and yelled "BOSTON!" How do I keep running into these guys.

OK...so the Blue Mountains. I went to a place called Echo Point on the Blue Mountain range. It had unbelievable views which you can see below. It also had a Giant Staircase that runs from the top viewpoint down into the forested area. This staircase was great to go DOWN, but it was horrible to have to climb up. While down there I went on a 1km walk and didn't run into anyone on the way. It was pretty cool to get away from all the touristy atmosphere and spend some time in quiet. The forest was so dense there that you thought it was much later than it actually was because of the darkness. Up above the wind was truly howling. It's a wonder someone doesn't get blown off into the valley with the way the wind was blowing.

The thing that this area of the mountains is most known for is the Three Sisters. The name for the rock formation actually comes from an Aboriginal story where three sisters were basically turned into rocks to protect them from some nasty creatures but their father (who used a magical bone to do so) lost the bone and is still looking for it today.

After my long day at the Blue Mountains I headed back towards Sydney and decided to stay in Manly to the north of Sydney. This will allow me to go to the Taronga Zoo in the morning and then who knows what will happen then!?

My Rental Hotness

A Truly GIANT Staircase

The 1K walk to Leura Forest

Three Sisters at Sundown. Notice the BLUE mist.

That's me...at Echo Point...Yeah

The Three Sisters

A Pretty Large Expanse

The Katoomba Cascades

The Katoomba Falls

Nehemiah Found a Large Friend

Day 5 & 6 - Vigil and Final Mass in the Southern Cross Precinct

2008-07-20T11:25:00.007-04:00

Hey everyone. I wish I could get into the past two days now but there's this problem I have. Well, they just backed up their computers at 1:30AM and they can't add any more internet time to my card for another HALF hour and I'm almost out of time. SO, I'm going to try to get to as much as I can and then fill in the rest later. At least you'll have pictures to give you some idea of the past two days.

The past two days have been great and they have solidified my thoughts first off that Sydney has been the most organized World Youth Day that I have been to yet! This whole week they have been so planned out and the public transport has been so easy and the venues have been huge allowing for a smooth movement of the thousands of pilgrims here in the Great South Land of the Holy Spirit. Major props to the volunteers and the leadership behind this World Youth Day. They have definitely raised the bar for future events.

I know you shouldn't have your dessert before dinner, but I want to let everyone know that Pope Benedict XVI has announced that the next World Youth Day, which will take place in 2011, will take us to Madrid, Spain. It is my hope that this time we can bring a group from Stoughton Life Teen for the first time since World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto. If you are in high school now, start to think about this amazing opportunity! Trust me, World Youth Day is an event for a lifetime. The international exposure, the experience of the universal church, the opportunity for growth in faith...all of these things and much, much more are awaiting you in Madrid! Don't miss out.

I have less than 5 minutes left before my internet access dies. So for now I will leave you with a "God Bless". Know that I did pray for all your intentions at the Papal Mass and that you have been constantly been on my mind and in my heart over this pilgrimage.

I will update as soon as I can. But for now it is almost 2AM so good night!

UPDATE:

OK so let me try to bring you up to date with the events of the past couple of days with the half hour of time I have here on this computer.

Saturday started with getting up just before 8AM to head up to North Sydney to begin my 9.2km pilgrim walk to Randwick Racecourse. By about 9:30AM I was walking across the Sydney Harbor Bridge with thousands of other pilgrims. They have only ever shut down the bridge one other time to my knowledge and that was for the Olympic Games when they were held here. So this was a obviously a pretty big deal.

The crowds moved steadily all the way to the Southern Cross Precinct (the name given to Randwick Racecourse and Centennial Park on the occasion of this World You Day) cheering and singing and waving to people all along the way with flags and banners raised high. You want to talk about the Spirit renewing a city. From what I understand Sydney (and Australia) really needed this strong showing of faith to rejuvenate the church here. I think they got that.

I got to Randwick and not too long after I had posted my flag and set up my tent I was SURROUNDED by a group of Aussies from northern Queensland. They were a great bunch and we had a lot of laughs.

I stumbled upon the group from the Archdiocese of Boston and spoke to Noelle from Coyle, Kathy Stebbins from the former OYM, and Fr. Matt from the same office (Office for the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults). I also met up with the group from St. Mary's Life Teen in Dedham and spoke with Jon Niven and several teens and CORE members.

Once the sun went down it got cold, REAL cold. I stayed pretty warm all night though in my tent (minus my feet for some reason).

