{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"\u017bAK Malta","provider_url":"https:\/\/zakmalta.org\/mt","title":"World Youth Day - \u017bAK Malta","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"PTb0Pb0bQp\"><a href=\"https:\/\/zakmalta.org\/mt\/world-youth-day-el\/\">World Youth Day<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/zakmalta.org\/mt\/world-youth-day-el\/embed\/#?secret=PTb0Pb0bQp\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;World Youth Day&#8221; &#8212; \u017bAK Malta\" data-secret=\"PTb0Pb0bQp\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/zakmalta.org\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/zakmalta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/365263417_673113674851833_217532121112522178_n.jpeg","thumbnail_width":1536,"thumbnail_height":2048,"description":"World Youth Day Naomi Galea, a 19 year old leader and member of \u017bAK Mosta explained her\u00a0experience of participating in a week of joy, fun, togetherness, and spirituality at this\u00a0year\u2019s World Youth Day in Portugal. During this week she met with people from all\u00a0over the world who went to Lisbon with the same purpose: to share the joy of their\u00a0faith together. This experience really surprised her, as she described it as a unique\u00a0journey which only a few get to enjoy \u2013 to freely express one\u2019s faith openly without\u00a0any judgements. During the pilgrimage there were two moments which really struck her the most and\u00a0which she will forever cherish. The first one was the unguarded, genuine exchange of\u00a0peace during the opening mass. Seeing people coming from different walks of life\u00a0embrace each other with a sincerity and joy that surpassed language barriers and\u00a0cultural differences brought peace to her and a happiness which she could not\u00a0explain \u2013 She can only describe this moment as what she think space really means.\u00a0The second moment was during a WYD concert. As the singer Fr Rob Galea, started\u00a0singing hymns of love and devotion to God, everyone else joined him, shouting their\u00a0love for Jesus too. This was a rare unfiltered moment as many have to hide how they\u00a0truly feel about their faith in their everyday lives and to see all these people shouting\u00a0about their love for God was truly remarkable. Amidst witnessing all that the WYD had to offer, she feels as if this experience helped\u00a0her rekindle her own faith. It was the boost she didn\u2019t know she needed, which,\u00a0during tough times she will look back to, in order to help her with her faith. During his\u00a0homily on Sunday, Pope Francis emphasised these three points: shine, listen, and do\u00a0not be afraid. These words truly struck her as they are the path to living freely and\u00a0joyously through Christ. Naomi\u2019s 17 year old friend Liam Muscat, also from \u017bAK Mosta, describes the World\u00a0Youth day as a memorable experience which he will also cherish for the rest of his\u00a0life. He was frank and told us that he wasn&#8217;t looking forward to the trip. He was\u00a0anxious that it was going to be a very long and tedious week. But as the days\u00a0progressed, he didn&#8217;t want it to end. He felt as if his connection with God had\u00a0strengthened, and his mental health was improving. While the main purpose of this\u00a0pilgrimage was to be more spiritually aware of God\u2019s presence, he also made friends\u00a0with other pilgrims from all over the world with whom he talks to about Christ. The entire journey made a long lasting impact on his life, but he believes that The\u00a0Way of the Cross was his favourite WYD event. This event compared modern issues\u00a0that many teenagers face in their everyday lives with every station of the cross. Each\u00a0station discussed a hot issue such as, eating disorders, loneliness, suicide, the\u00a0environment, and many others. A line which he will remember is \u201cWhat kind of world\u00a0do we live in, God, where you allow people to die of hunger, while others die from\u00a0overeating?\u201d This question outlines how unjust the world we live in really is and that it\u00a0is ok to question God. This activity also showed him how the Catholic Church is not\u00a0stuck in the past but is constantly evolving to meet the needs of society today. World Youth Day enriched him spirituality, kindled unexpected friendships, and\u00a0evoked a sense of hope inside of him. The Way of the Cross really changed the way\u00a0he perceives the church, making him shed a positive light of its reforms and evolution\u00a0and he witnessed the love for everyone, no matter what their situation in life currently\u00a0is. Jamie Farrugia, a 24 year old leader and member at \u017bAK Bir\u017cebbu\u0121a, explains how\u00a0she had always wanted to go to the World Youth Day. She remembers the time she\u00a0had just started attending \u017bAK in 2016 and a number of leaders and members had\u00a0just returned from the World Youth Day in Krakow and remembers them mentioning\u00a0what an amazing and memorable experience it was. A few years later, the World\u00a0Youth Day took place in Panama and there it was announced that the next one would\u00a0be in Lisbon. However, as we all know, due to the pandemic everything was\u00a0postponed and she even questioned herself whether she would get to see Pope\u00a0Francis in presence. Luckily, the Pope made a shirt visit to Malta last year but she\u00a0feels that she was not well prepared for this event and that it went by so quickly that\u00a0she did not even understand what the preseice of the Pope really means. The World\u00a0Youth Day, she continued to explain, was a completely different story. Apart from the\u00a0anticipation she had throughout tha least year, they had numerous meet ups,\u00a0reflections and preparations as a group, and this group spirit continued to strengthen\u00a0once they arrived in Lisbon. The first three days were focused on the Catechesis, which are sessions where\u00a0participants reflect on their journey, their mission and their active contributions in their\u00a0Catholic organisations in society. Moreover, they reflected on what brought them to\u00a0that moment, what was their call in the World Youth Day. Jamie describes the\u00a0experience of welcoming the Pope at Parque Eduardo VII. She understood much\u00a0more the significance of the Head of the Church passing in front of them. His\u00a0blessing, his words were accepted with an open heart, together with millions of other\u00a0young people from around the world, who were all eagerly there in the name of\u00a0peace and love. Even though Jamie mentioned she did not make a lot of personal connections that\u00a0she is used to making in international youth exchanges and training seminars, there\u00a0were still numerous moments that she cherises. One moment is when a Brazilian\u00a0family turned around to hug them, after the Pope had just passed through the crowd.\u00a0The moments of joy and positive energy where she danced and sang with other\u00a0young people. The moments of silence when one and a half million young people\u00a0were on their knees during the adoration at Campo da Gra\u00e7a. She also mentioned\u00a0that the Pope\u2019s words, through his simplicity,"}