August 24, 2016 at 2:45 p.m.
Nativity Rhinelander group participates in World Youth Day
Nativity Rhinelander group participates in World Youth Day
By Laura Fenzl-
Several "Marys" begged us to plan for this pilgrimage. We said, "Yes" although unsure of finances, world events, and the commitment level of our people.
Participants from Nativity of Our Lord in Rhinelander, (Rachel and Mary Uhlarik and myself), St. Joseph in Hayward (Rachel Radcliffe), Sacred Heart Parish in Waseca, Minn. (The Berry Family) and the Evangelical Free Church in Mound, Minn. (Victoria and Aurora Fenzl), made up a Superior Diocese contingent at World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow this July.
Two others, Lynn Berscheit and Erica Warning from Rhinelander, attended WYD with a group from the Diocese of LaCrosse and Badger Catholic from UW-Madison, respectively.
World Youth Day is traditionally a five-day event organized by the host country including catechesis and liturgy by the Holy Father to challenge "youth" to a deeper relationship to Christ and His Church. Globally, youth are considered to be age 17-35, what we would consider "young adults" in the U.S. The Superior pilgrims included a 13-year-old eighth-grade student and her 70-year-old grandfather.
The highlight of this World Youth Day was the immersion into the Year of Divine Mercy with the creator of this event in 1985, St. Pope John Paul II. Don't tell the Poles, but they live as if there have been no other popes since the beloved JPII. Taking place in Poland made this event the crown jewel of the mercy year. Krakow, as we know, is the seat of then Bishop Karol Woytila. He was born in Wadowice (Va-do-vee-chay) and moved to Krakow at the death of his mother when he was nine. His cosmic connection to the others in this "City of Saints" was the fact that JPII and both St. Faustina Kowalska and St. Maximilian Kolbe lived within 15 miles of each other during the Nazi occupation of World War II. Mercy takes on greater significance when you are only an hour from Auschwitz while viewing Papa's white and blood-stained cassock saved since the assassination attempt at the hands of a Turkish national forgiven and converted to Christ.
Mercy is also richer in a country that was driven to keep the Truth and Sacraments alive through both Nazi genocide of Poles and Catholics and the subsequent chill of the Communist oppression of the Faith.
Many have asked, did you feel "safe?" Who wouldn't (feel safe) with helicopters in the sky, thousands of soldiers and police, and a 45-minute background check to buy cheap cellphone or $5 sim card. The security wasn't for the Pope. It has been constant in Poland since the Russian invasion and the secure rehoming of our refugee friends from Syria and Turkey. I felt safe, in particular because of the "small world" effect. I ran into so many old friends. Past Extreme Faith campers, all grown up. Students, now ordained or professed, bringing their own groups. And who wouldn't feel special when the first person to welcome us off the bus in Poland was our beloved, former youth director, Megan Noll.
The pilgrimage made a lasting impression on us. Rachel Uhlarik, who used WYD as her Confirmation retreat, said, "Our Faith unites us no matter where we live in the world. The way Pope Francis spoke to us made me want to take action to carry Jesus love and mercy to those at home."
Reflecting on the marks left on a faithful Poland from the utilitarian regimes and the vigilance of the Polish people to guard the Faith even under current threat from Russia, another pilgrim made the connection, "If God wants this city (Krakow) with its scars (and fears), then God must want me."
"Being among 2 million people in love with Jesus brings me hope. I know that I can survive anything" boasted one of our young ladies. "Go, seek Christ and you will find him. Christ has met me here, in Europe. The entire experience was an explosion of love, praise, and worship to God! Now, we must enter the world back home and share the Gospel, boldly," said Victoria Pawlowski, a
pilgrim and great-granddaughter of a Polish immigrant from Lodz who settled in Chicago.
"When you walk the streets of saints, you learn some things - God can call anyone to His work. Basically, Papa Francesco said that it makes him sad to see so many young people stuck on their couches. Stop making Papa Francesco sad, don't be a potato. Get off the couch and live for God!" said Aurora Fenzl.
The next World Youth Day will take place in Panama in July of 2019. Start planning and join us.
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