The End Is Near

With Friday comes the shift in the WYD schedule.

Our morning routine held the same - breakfast at our hotel around 7:30 am. Then we left by 8:30 to begin weaving our way to the catechetical site. The journey gets more complicated each day due to security for the Pope's arrival later in the day and never knowing which streets might be blocked off.

The catechetical session was fantastic with Cardinal George, from Chicago, providing the talk. Jesse Manibussan was a wonderful addition with his music. The Cardinal took questions for so long (and the line for the "WC" was so long) that Mass was delayed.

After Mass we headed to lunch. Once watered and fed, we went just next door to a grocery store to pick up some groceries for snacks. It is always an adventure to choose snacks abroad. I reminded everyone to stay away from too much salt and to avoid anything that spoils or would melt. Many picked up things like dried fruit, crackers, and cookies. These will supplement the packages of food we are handed tomorrow at the Vigil site. The boxes or bags we are given will contain food for Saturday's lunch and dinner along with Sunday's breakfast and lunch.

Once we finished at the store we had to take a long route to the location we wanted for the Way of the Cross. We settled into a spot and whiled away a couple of hours.

The Way of the Cross was wonderful with statues from throughout Spain that are used in traditional parades during Holy Week.

Yet again, after the Way of the Cross we took the long way back to our hotel. Oh, those long 15 minutes of weaving through the crowds!

We had a quick group discussion in the lobby where I reminded the group of what they need for the Vigil and the Papal Mass - tarps, sleeping bags, bottles for water, things to do during the day, etc.

Now everyone is packing their things for tomorrow as we will leave soon after breakfast so we can walk in the cool of the morning (relatively speaking) and then rest in the heat once we're at the site.

Since we will be in a huge field with 1.5 million others tomorrow night, I won't be posting. Sunday afternoon I hope to do a final post prior to enjoying a short night's sleep before we leave around 2 or 3 am for the airport on Monday!