Joyful Madness

Hey Daddy,

Of course you can post what I wrote in my last e-mail if you want, if you think other people would want to read it! No prob..

WYD is still goin' strong of course! Oh my gosh, it is madness and chaos, but it is unlike any other place that is insanely crowded, because all of us know that we are here for the same reason, and everyone is so ecstatic about it that all these hectic places are still completely joyful! Yesterday for instance, the three of us decided to start trying to head back to our little village around 7, because it is an hour from Köln by train, and there was some kind of dinner in Erpel (our village) at 8 or so. The train stations were so packed that we stood outside of one of them in a HUGE crowd for probably almost an hour and never even made it up the steps into the station. It is INSANE. But instead of all the young people freaking out or being upset, everyone just started in on the different cheers of all the countries. "I-TAL-IA" and "ES-PAN-A" and even "U-S-A"... every time another country would start in, all the other pilgrims would join them in cheering for their country. There is SUCH patriotism and national pride here, but it brings all of us together. It doesn't divide us. When I see it, it gives me so much hope, Dad. I know this is only a million people out of the whole planet... but to see such unity and comeraderie between countries that have pasts of being bitter enemies totally renews my belief that we can indeed have peace on earth. Its the GOOD NEWS!!! and I have never felt it more powerfully.

So... yesterday we sat on the banks of the Rhein and greeted our "Benedetto!" It was so beautiful. A perfect warm and sunny day, and the pilgrims stretched forever, packed onto the sides. Thousands upon thousands of elated young people from absolutely every last corner of the globe sang and cheered and waved with their whole hearts as he went by on the boat. We love the Papst!!! YAY!! Yesterday before we went to the river, we went to catechisis in the city of Bonn, which was awesome. We had a really fabulous cardinal (I think...) speaking to us, and he gave a talk about the Eucharist which brought a clearer understanding to it than I have probably ever had. Then he took questions from us. Kids came up with some truly thought provoking and intense ones... they got right down to it, and he answered every single one so brilliantly and clearly. It was a really great thing to go to overall, just because I think everybody learned something, and most of us learned a LOT. Then it culminated in a celebration of the mass which was wonderful and had great music. And to make the whole thing all the more perfect, we happened to attend the same session as the other group of American kids (Montana) who we had met in the Days of Encounter and totally hit it off with. We saw them and all of us started cheering and running and we just ran into a huge mess of a group hug. It was the BEST! So then we spent the rest of the day hanging around with them, which was fabulous. Also, we called some of the german kids and met them too, so the group was reunited a bit. it is crazy... even in so so many people, we have run into friends time and again. Its awesome. I love it! We've been spending most of our time in Köln, although I guess there is a lot going on in both Bonn and Dusseldorf as well. It is so fun being in the thick of all the action.. the cathedral is absolutely unbelievable. I know you all saw it right before you went home, and I'm really happy that you did so you can know how... unique and great it is! I think it is probably the most beautiful thing in all of Germany. No matter how many times we walk next to it during the day (which is a lot!) I always stop and stare at it with my mouth hanging open in amazement. I want to soak it up so I can always keep the memory of it locked with me until I see it again. We saw so many churches over the last month, dad. So many different ones. So many stories behind them. So many different styles and sizes. But I think that this cathedral, which they just call the Dom, is my favorite one. I still catch my breath every time I look at it! And it is such a symbol on top of that. It is in the WYD logo that we see a billion times a day on everything, so it is a symbol of the manger, the place where we come from all over the world to go into that chapel and adore Him. I love it.

Tomorrow: TO MARIENFELD!!! Woo hoo! The excitement and energy here is already out of control, and it is mounting by the second.

I love you with all my heart, Dad. Give Mom and Theresa and Dave (and Tina!) my love too! I miss you all. Today in mass we prayed for all of the people who had worked and sacrificed so much to allow us to come. Thank you so much, Dad! This has been the greatest gift I could have ever dreamed of. I know it took a lot on your part... more than I will ever really know, I'm sure... and I appreciate it with every single fiber of my being. I love you!

