July 6, 2013
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“After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race,
On July 11th I will fly to Brazil to minister to English-speaking pilgrims at World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro.
I’ve known people who belong to a “mega-church,” and sometimes they might praise God alongside several hundred other people. Down in Texas, a member of Joel Osteen’s congregation might praise God alongside several thousand others. The largest Mass I’ve attended had about five or six thousand people, and I’ve met some who have attended Mass in a baseball stadium filled with people. To worship God with a large group of people is a powerful experience.
I cannot imagine what worshiping God with millions would be like but, in a couple weeks, I won’t have to imagine it; I’ll live it.
This is the closing Mass at WYD Madrid in 2011 with 1.5-2 million in attendance.
I’ve heard that anywhere between 2 and 8 million young Catholics from across the world could be attending. That’d be like attending Mass with the whole city of Chicago (minus the metro area). This will be a very catholic event, in the truest sense of the word. But you know what is awesome (well, ONE awesome thing, anyways) about being Catholic?Same Mass. Everywhere.
Languages will be different, yes, but everyone knows what is going on, what the prayers are, when to stand, kneel, when to sing HOLY, HOLY, HOLY at the top of your lungs, when to cry out AMEN! together in one, earth-shaking voice. I can’t WAIT to worship with my Catholic brothers and sisters from across the globe; it will truly be a foretaste of Heaven!
All that being said, please know that I will be praying for all of you on my pilgrimage, especially since Xanga will undergo its transformation of one kind or another while I am away. Should any of you have any prayer requests that you’d like me to bear in my heart while I am trekking around Brazil, sleeping on floors and the ground, etc. please leave a comment or send a message. Let others know about this post, too, so that they may send me their requests as well.
God bless you all; my prayers and love for my dear Xangans will be sent up constantly!
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Comments (24)
Have a wonderful trip, and again thanks for being awesome!
That is amazing! Whenever I see the statue of Christ in Rio, I always think of the U2 music video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwKEdFoUB0o At the end of this video shows the statue of Christ and a message from Aung San Suu Kyi and to see the poverty and to hear her message of hope after being persecuted by her government… it left this impassioned impression on my heart. One of those feelings when we feel connected with God. It really strikes at the heart of my Catholic (however short) roots. As for prayers; I have no idea why it’s taking 4 days to get a simple blood test back or why my MPV is chronically low for the last 3 years and why a huge corporation increased my husbands work hours to comply with Obama’s Affordable Healthcare Act, now to cut them again because it doesn’t need to be legal until 2015. So I pray that the huge corporations learn some humility, compassion with the poor, of their acts of greed on the social class system, and any other bad things they are doing. Not even for my health am I praying for now, but for the corporations. Now that I can’t donate plasma to pay the electric bill, I have no idea what we are going to do, but I’m beyond caring now. So I’m not going to worry about it. I just can’t anymore. =)
I wish you well and safe in your travels. I will be lifting you in prayer as well. If I were to ask for your prayers, it would be for the Holy Spirit to rain down on all people, especially the confused and struggling youth trying to enter adulthood, including my my two lost sheep. I pray for all to be found by the Good Shepherd. May God shower His blessing upon you Jacob.
Ye travel like a pirate! Sleepin’ on the deck! Ye be in my prayers padre. Be safe.
very sad that the US bishops seem to be DISCOURAGING attendance. I don’t see anything being organized about it around here. Warnings issued, nothing more.
I don’t think I’ve ever read your site before. I will pray for you, and the many people who will be attending. I am not Catholic, but I am a Christian. Please pray for some of my grandchildren who are far from God. Thanks so much.
I think the first mega church was the over 200,000 Jews who lived through the first Passover as God laid waste to Pharaoh and then crossed through the Red Sea as God split it wide open.
And just think of all those thousands and thousands of people who Jesus gathered to witness his miracles.
The Church, the continued presence of Christ on Earth, continues to work its magic on the multitudes.
Have a great time!
Bon voyage, mon frere!
God’s Speed my brother! What a HUGE Blessing! I’ll pray for your protection and safety!
Have a blessed trip there and a blessed time there. We will be praying for the Move of the Holy Ghost while your there. Will be praying for you. And when you come back I hope Xanga will still be here. Bro. Doc
I can’t imagine being surrounded by so many people. I’d probably be freaking out lol. Hope you have a wonderful experience while there. And maybe things won’t be changing too much since xanga’s holding off till the 31st now.
Be safe. Brazil is a little scary right now, so make sure you keep an eye on yourself.
Also – you just talked about my FAVORITE part of Catholicism. I tell everyone that. The one thing I find with it that I don’t find anywhere else? Tradition. It is the same mass, celebrated worldwide. I can go to a mass in Buenos Aires and not understand a word being said, but I will know EXACTLY what is going on. It. Is. Wonderful.
I love the Mega-Church picture and comment. LOL.
Thinking of you each time I am listening to the news about World Youth Day, and as always, keeping you in prayer. May God keep you in His graces.
This is beautiful.
@sonnetjoy - Being there was even more beautiful!
Nothing like worshiping God on a beach on a beautiful morning with over three million people from over 180 countries and in every language you can think of, yet we were all on the same page!
@Ancient_Scribe - My husband and I both come from low-church Protestant traditions but we just spent two years worshipping with an Anglican congregation precisely for many of these reasons – the holy, catholic, and apostolic church is a powerful concept, intellectually and spiritually. However, we just left it because we found our priest exceedingly unwilling to answer what we thought were fundamental questions about what the church teaches, and we couldn’t justify staying someplace where the teachings were not clear.
@sonnetjoy - What kinds of questions? I don’t know what the Anglican answers would be but if you are interested in Catholic answers, I might be able to offer some.
And yes: one, holy, catholic and apostolic are powerful concepts and I find great comfort in them, especially in the oneness of the Church. To see the visible reality of Christ’s desire for “one flock, one shepherd,” especially as it was manifested at World Youth Day, is a grace I hope I never forget.
If you ever have questions feel free to message me here on Xanga and I’ll message you my email address; I won’t be on Xanga much longer but I’d be very happy to stay in touch.
-Jacob
Jacob, thank you.
It was more that we had a certain low-church Protestant understanding of concepts like the role of Communion, baptism, tradition. We were willing to be taught by our priest and congregation about the Anglican understanding of these ideas, because while we were worshipping and becoming part of this community, we felt we needed to know what was being taught (or implied, at least). But our priest deflected or waved aside every question. Once I asked him point-blank “What do you teach about hell? Is there a hell?” and he immediately began saying “Who am I to say what all Christians everywhere believe? It would be so heavy-handed of me to presume what each person here thinks” and then he began talking about something completely unrelated. I don’t remember exactly what it was, but it was like why his vestment was a certain color.
I’m perfectly willing to worship with loving Christians of all denominations, but it’s important for me to understand what statements I am making when I do certain actions, say certain words, etc. Doing these things out of ignorance is not wise in the least.
great pictures but I don’t like mega-churches or teleevangelists much…I find them lacking in the intimacy i crave but to each their own.
@Tallman - Amen! I’m not a fan of mega-churches or televangelists either; I want community. Once in a while, though, for special occasions, it is wonderful to get together as a big family (it ended up being nearly 4 million young people) to worship God!
Wonderful pictures!!
Come back to us oh’ wayward Son!
Dear friend! I have missed our conversations and, truthfully, your encouragement! My xanga has been bumped to a wordpress (boo!) but I hope to still keep in touch. I still look forward to the day that I can attend a Mass that you are celebrating!