“I can’t stop believing”

Arriving at the young people, in Rome*, I had found faith for only a year. During this year, I prayed Jesus every day, speaking to him as a confidant, but without going to mass. In the jubilee, I feared being rejected because non-chair and ignorant codes. I was quickly reassured: I made three friends from the first hours. For me, it was incredible because it was the first time that I spoke Christian friendships. In high school, their absence had made me lose faith. During the pilgrimage, I experienced a fraternity that I had not experienced anywhere else. We sing, we chat with everyone: in the tail of the toilet, the metro … There is not even necessary to speak the same language to understand each other! We also discussed with a nun who answered all our questions without any language.

With the diocese of Amiens, we attend the morning and evening religious offices. It was new to me, as well as the times of worship of the Blessed Sacrament. The first, I found it very long. I didn’t know what to say and I had my knees in my knees. The second worship was very different. I had entrusted my difficulties to my comrades, who advised me not to seek what to say but to just stay there, with Jesus. So I told her about it, then looked at it, in silence. I had nothing in my head, but everything in my heart. I was filled with joy, peaceful, I felt the love of God. It was not an empty expectation. This time, I haven’t even seen time pass.

The strongest moment was the passage of the holy door of the Saint-Jean-de-Latran basilica with the other French. When I crossed the threshold, I received a great peace. I was very moved. This is where I most strongly felt the presence of God. I come back changed: now, it’s over, I can’t stop believing. I will only have to remember what I experienced to have faith. I will join a chaplaincy and practice. With my jubilee friends, we will meet in Amiens and will go to mass together.

* Nearly a million young people participated from July 28 to August 3.