Love,
Selina

PS: If you think there is anything in this letter that you want to pass on (or all of it, whatever, it doesn't matter!) go ahead, k?

Letter from Koln

I asked Selina if I could post this letter I received from her on Wednesday and she agreed.

Hey Daddy.

Now we are at an internet point in Köln, so I have a little more time to write to you than usual. Thank you for the e-mails and of course for all the blogs, which I just got caught up on. Ugh... I started crying when I read the one where you were talking about us all saying goodbye to each other (a little awkward actually, since this is a tiny room and it is packed with other people...eek). Nicole is doing the duty of blogging right now, so I feel like I'm a little bit off the hook of that and can just write to you.

Of course I will tell you all about it later, but our days of encounter were the absolute best thing in the whole world. Thank you for looking into all that and getting us thinking about it and signed up for it and everything. Even when we were getting ready for that, I never really put that much thought into what that would be like, but I think it will end up being the best part of this whole youth day event (besides the end mass of course!). We met the greatest friends EVER there, Dad... I wish you had met them all. Good times and good German beer and so much intense prayer and singing and laughing and clapping and dancing and talking in some mixture of English or German or Polish or Spanish. Our day of service barely felt like service, since Nicole and I got to go to the elderly home and be spoiled with delicious food while we chatted with the senior citizens and then performed songs for them. But when an old German woman held me in her arms with tears in her eyes and said "U-S-A" over and over (which sounded like OO ES AH.) and kissed me on the cheek, I knew that we had done our part to serve. Also, it was so good, Dad. We went to a big mass in a different town on Sunday (the church of the parish we were at was pretty small) and suddenly during the homíly they were asking that someone from each of the nations represented would come forward and say something the congregation about why we were at world youth day, what it meant to us, what we hoped to get out of it...etc. So, kind of spur of the moment, I ended up going up. We hadn't really prepared a lot, even though the American kids had discussed some of that stuff to an extent... so what I said really had to just be what was in my heart. So what I told that huge congregation was that in a time when our American government has done so much to work against peace in our world, and to divide it, country against country, that we as the American youth find it to be the most important thing that we can think of to be pilgrims to a place where we can do our small part to counteract it. We want to work in the opposite way: for peace. To unite the entire world in truth and love and justice. Dad, SO many people approached me afterwards (german people) and thanked me for my words. I didn't realize that it would mean so much just to hear me say that simple bit, but it really did, and it was so happy for me to unexpectedly have the opportunity to share what is so strongly in my heart. And for that group of people who heard me say it, they can start to forgive America a bit... not for the wrongs that are still being committed, but in terms of the people, they can begin to understand that we as Americans want the same thing as them. We are all Christian and we are indeed one body.

It is too bad that we didn't get to meet up with the fam. I already miss you guys more than I can say. The mass at Rhein Energie Stadium was great and jubilant and exciting. They said there were 150,000 there, and it seemed like so much that i can't imagine the final mass with the PAPA!! Craziness. Speaking of that, our plan as of right now, if we can work it, is this: After the final mass at Marienfield, we will take the train (still free!) to Dusseldorf, with the kids from Goslar from Days of Encounter. Then from there, they are driving back to their hometown, and I am almost positive they have room on the giant bus, so that should work. We will stay Sunday and Monday night there, either still in the church where we were before, or maybe in their houses, I don't know. They said either would be fine. Then if we can find a train from Goslar to Frankfurt early wed, we will do that, if not, we can stay a night there in hotel europa or something. We are going to buy the train ticket for nicole, because I don't think it will be more than maybe 60 euro, so we will split the cost. We haven't spent any money since we left paris, so we should be good!

Today at 16:30 we make our pilgrimage to the cathedral. Then tomorrow and Friday we have catechises. Ew. I don't know how to spell that but you know what I mean.

I love you daddy. I miss you guys. Tell the family that I love them SOOO much. WYD is the best thing on the planet, for real...

