Taizé - Young Adult European Meeting in Prague

At the beginning, I would like to wish you all a happy New Year, and many happy moments in your life. :)

These past two weeks have been full of unforgettable moments. I've just returned from a trip to Prague, where it took place Taizé – European Meeting of Young people from all over the world. Undoubtedly, it was one of the best experiences in my life. 

It was organized by an ecumenical, monastic and international order – the Taizé Community from France, which is composed of brothers from Protestant and Catholic traditions.

Generally speaking, Taizé is a village in France where each year a lot of people from different countries, make pilgrimages for prayer, Bible studying.

Furthermore, every year, around New Year (usually 28 December – 2 January) , is organized a meeting in a large European city called Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth. This year it attracted 30,000 people. 

 

http://www.taize.fr/en_article17415.html

http://www.taize.fr/en_article17415.html

It is really difficult to describe all my impressions. During those few days everything was just ... awesome. :) I was sleeping in the gym, with other 50 girls from different countries. There were for example only two showers, but despite our simple accommodation, or perhaps because of these conditions, all these people showed me their kindness and I felt an incredible unity between us. 

Of course, it was also a great opportunity to talk with others about their countries, cultures, traditions. For our meals we need to travel to one of the exhibition halls. As you can immagine, it was really unusual experience to eat something, sitting on the floor, with other 30,000 people. It was crowded. ;) 

 

Then, each day we were taking part in some common prayers, in small, international groups in one of the parish, or there were some common prayers in the exhibition halls. During the prayer we were singing some short songs in different languages, with just a few words, usually lines from Psalms or other pieces of Bible, repeated again and again, which gives a meditative character to the prayers. It allows to pray all together. I put below some of my favorite canons.

 

 

Obviously, this trip was also a perfect opportunity to explore the city, which is really charming with the Old town and some magical streets. 

  

It's only a small part of my observations and feelings. The next European meeting will take place in Valencia, Spain and I hope I can be there. :)