Fr. Crisman closed the first week of Steubenville encouraging and challenging the participants to be open to Christ’s call for each of us. He invited participants to literally stand up at Steubenville as a commitment to how they will metaphorically ‘stand up’ for their faith back at home.

“We need men and women who are bold, and willing to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ no matter the costs.”

The altar call is not a verbal contract to enter seminary or the convent, but rather it’s an invitation to be bold, to be generous, and to do the Lord’s will. The action is a commitment to listen, to be open, to be the face of Jesus.

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If he were a Pokémon, he’d be Snorlax– “You know the one that sleeps all the time?”– the faint aroma of coffee beans makes more sense.

Making the 500-mile pilgrimage to Steubenville Mid-America from the Diocese of Sioux City in Iowa is our next Human of SteubySTL, seminarian Travis Crotty. He’s a four-time attendee of the Steubenville Conference, second-time chaperone. But he’s seasoned for sure: “The first time, I was woken up by a phone call at 1am by a participant that one of his friends was playing PokémonGo outside.” And then we talk a lot about Pokémon and sleep, which naturally leads us to one of Travis’ greatest passions: gourmet coffee. His go-to? Guatamalen pour-over. Continue reading

When we ask our “Humans of SteubySTL” what their favorite part of Steubenville is, almost universally the response is, “Adoration on Saturday night!”

When reflecting on Adoration, I’m tempted to write, “something special happens.” But that’s not true. We can’t simplify this into a simple cliché.  It’s not something– it’s Someone.

Adoration on Saturday is never the same. As a youth minister, I’ve had numerous conversations with teens who, after a profound prayer experience, come to me disappointed when they don’t have an equally-profound, life-changing, overwhelming experience the next time in prayer. 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.

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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.

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