God bless.
Love,
Selina

A couple important things

I ran out of time on my last post so I wasn't able to leave you all with any farewell greeting. Our pilgrimage has almost come to a close, but we have a couple important things left to do. Also I am sure that I will have a lot more to tell you when I get back home than I could ever write on this blog. Our pilgrimage to the cathedral was incredible. All along the path to the cathedral were hung prayers and bible passages, and music and prayers were played over a speaker system. I can’t really describe how powerful it was. After we finished we hooked up with the group from Goslar and did it again. Yesterday we had an incredible catecheses in Bonn on the Eucharist. We unfortunately arrived late so I don't know the name of the cardinal who spoke. However, I can tell you that he was a wonderful speaker and that when it came time for him to answer questions he was right on. Also I'll never forget the surprise and joy in his voice as I received the Eucharist on my knees. "The body of Christ!" it was almost enough to make a person laugh. At catechesis, we met up with the group from Montana that we had met during our days of encounter. Later that day we made our way to Köln and stood on the beach awaiting the arrival of the pope. He came down the Rhine by ship and spoke to us from their. On our way back to the train station I was interviewed by the New York Times and National Catholic Register. I hope I did a good job representing Catholic youth in America. Today we tried to get to Bonn early so as not to be late for our last day of catechises, but we missed our stop and decided to catch catechism in Köln with a group from New Jersey. The atmosphere was very different form Bonn because it was held out side in a soccer stadium. There were a lot more people and a lot less organization. The Mass was probably one of the most "protestant" Catholic masses I have ever been to. That isn't to say that there was a lack of reverence for the Eucharist by any of the four thousand youth who were there, or that there was anything lacking form the seven bishops or seventy concelebrating priests. Some of the people who read this may not understand, but think of the TAG CD or any of the worship songs that we listened to before Ann's bible study. I think we sang every one of those songs at Mass today. Before the final blessing an Australian kid came up and gave a testimony about how he came to the Church after being raised protestant. However, the most important thing I can write about going to Köln today is that one of the youth from New Jersey had just registered with World Youth Day yesterday and he directed me to koelnmesse and now I will not be in section C3 of Marienfeld for the Final and Vigil Masses, with my sisters, but I will be much closer as an alter server. Now I should go to sleep. God bless every one of you and I hope to talk to you all soon.

Days of Encounter

Hey everyone. This is my first entry on the blog. Better late than never I guess. Well we are in Klön right now waiting to makeour pilgrimagee to the cathedral which holds the relics of the Magi. World Youth Day is incredible! So many people from all over the world praising and glorifying God. At the opening mass in the stadium last night I was brought to the verg of tears as I looked out at over one hundred fifty thousand Catholics all coming together to bow before their creator. The days we spent in Goslar last week were absolutely amazing. The first night, after an incredible evening prayer in an old monastery, we got to know some of the other pilgrims around a keg of some of the best beer I have ever tasted. In Golsar I met one of the most amazing people ever, a true Roman Catholic. His name is Philip and he lives in Germany. He can speak German, English, Spanish, and Latin. I'm not sure I have the words to describe to you what he is really like, but I felt as though I was looking into a mirror and seeing myself as the person I hope to become in the future. Since I am writing I would like to say a little about Rome. I don't have much time so I'll keep it short. I love Rome. It is one of my favorite places in the whole world. Switzerland was beautiful, Paris was spectacular, Germany is amazing, but Rome is magnificent beyond words. Being in St. Peter's I could feel the magnitude of the Church. Not only because St. Peter's itself is giant, but because of its history. I could feel that I am not part of the Church that exists today but of the Church that existed two thousand years ago and that will continue to exist until the end of time. What more can be said about St. John Lateran than the plack on the outside of the building which reads: "Cathedral and Mother of all churches in the city and the world. "

