“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

Our theme for this conference is Fearless. In the keynote address for Saturday night, Rachel Leininger let us know that, in this world, we will never be able to abandon every fear. We know God can handle any fear we have. In fact, we know that He has already won the war over fear. But, we are not God. We are bound by our humanity. We inherited a fallen nature from Adam and Eve when they committed the first sin in the Garden of Eden. Thus, we have fear.  We have troubles. We have pain and suffering. In the verse quoted above, Jesus even tells us that in this world we will have trouble. However, He also told us that He has conquered the world.

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“Your heavenly Father feels so much joy as you reach up to Him… You don’t have to have an awesome band to praise God; it should be part of your everyday lives. You drop everything and praise God… That’s where everything begins; it’s the foundation of Catholic worship.”

How does a family form us? How do we experience God’s grace at home? Home should be a safe haven, but sometimes it is the most difficult place to be. So, how do we encounter God in the midst of that? These questions set the context for the second workshop of the afternoon, presented by Fr. Chris Martin.

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For the first afternoon workshop, David Calavitta had a clear message – we are all part of the family of God. Each and every one of us was made by God, and we are therefore God’s children. As God’s children, we have intrinsic value and worth. We didn’t do anything to earn it. There is nothing we could ever do that would rid us of that value. God is the Creator and Father of all.

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