Lawrence Lam @ WYD2002

Last Week with the WYD Cross

I wanted to spend as much time with the World Youth Day Cross as much as possible. I had, however, missed out on a few opportunities when it was nearby.

With one week to go before WYD, I intended to make it to three ve4nues where the cross was being hosted.

July 15

The WYD Cross came to St. Bonaventure, the Parish Church of my elementary school. There was a prayer service celebrating the Tree of Life. I sat with Ms. Duarte, my Grade 8 teacher. I'm not sure if she remembered me well, but whatever...There were a couple of other people from my graduating class as well. After the ceremony we got to catch up and talk about getting the class back together. Another interesting effect of the Cross....bringing people together. 

July 16

I left before St. Bonaventure's Evening Stations of the Cross just because I knew I'd be doing it the next day. This was at Blessed Chinese Martyrs Church. I had always heard about this Church but in reality, Roman Catholicism still seems to me very much a Western religion. At Waterloo, all the big Chinese Christian groups are evangelical protestant so it's refreshing to know of such a community. This Church really is Chinese! The chairs for the celebrants were those intricate wooden oriental chairs that are seen in many Chinese homes. The tabernacle was a mini-model of the Temple of Heaven in China with a Cross on top. The lights beside the tabernacle were the red light bulbs that are typically seen in Buddhist shrines (just look closely the next time you're in a Chinese restaurant). The stained glass window design was of Chinese villagers bowing before Jesus. Typical of an Asian institution, technology was put to use. They used a PowerPoint overhead projection to aid the congregation. The Stations of the Cross were done using wireless microphones.

I actually had not done the Stations of the Cross in ten years (since Grade 5 during Lent). It was interesting. The stations were done alternating between Cantonese and English (no Mandarin). The programs we were given were either in all English or all Chinese so everybody always knew what was being said even if they didn't understand the language.

I got to bring my mom with me to the Church. She has not been in touch with her Faith much so I continue to pray for her and my whole family.

The Cross arrived at this Church only at 5:30...so I was wondering what happened earlier in the day. The schedule did not say. It was not until the next morning that I found on the front cover of the Metro Today that the Cross was brought up to the roof of the CN Tower! It's quite a sight and it symbolizes such greatness...it seems to say that the Cross of Christ conquers all and dominates Toronto.

July 21

One more day until WYD! I'm sooo excited. I brought Dan Santoro to St. Paul's Basilica where I think would be my last chance to see the Cross before WYD. What a beautiful Church! The walls and ceilings were painted beautifully. And guess what? We were asked to carry the Cross during the opening procession! What a bonus for both of us. I did get a chance to carry the Cross for a bit when it arrived in Toronto....so I guess it's cool...that I got to carry it at the beginning and end of its time in Toronto before WYD. We first carried it to a room in the back of the Church shortly before mass. The priest leading us forgot to tell us to tilt the cross as it was going through the door and BANG the Cross smashed into the wall. Luckily, it was not any further damaged. It is quite a robust Cross that's been through a lot. Then right before Mass we carried it back up to the front. As we passed through the pews those near the aisles reached to touch it. One woman even had tears in her eyes as I walked by. It was really something. The mass itself was a solemn mass with incense and many little-kid altar servers. The choir was quite good too...it was sort of a reggae-folk choir, they used a lot of the proper hymns used at my home parish so I was familiar with the music. One thing that jumped at me was that they changed "Peace to all men of goodwill" to "Peace to people of goodwill"...political correctness always jumps out at me now. I'm not criticizing it, it just jumps out at me. After mass was over, the parishioners literally mobbed the cross. It was the most disorganized veneration ever. People were mobbing it from all directions and I think the priest in charge was a little bit annoyed.

But in any event, I am grateful for all the time I had been able to spend with the World Youth Day Cross. Thanks be to God.

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It is not my intent to offend anyone here. What I wrote was straight from the heart: uncensored, uncut.