The Vigil Mass

When I left off, we were taking a power nap around midnight. At one AM we got up and packed up to try and venture to the other side. We walked 3 miles in the dark with dozens of other pilgrims to attempt to get to our rightful section.

When we arrive there are dozens of cops and people at the gate. They stopped letting people in. We were really upset and so were plenty of people. They were not letting anyone in for anything -- no bathrooms either. People who had left couldn't even get back in to their families, car keys, stuff or children. Minors got separated from their groups and it was chaos as it was after 2 am and most of us had been without a proper lunch or dinner. Ashley went to wait with the stuff on the rocky hill with the other rejected pilgrims while I waited in a small mob to get some food. They were bringing trucks of boxes of the pilgrim's meals up to the gate to let us pick up with our coupons. I started talkin to a guy from Poland with long dreads and a nice young man from South Africa. We expressed our frustrations with the system. Apparently sections G, H, and J were for the locals and the pilgrims were "inside" the hill barrier in C-F. They made a HUGE mistake by not checking our badges and let in locals into he wrong sections so there was no room for us. Also our food was inside, not out where thousands of people were misplaced. There were two million people there! As I was talking, the South African grabbed my meal tickets. I freaked out at first like a WWII person with ration tickets, but then he explained his buddy was in line and would get my bags for me. It was super nice of him. Once we got our food, his friend told me that being inside wasn't very great because many of the people were being disrespectful to tue event and partying-- not caring who was on and at the alter! He also said girls were dressed like prostitutes (how good -- a man who knows modest is best!) and that people were drinking and playing music. I'm glad that at least we had quiet time during adoration.

I went back and Ashley and I went to bed around 3 am on some rocky ground. We got up around 7 to find out that we could still not get in. Instead of waiting, (we both still had to go to the bathroom) we walked back the three miles with all of our stuff plus our food and found a spot near a large TV screen at least. We waited, ate some food and went to the lovely portapotties.

Mass was amazing. It was in multiple languages and over two million people were there. The communions song was Here I Am, Lord and it was so magnificient. After the long day and night that we had, the Mass with the Pope was the peace and healing that we needed. While here wasn't enough communion for everyone, the spiritual communion was sufficient. My favorite part was everyone saying the Our Father together with the Holy Father in dozens of languages. We are all one Church!

After that we knew that all of our suffering was worth it. We felt like real pilgrims and thought about how it must be in other countries. Or how it was at Pentacost, or during a medieval passage. We thought we had rights. A right to get into our section. A right for our food and bathroom access. A right to do what we wanted. We were kicked out. Moved. Told no and not given a reason. Other people got what we deserved and what we expected. We were very disappointed to be denied what we felt were our rights. It was humbling and surreal to feel like we were less than human. We had no control and had no say. It was an eye opening experience and I'll never forget it. Now I might understand how others feel and how it is to be on the outside. It was living the Litany of Humility to the extreme.

Going back to town was a mess too. We waited a bit and then walked 4-5 miles to a metro stop and waited in a huge crowd for our turn to get smashed and squished into a metro and get back home. We then had to get all of our luggage (heavy!) and walk to the hotel.

What a 180! The hotel is so nice! We walked in to a nice lobby and onto elevators that looked down into an atrium. Our first thoughts were that we each had a bed, multiple plugs, hot water and a TV. And we could control the air conditioner. The balcony had a beautiful view of the city and we had a huge mirror. It was amazing to lay on a bed and have clean bodies! We dressed up in dresses and went with our gang to have mass again with the Bishop since we didn't all get communion. After that Ashley and I went to find a nice Italian place for dinner and got gelato. It was such a nice evening after such a moving experience.

fbt&<3

Sabrina