XX Weltjugendtag 2005

Hello all! We are in Köln and XX Weltjugendtag 2005 has begun. I do not have time to go into too much detail about our days in the diocese, but I can't even tell you how glad I am that we decided to take part in the Pre-World Youth Day events! Sean, Selina and I were welcomed at the Braunschwieg train station on Thursday evening by a group of youth from the town of Goslar. We drove to the church where we would be staying and were shown around the Parish Center which we would call home for the next 4 days. In addition to our German hosts, we met a large group from Poland, two pilgrims from Bolivia, one African and another group from the United States (Montana). It is amazing to me that people can grow to be so close after so few days together. I think that so much of that has to do with the fact that we are all coming together for the same reason. Because of our common faith, it didn't ever seem to matter that we were from separate continents and often struggled to communicate. We had morning prayer and evening prayer everyday. We drank a lot of wonderful german beer (there was a keg in the church hall :) haha!) and had very little sleep. We split into 3 groups for our day of service. Selina and I went to a elderly home. We visited with the people there, and organized an afternoon of singing and dancing for them. Sean was in a group that visited a kindergarten and played soccer with lots of little germans! The third group drove around Goslar and surrounding towns collecting clothes for the poor. On Friday, Selina and I stayed up all night and at around 4:30 AM walked a few miles into the city and took an early morning tour from some of our fellow insomniacs. On Monday morning after daily mass, it was time to start making our way to Köln. All of the Germans were going to be staying in Düsseldorf which is about an hour (by train) from Köln. They drove there on a charter bus. The three of us needed to be in Unkel, which is about an hour from Köln in the opposite direction, so we took a train. It was hard to part with all of our friends. We got the small town of Unkel around 6:30 that evening and stayed at the parish center until Sean, our group leader, had gotten us all checked in. Our host parents came a while later and picked us up. We are actually being housed in the town of Erpel, which looks like something out of a storybook. Selina and I are staying with Brigette and Dieter Prax, two of the nicest people I've ever met. Sean is in a house across the street. Selina and I are so happy. We have the lower level to ourselves which includes our room, a bathroom and a kitchen! The house is on a hill that overlooks the village and the Rhein River. Yesterday after morning prayer we took a train to Köln with pilgrims from Canada and Kenya. We went to the Rhein Energie Stadium for the opening mass. I have always heard the word "celebration" used to describe the mass, and at no other time in my life has it been more appropriate! Signs around the city read "800,000 pilgrims...196 nations...497 bishops...1 pope...XX World Youth Day 2005" There were only 150,000 pilgrims at the mass in Köln last night (there were two other opening masses which took place in Bonn and in Düsseldorf). I can't even wrap my mind around what it will be like to camp out underneath the stars with close to 1 million other people (800,000 pilgrims plus lots of Germans) on Marienfield, before the final mass. Anyway, last night after the mass, Selina and I phoned one of the people we had met in Goslar and were able to meet up with them outside of the stadium for a while before we had to head back to Unkel. At 4:30 this afternoon we make our pilgrimage to the Dom, Köln's gothic cathedral. We start out on the banks of the Rhein and walk with other pilgrims to the church. I am so happy to be here. It is the experience of a lifetime, for sure! We have met so many wonderful people. We have seen so many breathtakingly beautiful places. I have so much more that I will have to tell in person because there is just too much! I love Germany. I love being Catholic. I love life!

Our last night

This is the last night in Europe for four of us. We had a traditional German dinner complete with plenty of Kölche, the regional brew. The Köln dialect is so different from that spoken elsewhere in Germany, that it took a Köln native, a friend of Thomas' named Oogi(sp?) to interpret the menu, even to Thomas.

We heard from Selina and the kids spent the last couple of days in Erpel, about 30 miles south of Köln on the Reine. They were to come to Köln Tuesday evening.

Betsy, Theresa, Dave and I will take an early train to Frankfurt and board an 11:30 flight for Las Vegas.

It has been the trip of a lifetime. I will post other pics when we get back.

Peace.

Köln

After a rainy, restful night in Heidleberg, we took a 100m/h German ICE to Cologne this morning. Thomas H. met us and gave us the keys to his apartment so we could drop our luggage. We went back to the Cathedral and joined the throngs of young people arriving for WYD. Every once in a while we would hear a group break into song. We climbed the 500 steps to the top of the Dom and saw one of the largest bells in all the world and the relequary where the relics of the wise men are kept. Thomas has graciously invited us to stay at his apartment the next couple of nights.

