25 November 2023 – Christ the King (Sunset Mass) | 38th World Youth Day

by Fr Joachim Robert

Dear friends,

Today as we celebrate the last Sunday in the liturgical year, and we also celebrate World Youth Day, I thought maybe we could listen to our young people to come and share their experiences of hope, their experiences of joy. And the theme that the Pope has given to us on this 38th World Youth Day is ‘Rejoice in hope‘.

So I would like to invite the young people to come forward. And as we go through this homily and sharing, let us come to listen of these opportunities of hope that they can inspire us with. And all these young people have gone to the World Youth Day in August and they have come back refreshed, rejuvenated and renewed. So let us listen to them. All of them a little shy so we will try to make them as comfortable as possible.

Fr Joachim Robert (FJR): So I would like to take this opportunity to interview them as well because during this World Youth Day, listening to them has inspired me as well, to see their life challenges, of what they have gone through to be where they are today. So perhaps to begin with, let us begin with introducing themselves. I am sure you want to know them a little bit better right?

Azrieel Phlip Isaac (AI):  Hi everyone. My name is Azrieel Philip Isaac and I am turning 18 in a few days. I am the youngest pilgrim from Malaysian Diocese.

Jayme Loh (JL): Hi everyone. My name is Jayme Loh. I am also from Penang Diocese and born and bred here in Penang. And I am also the youngest here I think, no. Actually I am 32 this year. Nice to meet everyone.

Elizabeth Kau Hui Ting (Liz): Hi. I’m Liz, Liz for Elizabeth and I just turned 25. I’m from the Chinese Apostolate.

Esther Loh (EL): Hi everyone. I am Esther Loh, born and bred and raised in Penang. Young adult of CHS and I am turning 28 in December. Thank you.

FJR: What we would do is ask them of their experiences. Perhaps we need to ask and see. What made them go for the World Youth Day? I am sure you want to know right?

AI: Actually this is my first World Youth Day and it was my self-made decision. No one forced me, my parents did not force me. When Esther announced about the World Youth Day during our last LSS last year, I really had the desire to join. I felt like God is asking me to join, just like how I felt 6 years ago when I joined the altar servers. I knew it was my calling. I procure the funds by seeking out mission partners and working. It was very hard process, was really hard. At one point I really felt like giving up but the fundraising we had at church really gave me hope again. It is my first time going overseas and my first time getting on a plane. It was a very fun and interesting experience.

FJR: First time going on a plane. Come, Liz.

Liz: Yeah, this is my first World Youth Day as well. I always know this celebration is going on, far from us in some part of the world. And this year, the chance to go to it is presented to me by CYA and I just like ‘Why not?‘, being as spontaneous and adventurous as I am. 

FJR: Okay, thank you, Liz.

EL: Same, it is my first World Youth Day and my first time in Europe. It was never in my mind to go for World Youth Day until my youth advisor invited me to go and experience a bigger and wider community outside of Asia, and what is it like to be in the presence of the Holy Father together with millions of youth. I never knew I had a chance as well because I know how much it would cost, it is RM12k per pax but my advisor said to me ‘Just say ‘Yes’ and God will provide. He will make it happen.‘ And indeed, by the grace of God, we made it. Thank you.

FJR: Thank you, Esther.

JL: I think that my experience going to World Youth Day, of course it is also my first time, and as I mentioned earlier I am not particularly very young. So because I felt that I don’t want to miss the opportunity so I said it is interesting because if I am not mistaken, I actually was supposed to go somewhere else this year. I had planned to go to Holy Land and I would actually be in Holy Land right now but you can plan how you want to plan but God also had a plan. That is what I would say. Because I was very discouraged when I could not go to Holy Land and suddenly there was this kind of like I kept on going to the chapel, I kept on praying and I kept on asking God ‘God, what do you want me to do? I think that I am supposed to go somewhere but I don’t know what.‘ And then suddenly Adrian Oyog from our church sent out a message and asked if anybody wanted to go. And similar to what Esther said it was  an immediate like I said ‘Yes’ first. I didn’t care about my leave, I didn’t care whether I had a passport, I didn’t care whether or not I can go but I just said ‘Yes’ first. And I think that first ‘Yes’ was the beginning of many other ‘Yesses’ and many other open doors that God has kind of like planned for me and for all of us youth that are here.

FJR: After this, so we now know what are the challenges they had in order to go for the World Youth Day. And once they have gone to the World Youth Day, what was the experiences like?

EL: Thank you. So World Youth Day. Lisbon, Portugal, a beautiful place despite having ferocious pigeons, heat wave and no bidet, it is still a beautiful place with beautiful wine, beautiful people who greet you every second they see you “bom dia”, “obrigada”. So I would like to share with you 2 highlights of my journey.

