Triumph of Love

It was another beautiful day in the sanctuary of Our Lady, receiving graces from her maternal heart and womb. It was a day dedicated to knowing, receiving, and responding to God's love. 

The day began in the morning with the Stations of the Cross. We meditated upon the love Jesus poured upon us, as we walked up the mountain and prayed in front of the life size golden Stations - a powerful work of art that help so many faithful enter more fully into the Passion of our Lord. Pausing at the 9th Station to touch the hand of the fallen Jesus, we sought to console with our gesture of love the heart that suffered so much out of love for us.

After finishing the Stations, we visited the Grotto, passing by the fountian and the image of Our Lady. What a powerful moment in which the love our Mother has for us was so palpable. What a gift of her maternal presence. 

In the afternoon, among the increasingly large crowds - many of which are also here on the way to WYD - we found a place to pray a Rosary, sing praise and worships songs, and listen to a beautiful testimony from Beatriz about her experience with a group of young people from Mexico. After this, we listened to a beautiful talk by Sr. Faustina about the virtue of charity. In her talk she encouraged us all to love, not according to the world's definition of love, but to the Lord's: to the extreme; thinking of others first and above ourselves; and offering ourselves as a gift, without reserve, to God and others. Throughout the day, the Lord was a revealing more deeply our call to be "missionary souls", filled with God's love and willing to go out and give it all without reserve. 

Father brought our day of charity to a culmination with the celebration of Holy Mass. In his homily he beautifully explained our call to a spousal love that does not harden from sin, but that opens itself and allows itself to be pierced out of love. In the Eucharist we saw this love become incarnate before our very eyes, and were able to receive Him into our very person.

Finally, in the evening, we again had the gift of taking part in the Rosary procession, in which we were able to place everything at the feet of Our Lady so that she can teach us to be true "witnesses to Love."