Nolan grew up as a “cradle Catholic” but didn’t feel like he knew God personally. At the age of ten, a lot of people he loved passed away, and he started getting bullied for being small. In response to these struggles, he turned to sins of impurity, but in so doing he felt a lot of shame.

Eventually, at a conference much like this – after the men’s session – he was given a chance to pray with one of the leaders. And this leader spoke the words of God into his heart…

The Father loves you.

…and all of those years that he had wasted were lifted off of his shoulders, and he felt like a new man.

I’d encourage you to listen to his whole testimony; if you do, you will be blessed.

During today’s women’s session, Jocelyn shared how one simple act of kindness revealed God’s love to her.

She started off as a very joyful child, but gradually she noticed people becoming annoyed by her. She started to feel ashamed of her joy until she could no longer feel it inside her and a sadness set in. Her parents saw that she was struggling and made her go to youth group. Even though that first time she didn’t want to go, she kept going. Gradually, God worked on her heart.

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Sarah began by talking about how challenging it is to be woman in today’s world. She also discussed how as women, we often fake it and are not honest about what is going on in our heads. We are quick to say “I’m fine” and we are not always real about the negative thoughts that we are having.

She then discussed the “Three Cs” that impact our lives the most- control, confusion, and competition.

We desire to be control of our own lives instead of letting God have control. Though we desire to have control, we need to trust in the plans that God has for us.

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Gem, from Olathe Kansas, got really vulnerable and shared her story with us this morning. It started before she was even born; her birth mom wasn’t married and considered terminating the pregnancy. A group of Catholics (including her new parents) found out about it and started praying for her – and she wasn’t aborted.

Looking back on this situation, she now realizes that she should have been grateful – but in her heart she felt rejected and unwanted. She also struggled with fitting in. She thought that even God couldn’t want her.

One year at Steubenville, during Adoration, a feeling of God holding her heart overwhelmed her…

“I invite all of you…to open yourself up to God, because God will touch you if you let Him.”

Father Chris Martin started out his homily this morning by mentioning the world didn’t totally stop when Jesus was born. In fact, many people viewed him as “ordinary” and rejected Jesus because he didn’t meet their expectations early in his life.

Father then turned to the story of St. Augustine, who was a Doctor of the church. He went from city to city searching for God in truth and pleasure. For us as Catholics, similar to Augustine, we sometimes think there should be a big sign or angel appearing proving God is with us. The truth is that Jesus comes into our lives with humility and gentleness.

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