First of my Fatima experience. Everybody knows if you go to Portugal, you must go to Fatima. If you don’t know, please go read it. This was a week before World Youth Day when I solo-traveled. It was a memorable one because I was scammed and missed the bus. Yes, I am the reason why your mom ask you to be careful when you travel in Europe. Long story short, I was alone, crying on the desolate streets of Fatima at midnight (wow, so drama). No bus, no taxi, no people and worst thing was my phone batteries were dying. I felt lost and hopeless but I needed to search for a place to keep warm because it was freezing cold. So I walked and I walked until something caught my eye. The night view of the Basilica of Fatima. So it was beautiful and it was the light in my darkness. So instantly I felt peace in my heart and I realised that all along, the bad experiences that I have gone through was a blessing in disguise. And I had the opportunity to stay at the Chapel of Apparitions all night, having more quality time with God, praying and growing in a relationship with Him.

Now, onto the next highlight – World Youth Day, of course. I had the opportunity to volunteer (this is my shirt with a ‘V’ behind). I get to do different tasks every day like assisting the Holy Communion Ministers, doing outreaches to homes, distributing the food packs to the youth, serving the youth in different activities and the best of it, I got the chance to be so near the Pope, our Papa Francisco, during the closing Mass. I was assigned to assist the disabled and the area is just right beside the altar. Amazing.

And it was in this Mass that I experienced God’s love in the most simplest way. As I was holding the umbrella for a girl on a wheelchair, standing, making sure that she is shaded from the almost 40 degree Celsius hot sun, I noticed a sudden breeze from the side. And I looked at the girl and she was pointing her handheld fan at me, smiling and saying ‘Thank you.’ So my heart instantly melted and I teared up. God humbled me to see what is it really like to serve His people and allowing others to serve me as well. And also through hearing the stories of the disabled missionaries that travel around the world despite physically strained, I too experience how radical their love for God and His people. Thank you.

FJR: Simple things but great love.

Liz: To be honest, I didn’t have much extraordinary moments or grand testimonies to share. My faith hasn’t undergone a dramatic transformation either. But there are some good takeaways that I can share and one of my favourite event that I joined is a talk on John Paul II by Jason Evert and Chris Stefanick, if you guys know that. Their talk is so good that it made me learn and acknowledge the legacy and the humbleness and how much a fun person of our Pope John Paul II is, of this modern day Saint. And their recordings you can find on YouTube and I really encourage you guys to watch the recordings. You can ask me for the video, I can recommend you.

So one of my biggest takeaways from the talk is that JPII have this special prayer. So when he has it, he goes to the hospital, goes to the sick people and he would say to them: ‘I am entrusting the church to you because in your suffering, you have power and like Jesus Christ crucified was powerful.’ Christ goes towards his own suffering aware of its saving power and your suffering, our suffering and it is very powerful just like Jesus Christ and these people are called to a special mission and the new evangelization. This is redemptive suffering.

The rosary and devotion to Mary during the trip has also helped us in challenging moments, especially the tiring long walks under the scorching sun just like Esther mentioned. And at times, I felt like complaining and giving up but by reciting the rosary had directed my focus to the pilgrimage. The beads have been an initiative for me to cultivate patience and to draw nearer to God. And reflecting back, the repetitive and tangible guiding prayers to the main character of World Youth Day theme has offered me endurance and comfort as if Mary had walked alongside with us.

I also remember the heatwave. The entire city during the finale during the World Youth Day, which is the closing Mass like she mentioned, on the long walking journey towards the venue, other than youth groups, I also met with different families. Many even with strollers or wheelchairs. And passing by, I realised families are reciting the rosary together at the same time did not forget to care for others while walking under the immense heat. So I was alone during this journey as I dropped off my team to have a visit to the Church of St Anthony that day. And this family bought me a cold bottle of water as we passed by some sellers by the road.

I really appreciate their readiness to approach and to care for others even in difficult moments.

FJR: So you see the image of redemptive suffering where suffering can also be one that is able to lead us towards New Life and giving you the strength to persevere and move forward. And how our Lady has drawn you closer to that life of Faith. So thank you, Liz.

AI: Portugal, first world country. I was so excited to go there. Then after I saw my accommodation, I felt like ‘Aiyoh!’. The accommodation was okay, not too bad. We stayed in a military school where we showered in a community shower but luckily the Organisers put plastic bag in between. But eventually we saw each other because of the wind. Even though I was going through hardship, nothing stopped me from praising God. There were many activities available during the World Youth Day but I only attended a few. Due to my age restriction, I was stuck in the under 18 group. The activity I did was confession and we had a worship concert. These two events really touched me. I was surprised and amazed that many from different age, from different parts of the world want to repent and go back to God.

The concert also touched me because it was my first time seeing millions of youth coming together and worshiping God. And I also get to see Matt Maher, Israel Houghton, Jonathan Roumie who acted as Jesus in the Chosen series and also Roberto Martinez, Portugal football club coach during this concert. I also felt God’s presence when I saw the architecture of the church. I felt happy when I got to exchange gift with other pilgrims. My World Youth Day journey was totally extraordinary.

Let me share my testimony where God really touched me. I really could not adapt to the sudden change of weather. As you know, we went there during the peak of summer. It was extremely hot as what Esther said, 40 degree Celsius during the day and it would be extremely cold during the night. Surprisingly, during the World Youth Day, I was in good health and eventually I did fall sick after the closing Mass. But still God gave me the strength to chase after a train while carrying a big bag and pushing two luggage. I really felt like it was God holding my hand and leading my path, just like how a father holds a child’s hand.

