This afternoon Sean talked to us about the battle that many are facing in regards to pornography. He discussed the addicting power of pornography and the affect that it can have on our brain, and more importantly our relationships. Continue reading
In this afternoon’s breakout session on prayer, Fr. Crisman shared about God’s desire to have a personal relationship with each of us. Many today are paralyzed in prayer. Perhaps it’s our lack of trust that God really wants to – and will – communicate himself personally to us in prayer leads us to fill the time of silence with words or actions. Maybe we’re afraid of failure. Or maybe still, we feel that we have something to earn, or prove to God. All of these impede our ability to pray, but, even worse, they reveal that we really don’t know what prayer is in the first place.
As technology expands and grows, many of us are almost constantly plugged into at least one form of social media. In one of this afternoon’s workshops, Kyle Heimann encouraged all of us to elevate social media.
While social media can be a tool for great good, Kyle explained early on that it can also be destructive. When social media begins to replace our social interactions and relationships rather than improve them, we need to start examining the amount of time we are investing.
If there’s one thing many recently graduated seniors are certain about, it’s that there are many uncertainties in their lives. In the workshop for recently graduated seniors, Bob Rice, our host for Week 1, put to rest some of the fears that often accompany uncertainty.
As Catholic Christians, we have the assurance that our existence is not a mistake. We are not a cosmic occurrence, a roll of the dice, happenstance of two chromosomes crossing. As this is true, we can rest assured that God, who planned our existence, did not forget to plan our lives past the age of 18.
The women spent their morning together sharing and praying about how to be “women in love.”
During the women’s session, Katie Hartfiel shared her own experience of learning to live as a woman in love with the Lord. She explains that to do that, our answer to Jesus must always be “yes.” That simple “yes” to Jesus that changes everything. He dwells within us, and we are called to radiate that love to everyone we encounter. Katie shared the example of a friend who was able to be a witness of her faith simply through her love of the Lord. When at a party, her friend was asked what it was that made her look so radiantly in love. She was single, but radiated the joy of a woman deeply in love. What followed was a long conversation about her love of Jesus- the source of her joy.
