A Global Church

     If there is one thing that World Youth Day does, it is to remind us that we are a global church.  Young people from 193 countries worldwide have come to Madrid for this event, which celebrates who we are as Church and the depth of our Faith lived out in over one million youth.  The Stations of the Cross on Friday brought that home as the WYD Cross was carried from station to station by youngsters from various ethnic groups as well as those who share common bonds through prejudice, persecution, cultural clashes and the like.  The beautiful representations of the Stations in art highlighted the rich tradition and heritage of Spain, the host country.

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     Today and tomorrow on the Church calendar the Catholic community places before herself two great saints that touched lives in previous centuries.  Today is the feast of Saint Bernard, the Benedictine abbot of the monastery of Clairvaux who lived from 1090 to 1153.  In seeking a return to a primitive poverty and austerity of life, he established the Cistercian Order.  A man of great holiness and wisdom, an inspiring and prolific writer, he is considered a Doctor of the Church.

    And tomorrow, the 21st of August, the Church would (except that it falls on a Sunday) celebrate Pope Saint Pius X, a Venetian born in 1835 of poor parents, who was ordained at 23 and became bishop of Mantua and Venice before being chosen as pope in 1903.  The theme of his life was to "restore all things in Christ".  He did much during his life, and was instrumental in encouraging the frequent reception of Holy Communion and lowering the age of reception to the present age.  The outbreak of hostilities in World War I led to his death on August 20th, 1914.  His influence continues to touch our lives.

     The global dimension of Church is powerful, whether in the reform of monastic life in the 11th century France, or in the universal leadership of Church by a 20th century Italian pope, or in the exuberant Faith of a million plus young people in Spain.  In all time and in all circumstances may the Name of the Lord be praised.