The next morning I was introduced finally to Vegamite! This stuff is basically yeast, it's black, and it's REALLY strong. It wasn't all that bad I guess. Salty and spicy at the same time. I don't know if it's something I'd like to have all the time though.

The Mass with Pope Benedict was great as always. The music again was amazing. Following the mass exodus from the Southern Cross Precinct I went out to see if maybe I could sneak in a BridgeClimb but they only had the exploration tour available and I really wanted to do the full BridgeClimb, so I decided that the climb would not be happening for me, oh well. I was getting quite hungry at this point so I went to the Australian Hostel. They are known to have a cult following for their pizzas (more than Town Spa I would think). I ordered the Pepper Kangaroo pizza. It was awesome. Kangaroo meat marinated in native pepper and roasted capsicum with native berries. YUM! From there I went to Lord Nelson's Brewery to sample some of the local brews. They were quite good.

That's pretty much my couple of days in a nutshell (or as much as I can get into detail about in 30 minutes of furiously typing). I head out to the west of Sydney today to see the Blue Mountains. I'll let you know how it goes! Stay tuned!

Look who is checkin' out the Harbor Bridge

That's a really BIG monstrance

Needless to say it was cold the night of the vigil at Randwick

B16

Nehemiah loves Australians

He also likes the Opera House

A picture of the crowd heading to Randwick

The site of the Final Vigil and Mass with Pope Benedict XVI

The Stage...Yes that is Fr. Stan performing

Jon Niven

Fr. Matt Williams (sleeping)

More pictures of the crowd heading for Randwick

Officials monitoring the flow of pilgrims crossing the Harbor Bridge

Me with an Aussie who wanted to have a picture!

Approaching the Harbor Bridge

Someone offered to take a picture of me...how could I refuse?!

Day 4 - Final Catechesis, Stations of the Cross and Youth Festival

2008-07-18T09:22:00.004-04:00

Today was my final day of catechesis at the Sydney Entertainment Center. It featured a great talk from Bishop Eugene Hurley talking about what it means when the rubber hits the road and we have to truly witness to Christ in our lives with the power of the Holy Spirit. He recalled the words of John Paul the Great when he was in Rome speaking to the pilgrims at World Youth Day then saying that it would be hard to be witnesses of Jesus, but that we WOULD do it. The words of Bishop Hurley brought me right back to remembering just how much faith JPII had in the youth. Certainly I have him to thank for being here right now at this XXIII World Youth Day.

The Stations of the Cross were today. I have not attended this part of World Youth Day in the two times previously, but this time I am did and I'm glad I did. It was very well done and took place in several locations around Sydney from St. Mary's Cathedral to the Operah House to Darling Harbor and finally to where I was in Barangaroo. You'll see a couple pictures I took below of it when it went right by where I was within the venue.

Following the Stations of the Cross was the main Friday event, "Receive the Power LIVE!" which featured your friend and mine, Matt Maher. The whole thing was AMAZING. It was somewhat XLTish and did include a short Eucharistic Adoration. It was more than that though. A great time of praise and worship alongside Darlene Zschech and Hillsong United. Powerful messages from several people including John Pridmore, an English gangster gone straight after finding a relationship with Christ.

I continue to meet people from all over the country and all over the world...so many people! They have estimated 500,000 for that final Mass on Sunday, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were more.

Tomorrow I journey from North Sydney over the Harbor Bridge and down to Randwick Racecourse, the site of the final vigil and Mass for World Youth Day. It is roughly an 8-mile walk which I will start tomorrow morning to get me to Randwick around noon. I most likely will not be able to post tomorrow because of it but please continue to keep me in prayer as I will keep you in mine.

Nehemiah was Following Along with the Stations of the Cross Too

Pilgrims from New Jersey Take in the Stations of the Cross

Australian Christian Artist Darlene Zschech and Hillsong United

Former Gangster John Pridmore

Matt Maher Band Rocking Barangaroo at Receive the Power LIVE!

A Fun Skit From the Morning Catechesis

Bishop Hurley from the Diocese of Darwin, Australia

The Aboriginal People Are Prayed Over and In Turn Pray Over the Rest of the Congregation

Simon of Cyrene During the Stations of the Cross

Jesus being Led to "The Place of the Skull"

Day 3 - Catechesis, Papal Arrival and Youth Festival

2008-07-17T11:35:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone! Things continue to be great here in Oz and I hope that what I have written has helped you to join me in pilgrimage this week.

I attended catechesis this morning with a bishop from Nigeria speaking about all being united under the spirit. I also heard from the aboriginal woman who saw the vision of the Holy Spirit like a big bird with a halo in the sky which is one of the images of this World Youth Day. I met a group from Fargo, North Dakota. Just when I thought it didn't get colder than New England, enter Fargo.

