Woke up bright and early at 7AM to the cawing and cackling of a morning bird I never learnt the name of but definitely earned to hate, for his sounds clawed at my nerves in bed every morning in Australia. In the kitchen, Alma greeted us with huge cups of steaming coffee, hot toast, feta cheese, and olives. The coffee was a necessity, the only warmth to cold bodies in that house (the house is old and has no central heating). Even though the church was right around the corner, Alma insisted on driving us there for Catechesis, which started at 9AM on the dot. (Above: Celeste and I pose with Sr. Mary Gabriel)
Our first Catechesis session was given by a bishop from India. Each session during the week began with prayer and music led by the "Act1v8 Team" of St. Joseph's, followed by a talk, Q&A, and Mass all given and celebrated by the visiting bishop of the day. The bishop from India was very nice but difficult to understand, and as a result the talk and Q&A were fairly useless. During Mass, Joe and Dominique Farah (our totally awesome Catechesis leaders) pulled Leste and I up in front to teach everyone the hand motions to "I'm Trading My Sorrows", and from then on we were colloquially known as the "ITMS" girls.
Unlike his talk, the bishop's homily was quite understandable. He told the story of a girl who left her home to work in the city, but who accidentally left her mirror at home. She wrote and asked her mother to send one: instead, her mother sent three. The first mirror was a normal one; the second was plastered with a picture of a skull, and the third with a lovely picture of Mary the Mother of God. The girl was dismayed and called her mother to ask what the mirrors meant. Her mother told her that "the first is so you know what a beautiful girl you are in the eyes of God; the second is a reminder of your mortality; and the third is a reminder that you are always supposed to look like your mother. You must pray to look like your Mother." Beautiful.
With the end of Mass, we took part in the largest Aussie BBQ in history (it made the Book of World Records!) for lunch. All Catechesis sites throughout the city fired up their grills to break the world record. And I must say the BBQ was delicious - the best lunch all week!
We then proceeded to take the train (Sydney has the nicest public transit system I have ever encountered) into the city. Leste and I's first stop was the University of Notre Dame Broadway campus (if you ever want to see a city, I've decided the best way is to attend WYD there) to check out the "Love and Life Site" run by the Sisters of Life from New York City. I was blessed to have the opportunity to visit them and meet a number of the Sisters back in mid-March, so I was excited to see them again. The Sisters are simply lovely, and their work/ministry/life focuses on caring and providing for women with crisis pregnancies, helping them to carry to term. But they also do a great deal of counseling and support for women who are suffering from the trauma of abortions. The order was founded about twenty years ago by John Cardinal O'Connor, and today it is a vibrant community of about 75 Sisters.
Pro-life speaker Bernadette Black gave a talk at the site about her own crisis pregnancy, and the CFR group "Catholic Underground" gave a short concert. It isn't every day that you go to a concert and get a priestly blessing at the end! And then, the drumroll. Anyone who knows the Sisters knows they have two major musical passions: Celtic and Matt Maher. Next up on the stage was MATT MAHER!!!!!! I was jumping out of my skin I was so excited. Matt Maher, needless to say, is also my one major musical passion. He even sang one of my favorite songs: "Sophia". (Above: Cafe Benedicto, Holding the Keys to a Cup of Good Java)
After the concert everyone was told that Matt was going to be around for about fifteen minutes to sign autographs. Well, I already have three but I really wanted to meet him so Leste and I squeezed in line. To our surprise, we did get up there before fifteen minutes were up, and Matt posed for a picture! What an awesome guy. I was as happy as a clam and just kept saying "thank you" over and over again. Matt even teased me before I left for my level of gratitude. (Above: Matt Maher! :::aaaaaaaaa:::)I had to track down Sr. Mary Gabriel, the Vocations Directress for the Sisters of Life, and say hello. Eventually, I found her in the crowd. She gave me a great warm hug, I introduced Celeste, and we chatted awhile. She wanted to know how my comprehensive exams went in May (was it really two months ago?) and told us that she reads our Lilies blog! How funny. I love her to death - she is a gorgeous woman of God.
It was around this time that our cousins found us (Laura, Janice, Anne, and Steven), and Anne split off with Leste and I to go to the CFR Party at world-famous Bondi Beach (for those who don't know the coolness of the CFRs, they are the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal who work with the youth and gangs in the Bronx, NY). The beach was absolutely beautiful. We spread out a blanket and took in a fantastic concert, which included Fr. Stan Fortuna (CFR - the Rapping Priest), the God Squad, and was headlined by none other than MATT MAHER. Huzzahs for twice in one day!
Late, we made our way back to Belmore and to bed. On the train we met some other pilgrims from Paraguay and New Zealand who were awesome. Back at "home", we said goodnight to the Sukkars, and they showed us a big box of food and drinks that their neighbor (who has a banana tree in her backyard!) brought for the pilgrims from the United States.
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