Day 4 Part 2

Sightseeing & The Pope's Welcome Reception

After visiting with my new friend Paulinho and his family we went to see the Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio, (I would be lying if I didn't say it was strange looking for a Cathedral)

only to find that we couldn't get in.  Of all the nerve the Pope was there. We hung around the outside with about 50,000 Argentines and waited for a glimpse of the Pope. He came out and the crowd went nuts, I have to admit I had tears in my eyes. It is overpowering to be in the presence of the one person who can make a decision on behalf of God. It was amazing to see the descendant of Peter. He is a mere mortal man yet influenced to a higher degree by the Holy Spirit to lead us towards Heaven. It is his stewardship that we must now follow. It seems as though a big focus is going to be helping the poor; helping not enabling. We adhere to the letter of the law in order to call ourselves Catholic. The thing is, that a Pope never changes.

Our next task was to go get our passes for the Pope's welcoming ceremony. We had no idea what to expect. It was a short line and we made it through and wound up on another line for a bus. We still had no idea where we were going as we were told no vehicles were allowed in all of Copacabana Rio. To our surprise the bus enters Copacabana and continues on towards the stage for the event. It actually drove us within two blocks of the stage and we were in the secured area. We were walked to a security entry post and then to our seat. I am told there 1.5 million people there and if that is accurate then we were fortunate to have 1,499,500 of them sitting behind us. We were sitting with the Bishops and Cardinals in front of the stage. Stunned and grateful. How magnificent.

For the hour plus leading up to the Pope's arrival the world's most known Catholic musicians performed. Then we watched the screens as Pope Francis landed and got into his Pope mobile for the ride down Avenue Atlantica to the stage for the Welcome Reception. It was electric, he kissed many babies, received flowers and flags, he even took a sip of a fountain drink that someone offered him. He really is a man of the people, and seems to be opening many eyes around the world. The youth are relating to him and this to a faith that has been skewing older is a great sign.

Day 4, Thursday, was the Feast of Saint James. The Mass provided two great readings. From the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." And from Saint Paul to the Corinthians, Saint Paul said, "I believed, therefore I spoke."

At this WYD Pope Francis has asked us to refocus our lives to be in service of others, especially the poor, and he is demanding that since we believe, that we also need to speak. Sounds like he is asking us to serve and to be Messenger Eagles! Day 4 was a packed full day and we had many lessons. From my new friend Paulo and his devoted service of others, to being more vigilant in perfecting our daily prayer regimen so we are prepared to rebuke the protesters who try to change our one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church, to following our all inspiring Pope's direction to care for the poor and speak on behalf of the Church. Wow, all in one day.

I hope this blog post gives you some food for thought and please feel free to send your comments.

For the glory of our God,

Tim