From there I joined up with a a group of Aussie/South Africans for lunch and the journey to Barangaroo for the Papal Arrival. We didn't have the greatest seats in the world but we got to hear the insightful words of Pope Benedict XVI and I had lots of great conversations while waiting for his arrival.

From there came the highlight of my day really. That was XLT put on by Life Teen at they Sydney Entertainment Center. My two friends from lunch actually joined me there and loved it (so much that they bought Matt Maher's new CD). Lisa Epperson was the MC while Randy Raus gave the witness talk and Matt Maher band rocked it HARD. The entertainment center was certainly on fire with the Holy Spirit. I FINALLY ran into (part of) the group from St. Mary's in Dedham. It was great to see some people from home.

Anyways, here's some pictures for you all to check out. Enjoy!

Matt Maher Band Starting Things Off at Evening XLT

Lisa MCs the Night

Randy Gives a Great Talk

My new Sydney/(South Africa) friends!

North Dakota Folks with Their State Flag

A Nigerian Bishop was Our Speaker for This Morning

My new friends from Fargo!

Josh from Wollongong, NSW, Australia with MY Flag and Me with His

A Rowdy Boston Crew!

Day 2 - Catechesis and Youth Festival Events

2008-07-16T08:51:00.005-04:00

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!

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

Day 1 - Pilgrimage to Cathedral and Opening Mass

2008-07-15T09:28:00.006-04:00

Hey everyone! Before I go into what happened today there is one thing I did forget to mention about last night. After posting I went to dinner and then to an event at the Sydney Opera House. It was a vocal concert. Let me tell you that the last thing you want to do after being up for so long and being tired is go to a vocal concert consisting of chant and only chant. I was asleep for about half of it I'd say. I felt bad but then I saw that a bunch of kids were also falling asleep and got over it. I mean it's not an insult it just means that their music is very relaxing, right? And that's a good thing.

Today, first on the list of things to do was journey to St. Mary's Cathedral. Visiting the cathedral of the host WYD diocese is a normal activity for most every pilgrim. Before I even arrived to the cathedral, I ran into a group from a Portuguese community in Lowell. We had great conversation (and they liked my last name). Inside the Cathedral one of the major attractions was the remains of Pier Giorgio Frassati . He was an interesting man and on his way to sainthood within the Church. You can learn more about him at this site: http://www.frassatiusa.org/

From there I made a much needed trip to Reconciliation to get World Youth Day REALLY started off right. From there I took a trip to the Vocations Expo where I caught up Randy at the Life Teen table where they were doing well. I also stopped by some of the booths put up by the USCCB.

From there it was off to my LAST venue for the day, Barangaroo. It is a HUGE outdoor area which would serve as the site for the opening Mass. I got to meet a whole bunch of people (some of whom you will see in the pictures) and the liturgy was probably the best opening day liturgy I have seen. Following the Mass was a concert and even a fireworks show!!

So here I am. It's almost midnight and I'm EXHAUSTED, so let's just get to the pictures and let them tell the rest of the story for now (in no particular order)

The Altar of St. Mary's Cathedral

The Body of Blessed Pier

Me with the Harbor Bridge in the background

Two new friends from our neighbor to the north (Canada)

Harbor Bridge at Night (You can see the WYD08 logo projected on the pillar)

The Sydney Opera House

The Opera House's Concert Hall

Me and my new friends from Lowell outside St. Mary's

Our Lady of the Southern Cross

This is a sampling of people at Barangaroo for Opening Mass

Cardinal Pell of Sydney Raises the Book of the Gospels

Cardinal Pell goes to receive the gifts for Mass (WYD Icon and Cross to the right)

Me with new friends from Minnesota (don't cha know) and Cali

The CRAZY light/fireworks show at the end of the concert

Sydney!

2008-07-14T03:43:00.003-04:00

I arrived here in Sydney early in the morning (just about when Life Teen Mass was wrapping up in Stoughton). Surprisingly I am still awake! So before I start to think about falling asleep at the computer let me get into some of the stuff that happened today (and yesterday):

First, what are the chances that I would end up on the same flights as the president of Life Teen and the Eastern/Life Support Director from Toronto on? Pretty good apparently! Randy Raus and Lisa Epperson were both on my flight. It was good to get a chance to talk to them one on one and hear some of the great things that are going on with Life Teen worldwide!