JL: What was the experience like at World Youth Day? First of all, I think everybody sitting here thought they were going for holiday and the truth is that we were on a pilgrimage. And you don’t really know what to expect when you go on a pilgrimage. It is something very different but I agree what he said. Yes, I also stayed in a communal accommodation and I don’t take anything for granted now. Getting to sleep on a bed instead of the floor, getting to shower in privacy with a hot shower, getting a toilet that flushes, having a bidet or a pipe, it makes a very big difference. And it is also a very stark reminder that you shouldn’t take anything for granted. We live in a country where we are so comfortable and actually it is like an act of dying to yourself when you go there and you have to let go of everything. I cannot think about ‘Oh, I can’t take it anymore. I want to check in to the hotel.’ I have to think about this as a pilgrimage. This is what Christ went through, maybe even worse. Can I endure this and how do I feel after enduring all of this? He is calling to look past all of the material things and look further in.

So basically, for me, there were so many events. There is the Central event where the Pope will be there. There is also like he said concerts, there are talks. The two events that touched me:

First of all, I attended a talk by Bishop Barron. It was so interesting because the words that touched me was ‘to pray is to waste time with God.‘ And the question that I want to leave you guys with is also this: How often do you pray and are you willing to waste time with God? Because He is actually inviting you to come and spend time with Him. And to have that intimacy with Him is like something that is beyond, it transcends everything.

The second most important event for me was, this is something that is very personal but I am willing to share. All four of us were at Campo Grande. Let me give you a bit of explanation. Campo Grande is the beach. I think if anybody saw The Herald, or on EWTN,  you would have seen the beach, 1.5 million pilgrims, everybody is partying on the beach and sleeping on the ground. The night itself, it was very amazing because suddenly the Pope came and there was adoration. So there was kind of like a Holy Hour and there is 1.5 million people on the beach. Can you imagine how noisy it is andtThey are all young people Everybody’s energy is at like 100%, 110%. There is whooping, they are screaming and suddenly when the Pope brings up the Eucharist like this, complete silence. Pin drop silence. You can’t hear a thing. You suddenly hear the waves at the beach crashing in and crashing out. And at that moment, it touched me because I felt: Wow, our faith is so amazing and there is so much reverence at that moment because truly everybody loves God and loves Jesus and He was present at that very moment. He had gathered all of those youth together. And that was the exact moment, I think it was like an apex moment for a lot of people, anybody that was there at the beach.

And for me, the personal thing was like at the end of World Youth Day, in the morning everybody was partying, happy and my sister had called me and she told me that my grandmother had passed away. And it so happened to be my sister’s death anniversary as well. At first, I was actually very hurt. I felt very sad and I was crying and everybody was jumping “Oh, World Youth Day has ended!” and I was crying on the floor, in a ball, asking God what is happening. But suddenly, I was overcome by this moment of calm. And this calm suddenly I felt this message that told me: Hey, if things don’t happen, you don’t change. And if things haven’t happened in your life, you wouldn’t have moved. And the testimony or a true testimony or the true message that I got was at the end of the day, if you don’t move where God is moving you, you don’t get to reap the rewards. And if you truly believe in God, that is what can truly move you. Mark 11:23 says: Faith can move mountains. And truly at that point in time, I felt like I was a mountain that was moved to the beach of Portugal. And I couldn’t imagine two years ago what my life had been when my sister had passed away, when I was in shambles. God wants to take you, He wants to use you and He wants to transform you into something so much better than what you were. You just need to let Him in and you need to surrender it to Him.

FJR: So thank you each one of you, Esther, Liz, Jayme and also Azrieel. Thank you so much for the sharing and I think the stories that they share is not only something which is extraordinary. Simple, simple stories of life that has allowed them to experience God in a simple way. And I am sure God has also touched you in many, many ways by their sharing. And as we share our stories, we are also able to see how the Good Shepherd reaches out to us, each and every single day, with whatever circumstances that we are in. So do we give Him a chance? Do we allow God to become the center stage of our life? Are we willing to take the step forward and as what Azrieel mentioned and Pope says as well: Are we willing to take the young people by the hand and walk together with them?

So I am sure, dear friends, we praise and thank God for the blessings of all of them as well as those who have gone to the World Youth Day, acknowledging that they are not the only ones who went. There are so many young people who went from all around the world and a special delegate from Malaysia. Somehow or other God has placed that seed of faith in their heart and allow them to grow and mature.

And hopefully in 2025, there will be a Jubilee of Young People in Rome and 2027 there will be this World Youth Day in Korea. So if you want, you can prepare yourself to go there.

JL: I forgot to mention just now. All of us want to thank everyone that contributed and all of your prayers and all of the contributions that you all gave during the fundraising dinner, buying the merchandise and supporting us all the way. We wouldn’t have gone to Portugal without your help. So thank you for giving us a life-changing experience.

Click to live-stream Mass on 25 November 2023