I don't know if the older kids are in Colonge yet. We will spend tomorrow getting a look at the city.

Guten Tagg

We never made it to Amsterdam. We decided to go to Heidleberg so, here we are. The German trains are the best. They are beautiful inside and out. We cruised from Brussels to Köln at about 90 miles an hour and when we got out of the station we were standing beneath the great Cathedral. You could already feel the excitement of the events to come. It felt odd to be on our way out of the city upon which so many were converging. We were fortunate to be approached by someone taking advantage of the WYD gathering to advertise their company, a hotel reservation service. At the time, we had decided to go to Heidleberg but had no place to stay. I made a phone call to the service and found a terrific hotel directly in the old city center. We got on another train to Heidleberg and took a bus to the old city. The city is beautiful and built mainly of red stone and brick. We entered the big gothic church in the center square and saw the logo for World Youth Day. We asked a man who worked there when mass would be the next day. He said 11:00. As we walked around, I was struck with some differences from churches we had been seeing. There were no statues. There was go great art. The place was essentially bare. Then I realized there was no tabernacle. I asked the man about the blessed sacrament and when he understood he told me it was a protestant church. He said the Catholic church was about 300 meters away.

We had delicious German food and beer last night. We had bratwurst and soups and german noodles.

After dinner we went to find the chuch and heard music coming from it even at 9:00 at night. It was a concert given by young people accompanied by three adult musicians. They were singing songs from World Youth Day. It was lovely and we felt another connection to the big event.

We went to mass this morning and I don't know when I have heard more beautiful music. Two instruments, a pipe organ and a flute, filled the great church with wonderful harmony. I understood nothing of the readings nor the sermon, which were somehow still inspiring, but I was able to sing along with the music pretty well.

Heidleberg has a castle and a river and today we will go exploring. Tomorrow we are going back to Köln. I don't have any idea if we will have a chance to meet up with the older kids. It would be nice, but I'm not counting on it.



auf Wiedersehen!

Brussels

Last night, Theresa, Dave and I went up in the Eifel Tower. Not wanting the evening to end we stayed out again until after midnight. This morning, we said goodbye to Anna, our Parisian hostess, and rode a high speed Thalleys train to Brussels, Belgium. Originally, Belgium was just a pass through country on our Eurail pass, we didn't plan to stop. We decided to try Brussels and I am so happy we did. It is a sweet place. We ate Greek food because it looked and smelled so good and guys were playing accordians next to where we would dine outside. I have sampled but four of the more than twenty beers brewed in Belgium, ah but the night is young.

Brussels is the headquarters for both NATO and the European Union. It boasts the famous statue of the little peeing boy, Manneken Pis. Its cathedral is ancient and wonderful. The pulpit is giant and carved completely of oak and depicts the history of salvation from the fall through the redemption. Belgium has a king and queen.

We watched the news in Flemmish and Scoobie Doo in French. We found a really cool hotel in the St. Catherine Square called Hotel Noga. Tomorrow we are going to Amsterdam.

Capris

Today during lunch Dave observed, "You know the good thing about France? A guy can wear pink. He can wear capri pants. He can even wear pink capri pants. You'd never get away with that in the states."

Today in a huge 3 level glass and steel mall, I bought me some of them long short pants. Mine are yellow.

Change of plans

We actually decided just after leaving Rome. Betsy, Theresa, Dave and I are going to cut our trip a week short and return to Las Vegas on the 17th. We will leave Paris tomorrow and go to Brussles and then Amsterdam. We will spend Monday and Tuesday in Cologne and go back to Frankfurt on Wednesday to catch our 11:30 flight home. It will have been by then a very full four weeks.

Dave will get to begin school on time. I will get to report to my new job a day late instead of a week late. Theresa will get to spend time with friends before the Academy begins. Betsy will get to rest more than one day before she and John Henry take Sean and Selina to their respective schools. It should work out just right.

