The secret power of World Youth Day is the fact that it always ends up putting the Lord Jesus back at the heart of our understanding of what it means to be a Christian and especially a Christian in our Catholic tradition, Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB has said.
Speaking to more than 800 people Sunday 20 November for the launch of World Youth Day 2023 on the Feast of Christ the King at St Mary’s Cathedral, Archbishop Costelloe continued by saying many people fail to see is who lies at the heart of the Church.
“The answer to the question of who is at the heart of the Church is not Archbishop Tim or Pope Francis, or the Cardinals or anybody else,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“The answer is a name – Jesus Christ – and unless we begin to understand that and think deeply about what it means we will never understand the Church and we may even walk away from the Church, but in doing so, we run the risk of walking away from Jesus himself,” he said.
Archbishop Costelloe was joined for the occasion by concelebrants, Episcopal Vicar for Education and Adult Faith Formation, Fr Vincent Glynn, Cathedral Dean, the Very Rev Dr Sean Fernandez, St Charles Seminary Vice-Rector, Fr Francis Nguyen, Cathedral Assistant Priest Fr Israel Quirit, CYM Chaplain Fr Joseph Laundy as MC and assisted by transitional Deacon Nicholas Diedler.
The launch of World Youth Day 2023 – to be held in Lisbon, Portugal, commenced with a Youth Rally at Langley Park where some 150 young people processed with a large wooden cross to St Mary’s Cathedral.
Following Mass which commenced at 5pm, more than 500 young people and their families gathered for a youth festival which included live music, food trucks, games and stalls from several Catholic Archdiocesan agencies and organisations.
Continuing his homily, Archbishop Costelloe said that to belong to the Church is to be a part of Christ’s body and to be united to him in a relationship of friendship and love.
“He is closer to us in the Church than we are to each other. He is closer to us even than we are to ourselves,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“It is this that comes home so powerfully through World Youth Days. They are full of energy, full of excitement, full of passion and most of all they are full of faith.
The most powerful and life-changing moment in any World Youth Day, noted Archbishop Costelloe, is the evening before the final Mass when everybody, – sometimes millions of people – kneel in silent prayer and adoration before the Lord Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament.
“It is at that moment that the truth about the Church becomes clear,” Archbishop Costelloe highlighted.
“It is all about us together supporting each other, turning our eyes to Christ, recognising him as our friend, as our Lord, as the one we want to follow and the one who sends us out to others.
“It seems to me that until we understand this, we will never really understand the Church,” he said.
