Blesséd Atmospheres

Catholic crowds will make Papal Events more sacred.

Unless you are a journalist, or a practicing Catholic, it's gonna be pretty tough for you to get through the entrance gates at  one of the Bellahouston, Hyde Park, or Cofton Park events. This may be, to some, unfortunate. But not to me.

The downside to the exclusion, is that others outside my faith don't get to witness this holy man in person. At World Youth Day in Sydney, I was fortunate to feel a sense of the Holy Spirit there amongst us - because the prayers of thousands of young people were profoundly focused on the intentions of Pope Benedict XVI. I remember speaking to some non-Christian youngsters with passes afterwards, and they thoroughly enjoyed the whole event. If they didn't enjoy the Pope aspect, then surely they wouldn't have enjoyed the whole event! Plus, the fact that they were present means that somehow, their curiosity about the Catholic faith, or Christianity, or the Pope himself must have been piqued. Whether or not they felt an element of a greater power there, I don't know. Nonetheless, a significant moment and special encounter such as that, is best reflected upon personally first anyway.

Open-minded people who wish to attend a Papal event peacefully, should be able to, in my opinion. But I believe they should make every effort to consciously watch and observe, and not disturb the surrounding people who wish to pray. These are our moments of communication with our Lord, and also self-reflection. A presence such as the Pope's serves to boost our willingness to open up to God more. The last thing anyone wants whilst meditating, is to be disturbed by disrespectful people. If you wish to scoff, ridicule and giggle at what you think is an absurdity, then leave the grounds, and do it outside the gates. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. But we're also entitled to our personal time with God, and there has to be a mutual respect between these two things.

At a Catholic event such as the Papal Vigil or Beatification Mass, Catholics will experience the same sort of atmosphere as any other person would at a music festival or a football match. Yes, we wave our arms in the air too. Yes, we also get slightly too excited at the fact that there's someone we adore, and admire up on that stage - so much so that before we know it, we're screaming and chanting. And yes, we do feel the electric atmosphere that unites us as one crowd, as one body in the Lord. I posted this (edited) description of a Catholic's experience at such an event on My Papal Visit 2010 facebook site:

When just one person feels the glory of God right down to the depths of their being, the power of the Holy Spirit is brought to life. Can you imagine how electric that power is if there is a group of people submitting to their all-consuming love for God? Can you imagine if that joyful group wasn't just 50, or 150 people, but thousands?

As a collective, this joy is a gift - a personified example of God being Love, and love being the quintessential goal of every human being. It's so simple... just like our love for the LORD. And we're here to believe it with every ounce of our being.

But yes, that is also all I can do. Believe and profess it. I have no way of physically proving my faith. The closest thing to physical proof of God's existence is through the healing and miracles that take place throughout the world day by day. Rigorous examinations of these healings and miracles have been done in the past; for example when The Immaculate Conception appeared to Bernadette at Lourdes. I've been touched by healing through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, and I've also encountered God's all-encompassing love. That is why, I believe. And that is why I personally prefer to be amongst others that believe too; whether Catholic, or any other denomination of Christianity respectful of the way we do things.

So when the Pope's over, I wish to celebrate this same love with the people who wish to celebrate the same thing as me. I wish to be able to momentarily free myself into His hands in the vicinity of the powerful Holy Spirit, magnified in the unity of thousands. I wish to be... in a crowd with a blesséd atmosphere.

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• Have you recently experienced a blessed atmosphere? Perhaps you've just been on a pilgrimage and have God's presence stronger outside the crowds? 
• Aren't Christian, but empathise with what I'm saying?
• What if you can't stand crowds but want to experience this love too? 

If so, I want to know about it! Post your comments!