Response to First Week of Advent Question

Carroll High School Auditorium, 200 Catholic kids from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, ritual blessing and send off, candles and water, live feed from Kansas City….Load the luggage, say goodbye to family, dinner and icebreakers…11:30 PM, the buses pull out of Carroll. We’re on our way to Kansas City, MO…traffic delay in St. Louis, must be 3 AM…9 AM, breakfast at Burger King, at least 100 hungry, weary travelers…11 AM, we arrive in Kansas City, welcome at the Convention Center. We are among the first to arrive and wander through the Reign Forest. There is anticipation in the air. We find the inflatable games and the soccer venue, t-shirts and artwork. They are doing something with dominoes…By 4 PM, we begin the process of locating the venue for our regional liturgy, pilgrims from Ohio and Michigan. The anticipation –and the crowd – builds. …Boxed dinners – 2,000 turkey sandwiches?? …We find our way down the street to the Sprint Arena. So this is what 20,000 people looks like! Christ Reigns, indeed!

On November 19-21, almost 21,000 young (and young-at-heart) Catholics participated in the National Catholic Youth Conference in Kansas City, MO, a 3-day event uniting young people from around the country for high energy praise and worship, music, workshops, liturgy, fellowship and fun. If ever there were a sign of hope for this generation, NCYC is it! Young Catholics given the freedom to express their faith as teens, given the opportunity to proclaim Jesus as Lord, given the experience of a world filled with the presence of Christ, is truly a moment of grace. Instead of another bus trip, NCYC is an experience of a young Church moved by the Spirit of God.

As my own personal preparation for the Season of Advent, these three days remind me that Jesus is the object of all Christian hope, Christ Reigns – In Us, Among Us, and Through Us. “Pay attention!” Jesus says to me. “The transformation you seek comes from within.” My transformation occurs when I gaze into the eyes of another and see my Lord and Savior.

I find myself seeking the face of Jesus in every face in the crowd. Every one of those 21,000 is also seeking, whether they know it or not. The hope we desire is really the recognition of Christ’s presence in our world, in one another. Instead of anticipating His coming this Advent, I anticipate the day when all will recognize His Presence. Christ comes to me when I recognize His Presence in everyone I encounter. My hope rests in the knowledge that the presence of Christ I experienced at NCYC will be carried from Kansas City into parishes and communities everywhere.