1000 Australian Catholics gather to journey through the Easter Triduum
Close to 1000 Catholics from all over Australia gathered together in Sydney on the grounds of a Carmelite Monastery to partake in Light to the Nations.
This pilgrimage of the Easter Triduum occurred in Sydney’s South West at the serene Mt Carmel Retreat Centre. The Light to The Nations event has been run by the Disciples of Jesus Covenant Community for the past 35 years, with liturgies at the event being celebrated by the Missionaries of God’s Love.
Beginning on Holy Thursday, pilgrims ranging from young children to elderly people camped on the Carmelite grounds amidst cold nights.
The pilgrims participated in Mass and other spiritually fruitful sessions within a large, big top tent. The beauty of Light to the Nations is the large plethora of passionate young people who display an exuberant love for Christ.
Proceeding the Holy Thursday Mass, the small Chapel where Jesus was taken to was filled to the brim with hundreds of young Catholics. The Chapel was so full that there was insufficient space for everyone.
The live reenactment of The Way of the Cross on Good Friday was solely organised by 21 year old Simon Dahdah, who casted a majority of young adults. The collective sorrow and solemnity of those acting and observing the Way of The Cross is a telling sign of the real love, hunger and desire that young Catholics have for Jesus and the Catholic faith. It was a true motif present throughout the entire pilgrimage.
As described by 21 year old Wollongong local Joseph Murray, The Easter Vigil was the “highpoint of Light to the Nations. Looking out into a sea of candle flames and hearing the joy in the singing of participants really felt like a snippet of Heaven.”
