Pre-World Youth Day thoughts

St. Anthony Messenger has gathered thoughts from various teens and young adults preparing to travel to Madrid for this year's World Youth Day. You can read the reflections here.

I was asked to contribute to the piece:

My first WYD experience comes to mind daily as I look at the small wooden cross necklace I received and the framed picture of Blessed John Paul II that I snapped as he smiled at me a few feet away in the middle of Toronto—both of which sit on my desk at work.

Nine years ago I was weeks away from my freshman year of college. A WYD encounter with a million young Catholics and with the Holy Father fueled my love of the Catholic faith.

Nearly a decade later, I see the fruit of that week with strangers in the middle of a Toronto field. The Holy Spirit has continued to work in my heart, leading me to fulltime ministry with teenagers in Cincinnati. And so for my third WYD, I will embark upon the journey with tremendous excitement and curiosity for how the Lord will work in the lives of the young people with whom I am traveling.

Who will they meet? How will they react when they see the pope? What crazy adventures will they experience while praying in the overnight vigil before the final day? How will Madrid impact their lives?

Read the rest of my reflection, as well as the thoughts of many others, here.