‘Person’ of Jesus requires a personal relationship

     “Planted and built up in Christ, firm in the faith!” This quote from St. Paul was the theme of this year’s World Youth Day in Madrid, and indeed the faith was alive and strong in the more than 1.5 million young people and young adults who attended.             

    Having arrived in Madrid a day late due to airline issues, our group began this awesome pilgrimage of faith with a “bad taste” in our mouths; however, ultimately, I believe that everything happens for a reason. Even in the unplanned “hiccups” of the trip, God was trying to teach us all how to trust in him and to surrender our own plans and desires to his plan and his will. In truth, this internal growth in virtue was the very root and goal of my setting out on pilgrimage to World Youth Day.
    Each day of the event  amazed me more and more, reaching a climax at the prayer vigil with the Holy Father on Saturday evening, followed by the closing Mass with Pope Benedict on Sunday morning. The three days prior to the vigil and the closing Mass were full of opportunities for us to grow in our personal relationship with Jesus Christ and in our understanding of the Catholic faith.
    Bishops from around the world were invited by the Holy Father to give catechesis sessions on the three days following the opening Mass on Monday. The topics of these sessions were “Firm in the Faith,” “Planted in Christ” and “Built up in Christ.”
    I attended catechetical sessions led by New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput. Each, in his own way, stressed that faith in Christ requires a personal relationship with him because Jesus is a person, not merely an idea. This personal relationship draws each of us to interior conversion and self-sacrifice.
    By far the most impressive aspect of the entire pilgrimage was being able to see Pope Benedict XVI up close and to listen to his voice as he handed on the faith to us in a very personal way as our loving father. His overarching message was, “Keep your eyes on Christ,” and indeed, we did.
    In the foreword to the “YouCat” (youth catechism), which was given to each pilgrim as a personal gift from the Holy Father, Pope Benedict writes, “The youth of today are not as superficial as some think. They want to know what life is really all about.” This fact came alive for me at eucharistic adoration and benediction with the pope during the prayer vigil. In a seemingly impossible feat of faith, over 1.5 million people achieved absolute silence during exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. What an awesome experience for all those who were present!
    This act of adoration truly solidified my own belief in the Eucharist and delivered an unequivocal witness to the world that the Eucharist is indeed the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Second Person of the Trinity, who alone deserves the respect and honor shown on that evening.
    This pilgrimage to World Youth Day was many things for many people, but for me it was a very powerful witness to the faith of the young church. The church is far from dead; rather, she is very much alive and well. We are all searching for answers, which can only be found in Christ. May we all continue to deepen our own understanding of the faith handed on to us from the Apostles, and may we seek a deeper relationship with the Lord.
    Kurt Young is a transitional deacon who took the trip to Spain for World Youth Day with 21 others from the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He is in the midst of an internship at St. Clement of Rome Parish in Metairie. Deacon Young is scheduled to be ordained a priest in June 2012.