Those are the words that resonated over the wide expanse of Lansdowne Field in Toronto in the Summer of 2002. More than a half a million teenagers migrated to Toronto for World Youth Day - a misnomer of sorts since World Youth Day actually involves a week of prayer, service, music, celebration and community building. We were all packed into this field - an abandoned airfield- drying out from the prior evening's rain that had pelted our makeshift tents made of cardboard, tarps, umbrellas and raincoats. We had hiked through the blazing July sun (no, really, Toronto gets quite hot in the Summer) laden with backpacks, sleeping bags, cameras, bottles of water and whatever else we could carry. There were flags from Poland to Palestine, from Australia to America. All of us were gathered, though, under one flag - the flag of the Vatican.
And then he spoke. He spoke with such sincerity and love and hope. He pleaded with the youth to pick up the flag of their faith. He shared his concerns about the distractions that today's culture offers that weaken the bonds that tie us together. He recognized that the youth in the church were not just some abstract part of the Church's future but were the heart and soul of its present. He saw in the hundreds of thousands gathered a reason to hope. And he inspired us all.
John Paul II will be missed, but with his death only his body left us. His legacy and his spirit remain.
John Paul II, we love you.
