Unlike Miss Levine, I can’t get into my school because I don’t have a key: it’s a new school. So I’m starting to feel the edge of panic, but I’m keeping it under control.
Last week I promised I’d comment on World Youth Day. I needed some time to organize my thoughts, because the entire experience was fairly overwhelming. A lot of people have already posted daily entries and blogs about their experiences at WYD, and that’s great — I encourage you to read them. I, on the other hand, am not going to post my daily experiences, simply because I think it’s pretty much been done.
What I will talk about, though, is the experience of WYD as a whole.
Having never been to a World Youth Day before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Like everyone, I went to WYD on a sort of mission — a mission to deepen my faith, to connect with others, and above all, to connect with God.
I think that, as a practicing Catholic in the modern world, it’s easy to feel displaced and isolated. I work in a Catholic school system, and at times I still feel like I’m the only person under the age of 65 who seriously practices my faith. The media and the general population sometimes seem critical of the church to such an extent that Catholicism becomes almost a badge of shame, something you don’t want to talk about — not necessarily because you’re afraid or embarrassed, but because you don’t feel like enduring the same conversations and arguments with everyone you meet.
And that brings me to the single best thing I took away from WYD 2008: solidarity. I can’t begin to describe the energy that filled Sydney that week. At first my natural cynicism and reluctance to involve myself in anything “undignified” held me back, but it was impossible not to get caught up in the excitement of hundreds of thousands of young people gathered together in God’s name.
Of course, a lot of other stuff happened at WYD. The catechesis sessions, for example, which by their very name didn’t lead me to have a lot of hope, turned out to be interesting, relevant, and well presented. But the thing that sticks out, and will probably ALWAYS stick out, in my mind is the solidarity.
Now, having said that, I think the experience of someone of 29 years of age is going to be very different from the experience of a teenager. I know that the church defines youth, for the purpose of WYD, as something like 18-35, but I’d estimate the average age of the WYD participants at about 19. That’s not a bad thing, of course, but it did make for a different experience than I’d maybe been expecting.
And THAT led me to realize something else. Our church has always done a good job of providing for the elderly and the traditionalists, and as of late, it’s finally begun to do a good job of catering to the young — by which I mean children through teens. Families also do quite well in the church
But where does someone in their mid twenties to thirties fit into the Catholic scheme, especially if they’re single? Sometimes it seems like we’re being brushed aside — just get married or choose a vocation already! And that’s one area where I think the church does need to improve. Perhaps it will, as teens who have grown up in active youth groups and the like become young adults and want to continue that camraderie and spiritual growth.
For the time being, though, I can see why so many of my friends have left the Catholic church for various Protestant faiths, places where they feel like they’re being spoken to instead of over.
I wish I could say that WYD was everything I’d hoped for and more. I CAN say, very honestly, that it was a great experience — a lot of fun, plenty of opportunity to grow spiritually, and a great chance to bond with others who share your faith. I’m still left with the question, though, of how I fit into the church — and it’s a question I think the church should focus on answering.
One final note: I know some people would say that it’s up to the individual to find their own place in any organization: to get involved, to make things happen. I agree. But I’d also like to point out that there’s only so much an individual can do without the support of the organization itself. I don’t think the church has deliberately neglected young adults so much as… perhaps overlooked them. And since these are the parents and practitioners of the future, it’s not in our best interests for this trend to continue.
I think every teacher has a moment like this in their past — where you realize you have way more to do with people who come up to your waist than legitimate adults.
Ah, 
