It's Monday morning and as we look back on this past weekend we see many blessings that God has showered upon us!  We had to slow our pilgrimage down for the sake of our safety--the heat here in Madrid is quite intense. It has been close to 100 degrees each day this past week and with little places to rest during the hottest parts of the day the sun has drained many of our pilgrims. 

For this reason we watched the Vigil and closing Mass on television.  And, what a blessing it was!  On Saturday night during the vigil there was a very heavy thunder storm that swept through, but God kept us very safe. 

As we reflected on our Holy Father's homily and his idea that we do not come to Christ alone, he said, ¨Having faith means drawing support from the faith of your brothers and sisters, even as your own faith serves as a support for the faith of others. I ask you, dear friends, to love the Church which brought you to birth in the faith, which helped you to grow in the knowledge of Christ and which led you to discover the beauty of his love.¨

We are beginning to re-discover the beauty of God's great love for us through the sacrifices of missing some of the WYD events we would have prefered to attend in person.  But, we know that God is using and will continue to use the disappoint and sacrifices we have made for the good of His Church.  And, we have become much more a family through this experience.  We are caring for eachother and making sure each one knows they are important and loved by us.  We are so pleased to be a part of St. Timothy's.

And, for those who were feeling up to it last night, they attended a futbol game in one of the largest stadiums in Madrid!  What an experience to see!  The game was an all-star game of sorts with former players from all different teams.  It was a great match, Spain vs. the rest of the World with a final score of 1-2.

This afternoon, Fr. Schultz celebrated Mass for us and reminded us of the Queenship of Mary, our Mother and that she cares for us so deeply.  Many of us renewed our great love and affection for Mary that we made just last week in our Marian consecration on the feast of her Assumption.  What a gift it is to have Mass each day!  This evening we are headed to Madrid's Cathedral.  And, tomorrow we are headed to the Prado and then to the airport.  What a great adventure this has been.  We can't wait to share stories of our personal blessings with you upon our return.