Wow, what a day! We started the morning at Columba Catholic Primary in Bunyip. The fog was thick and the students and staff was excited. The welcoming committee made the guests from St Johns and St James feel right at home. The highlight for me was everyone (even Father Michael) joining in the songs and actions. Go the Swap schools!!!Next we were off to St Francis Xavier College Beaconsfield and Berwick. The atmosphere was reverent, respectful and truly moving. Each house prayed with the Cross and Icon before passing it on. At the Berwick campus the atmosphere was pumped and the students were overjoyed to be a part of the JCI action. It was great to see the local primary schools getting involved too.
The afternoon was spent at St Peters College in Cranbourne with their feeder primary schools. The guard of honor lining the path to the liturgy was beautiful and set the scene for a moving service. The Cross and Icon were then processed to the local Church draped in beautiful cloth and flowers.
The next big event was the Youth Festival. Great bands played easy listening and dance tunes all night while the Cross and Icon made a grand entrance, crowd surfed and then swamped by the waiting audience. It was a great night with a lot a fun times. Who would have ever believed that we would see young people dancing the Nutbush at the base of Cross?
The West region then finished their time with an all night Vigil at St Patrick’s Pakenham. Throughout the night each parish and group took turns to lead prayer and what a great job they all did. With the Church in Darkness, the Cross surrounded by candles we were all moved with beautiful singing, testimonies and the opportunity to spend some quite, private time with the Cross and Icon. A perfect end to a busy day.
So with two hours sleep I now sign off from the West region. A big thank you to all involved in the planning of the events and to those who attended and enjoyed. May God be with us all as we continue to Sydney and beyond.
Kelly Lucas
(Sale WYD Core Committee member)
5 comments:
it sounds pretty cool
thats cool that you had a band for the cross.. music is really spiritual.
good effort,must take a fair bit of dedication to walk around all day.. the band was a good idea, it would of got heaps of young people involved!
Naman Gupta said:
In our school Parramatta Marist High we celebrate the World Youth Day in the heart of Jesus where every body participates.We also believe in the sacrifises of jesus and even his forgivings.That is a remarkable time of the year where the community gets together to celebrate the festival.
Thanks for sharing Kelly,
Sounds like the JCI will have left a lasting impact in your region...like so many other places.
May the grace of god remain in you.
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