The hot days of August that left in Rome the impressive images of the Jubilee of the Youth seem already distant. For several days, the crowds filled the religious media and were echoed in the general press. Large reports and numerous articles showed that Jesus Christ and his Church continue to be present among the young people, who demonstrated their joy and determination during those days. There was a contagious optimism, not only among the participants, but also among the Christians who followed the event from their own countries.
With the return to normality, that memory can fade. Some media return with negative news about the Church, polemics that divide or statistics that announce its disappearance in a few decades. These messages are hurtful and may gradually sink in. But the experience of the World Youth Days and the previous Jubilees reminds us that they were not a passing enthusiasm, but a time of sowing. Thousands of young people returned to their places of origin with something planted in their hearts: a seed that often germinates in surprising forms of faith, dedication and vocation.
One example is provided by a friend who used to work as a carabiniere in northern Italy and decided to participate in WYD in Madrid in 2011. That encounter transformed his Christian life and, four years later, he left his job to join a religious institute. His story is just one of many I know of people touched by grace in similar events. Some come to light, others remain private, few reach the media. What is certain is that, even if the growth is not immediate or universal, the seed is there. And it continues to bear fruit.