Sacré-Coure

So, our site seeing in Paris today was as a foursome. It felt odd. It was, however, much easier to get a table. Yesterday we saw a beautiful building from our perch atop the Ferris Wheel. I thought it might be a Mosque because of the shape of the domes. I actually know very little about Paris. Betsy determined that it was, in fact, The Basilica of Sacré-Coeur. Today we paid this great Church a visit. Montmartre, the hill of martres, overlooks the whole of Paris. The building was begun around 1870 by Parisian Catholics to fulfill a vow made during the terrible Franco-Prusian war. It was completed in 1914 and is another archetectural marvel. More remarkable than the building is the faith of the parisioners. The lay people have been carrying on round the clock prayer, perpetual adoration day and night, for more than 100 years. Prayer continued, unbroken, even during the invasion of 1940, requiring the crossing of military columns. Prayer continued during the bombing of 1944 when the stained glass windows were shattered and the foundation shaken. The faith is alive and well in France.

Parting company

I knew all along it was going to happen, but that didn't make it any easier. This morning, at 6:55am, Sean, Selina and Nicole left on a train bound for the north of Germany to attend their days of encounter leading up to the World Youth Day events that begin next week. Every diocsese in Germany is participating and together will host thousands of pilgrim volunteers from literally all over the world. In addition to the catecheses and prayer together, these vibrant young people will participate in a nationwide day of community service. I heard they were trying to log a million hours of visiting the sick, helping the elderly, even riding tandem bikes with folks who are blind. Monday they will all travel to Cologne and join hundreds of thousands of other pilgrims for WYD 2005. These events begin on the 16th and culminate with an outdoor mass said by the Holy Father on the 21st.

The separation was abrupt. We hadn't worked out the details of the older kids travel until the last minute. As it was, the girls were out until midnight last night, as were we elsewhere in the city. We said good night at 12:30. Four hours later I woke them up, we rode the metro to the train station and said our goodbyes.

Theresa and I ran along next to the train like in the movie "Airplane" and I pretended to run into the poles. It helped them all to laugh and blow kisses after a tearful farewell.

Exquisite

Paris is certainly that and more. I have to admit that I do not feel nearly as at home here as I did in Italy, especially Rome. But Paris is utterly remarkable. It is a very large city and more than 2 million people call it home. It is stunning. There are so many places just to be. There are huge parks and plazas and squares. It is just as beautiful as you imagine it to be.

Notre Dame is a marvel. There are signs reminding people to observe silence out of respect for the Catholic worship taking place, but it is just too hard not to gasp in awe and comment on the wonder of it all. I took a picture of one of the confessionals. This was a first, it is in a glass room. When I first saw it, I thought it was to protect the penitent's privacy. Later, I figured it was necessary to allow penitent and priest to even hear each other. The building is being restored in phases. It was great to be there.

One could lose oneself in the Louvre museum for days. It only cost 8 euro and 50 cents and kids under 18 are free. We split up once inside. The girls looked at French painting before being caught up in a rock concert style shoving match at the Mona Lisa. Seanviewed Mesopotamiann art and also got to the most famous work. Betsy, Dave and I took in French sculpture, Egyptian and Iranian treasures and then made our way to the Italian works and the smiling lady. The Louvre is a treasure for the whole world.

We walked through the streets on the Isle of St. Louise and had a nice lunch at a little place called Pauls. Ordering was very difficult. Our number overwhelmed them. Our English confused them. Our order worried them because they had run out of the fromage necessary for the sandwiches we wanted. What we really wanted were thesandwichess we saw in the case. We were prepared to pay more for them so we could sit down, but this proved difficult to communicate. In the end, it all worked out and I shocked them with a nice tip which they simply do not expect and are not at all used to. Our waitress even applauded Selina'sFrench.

The Paris metro is a model of efficiency. We bought week long passes and used the metro exclusively after our one bus ride from the train station.

I hope I sent emails inviting everyone to view the pictures. If not, these links should work. If they don't show up as links, maybe you can copy them into your browser window.

Rome http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ghostranch/album?.dir=/cd8f&.src=ph&.tok=phoabcDBkSGpOul4

Paris
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ghostranch/album?.dir=/43f6&.src=ph&.tok=phhbbcDBdBpfmBu0

Peace.