What the pilgrims are saying about WYD 2011!
I found God in the way he slowly stripped away the boundaries we have put between us and Him. -the comforts of home,- our materialism- cloths, showers, beds, food-drink. Our private spaces -sharing everything with 83 people, and our control over where and when we went somewhere. Then when we had fully handed over all this we saw Christ everywhere we looked, in the people we met, places we went and saw, encounters within our groups and especially in the daily Mass and Eucharist- thinking of the last Mass especially. The challenge is to not let it all back in between us and Him. ~ Gail
(photo courtesy of Katarzyna Majszczyk, flickr Madrid2011jmj's photostream)
I encountered Christ every day in that I have gained more patients and humility than I ever gave myself credit for. I feel I was pushed beyond the limits I knew to be possible for myself. I now have a different outlook on my life. I know that I can maintain a quality of life better than anything I had planned for myself with far less of the material things I used to rely on. Christ has changed me with every step I took and every stair I climbed. Just when I thought i was tapped out Christ provided releif and support around each and every corner! ~Theresa
(photo courtesy of Ana Belart, flickr Madrid2011jmj's photostream)
Montserrat was absolutely beautiful! I could have gotten lost in the beauty and peace of that wonderful haven that God created for us to treasure! I found God in the people around me, especially the priests. I realized God was closer than I thought he was. I was so wrapped up in thinking that I wasn't good enough for him that I didn't realize I was the unreachable one, and he was reaching out to me the whole time. ~ Elizabeth
(photo courtesy of mkpena flickr photostream)
Before the pilgrimage it was hard to concentrate when I prayed. My thoughts would wander. On this trip I was granted an ability to focus my thoughts and prayers at the feet of the Black Madonna. It brings me an inner peace I never thought was possible. ~Mary
(photo courtesy of David D., flickr puuikibeach's photostream)
I finally got the nerve on this trip to talk about areas in my life i usually kept secret. I opened up to people and priests (at the love and life center) that i didn't even know. This pilgrimage helped me to realize the importance of God in my life and how even though i feel abandoned he is always there with me. Even though the Vigil mass was..not so pleasant haha it was the main moment during the trip that made me see that no matter what, God is here and he is with me. ~Lilly
