Bishops' Schedules: Schedule of Bishop William H. Bullock Monday, July 22, 2002 Depart for World Youth Day, Toronto, Canada Tuesday, July 23, 2002 4:00 p.m. -- Attend Opening Ceremony for World Youth Day, Exhibition Place, Toronto 5:00 p.m. -- Concelebrate Opening Mass at Exhibition Place presided by Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic, Archbishop of Toronto Wednesday, July 24, 2002 10:30 a.m. -- Attend Catechetical Sessions, Exhibition Place, Toronto 8:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, Special Mass for Pilgrims of the Diocese of Madison, St. John Fisher Parish, Brampton Thursday, July 25, 2002 10:30 a.m. -- Attend Catechetical Sessions, Exhibition Place, Toronto 5:00 p.m. -- Attend Papal Welcoming Ceremony, Exhibition Place, Toronto Friday, July 26, 2002 10:30 a.m. -- Attend Catechetical Sessions, Exhibition Place, Toronto 7:30 p.m. -- Participate in the Way of the Cross, Toronto Saturday, July 27, 2002 8:00 p.m. -- Attend Evening Vigil, Pope John Paul II Presider, Downsview Park Sunday, July 28, 2002 9:30 a.m. -- Concelebrate at Concluding Mass of the 17th World Youth Day with Pope John Paul II, Downsview Lands, Toronto Schedule of Bishop George O. Wirz Monday, July 22, 2002 Depart for World Youth Day, Toronto, Canada Tuesday, July 23, 2002 4:00 p.m. -- Attend Opening Ceremony for World Youth Day, Exhibition Place, Toronto 5:00 p.m. -- Concelebrate Opening Mass at Exhibition Place presided by Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic, Archbishop of Toronto Wednesday, July 24, 2002 10:30 a.m. -- Attend Catechetical Sessions, Exhibition Place, Toronto 8:00 p.m. -- Concelebrate at Celebration of the Eucharist, Special Mass for Pilgrims of the Diocese of Madison, St. John Fisher Parish, Brampton Thursday, July 25, 2002 10:30 a.m. -- Attend Catechetical Sessions, Exhibition Place, Toronto 5:00 p.m. -- Attend Papal Welcoming Ceremony, Exhibition Place, Toronto Friday, July 26, 2002 10:30 a.m. -- Attend Catechetical Sessions, Exhibition Place, Toronto 7:30 p.m. -- Participate in the Way of the Cross, Toronto Saturday, July 27, 2002 8:00 p.m. -- Attend Evening Vigil, Pope John Paul II Presider, Downsview Park Sunday, July 28, 2002 9:30 a.m. -- Concelebrate at Concluding Mass of the 17th World Youth Day with Pope John Paul II, Downsview Lands, Toronto

World Youth Week: Toronto, here we come

		The Bishop: A Herald of Faith Bishop William H. Bullock

As Bishop Wirz and I planned our departure for Toronto, Canada, in order to participate in World Youth Week, July 23-28, 2002, we arose early on July 22^nd, to greet and bless our young people as they were seated on their buses.

Coverage of World Youth Day

Their readiness to travel for a week of prayer and fun, a week of being with other young people from 150 countries was wonderful to behold. We stood even in the rain that morning, praying with and blessing our pilgrims.

Renewed purpose

As I watched the buses depart I prayed that God would not only grant all the youthful pilgrims safety but that he would grace them with a renewed sense of purpose in the Lord and of his Church.

The Diocese is happy to sponsor these unforgettable days for our young people thanks to a major donor who made it possible. Also, Father Nicholas Okere will accompany us to Toronto.

"As adults we should not overpower young people with 'must' or 'ought to,' but on the other hand we should not be 'wimpy' either. By that I mean, defensive or timid. We have something to say; we have tested our faith by experience and through words spoken and ratified in our hearts we can truly speak up and witness to God's love and salvation in Christ."

Fresh as we were from the weekend liturgies and the magnificent Scriptures from the 16^th Sunday in Ordinary time, I pondered again and again how good God is to us, how he waits for us amid our preoccupations with things of this world to turn back to him and sink firm and deep roots in our faith.

As our young people grow up so fast and as they mature and move through adolescence to young adulthood, they are presented with so many values contrary to the Gospel, making it difficult for them to maintain a Christian way of life. They can shatter easily amid the constant peer pressure around them.

The world offers them many options from diversions of small consequence to more permanent life style or way of life that represents a purely secular or hedonistic approach to life.

Living Catholic Christian values becomes difficult for our young people when among their peers they see the good life as "take care of yourself first."

Our role as adults is to present them with solid teaching and good explanations of what we believe, and we must also provide the experiences that go with these teachings so they can see the fruitfulness of a life of self-giving, a life of prayer and virtue.

Sometimes our young people are heroic in their pursuit of a life in Christ.

Good and evil

The Gospel parable of the sower depicts a farmer planting good seed only to find later an enemy comes along at night, at an unsuspecting time and plants bad seed.

As these two grow together side-by-side we ask, "What should the farmers do? Pull up the bad weeds so closely tied to the good grain?"

The Lord's answer is, "No, let them grow side-by-side and together. Then, at harvest time, I will gather the good wheat into the barn and the weeds I will take out and burn." If you pull up the weeds now you may very well uproot the good grain.

Pray for the permeation of the yeast, that is, God's grace in the lives of young people during these World Youth Days that our young people will, through prayer, listening, and celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation, truly come to see and understand the beauty, the value, and the strong way of life Jesus calls them to embrace.

As adults we should not overpower young people with "must" or "ought to," but on the other hand we should not be "wimpy" either. By that I mean, defensive or timid. We have something to say; we have tested our faith by experience and through words spoken and ratified in our hearts we can truly speak up and witness to God's love and salvation in Christ.

Lifetime opportunity

World Youth Week allows our young people time to live in an environment that is marked by Christian values, a place and time where it is okay to speak of Christ, who he is and what he means to them. They, in good ways, can hang free and relax in the Lord.

Please continue your prayer for them; it is truly a special moment for them and one they will not forget.