Bethan: First day of catechesis - World Youth Days really started for us on this day as we attended one of the english language catechesis sessions in the Palacio de Deportes which seats 12,500 people and was full up with pilgrims! This was the first time I was able to feel the inspiring nature of World Youth Day and was full of wonder at all these young people who had travelled the world to share this experience. It was amazing to see 12,500 people of my age and younger, singing hymns, listening intently to the speakers and cheering and clapping at any sentiment they agreed with whether it was that Jesus Christ loves you (woop woop) or a mention of their country or state (much cheering and waving of flags).
Cardinal Pell from Sydney spoke on this day and really struck a chord with me as he talked about the "reasonability" of faith and took a scientific approach to his catechesis session, which I could relate to. He spoke about how the likelihood of the creation of the universe occurring by chance is 1 in 10 to the power of 40,000 which you don't need to be a mathematician to realise is very, very, very unlikely. As a result of this calculation, we can be firm in our faith that stands side by side with science and reason.
James: I'm a mathematician and I can confirm that 10^40000 is a very large number. Cardinal Pell's talk was extremely interesting and largely scientifically accurate. I found the Science Museum on the edge of my tube map and set off on an expedition to the outskirts of Madrid, where I found that the museum was modern, interactive, interesting and really, really clean. It was also largely empty, possibly due to the hour-long metro trip.
Marcus: The sessions at the Palacio de Deportes were primarily co-ordinated by the Sisters of Life. Alongside Cardinal Pell's fantastic catechesis (I entirely echo Bethan's sentiments), was several talks by the Sisters of Life who described their very special charism to young pregnant women. They help these vulnerable women who are considering having an abortion by giving them somehwere to live, supporting them and encouraging them to continue with their pregnancy and gently trying to open their eyes to God's gift of love in the shape of their child. Two things struck me: firstly, how young many of the sisters were and how vibrantly they lived out their charism. One of the testimonies about the conversion of a young woman literally moved me to tears with the power of love which their witness embodies.
Funniest moment of the day was seeing Fr Victor's sing along to a christian rock band who entertained us at Marianfest in the evening whilst some excited Aussies and Americans bounced around and generally rocked out all around us!
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