Apologies for the hiatus, turns out getting and starting new jobs can be quite time consuming. The final post about World Youth Day is on its way, but in the mean time, this is something else I got up to over the summer... This post was originally written for the Westminster Youth Ministry blog. Go check them out, there's some fantastic stuff on there!
Since I ended this post with an encouragement to attend Youth2000’s Walsingham retreat, I thought I’d better write up a post about it. This retreat is always a highlight of my year, and this one was no different. The theme this year was Conquerors.
Since I ended this post with an encouragement to attend Youth2000’s Walsingham retreat, I thought I’d better write up a post about it. This retreat is always a highlight of my year, and this one was no different. The theme this year was Conquerors.
After arriving and getting all the usual bits and pieces out
of the way – trying to find a vaguely flat bit of ground to set up the tent, realising
I’d forgotten a rollmat so was going to have to sleep flat on the ground –
rookie mistake for my 4th time attending, registering, saying hello
to old friends… we hit the ground running with Mass. The homily given by Fr Christopher Joseph CFR
really set the tone for the rest of the retreat.
To help you understand the importance of his homily, I have
to explain something that some of you may find slightly shocking… Walsingham
has very little signal. If you’re lucky
you might find a couple of spots where you can send a text or make a quick
call, but internet? Pretty much nowhere
to be found. I know! 5 days with no
social media…
Okay, so you have the picture? No facebook, no whatsapp, no Instagram, no
twitter, no snapchat… but you know what?
It’s actually incredibly freeing.
Without being able to check my phone every 5 minutes to see if people
far away were trying to contact me, I found myself being far more present to
those who physically surrounded me. And
this is the point that was being made by Fr Christopher. Our love for social media comes from our
desire to be connected to everyone, but the real way that this can happen is
not through faceappstagram, but through Jesus.
The Social Network of Christ is his body. It’s us.
Linking back to the theme of the retreat, he challenged us to make sure
we were conquering social media, and not the other way around. Social media can be a fantastic way to
evangelise, but we need to make sure we are not being controlled by it.
So, how to spend 5 days with no phone? Well, one of the
great beauties of Youth2000 is that there’s always plenty to do – I was so busy
attending talks and workshops, hanging out with old friends and making new ones
that I didn’t even manage to find time for a nap this year!
Something that I really really love about Youth 2000 is how
it's completely centred around the Blessed Sacrament - around Jesus. From
the end of the opening Mass to just before closing Mass, there is perpetual
adoration. Jesus is out, physically present for the whole weekend.
The talks are given with Him in the room, the praise and worship takes
place around Him. If you wake up at, say, 3am, you can go and sit with
Him. I didn’t manage to take advantage
of this enough this year, but knowing that he was so physically close all the
time was a great blessing.
If you missed out, it’s okay. Fr Stephen Wang reminded us that nothing we
receive on retreats like this is any different to anything we receive back
home. The point is to gain a greater
appreciation for what we have when we go back home. Whilst you may not be surrounded by priest,
making it easy to find one for confession, they’re still there in your home
parish. All you have to do is ask (or
turn up at the preadvertised times). The
Eucharist you receive in Mass in Walsingham, or in a field in Poland is the
same as the one you receive at home. It’s the same Jesus present in the Blessed
Sacrament, whether you’re adoring him in a circus tent in Walsingham, in
Westminster Cathedral, or in your local church.
The rosary is the same great weapon of prayer no matter where you say
it.
In a later homily, Fr Stephen challenged those present to
love your church, be proud of your faith and be prepared to stand up for them
both, as well as to “Love the Catholic faith not only for what it has meant for
us, but also for what it can mean for others.”
So use your social network following to evangelise. If you love Jesus, let people know. If you go
to a fantastic talk, share it. We’re all
very good at letting our friends on facebook know when we’ve had a delicious
meal at a new restaurant, so why not share when we hear a fantastic homily
during Mass? You’d announce it if you
were going to a music festival, so why not let everyone know that you’ll be in
Sheffield from the 28th – 30th October for the next Youth2000 retreat
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go. I’ve just had another friend request pop up
on facebook from someone I met in Walsingham…
