Weblog

During the World Youth Days in Sydney, Marc Timmermans writes a weblog of his experience.

Goulburn, 10 July 2008

Tonight, our first concert!

Welcome to Cold-burn! The locals here say that it's extremely cold. There was snow in the mountains nearby. A strong chilly wind makes the cold even worse. Great!

We're almost complete since two days and we're working hard during our rehearsals. And tonight is our first concert. We're looking forward to it. Fr. Martin is in good shape; Fr. Markus is enthusiastic, as always; Fr. Henryk is clear and steady on the bass; and Fr. Kornel is writing down the schedules and structures of each song. For myself, I'm simply enjoying it all. It's great to be together as brothers! It's very nice to make good music! It's just wonderful to be priests, serving these young people and sharing with them the love and mercy of Christ.
I'll let you know how it will go!
God bless you and.... G'day, mate!

Fr. Marc

Goulburn, 11 July 2008

Great concert!

The concert was great! We still have a lot to do, musically. But the evening was wonderful, ending with a beautiful blessing by all the priests. From the stage, while singing, we could see the young people coming forward and asking for a blessing. Many were visibly touched. Not exited, but touched by God’s peaceful presence. A next step in the pilgrimage was made.

The Dutch bishop De Jong had a powerful witness of his vocation and made everybody laugh with his witty way of saying things. The message was clear though: when the Lord calls, pray, reflect, talk with your spiritual guide and dare to say “yes”. Jesus knows what the best is for you and what makes you happy. Just trust Him!

We’ll continue our work here. We’ll have a calm day today. I can give my voice a bit of rest and make some contacts with the Dutch group and prepare for our next stage: Canberra tomorrow in the afternoon, in front of 12.000 people. I’m looking forward to it!
God bless you and... g’day mate!

Fr. Marc

PS: Many greetings from Fr. Markus, Fr. Martin, Fr. Kornel and Fr. Henryk

Goulburn, 13 July 2008

Concert in Canberra and arrival of Fr. Rafael

Yesterday we were in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It was not cold during the day, with a nice sun that brought a nice temperature on stage. The sound was good, so we could finally hear what we were worth. It was ok. We are progressing every day. Playing together is a real experience of brotherhood and charity. During the rehearsals we have to correct each other in order to make progress and it's great to see how we can really talk frankly as brothers. The fact that we pray together is certainly the key for this spirit of charity among us. We know that we're only instruments in the hand of the Lord, not stars looking for glory.

Good news! Fr. Rafael arrived yesterday evening from Brazil. Too late for "Canberra", but in time for our final concert in Goulburn at the "Soldiers Club" tonight. His brilliant saxophone play enriches our sound a lot. During the rehearsals this morning it was just great. A new song was added as well: ?Lord, Make me an Instrument of Your Peace?. It is another masterpiece of Fr. Markus. This song is different from all the others, a bit funky with a nice close harmony at the end.

I will tell you more during the next days. We'll be in Sydney, where the weather is much better than here.

God bless you all and g'day, mate!

Fr. Marc

Sydney, 17 July 2008

Sydney's Temperature and Night Fever

Weather is so nice in Sydney! Temperature is good enough for our summer. But the best is the sun, especially when you get the chance to perceive the Pacific through the buildings. The world's largest ocean really seems to confirm its name, bringing peace to the coast city of Sydney.

Yesterday was our concert at the big WYD meeting of the Emmanuel Community, Night Fever. It was a wonderful evening all together, with beautiful witnesses, peaceful adoration and great music. We're getting better at each concert, though we still have to improve. A concert is not only playing music, but also counting the measures, remembering the different little details and even the choreography. It will be great to play at Randwick at the Vigil on Saturday before a crowd of several hundred thousand people.

We already had an interview and a filming of our rehearsal by the Australian TV and yesterday, the Dutch TV was present at Night Fever. Stijn Fens of the KRO was enthusiastic about the idea of the Priest Band and even more after hearing us. Praise God that we can share through the media the mercy of the Lord and our joy of being a brotherhood of priests.

Tonight most of will go to the Mercy Night at Darlinghurst Mission Centre. We will be there without our instruments, but with the incredible power of Gods mercy through the sacrament of reconciliation. This sacrament brings even more joy to a priest's heart than the most exciting concert could give.

God bless you and g'day mate!
Fr. Marc

Sydney, 20 July 2008

250.000 people at our concert!

Yesterday was the day for us! We started with Mass and prayer and then our final rehearsals. Around 5 pm we were picked up by our indefatigable manager Robert Tonkli and our stage assistant Alex Burton. Alex is from a real guitar family. His father was for years in a band and he is a great guitar player himself. He was there during our last concerts with two acoustic guitars and two electric guitars (a Fender Stratocaster and a Fender Telecaster, for those who want to know). We only need one of each, so there would always be a spare one in case we might have a problem. He took care of all details, like tuning and preparing the guitars for each song. That's really a great help. Just before the evening we went all together to Alex's favourite Thai restaurant, just next to Randwick. We arrived there at the very moment that the Pope came in. So we had to wait.

Security was extreme and our innocent looks didn't help much. We missed the start of the vigil, but it was exciting to go there as a performing artist. After waiting for a while, having make up put on (because of the strong lights), we arrived at the performers waiting room, which was actually under the papal stage. We could see him when we got out, at 10 meters or so. At 9:15 pm it was our turn. The stage managers were preparing everything in just a few minutes. Amazing to see. For amateurs like we are it was just great to go through all this. A once in a lifetime experience.

The concert went very well. We were really in a good shape. We couldn't see the crowd that well, because they were in the dark and we were in the light. But we were relaxed anyway and the sound was great. It was just wonderful to be there and do what we always want to do with the band: using good music as a means to bring God to men and the men to God. That's what makes the PriestBand a real priestly band and a joyful experience for each one of us.

At the end of our "Down Under Tour", we can just be grateful of what the Lord has given us and was able to give to so many through our music. Yes, we've "rocked some souls", we heard. Music is an universal language that can touch the hearts and souls of young people. If we could have touched the hearts and souls of some of the young people in Goulburn, Canberra or Sydney with the Mercy of the Lord, then our Tour had been a great success. Thank God for that!

God bless you and g'day mate!
Fr. Marc