Holy Mass
Along with over 50 concelebrating priests, Bishop Rice offered Mass on Saturday morning in honor of Our Lady and her Immaculate Heart. During the homily, Fr. Brian Fallon reminded us that everything in the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New Testament. In the same way that Isaiah was healed from the embers of the altar, so too we are healed when we receive Jesus fully present in the Eucharist. Fr. Fallon then said, “The same Jesus that was walking two millennia ago in Nazareth and Jerusalem and all these other places, who died on the cross is now in my heart. If I’m recognizing what is happening in the word, then my heart is illuminated. Have the audacity to say, ‘Send me.’” Let us be reminded each and every Mass that we are worth something. While we might not feel it in every moment, we mean something to the Lord, have value in His eyes, and He longs for us in the Mass.
Watch the live stream of morning Mass here.
Women’s Session: Femininity Illuminated
Jackie Francois Angel spoke to the women today about God’s love for us and how we desire that love but struggle to receive it. Often, we can grasp for worldly love, whether that be relationships, money, popularity, etc. These worldly desires can lead us away from God, causing us to believe that we are not good enough, that if someone really knew us, they wouldn’t love us, that we are meant to be alone. But Jackie reminds us, “God loves you just as much when you are in adoration as when you are in your darkest moments of shame and sin. He loves you unconditionally.” Jesus calls us out of that darkness, reminding us that He wants us more than anything. Nothing in this world matters or will satisfy a heart that was made for eternity. We cannot be the women God wants us to be if we sit in the dark, we need to bring our wounds to the light.
Watch the live stream of the Women’s Session here.
Men’s Session: Masculinity Illuminated
Brian Greenfield spoke to the men about God’s call for His sons. At the beginning of creation, God created light, and in that light He brought forth Adam, created in His image and likeness. Taking Adam’s rib, which protects the heart, He created Eve. Eve is welcomed into Adam’s heart, and Adam is called to protect Eve. Similarly, men are called to protect, provide, and serve. When the moment arose for Adam to come to the aid of his beloved and to protect her, he was confused and fearful, the opposition of faith. However, this is not where the story of Adam ends, God rescues him still. In the same way, our moments of sin, fear, or doubt do not have to be the end of our story. God sees us individually, and regardless of these moments, asks, “Where are you?” just as He did of Adam in the garden. Then in giving us His Son, Jesus Christ, we have an example of what a man is called to be. Jesus is our constant. Jesus is the one that heals us. How? Giving His whole life so that we will know who we are.
Conference Theme
Across our country, eighteen different times this summer, thousands of teens are gathering at Steubenville Conferences to reflect on the theme Illuminate which comes from John 1:5. In this verse we hear, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” Jesus Christ came to bring the light of God’s love into a spiritually dark and dying world where we can often get lost. By allowing the Lord to bring light to our lives, we can shine that light to one another through love.
Tonight, Katie Prejean McGrady led us deeper into this idea of Illuminate. She started by asking for all to trust in what the Lord has in store for us. Katie said, “In this world that has convinced us that we are only as good as what we can give, God is not asking us to do anything but receive what He has to offer.” God didn’t need any of us. He wanted us! God said, let there be light, not because He needed to see anything but because He wanted us to be able to see everything. Let us walk in the light together this weekend!
Ministry Team
- Host: Katie Prejean McGrady
- Worship Leader: Kyle Huelsing
- Team Priest: Fr. Brian Fallon
- Keynote Speaker: Jackie Francois Angel
- Keynote Speaker: Brian Greenfield
Keynote: God Illuminated
Brian Greenfield began our weekend talking about our desire to be free, but our inclination to be guarded out of fear. He challenged us all to take the moment that we have been given right now to come to know God more. He asked us to reflect on three questions:
- Are you willing to believe that there is a God bigger than your sin?
- Are you willing to trust in Jesus and his love and call for you personally?
- Are you willing to respond to that call?
From this, Brian recounted the story of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar from Jericho. In Mark 10, we meet Bartimaeus as he sits on the side of the road. Bartimaeus called out to Jesus, knowing this was his opportunity to bring his desires to the Lord. Despite people around him telling him to be quiet, Bartimaeus cried out louder saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus calls him closer and we are reminded of the fact that Jesus desires to give us the longing of our hearts. He wants to bring light to the darkness in the same way that he gave sight to Bartimaeus. Fear is the opposition to encounter. Instead of reaching out to Jesus like Bartimaeus, fear makes us fall back. But we must take courage and get up, because Jesus is calling us. Brian closed with a powerful message, “Sometimes we have to let go of the things that we hold onto, to be able to hold the things that we need. Let’s give our all to Jesus, and see what he can do!” This moment is our opportunity to respond to Jesus’ call.
Click here to watch the recorded live stream of this session!
