BLAZE - YOUTH FEST 15 - 16 DECEMBER

Shivanthika Jayalath shares about her experiences encountering the WYD Cross and Icon of Our Lady at the 15/16 Dec here at Mount Schoenstatt .

This was an unforgettable experience that nourished me both spiritually and mentally. It is for all those who could not make it to Mount Schoenstatt on Saturday 15 December 2007. In a more personal sense, my trust and dependence on our Lady of Schoenstatt was deepened, by just experiencing fundamental things in the eyes of people, but a more powerful act by God in heaven. For instance, all of the days in that particular week up until that Friday, happen to be the heaviest showers and thunder storms. I then asked one of the Schoenstatt sisters whether it would still rain when we welcome the Cross and Icon in the weekend. All she had to say was ‘lets pray to God and if it is his will, we will be granted with good weather conditions'. This was certainly not an understatement and so it happened to be that God answered our prayers. Saturday turned out to be the warmest, sunniest day for that whole week. On the other hand, I also realised a somewhat miracle, when we had to do the way of the cross outside, on Sunday 16 December. Sunday wasn't all that sunny, but on the other hand we didn't have to do much out doors with the exception of the way of the cross. Way of the cross was due to start at around 2.00 pm and the rain happened to stop just for that one hour or so, allowing us to host it outside even though the grass was wet.

This weekend was amazing to see all the young people braking rest for the over night vigil and to see how they participated in every activity they could possibly engage themselves even though they were stumbling in sleep. I personally experienced some power within me to stay up all night without a ‘yawn'. Thinking back at this, I myself was astonished to see myself in that position. I now believe that we, been the servants of God, were engaged in God's work and hence everyone had the courage to stay up and show a sense of faith to both Our Lady and her Son. Apart from the spiritual experiences, the meeting of new young people form across the diocese was an unforgettable experience. Many of us had the opportunity to build up friendships and share our experiences with one another. Some of these courageous people even shared their previous experiences about WYD and shared testimonies. This was indeed very touching and we all had something to learn from each other. One of the young stated the importance of talking to God every day and stated his daily prayer to be simple as ‘God thankyou for everything and help me today with my chores'. With the encounter of the WYD Cross and Icon at Mt Schoenstatt, I learnt many aspects from a matter of 2 days and I anticipate how much I would learn by the end of WYD in July 2008.