When I arrived in Sydney, you can imagine my surprise when I looked around standing there in my t-shirt and shorts (which had a life of their own by this point) and saw people walking around in long sleeve shirts, jackets, and yes even SCARVES! Yes, it is winter here in Sydney, but not winter like my fellow New Englanders know. Oh no, apparently upper 60s, lower 70s is COLD. WHAT?!

Somehow I managed to get sore feet on the FIRST day of World Youth Day. I walked almost the entire city in order to get my pilgrim registration plus pilgrim pack. I followed that up with a walk to the fringe of Sydney to get my wooden dowel and zip ties to fly my flag. I have grown quite attached to my U.S. flag. This is also its third World Youth Day. It not only serves to tell people where I'm from but it also serves as a great walking stick (which I will need if I walk anywhere near as much as I did today).

I think Sydneyers are just now starting to grasp how greatly their city is about to be taken over this week. It will be interesting to see how many pilgrims will be there tomorrow for the Opening Mass. So far I have seen the pilgrims from St. Mary's Life Teen in Dedham, and pilgrims from Mexico, Italy, South Korea, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and more! What a great cultural experience!

Here's some pictures for now. Hopefully they will give you a small glimpse into some of the things I've seen so far. There will be much more to come I promise! So stay tuned.

An interesting bird. If anyone wants to tell everyone exactly what it is, that'd be great!

A view from the top floor of YHA Central Sydney where I am staying

Notice the many banners announcing World Youth Day 2008

Another view from the rooftop

Vancouver

2008-07-13T01:48:00.000-04:00

It is starting to get late for me now as it is almost 2 am where I started my day this morning. This next flight is the long one. Luckily Air Canada's entertainment is quite good. I watched an HBO documentary called 'Tough As Nails' and ' 21' Both were good. The plan for this flight? Food + red wine equals SLEEP! See you in Sydney!

Toronto

2008-07-12T16:27:00.000-04:00

i have arrived in Toronto and will be here until 8.30. so far so good!

So Tired I Can't Sleep?

2008-07-12T03:23:00.003-04:00

Well I'm in one of those rare situations for me where I am really tired but I can't sleep because of the anticipation for today's trip to Sydney! The fact that I have also been packing has kept me up too, of course. I leave from Boston's Logan International Airport this afternoon at 1:30PM. After stops in Toronto and Vancouver and more than 24 hours later I will be in Sydney! I think I'm finally ready and I think sleep would be a good idea at this point. I'll post again either later this morning or during one of my stops when my brain is functioning a little better!

Only A Day Away!

2008-07-11T01:12:00.002-04:00

Well it's been forever since I started this thing. Things have been busy and this week things got so much busier! Between finishing up work-related things and making sure I have everything laid out for Sydney it's been a stressful week. But in just one day I'll be heading off to Oz! I have my rental car all set up for my second week. I went out and bought a cool 1-person tent, the Eureka! Spitfire I. It should be very useful for the vigil at Randwick and opens up the option for camping during my second week! I've started planning out which Youth Festival activities I will attend. Like past World Youth Days, there are a million things to choose from and I am really looking forward to it.

A lot of people are surprised when I tell them that I am going to WYD alone. They ask if I am going to join up with a group of people I know (like from another Life Teen parish). Although being part of a group sounds great during the catechetical sessions happening during the morning, I've come to the realization that I really need to try to make this a PERSONAL pilgrimage. Don't you ever feel like you are always part of a group? I think that by being alone in most things during this World Youth Day will be the best thing for me at this point. It just makes sense right now to me.

Anyways, I'm really excited and I can't wait to start sharing my experiences with you. Stay tuned! It will get better, I promise!

An Introduction

2008-05-17T19:07:00.003-04:00

Hello and welcome to my WYD 2008 blog! I leave for my third World Youth Day pilgrimage on July 12, 2008. That's less than two months from now! To remember exactly what I did during my time in Australia and to share with everyone at home my experience there I have decided to create this blog which I will update (hopefully) daily during my pilgrimage.

Most of the logistically important matters of my trip have been taken care of at this point, that is, my round-trip flight to Sydney, my request for vacation from work, my pilgrim registration payment and my hostel booking for the week of World Youth Day. I have yet to really plan my second week in Australia during which I am thinking of traveling up to the Great Barrier Reef and then back to Sydney for my flight home, obviously checking out as much as I can along the way. I really have to start preparing spiritually as well. This is a pilgrimage after all and I'm hoping that having this time and being "alone" on this trip will be a real opportunity for renewal.

I'll let you know what's up as my preparation continues. Please pray for me during the next couple of months.