The following reflection on World Youth Day has been writen by Jane Mellett

Today Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass with over one million young adults in Madrid as the jamboree of WYD11 comes to a close. This week many friendships will have been made, seeds of faith and hope sown, vocations (of all kinds) discerned and the concept of a Kingdom of justice and liberation explored.

At WYD 2008 BXVI asked all of us gathered there to thank God for the gift of faith passed down to us by our parents, grandparents and teachers. He said: 'The Spirit revealed in their lives is still at work in the good they left behind.' Then he asked this question: 'Dear young people, what will you leave to the next generation? Are you living your lives in a way that opens up space for the Spirit in the midst of a world that wants to forget God? What legacy will you leave to the young people yet to come?'

When people say that our youth are the Church of tomorrow, they are wrong. Young people are the Church of today and unless we, as Church, reach out to them and their spiritual needs, then they will be gone tomorrow. The pilgrims returning from Madrid this week will be ready for anything, ready to work for God's Kingdom of peace. But what will they meet when they return to Ireland? Will this energy be harnessed and put into action? It is up to each of us in our various communities to tap into this great gift of Spirit-filled energy that our young pilgrims are returning with.