World Youth Day 2019 USA Leader Guides International Leader Guide | Page 58

lead us to a better, fairer, less cruel and holiness as conveyed by Saint John Paul II:
more humane world.” “The universal call to holiness is closely united
with the call to mission” (no. 90).
Mary’s “Fiat” (or “Yes”), then, is the blueprint
for Christian life, encouraging all pilgrims and Assisting Pilgrims Through This Call
all people to embrace God’s will for their lives Pilgrims come to WYD for a variety of reasons,
and set out to bring Jesus into their world. but very few come looking for more work to
do! Yet pilgrims’ transformation into
After the Transfiguration, a large crowd was missionary disciples is exactly what the Holy
waiting for Jesus as soon as he came down Father and the Church are hoping for from
from the mountain (Lk 9:37). After seeing the WYD.
glorious vision of the divinity of Christ, the
apostles were immediately confronted with How can pilgrimage leaderss encourage their
suffering humanity. Jesus is asked to heal a pilgrims to become missionaries? How can they
man’s son who is seized by a demon. bring excitement to their departure when
nostalgia and memory tend to be the first
As soon as they return home, perhaps even on
considerations in the days after Panamá?
the way, pilgrims will be given a chance to meet
suffering humanity and bring Christ to it. Another step is to actively and intentionally
When they do this, pilgrims become true talk about their future mission in the last days
missionary disciples. WYD “alumni” are sent of the pilgrims’ time in Panamá. Help them to
into their own homes, backyards, schools and process and understand that the best way to
workplaces, to bring love, mercy, and the revisit their mountaintop experiences is to share
compassion of Christ to all. the graces they received with others.
“Every Christian is a missionary to the extent Many pilgrims come back eager to share their
that he or she has encountered the love of God story. Storytelling is a key part of the initial days
in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are back home, and it should be done in a way that
‘disciples’ and ‘missionaries,’ but rather that we invites others to share in the fruits of the
are always ‘missionary disciples’”(EG, no. 120). journey. Even though people may want to hear
The call to missionary discipleship is the call to
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