World Youth Day Journal: Theology of the Body

Wednesday, July 16: I was excited for the first day of catechesis (teaching) since I wasn't sure what to expect. We were happy to find out, first thing in the morning, that we could attend the one in Campbelltown instead of at the Entertainment Center in Sydney. That means we would not be as rushed in the morning. So, we arrived at "King of Clubs: Campbelltown Catholic Club" which is sort of like a YMCA, with electric gambling machines, a convention center, and more. All the money that goes into the club goes back into the Catholic schools. Pretty impressive considering it all seems to have stemmed from local concerns and grassroots initiatives.

Anyway, when I get there with the group, I joyfully find that we are among people from Somoa, Canada, New Zealand, several states, and more. We were introduced to our "animation team" - a group from India - to lead us in song/dance to get our blood pumping and then lead us in a mantra to the Holy Spirit, inviting Him into our heart, soul, and life. It was fun and powerful - I loved it. I know there aren't many who are used to some charisma in their prayer so I do wonder how everyone else took it. From what I could tell, they were pretty accepting.

Then our teaching began as the archbishop of Regina, Alaska took the stage and gave an impressive talk. Here are some of my notes:
He began at the beginning, reflecting on the first chapters of John's Gospel and, of course, Genesis. The archbishop noted that when we breathe, we live. God breathed into Adam's nostrils and Adam came alive. So, Adam breathed with his own breath, but also with God's life-giving breath. Throughout creation, God declared it all "good," but when God made man, He claimed us "very good." We were given dominion over all else. We were given dignity, part of God's holiness. But when Adam and Eve were given free will they misused it and chose to disobey God. Death entered with sin. So God entered into His own creation and took on the pain, suffering and death that sin causes and conquered it by rising from the dead. God didn't just give up on us. In His fidelity to us, He decided to redeem us. He decided to give us a new life - through Baptism. - *Aside: Little did I know how much this tied in with other talks to come, not related to the catechesis in the morning.

Following the talk, there was an extensive period for Q&A. I was a bit concerned because it is always "up in the air" whether a Q&A session will go over well. This one did. "Who is the Church?" "The Ukrainian Rite uses the image of the Holy Spirit as the Mother (completing the family image), the Roman Rite doesn't, why?" "With so much against us as Christian, who do we press onward?" "Did Jesus have to die for our redemption?" - Great questions!

We ended our first morning together with Mass and the music led by the "animation team." Those guys make me smile. I hope to travel to India one day. I am really bummed at myself for not having any pictures during our morning catechesis all three days.

From there, our big group split off into smaller groups, each deciding what they wanted to attend or go see. This was the only day in which no big event was being held so the rest of the afternoon/night was filled with concerts, talks, forums, prayer, expos, and more all held in several locations within Sydney. Two young ladies from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, a young man from Marquette University, and myself stuck together. On the train ride into the city I passed around a packet that contained the schedule of activities offered through the week. We marked what interested us and then tried to map out our routes. That was difficult. I was excited to see some great names lined up at WYD - I mean Matt Maher, Fr. Stan Fortuna, Christopher West, Jason Everet, and more! However, my "small group" didn't seem to recognize any of them. Nonetheless, a talk by Christopher West (later in the week) caught one of their eye's. Then I noticed that he was giving a different talk each day! Trying to stay calm (and trying to listen to the Holy Spirit so I knew when to stop talking), I encouraged my small group to see the first talk in his series, being given on this night - his introduction to the Theology of the Body (even though you can get it for free from his web site at http://www.christopherwest.com/). Apparently, my excitement didn't scare them off and they decided to go!

We left the St. James train station, viewed the outside of the recently renovated, St. Mary's Cathedral (you could only get in if you signed up for a tour) while enjoying the sounds of a nearby concert featuring traditional and contemporary world dance. The Sydney Tower was near by so we went inside to see if we could go up to its top. Because the line was so long we decided to purchase tickets (which could be saved for a few months before using) and come back at a more opportune time, later in the week. That actually took a lot out of us and, since we didn't go up, it felt like a waste of time (considering all of the other stuff going on around the city). We continued towards Darling Harbor where the convention center is, enjoying the city along the way and trying not to loose track of each other in the crowds. We got to the convention center before a certain workshop, but realized it wasn't going to cover what we thought it was and also learned that it was being recorded and would be available online - at a new, world-wide social networking site for Catholics, http://www.xt3.com/ - so we went outside to have supper.

Now, the interesting thing about the way meals are delivered is that you have to have six meal tickets to get your bags of food (one thermal bag for the stew and one regular bag for the rest). So we searched for a group of two and found a couple of college ladies from the Midwest. We ate with them, enjoying their outgoing nature and great humor. They were planning on going to the Christopher West talk as well, so, after supper, we all went back into the convention center and sat right outside the doors to the room his talk would be held. As time went on, it became very crowded in hall as others gathered around waiting for the doors to open. It reminded me of being in front of the exhibit hall doors at a gaming convention just before they opened. Soon a chaotic sprint would ensue if crowd control did not say something. It was exciting. I have no idea how long we were there - it had to be well over an hour. Groups were singing and shouted uplifting chants to keep themselves entertained. When the doors opened, the crowed flooded in - relatively behaved, I might add - and Mike Mangione and his band took the stage first. In the middle of one of their songs, I saw Christopher West walk across the stage, sit behind the empty drum set and begin to play along with them. That was such and awesome and unexpected moment for me to witness because I know that it must have been a blessing for him to get that chance. Anyone who has heard Mr. West's talks, knows how much he loves music.


The Theology of the Body is the title given to the 129 talks from Pope John Paul II during the first six years he was pope (1979 - 1985). He talks about our sexuality and it's relationship with God. How we get a better understanding of God by understanding our sexuality as a gift from the Divine. Here are a few snippets I pulled out of my notes:

Why did God make us male and female? Partially because God is a fan of relationship. Read Ephesians 5:31-32 to get what JPII sees as a summary of everything God wants to tell us about who we are. Our maleness/femaleness is a sign/image of God's Love/Unity in Heaven. What are at the bookends of the Bible? Genesis begins with the wedding of Adam and Eve while Revelation ends with the wedding between Christ and His Church. More than any other analogy used in the Bible is the "spousal analogy." Take the Gospel story of the woman at the well. The woman came to the well with a physical thirst and God used that to point to her spiritual thirst. That is because erotic love (eros) is meant to point to divine love (agape). What is true love?
1) Free - "They do not take my life, I lay it down freely"
2) Faithful - "I will never leave you."
3) Fruitful - "I came into this world so that you may have life, and have it to the full."
4) Total - "Everything the Father has given me, I've given you."

It was great to see Christopher West in this particular setting. On the train ride back to Campbelltown we even discussed it a little as we went around and stated what stood out to us.

World Youth Day Journal: Theology of the Body