Today was a good day. After Catechesis and Mass with Arch. Bishop Timothy Dolan of NY a bunch of us spent the afternoon squating a spot near the stations. Catechesis begin with Jackie Francois and Stephen Curtis. They got the stadium rocking. Jackie is such an impressive woman. Shes talented, energetic, goofy, and absolutely beautiful with a modest yet totally feminine way about herself. Shes such a great role model for women. I wish more young girls had the opportunity to meet her. I think shed inspire them. Arch Bishop Dolan gave an extraordinary catechesis on being a witness for Christ who is Lord "forever and ever". He has such an amazing gift for engaging the audience and making you feel comfortable, like hes family. Yet he doesnt hold back on the content and hes able to challenge you. Im always impressed with A. Bishop Dolan. Hes a priests bishop. Before Mass he personally greeted each and every one of the 350 priests that had gathered for the english catechesis at Palacio de Desportes. Who does that? As we were heading into Mass in procession he stood at the door and slapped each of us on the back, "glad you are here", "thanks for being here" just amazing. And he was equally hospitable with the youth. Some clergy seem to be afraid of young people, but not Dolan. After catechesis we staked our claim near one of the stations and began our 5 hour wait forB16 to arrive. Some passed the time by sleeping in the shade, others by scavenging for food and water, others used the opportunity to meet people from other countries. By the time 7pm rolled around the place was jammed packed. It was hard to move. It was good preparation for tomorrows vigil. The stations were beautiful. This year they used traditional stations from many of the churches across the country. They were amazing. The text for the stations had some really profound reflections. And there was some moving musical movements during the event. But after waiting all day in the sun, wearing clerical attire and pretty much standing I was glad to get back to the hotel, take a shower, and climb in bed. I updated the photos. I added more than 100 new ones. As I write this it is 12:40am and there is a parade outside my hotel window. Bands are playing. They are processing the stations up Calle Alcara to Puerta Del Sol (i think). Some of these station floats require 50-100 men to carry. ... its almost 1am and they are no where near done... tomorrow we have mass with Card. Sean OMalley from Boston and then we hike 5+ miles to the vigil site and try to get some land parcelled out before its too late. Then we bake in the sun and try and stay hydrated until the overnight vigil and Sunday morning Mass. Wish us luck.
