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“…and you will be my witnesses.”
a Reflection on World Youth Day 2008

August 01, 2008

By Tyler Bischoff
Seminarian for the Diocese of Gaylord

Active in youth ministry for the past decade, I always heard a lot about World Youth Day (WYD). When I was 8 years old I remember watching my parish priest bless a group of pilgrims before they set off for WYD in Paris, France. I remember telling my mom that I wanted to go to WYD someday. Eleven years later and I made it and it was definitely worth the wait.

Over the coarse of three weeks, I traveled 20,000 miles by airplane, train, bus, car, and food. I celebrated 17 Masses with the Pope, Cardinals, Bishops and Priests. I prayed with 250,000 youth during exposition and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament with moments of complete sacred silence. I experienced Australian hospitality. I met youth from hundreds of countries. I even went surfing. Hopefully this short list gives a sense of how powerful and action-packed WYD is spiritually, physically, mentally, and culturally.

Why did hundreds of thousands of youth sacrifice their time and thousands of dollars to come to Sydney? Was it for the Koalas, surfing, the good food or just to have fun? No.
We traveled to the other side of the world to find someone, to find Jesus Christ.

Youth from every imaginable background came as pilgrims on a journey in search of truth, goodness and beauty which we found in one man, Jesus Christ and indeed we found him. We found Christ the apostle in the bishops who taught us and we found him in the words of our Holy Father inviting us to be witnesses to our faith. We found him in the open arms of the Australians who at times were overwhelmed by the number of hungry pilgrims. We found him in the older generations who would come up to us and thank us for our joy and life. We found him in the young people of Sydney who for a moment were intrigued by our passion and faith. We found him in our fellow pilgrims who had come for different reasons but left enkindled by the fire of the Holy Spirit. We found him especially in the sacraments, in the Eucharist and Reconciliation. I couldn’t help but watch and pray as hundreds of young people lined up outside of tents to wait to have their confession heard and experience the mercy of Christ.

Not only did we find Jesus Christ on our pilgrimage but we were also commissioned and sent out to be witnesses to Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. Inspired by our own experience of Christ, just like the early disciples in the upper room, we stopped hiding behind locked doors and went forth to be witnesses to the true love and true hope found only in Jesus Christ.

“The confusion and fear that had gripped Christ’s disciples were transformed into a vigorous conviction and sense of purpose” to go forth and to be his witnesses. (Opening Address of the Holy Father on 17th of July). The same is true for Christ’s disciples in the 21st century.

There is one last experience that truly touched me. I was able to celebrate the Holy Mass and consecration of a new altar with the Holy Father on Saturday morning in St. Mary’s Cathedral with hundreds of other young seminarians and young religious. It was enriching to be with hundreds of seminarians as our Holy Father shared his wisdom on our shared vocation. Words can’t describe how that and the whole pilgrimage have affected my life. Thank you to everyone that supported my pilgrimage with prayers and financial support.

Tyler is a native of Tawas City and is a parishioner of Holy Family, East Tawas. He is the son of Roger and Deanne Bischoff. Tyler graduated high school in 2007 and then completed his first year of college at Aquinas in Grand Rapids. He has been formally accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Gaylord and will begin attending the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio this fall.

Picture: Chris Avery from Holy Family, East Tawas; Tyler Bischoff; and Amy Westphal from Gaylord; at World Youth Day in Sydney.