The theme of this Auckland World Youth Day was summarised in a quote from Luke 1:39, saying, “And Mary arose and went with haste”. One Liston student described the World Youth Day event: “It was very exciting, fun, and an interesting experience that was definitely worth spending time on. We saw many other fellow Catholics, a big number actually, with over 900 of Auckland’s youth who met up to celebrate a Catholic event. It felt so overwhelming that many Catholics came to celebrate Mass and come together as a group. We listened to people who had a big role in the Catholic faith telling us stories of their lives as Catholics and linking them to the scriptures of how Mary went to Elizabeth to tell her she was pregnant.” 

It was indeed a wonderful experience meeting other members of the Catholic Faith, meeting with my fellow youth members and introducing my Liston brothers to them. The Love for God was truly there with feelings of love, compassion, faith, reverence and solemnity from people who presented their testimonies of faith during the Holy Mass, Adoration and through worship. The faith was so alive with a turn-out of 900+ people, and those people like Mary ‘arose and went with haste’ to attend this. And because of that, I grew closer to my Liston brothers and Youth for Christ family. It inspired me to reflect on my faith and grow in love and faith, thus labouring harder for the Lord. Through opening our hearts, creating community and lifting our voices, we will truly bring the message of Christ to others and evangelise to the world.” 

God blesses you; Jesus loves you and with that. May God be praised.

By: Andy Kim and Rafael Cabuang

More photos can be found here