Lord, by your grace we are made one in mind and heart. Give us a love
for what you command and a longing for what you promise, so that, amid
this world's changes, our hearts may be set on the world of lasting joy.
Today was all about one thing and that was our participation in the prayer vigil with Pope Benedict at Cuatro Vientos. In a way this was the big event that we'd all been looking forward to, some of us more so than others as the appeal of sleeping out on a runway wasn't exactly everyones cup of tea but we were all willing to give it a go regardless! We had a very long and stuffy ride on the Metro station to reach the nearest stop to Cuatro Vientos then needed to walk a couple of miles just to reach the airfield itself. The heat of the day was such that residents in the local area were hanging out of their windows with hose pipes during our walk to the airfield and the local fire service were driving through the crowds spraying water over everyone too.
Once we reached Cuatro Vientos we had to find our designated spot but quickly realised that we had no chance of setting up camp there as the area was already full so we headed further back into the overspill area and found a spot that was free right on the edge of the runway. Three of us then had one almighty walk to go and get our food parcels from the opposite end of the airfield to where we were based but it was worth it for the feast we all enjoyed once we made it back again, the Spanish people certainly know how to look after us Pilgrims!
As if to complete the circle after our pilgrimage started with a thunder storm in Toledo, another almighty storm was gathering throughout the evening which erupted into life just as we were beginning the prayer vigil at Cuatro Vientos. Nothing could dampen our spirits this evening, however, and we spent the storm sitting under the tiniest of tarpaulins or in rain jackets singing appropriate hymns for the occasions such as our God reigns and other similarly ironic choices. We had the opportunity to walk around the airfield for a little while after the vigil and soak up the atmosphere of so many young people from many different nations singing and dancing then all that was left was for us to get the sleeping bags out and attempt to get some sleep amongst the hysteria of 2million pilgrims dancing their way into the night!
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