Psalm98 Music Ministry at work in WYD Madrid!
By Emee Wenk
1) Tuesday ~ Palacio de las Desportes
PS98 and St. Matthew’s Vietnamese Youth Group, in their red and white jerseys, sang the opening and closing songs for this first Canadian gathering at World Youth Day. Archbishop Miller was delighted to see our group from Vancouver and prayed with us before the start of the ceremony. You can hear Maria singing “Light of the World” on youtube, while the WYD Cross was carried in.
Many of us started volunteering today for the Salt and Light TV booth on the main lobby.
2) Wednesday to Saturday ~ Palacio de las Desportes
Every morning, we made our way to the Love and Light Centre in our grey t-shirts to volunteer from 9 am to 2 pm for the Sisters of Life, during Catechesis and Celebration of Mass. Our entire PS98 group of 40 (including 5 from St. Anthony’s Agassiz and 18 from St. Matthew’s) performed various duties such as traffic flow and security. From my assigned spot, I was awed to see smiling priests and bishops processing in for Mass “skipping” over the hump (electrical cords) and Fr. Rosica beaming to see us volunteers.
3) Thursday night ~ Retiro deTemplete de Musica
This was the night PS98 had been looking forward to and had seriously committed to. The rotunda was decorated with Canadian flags, the sound techs were ready, the Aussies and Brits had been waiting for two hours…..PS98 shone, rocked and delivered their message of evangelization, praising and proclaiming God’s words in music. The dancing among the audience created a dust storm and yet they asked for more! Ian’s opening songs, the dance numbers by the Vietnamese youth, as well as Fr. Noel’s raps were all received warmly by the crowd from 10 pm to midnight. What a glorious night!
4) Saturday night ~ Cuatros Vientos
Eleven of us started out early this morning to celebrate Mass with our Vancouver Archdiocese pilgrims at Espiritu Santo Church. We were ready for our Vigil night with our tarps, sleeping bags, foamies, sunscreen and lots of water. We decided to take a short cut and get there as quickly as possible, judging by the hundreds of thousands already heading for this air base in the early afternoon. We had to fight for a spot among the Italians (a not-too-friendly crowd) since D4 was full by 3 pm. My nursing instincts waved red flags: shortage of water in the mid-day hot sun, possibility of mass chaos, unsanitary toilet conditions. Finally the sun went down and we stayed put; we’re saved by the picnic bags of food and water for the night. Pope Benedict arrived and tried to address the million young people who had answered his call, but thunderstorms interfered with great orchestration. I heard him start with “Mes queridos peregrinos!” and then the sound system faded. The wind picked up tarps and garbage, covering us with mud and the water we so longed for. BE NOT AFRAID! Our PS98 group, huddling under tarps but our packs secure inside garbage bags, were not afraid. An overwhelming bonding of spirit and togetherness in the midst of disaster—assuming responsibility for each other—and the calm of the night settled us into our damp sleeping bags. A few times I opened my eyes to a clear sky, the moon and Jupiter watching over us. Bryan woke up wondering, “Where am I?” Thaddee was sitting up at 5 am trying to get warm…Jay slept like a babe in his baby blue sleeping bag…Sean learned a few lessons on sacrifice…Ryan taught Ian more rain songs…Kim, Coral and Stacia grew up a notch…Regina wouldn’t change anything to rewrite this script. Our Vigil experience at Cuatros Vientos was meant to be remembered as a test of faith and to be treasured as a gift of special grace.
By Emee Wenk
1) Tuesday ~ Palacio de las Desportes
PS98 and St. Matthew’s Vietnamese Youth Group, in their red and white jerseys, sang the opening and closing songs for this first Canadian gathering at World Youth Day. Archbishop Miller was delighted to see our group from Vancouver and prayed with us before the start of the ceremony. You can hear Maria singing “Light of the World” on youtube, while the WYD Cross was carried in.
Many of us started volunteering today for the Salt and Light TV booth on the main lobby.
2) Wednesday to Saturday ~ Palacio de las Desportes
Every morning, we made our way to the Love and Light Centre in our grey t-shirts to volunteer from 9 am to 2 pm for the Sisters of Life, during Catechesis and Celebration of Mass. Our entire PS98 group of 40 (including 5 from St. Anthony’s Agassiz and 18 from St. Matthew’s) performed various duties such as traffic flow and security. From my assigned spot, I was awed to see smiling priests and bishops processing in for Mass “skipping” over the hump (electrical cords) and Fr. Rosica beaming to see us volunteers.
3) Thursday night ~ Retiro deTemplete de Musica
This was the night PS98 had been looking forward to and had seriously committed to. The rotunda was decorated with Canadian flags, the sound techs were ready, the Aussies and Brits had been waiting for two hours…..PS98 shone, rocked and delivered their message of evangelization, praising and proclaiming God’s words in music. The dancing among the audience created a dust storm and yet they asked for more! Ian’s opening songs, the dance numbers by the Vietnamese youth, as well as Fr. Noel’s raps were all received warmly by the crowd from 10 pm to midnight. What a glorious night!
4) Saturday night ~ Cuatros Vientos
Eleven of us started out early this morning to celebrate Mass with our Vancouver Archdiocese pilgrims at Espiritu Santo Church. We were ready for our Vigil night with our tarps, sleeping bags, foamies, sunscreen and lots of water. We decided to take a short cut and get there as quickly as possible, judging by the hundreds of thousands already heading for this air base in the early afternoon. We had to fight for a spot among the Italians (a not-too-friendly crowd) since D4 was full by 3 pm. My nursing instincts waved red flags: shortage of water in the mid-day hot sun, possibility of mass chaos, unsanitary toilet conditions. Finally the sun went down and we stayed put; we’re saved by the picnic bags of food and water for the night. Pope Benedict arrived and tried to address the million young people who had answered his call, but thunderstorms interfered with great orchestration. I heard him start with “Mes queridos peregrinos!” and then the sound system faded. The wind picked up tarps and garbage, covering us with mud and the water we so longed for. BE NOT AFRAID! Our PS98 group, huddling under tarps but our packs secure inside garbage bags, were not afraid. An overwhelming bonding of spirit and togetherness in the midst of disaster—assuming responsibility for each other—and the calm of the night settled us into our damp sleeping bags. A few times I opened my eyes to a clear sky, the moon and Jupiter watching over us. Bryan woke up wondering, “Where am I?” Thaddee was sitting up at 5 am trying to get warm…Jay slept like a babe in his baby blue sleeping bag…Sean learned a few lessons on sacrifice…Ryan taught Ian more rain songs…Kim, Coral and Stacia grew up a notch…Regina wouldn’t change anything to rewrite this script. Our Vigil experience at Cuatros Vientos was meant to be remembered as a test of faith and to be treasured as a gift of special grace.
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