<<< 12/22/2018 I am 17 years old and attended the meeting somewhat forced by a couple of friends. On the way to Santa María del Mar, I wondered if it was necessary to go, reaching the point of wanting to get out of the car in the middle of Via Laietana and go back home. Without any desire for anything, you enter and are fascinated by the grandeur of the Church. Ribbed arches and vaults, the imposing rose window, and an apse with the great dome. I sat next to them waiting for the ceremony to start. Faced with the grandeur of the Church, I began to see young people like me, happy, but not a passing or pleasurable happiness, but HAPPINESS in capital letters. Once the mass started, three young people went up to give their testimony. Petrified is the word that describes the feeling I had at that moment. I identified with each of the three: as young people, we distance ourselves from God because we live in a society that only seeks self-satisfaction, and once you meet people who are totally happy without living in that routine, it’s something that shocks. Another moment that impacted me and made me see how foolish one is when forgetting the greatest was when a group of young people stood in front of the altar and made the promise to live as God wants: ALIVE AND HAPPY. During the long but emotional medal ceremony for the “losers” (by the way, how great Bishop Omella was in the homily), you could see the faces of each one kissing the cross: they were all shocked, happy, alive, and passionate about the act that had just occurred. During lunch and the concert, I met people like me who had discovered the beauty of Christ on the Cross and how Hakuna had helped them achieve it. I thank God for making me decide not to get out of the car on Via Laietana so I could see His greatness, for having friends who love me madly and whom I love, for having a family that is, honestly, awesome, and a band that helps me release the accumulated “bad mood” through rehearsals. >>>
Alive and happy
