WYD is an event of grace in which God works freely. Certainly, the Lord will speak to the hearts of young people in Madrid and will lead his Church. Experience tells us, however, that for the host country, in this case Spain, WYD is a time of great awakening. All the energies of the Church in the country are mobilised and involved: parishes big and small, movements and religious communities. Many Spanish families will welcome foreign youth to their homes. All of this movement, already begun with the pilgrimage of the WYD Cross around the whole country, is a splendid opportunity for evangelisation in Spain.
Furthermore, the event in Madrid will certainly be a time to strengthen the faith of all the participants, as the WYD theme says: “Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith” (cf. Col 2:7). Benedict XVI’s charism is to invite everyone to search for God. He is convinced that the eclipse of the sense of God is the main cause of the problems of our time. The Holy Father believes that the principle grace of WYD is that of making time available to experience the joy of being disciples of Christ, loved and saved by him, and to discover the beauty of communion in the universal Church.
