Memoir of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

This photograph is for my Mommy and Daddy and Chris' Mama whom we love so much for being the great parents that they are and for instilling in us the value for God's Faith, Hope and Love.

As the WYD08's theme says:

'You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.' Acts 1:8

...Chris and I have been a witness to God's greatness by seeing the face of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI last Thursday.

As today is my Mommy's birthday, I especially dedicate this entry to the woman who brought me out to this world, who unselfishly loved me, who unconditionally takes care of me, who is always ready with sensible advices and the one woman whom I know will always stand by me simply because she believes in me. I have become what I am today and I am so many things because of her.

Happy happy birthday Mommy!!!! Thank you for being the great mommy that you are, for giving me so much strength in this lifetime, for being my role model, for teaching how to survive on my own and for just being you. I love you very very much!!!! You are my guiding light and my eternal sunshine. Mwah!!!!

Photographers' Note:

We are very very happy to share with you the best photograph we have of the Pope...and we are glad we were able to get a decent shot of him amidst the awe and nerves we felt when we saw him, not to mention that it was already dark when he passed by us and that the Pope Mobile went too fast for anyone to really stare at him for a couple seconds.

Please enjoy it and may you feel blessed, as much as we feel blessed until now, for the gift of His presence.

Photo specs: Canon 400D and 430EX Flash. No editing and croping done. Added borders and copyright only.

Kwentong Pinoy on WYD08

We arrived before 11am yesterday at Circular Quay so we can experience being WYD08 delegates for a day and mainly because we want to say hello to our Pinoy Pilgrims.

And as we walked our way to Sydney Opera House, several Filipinos were there already. They were taking photographs (syempre parating may picture-picture ang mga Pinoy) of themselves with the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, waving their Philippine Flags non-stop, communing with other delegates, chanting "Filipino, Filipino, Filipino" once in a while to let the people around them of their identity (wala kasi tayong Pinoy cheer yata kaya chant na lang) and some are just enjoying being under the Australian Sun.

We approached one group and welcomed them to Sydney. They were from St Benedict's Parish in Commonwealth, QC. Their first question to us was "So, nami-miss nyo na ang Pinas?" and we can only agree.

We talked of their experiences here in Sydney: how they miss eating rice, how cold the winter weather is in here, how expensive everything is in this country, how tired they are from all the walking and WYD activities they have to participate in and most importantly how much they enjoy and cherish being a WYD08 delegate inspite of the challenges of being in a different country. They are grateful and they know how lucky they are to be here.

Below is our photo with the delegates from St Benedict's Parish. They were at Circular Quay waiting for announcements on when to get on the ferry that will carry the Pope for his Boat-a-cade. Yes!!!! They were the chosen Filipino group to experience being on the same boat as with the Pope.

At Hyde Park, we also got the chance to quickly say hello to another group of Pinoy delegates. We actually heard them talking aloud:

"Ano ba ito? Ang liit nga mga flags natin...3rd world country kasi tayo...."

Then the whole group laughed. Iba talaga ang sense of humor ng Pinoy. :)

All day and all night, we saw a lot of Pinoy delegates...I even met a Priest from Davao...said "Hello" and "Welcome to Sydney" to a group here and there...pati sa train nagkakawayan pa kami. :)

When the WYD08 celebrations are long gone, I will remember how alive Sydney has become because of so many wonderful souls who've come here to gather and celebrate our Christian faith. And I will especially miss seeing the hopeful and happy faces of our kababayans who've come acrossed thousand of miles just to be a part of this joyous occassion.

Mabuhay ang Pinoy and God bless us all!

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

Chris and I were sooooo blessed to see His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI today. As of this writing, we are very tired from all the walking and waiting we did in the City the whole day but we are exceedingly happy that we were able to experience the magic of WYD in Sydney. We are grateful, we are lucky, we are blessed....Thank you Lord very much for that once in a lifetime and heavenly experience!!!

Our first attempt to see him was during the Boat-a-Cade. We waited at the Sydney Opera Bar for more than three hours, made friends with lots of people while we were there and yet, we didn't see the Pope very clearly. He was so far, the driver of the ferry wasn't very considerate enough to maneuver the boat a bit closer to the Opera House.

As soon as the Boat-a-Cade was over, we immediately walked to Albert Street to wait for the Motorcade. The waiting took more an hour and a half. Our feet was getting numb from being tired and cold, but we didn't care. At nearly 5:30pm, he passed by Albert Street very swiftly. Everything happened too fast. One Aussie girl even said, "We waited here for two hours and yet we only saw him for two seconds!".

But even so, seeing him three meters away from where we were standing was simply euphoric. Until now, I can't seem to find the appropriate words on how to describe what I felt at that moment.

After all that was over, decided to walk to Hyde Park to buy some souvenirs, however, another surprise awaited us. When we were at the Royal Botanic Gardens area, the barricades were still up and luckily we found a spot in time for the Pope to pass by AGAIN!!!!

After seeing the Pope for the 3rd time, wala na akong masabi kundi "Thank you Lord, thank you Lord talaga." Nawala ang pagod at gutom nang dahil sa sayang dulot ng makita namin si Pope Benedict XVI. This is one experience that Chris and I will always cherish for the rest of our lives.

And yes, we saw and were able to commune with several Filipino delegates and we are very proud that they are holding up very well to their hectic schedule (they're tired from all the walking and activities), hunger for rice (they miss eating rice meals as most meals given to them are bread/sandwiches) and the cold winter weather (thank God that since Sunday, it has been a bit warmer here and no rain at all). They're doing good and enjoying every minute of their stay here in Sydney.

Mula umaga....

...hanggang gabi...

...wala silang sawa sa pag-wagayway ng ating bandila. Our Filipino delegates are making us proud in Sydney. God bless them all!

More photos to come.

For a better and clearer view of our WYD08 photos, please check my Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ibyangbabe/

WYD08 Day 1 Observations

Two things:

#1:

I arrived in the City (to go to work) at 7:30 in the morning and lo and behold...Sydney is soooo clean...as if nothing happened last night (delegates/pilgrims were in the City waiting for midnight to strike last night to officially start WYD08). Bravo, Sydney.

#2:

I can always hear people at work saying: (a) Don't go out (for those who are having days-off) there's just too many people or (b) There's just too many pilgrims anywhere (They are somewhat annoyed because WYD is disturbing the peace of Sydney).

*sigh*....I only have one thing to say to them: "God bless you". Sabi ni Jesus batuhin daw ng tinapay instead of bato eh.

Yun na.