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February 19, 2019 | The Valley Catholic
NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL
Reflexiones de Jornada Mundial de la Juventud
Es con gran alegría que los jóvenes
de la Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de
Guadalupe nos representaron en la
Jornada Mundial de la Juventud este
pasado enero 2019 en Panamá y ahora
nos presentan sus experiencias.
Fueron días de gran gozo al par-
ticipar junto con jóvenes de todo el
mundo en su búsqueda de ser mejores
DISCIPULOS misioneros de Jesucristo.
A continuación podemos leer sus
reflexiones y gozar con sus fotos esos
momentos Inolvidables de Dios.
¿Cuales fueron sus sentimientos al
ver al Papa Francisco?
Brenda Angel - Es un poco compli-
cado explicar lo que sentí al ver al Papa
Francisco porque me parece que no
podría encontrar las palabras exactas
para describirlo. Creo que mi sentir fué
un poco distinto al de algunos com-
pañeros, ya que a mí no me provocó
sentimiento de llanto, y no porque no
me diera alegría, sino porque no termi-
naba de asimilar que el momento de ese
encuentro había llegado. Pero si puedo
decir que me provocó mucha emoción
en mi corazón, y gozo al ver esa alegría
en sus ojos y en su sonrisa. Su semblante
What were your feelings when you
seen the pope?
Naomi Martinez - I had the privilege
to be a pilgrim at this years World Youth
Day in Panamá. The area in which our
group was waiting to see Pope Francis
pass by had a television nearby and
it allowed us to witness the moment
he arrived. Just by seeing him on the
screen and knowing that he was in the
same city I was in was even more than
I could have ever imagined to be pos-
sible. I had an urge to cry but I held it in.
Once Pope Francis was getting close to
us, even before he was in front of us, my
body started to shake and I couldn’t hold
back my tears. It was such an indescrib-
able feeling because as he passed by I
could feel Jesus Christ’s presence. Pope
Francis is the next closest person there
is to Jesus Christ himself and knowing
that made this whole experience even
more meaningful. I cried for a good 10
minutes and every time during the day
when I would think about what I had
just experienced, made me cry again.
Jennifer Sepulveda - When I knew
that the time to see Pope Francis was ap-
proaching , I felt nervous and impatient.
I felt so many emotions that I could not
say in specific what I felt. When I saw
era tan radiante que reflejaba esperanza
y amor. Fué como si en ese momento
estuviese pasando frente a mis ojos una
escena de una película y me hubiese
quedado en ese lapso del tiempo.
Yesenia Sepulveda - En el momento
en que me dijeron que el Papa Francisco
iba pasar me llene de gozo y alegría.
Mi deseo desde el principio de nuestro
peregrinaje fue poder mirar al Papa
Francisco de cerca y por fin se me estaba
concediendo. En cuanto empezaron a
pasar los automóviles de seguridad y
los policías mi cuerpo empezó a temblar
porque yo sabía que el Papa ya estaba
muy cerca. Después de que pasaron
los policías miramos que las personas
empezaron a gritar Papa! Papa! y en
ese momento saque mi teléfono para
empezar a grabar. A los pocos segundos
el Papa Francisco pasó por enfrente de
mi y no pude contener mis sentimien-
tos. Empecé a llorar de alegría porque
en la presencia del Papa se podía sentir
la presencia de Dios también. Fue una
experiencia simplemente maravillosa.
¿Cómo se sintieron al convivir y
dialogar con jóvenes de todo el mundo?
Brenda Angel - El hecho de convivir
con jóvenes de diferentes partes del
mundo me hizo sentir mucha alegría.
Reflections from World Youth Day in Panamá
Sandra Torres, Associate Director for the Hispanic Apostolate, with Jovenes en Acción from
Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Nata, Panamá for World Youth Day 2019.
the Pope mobile coming and I saw him
smiling and waving to the crowds, I was
not able to hold back my tears ; I cried
really hard. His smile has left an impact
on my life, when I think about his smile
I feel nothing but happiness. Even to this
day just thinking back to it, I find myself
feeling the same happy emotions that I
felt when I got to see Pope Francis.
Abraham Lopez - It was a surreal
feeling knowing he was on his way to
the spot we were at. When the crowd
began to cheer my heart began to race
and filled with joy. As he passed he
transmitted such a peace. I thank God
for the opportunity to see him up close.
I will never forget that moment.
How did you feel being with other youth
from around the world?
Naomi Martinez - Meeting individu-
als who are like me from all around the
world was incredible. Knowing that all
of them were there with the same pur-
pose I was, made the experience even
more memorable. My purpose was and
is to be like Mary and tell God “I am the
servant of the Lord, may it be done to
me according to your word.” Listening
to their stories, what they went through
to make it to Panamá, and the long hours
or days it took them just to see the Pope.
This made me realize that everyone’s
efforts brought us to our goal, which
was to not only be with the Pope, but to
Me hizo reflexionar en el propósito por
el cuál todos estabamos reunidos en
ese mismo momento y lugar. Me hizo
sentir que formabamos un solo cuerpo
así como Cristo siempre lo ha querido,
sin divisiones fronterizas ni diferencias
de raza, color o lenguaje. Me hizo sentir
valor y ánimo, al mirar y pensar en que
en muchas partes de este mundo hay
tantos jóvenes luchando por buscar
estar cerca de Cristo cada vez más, por
ayudar a otros jóvenes que se encuen-
tran en situaciones difíciles, por tener
una vida mejor espiritualmente y a su
vez dar ejemplo con ello. Personalmente
me gusta mucho convivir con jóvenes y
con mayor razón si hablamos el mismo
idioma, con esto me refiero no al idioma
que cada lugar tiene, sino al idioma de
Dios, el tener fija nuestra mirada en un
mismo objetivo.
Yesenia Sepulveda - Yo me sentía
feliz al convivir con jóvenes de dife-
rentes lugares del mundo porque me
daba gusto mirar que todos estábamos
unidos como hermanos por un solo
Dios y una sola fe. Era muy interesante
aprender sobre las diferentes culturas
y tradiciones de jóvenes de diferentes
partes del mundo.
feel God and to let Him into our hearts.
It’s amazing having the opportunity to
coexist with young people from all over
the world and be able to trade items
from our countries with each other.
Meeting them itself was a great experi-
ence, but to become friends with them
was better because we can hopefully
meet up at the next World Youth Day.
This experience will forever be in my
heart and I hope that everyone that gets
the opportunity to see the Pope takes it.
Jennifer Sepulveda - I felt a familiar
feeling when we were with the other
youth. I felt like I was at school and we
all knew each other by face but not by
story. When talking to other youth and
learning what they like and how their
schooling was I learned that we were all
going through similar paths, it was fun
getting to know how the youth around
the world live.
Abraham Lopez - It just makes you
realize how big our family is here on
earth. I was awestruck when I saw the
amount of youth dancing, singing, and
playing music in their language all giv-
ing thanks to God. Regardless of each
ones culture everyone came together
as one to give thanks to our Lord. That
was amazing!