Cuatro Vientos!!

In 2 hours we are going to start walking to Cuatro Vientos! It is the airbase in Madrid that has been transformed for the Papal Vigil.

So much is happening in Madrid right now. The overflow of people between yesterday and today is visibly noticeable and I am pretty sure there will be obstacles in getting to the Vigil site today.

We walked down the street this morning to have a team mass at the Cathedral and the youth from St. Paschal Bylon joined us. Our unity this morning was evident in our voices, our reverence, our silent witness to the Eucharist and our joy in proclaiming our love for our one and only Savior.

Last night one of our pilgrims fell ill. We suspect it is a bad case of sunstroke but she is doing alright. This morning she had to seek medical aid and one of our spanish speaking coordinators took her to the doctor. She won't be able to walk with us to Cuatro Vientos because of the extreme heat and exhausting task, but we prayed that she will be able to reunite with us at some point. We must carry  on, not without her , but for her. We are carrying her in our hearts. God will make it happen.

On our walk to Mass this morning, the intersection was closed off with police escorts.... we asked what was happening and they said that THE POPE was on his way to the Seminarian mass (where Neiman was)... and that he would be driving by us any minute!!!! 

WE were the only group standing on that street corner, and when the Holy Father drove by (slowly), we waved at him, cried out for him, and I blew him a kiss, and he reciprocated!! I am certain he was looking at me this time!! What an incredible gift! To see the Holy Father so up close three times in three days. We arrived at mass with so much joy in our hearts and a little less anxiety -- if we can beat the odds in greeting Il Papa, then we can certainly overcome our obstacles in getting to Cuatro Vientos.

Another small coincidence of today -- is that when I was at the restaurant awaiting my pilgrim meal, the tv was airing the Papal Mass with the Seminarians and I saw Neiman on TV recieving the Eucharist!!! That's not  a huge deal, but it is for me... I think it flows perfectly with what we need today. God is sending me really clear messages and I am offering up everything to him.


Last night at the Palacio (one of the centers to witness the Via Crucis), Fr Edwin ran into Fr Robert -- my dear friend and former associate pastor. I call Fr. Robert my "Pilgrimage Pal", not only because he travelled with me to Sydney Australia in 2008, but because when I attended WYD 2002 at the age of sixteen, I did not know him yet, but in one of the random photos I took of the big-screen of the Blessed JPII, Fr. Robert was also on the screen, recieving communion from him. That photo was framed, on his wall of his office, while he was associate pastor at my parish. The connection was uncanny and the occurance was very very rare. I don't believe in coincidences. There is no such thing. Everything in our lives has been willed by God, blessed, and given a purpose!

I had the opportunity to email him briefly before my pilgrimage and we made an agreement to meet up in the adoration tent at Cuatro Vientos at a specific time during the night. Please pray that I am reunited with my friend and that everyone arrives at the site in good heath and stronger spirits. The Madrid sun is burning brightly, not because of the natural climate, but because of the spirit of all the World Youth Day pilgrims and the  burning tongues of fire within us.

Everything I am
Everything I long to be
I lay it down at your feet.