My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

This past Tuesday, I returned from the 23rd World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia. It was a wonderful experience which encouraged not only my own faith, but also the faith I saw in the lives of the so many young people that I encountered.

It was the fourth World Youth Day which I have attended. Each one had its own highlights, and this one was filled with memorable occasions and new opportunities to meet young people whose faith is very much alive. World Youth Day brings together young people from everywhere. Certainly this was true in Australia, which is not the easiest continent to reach but one which enthusiastically hosted over 250,000 young Catholics from all over the world.

Our own Diocese was represented by 128 pilgrims in our diocesan group, organized by Father Gerard Sauer, director of our Pilgrimage Office, as well as by Marilyn Santos, director of Adolescent Faith Formation. Several other groups from Brooklyn and Queens were represented, led by Msgr. Joseph Malagreca, Father Gabriel Lee and Msgr. Renato Graselli, rector of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary located in the Archdiocese of Newark in Kearny, N.J., who led the neocatechumenal group from Queens. While it was good to see our own young people attending World Youth Day, it was very interesting to meet young people from many countries.

This year, I had the opportunity to give three catecheses at various parishes around Sydney, not only to a group of our own pilgrims, but also to groups from other English-speaking countries, namely, Australia, New Zealand and others. The theme of this World Youth Day was “Receiving the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.” Each day, bishops were asked to catechize groups of young people regarding the Holy Spirit. These catecheses were great opportunities to meet young people and to celebrate the Liturgy with them.

One of the more humorous events happened when I spoke with the Australian and New Zealand young people. One made a comment to one of the Sisters at the catechesis that it sounded like they were in the movies because of my New York accent. I am not sure what movie they were referring to; however, I can only imagine what it might have been. Cutting through each other’s accents was one of the minor difficulties of World Youth Day in Sydney. Getting around the city was another hurdle, but it all seemed to work out with the beautiful background of the Sydney harbor. The organizers of World Youth Day certainly took advantage of the wonderful scenery and sites available in a modern-day city.

The focus of World Youth Day is meeting the Holy Father and hearing his teaching. Pope Benedict XVI, for the past four years, has become a real grandfather figure to the world. He teaches clearly and directly, especially when he speaks to the youth of the world. I remember his Angelus talk after the main Mass on Sunday, the last day of our gathering, which was so clear and so direct to the youth of the world. In one sentence, he said that in fairy tales everyone lives happily ever after, however, life is not that way. Happiness in life is only achieved by giving of oneself and accepting a portion of the cross of Jesus Christ in our lives. It was amazing to witness Pope Benedict’s stamina and enthusiasm for this World Youth Day. The youth of the world, it seems, are able to bring out the best in his personality and teaching ability.

Every pilgrimage is an exercise in “putting out into the deep.” The pilgrimage of World Youth Day, which occurs every three years and will be held in Madrid, Spain, in 2011, is a wonderful opportunity for the Church to recognize that it is forever young, not only because of the participation of its young members, but also because of its ability to continually change and adapt itself to the needs of a world that does not stand still.