Journal of My Experiences
Practically Every morning in Belgium the breakfast was the same, we had some fresh homemade bread and Nutella � we ate Nutella every day for almost the whole trip. It became quite sickening after a while. The lunches were usually sufficient but a mix mash of strange stuff � a cookie, a pop, a packaged waffle, and some cheese. Usually we were given two pieces of bread to make a sandwich, but little to go between except a slice of cheese or some Pate, appropriately labeled as �Levercreme� � �Liver cream�. Yummy! Either way, it was enough and if you are truly hungry, you do not complain.
Meeting with Auxillary Bishop of Brussels
We first went to Our Lady of Finnis Terae � �the ends of the earth� for a meeting with the Auxiliary Bishop of Brussels, who spoke to us on �Christian Faith in a Modern Society�. The Church name was appropriate since the theme of the days in the diocese was �All the ends of the earth�. There was a theme song that went something like �All the ends of the earth have seen the glory of God.� I don�t remember much of the bishop�s talk since I was quite tired. Father Mark and me were sitting in the very front pew before the bishop and were dozing off more often than not. It was especially hard since the talk was in Dutch and we had to wait for English Translation. It was very hard to remain focused in between the English sections. There was a kind young woman who translated for us, one of the pilgrims who had a perfect English accent. She had lived in England and it was quite humorous listening to her accent. When giving out medals, I gave her a St. Bernadette medal, a special patron of her mother, and she was very happy.
After the talk of the Bishop we discussed our own role of being Christian in the world. It was tricky, as few people wished to contribute. My offering seemed to be beyond the level of most of those in my group. I talked about how I found it difficult to know how we share our faith in the world. Many, including some of my confreres, suggested that we share it by our actions. But my follow up question was �What makes our actions different than other people�s actions?� How do my actions show I am a Christian? Many people are nice and kind � surely being a Christian witness means something more than being simply a good citizen. What more ought we to do to share with others the goodness of Christ. Some of the Belgian youth felt that there was no real reason to what to offer our faith to others or to change others. They did not feel that Christians had to be different than others. But then, I replied, what is important about our faith? Why are we Catholic? Is it something worth sharing? It was an interesting discussion, but I found it quite difficult to follow.
Touring Brussels
We spent the day visiting various churches and sites in Brussels, including the Cathedral. I don�t remember the history of much of the sites that day. I was very tired and becoming irritable � it was clear that lack of sleep was catching up with me. We went to the tenth floor roof of a mall to look at the city from above. It was all quite beautiful. We saw Maneken Pis, a peculiar statue of a small boy urinating, and also saw some nice buildings in Brussels.
We had some free time in Brussels, and I followed a group of Belgians, along with our Priest chaperone to a bar for some drinks. I basically followed since I had no one else to tour with and didn�t want to wander alone. We had a nice time. One of the Belgians ordered the beer for me. They all ordered �Duvel� (�Devil� in Dutch) a Belgian beer that is 7% alcohol. However, for me they ordered a different brand of beer that was much milder. I was slightly offended that they did not trust me with European beer. It�s not THAT much stronger than Canadian beer. (They had bragged and warned earlier of how their beer was stronger and that we had to be careful about drinking it. Nevertheless, most of the beer was only 5%, the same as Canadian beer. They must have thought we were Americans or something!)
Brussels also had a HUGE Basilica of the Sacred Heart, which we did not visit. Apparently it is the fourth largest church in the world. But, as alluded to above, the Belgians despised it. �Too triumphalistic�. I thought it was glorious. Again, a sign of Europe�s Christian Heritage.
On the bus, a lot of the Belgian youth, along with the Brazilian youth liked to sing songs. The Canadians just wanted to sleep. It was funny how Unenthusiastic we were throughout the entire world Youth Days. We rarely cheered or sang � everyone around us was noisy!!! I tried to get things rolling at times to no avail. It was at times annoying, as there would be more than one group trying to sing different songs. I joined the Belgian youth for a while. I especially liked the song �Laudato Si� � an Italian chorus and Dutch verses. We tried to learn the World Youth Day theme song, but were unable to do so, except for the chorus.
Back at the abbey we had supper and they taught us some cultural dances. I was uncomfortable joining the dances due to my vocational status. (Other seminarians and priests were joining in. Maybe I�m a little uptight this way, I�m not sure). I realized that I had been very grumpy that day and decided to go to bed early. I got a good sleep and glad I made the decision. I was in a more pleasant mood the next day.
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