Anyone who's ever gone to a Steubenville Youth Conference will tell you that the weekend brings a full range of emotions and experiences from person to person. This year was my third and last Steubenville Conference of high school. I attended Steubenville Main Campus 4 with a group from my area. The experience overall was a bit different from the previous years, but still a truly spiritually and emotionally uplifting weekend!
Side Note: I also officially became a Marian Missionary of Divine Mercy this weekend! Feel free to message me to learn more. I'd like to do another post about it sometime soon.
(PS: Were you at Main Campus 4?? Did you find a Catholic Teen Life Blog Rosary?😉)
Here are some things I learned...
Friday Night: (Keynote Speaker, Adoration, and Small Groups)
God has had a plan for our lives- more marvelous than we could ever dream of- since before the beginning of time.
Fear keeps us from living the lives we were meant to live.
Just like it did for Adam and Eve!
"Who told you you were naked" - Genesis 3
God does not TELL us we are shameful, unforgivable, unlovable, unhealable, etc, He HEALS us from those lies!
Shame is hiding from God out of fear. Guilt comes from our conscience but can turn into shame if we don't give it to God and confess.
It's okay to be broken sometimes. Even Jesus was broken in order to make the world whole again.
Saturday: (Mass, Women's Session, Confession, Focus Session about Family, Chastity Talk, and Adoration)
To be a Woman of God is to be a woman in love.
When women are in love, we literally radiate that love and joy.
God is the source of all the love that is in the world.
Being a woman, we are ready to fight for and defend those we love.
We don't ask, "What will happen to me if I take care of/ defend/ speak up for/ comfort my loved one?" We instead say, "What will happen to them if I DON'T?"
It is more difficult for women when they suffer WITH someone than when they suffer on their own.
It's a total self-gift.
We, as Christians, are called to be a different sort of friend... committed and strong enough to speak the truth in love, even if it means offending a friend.
If you don't care what the world thinks you will be less likely to SIN because you are living totally for God, know WHO you are, and WHOSE you are.
Give the Lord all of your past, present, and future. That's the most precious thing He could ever desire. Give it all up to His control.
Sin is a matter of intention.
Trust sometimes means being a child who jumps into their parent's arms when they're afraid... the fear doesn't immediately go away, but they still know they're being held.
God sees us. He knows our hearts. He knows that we try to Love. He loves us.
JESUS IS THE ONE WHO GIVES US ABSOLUTION IN THE SACRAMENT OF CONFESSION!!!!!!
When we trust we are given our true identity back.
Unhealed wounds sprout sin.
There is healing from sexual sin... It's still just sin. It’s boring. It’s not special.
God wants to heal and redeem you- purify your heart. He loves you deeply and endlessly. Your worth and dignity- and that of everyone else- are found in Him alone.
God chooses to use families for His purposes. (ie: The Holy Family, Adam and Eve, Noah and His family, etc.)
Families are the first place of life-giving and nurturing love.
The family is the basis of the church and of society.
The family is the DOMESTIC CHURCH!
Never choose not to do something out of love because you're afraid of what other people might think.
NEVER DISCOURAGE PURE, HOLY, LOVE.
Teenagers long for acceptance and love, and to be understood and listened to instead of shut down.
YOU do not have to stop doing what is good, true, and beautiful just because it makes someone else uncomfortable.
Sunday: (Mass, Music, Vocational Call-outs, Bus ride home)
To be in love with Christ is to be in love with His Church.
JOY is the fullest expression of Catholicism.
As a bride should not be afraid of her husband, so we should not be afraid of God.
When you are open to the Holy Spirit, even if you haven't "felt" anything for a while, He will do great things.
It's okay to cry.
It's okay to laugh.
It's okay to let go and let God move.
It's okay to pray as you feel comfortable.
There ARE still SO MANY young people being called to the priesthood and religious life!!
Oh yeah, and Steubenville music is the best. Just Sayin.
Any questions?? Want some more info about any of the points listed above? Would you like the link to a FREE Catholic Teen Life Blog online Rosary guide you can share with friends? Feel free to contact me or comment below and I'll get back to you!!
I’d love to hear about YOUR Steubenville experience this year! I’m very curious to see what you thought of it compared to other years.
“I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” ~ John 16:33
What a beautiful experience for you!!! So glad something like this is out there and teens are on fire with God's Love!!! Thank you again for sharing!! God bless!