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Reflections on WAY's Trip to see Pope John Paul II
On January 26 and 27, 1999, Pope John Paul II made a pastoral visit to
the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Five teens and two adults from St. Charles
were fortunate enough to participate in this historic and exciting event--attended
almost exclusively by people from St. Louis and Missouri.
Each of us who attended shared an experience of exceptional joy, of unbelievable excitement and of profound Catholic pride, and yet each were touch
very personally by God. Here is what two teens have to say in their own words:
"The amount of love you could feel present when the Pope came into the room
was so powerful. Just by the expressions on the faces around you, you
could see just what a strong passion there is for the Pope. I have been
struggling so much with my faith recently, and it is just incredible how much the
Pope put things in perspective for me. So much of what I had been questioning, he
addressed and made clear. I truly believe my faith is much, much stronger and with all the obstacles in my life right now I will really be able to
overcome them after hearing what the Pope had to say. To see the impact he had on
others was so special. What a priceless experience it was to see him.
One that will be cherished forever." --Sarah, age 16
"Everybody says that when Pope John Paul II is in the room,
there is a certain spirit that you can feel. I wasn’t sure this would be true,
but when we stood to greet him and he entered, I could feel that spirit very
strongly.
"It was an incredible feeling to be in the same room as someone so
close to God. I was told that the Pope is in constant prayer and that he was
ordained by the Holy Spirit. I could definitely sense these two things. It
was awesome. I cried out of complete happiness. I was so happy to see
him.
"At the Mass, we were able to sit in the third row which meant we were about 5
to 10 feet away from Pope John Paul II as he made a circle around the
TWA Dome. My camera broke right before he came out, but that meant that
I wasn’t busy trying to get a good picture and I could appreciate what I was
seeing even more. This trip was full of blessings like this. This trip
itself was a blessing. I do feel different after seeing him and I’m so happy I had
that opportunity. At the 5pm Mass yesterday (at St. Charles) I found
myself more aware of the true meaning of the Mass. I concentrated more on
why I was there. That actually made it go by very fast.
"The last thing that I want to say is how impressed I was with the amount of
teenagers so happy to know Jesus. At the youth rally, I saw thousands of
youths cheering louder than I have ever heard--for God. It was
amazing and I wish there was more of that on a regular basis. I am glad I was able
to see that along with many other things and I’m so thankful for this trip."
--Norah, age 16
