500 million tweets daily on Twitter. 1.7 million pictures posted every minute on Instagram. 900,000 likes every minute on Facebook. 9000 snaps per second on Snapchat. We are swimming in social media. It is no surprise that statistics show that teenagers spend about 9 hours a day on social media. In his talk, Paul J. Kim challenged teenagers to use social media for good.
In preparation for entering a new chapter of their lives, many graduated seniors tend to struggle with one common task: not only maintaining, but strengthening their faith. As they go off to college and their environment changes, they will discover and gain a great deal of independence, and it is up to them on how they utilize it.
Steve offered a few helpful tips to these seniors on how to keep their fire for God ignited and elevated throughout the next chapter of their lives.
After giving a brief and humorous history of men’s sessions at Steubenville throughout the years, Mike Gormley launched right into speaking to us about what it means to be man.
Throughout the history of civilization, the definition of what it means to be a man has undergone significant changes and shifts. In some cultures, manhood has been associated with initiation rituals, and in some cultures the definition of manhood has been conveyed to younger men by their fathers.
Sadly, legitimate initiation rituals and role modeling are often lacking in American culture; therefore, some of us are struggling, and many of us don’t really know who we are. When we don’t know who we are, we can easily become passive and weak. But this is not God’s plan for us.
In the women’s session this morning, Sr. Miriam talked to the girls about experiencing complete freedom by allowing Christ to make them new.
Craving Freedom
We all long for freedom and adventure. Sr. Miriam saw that sense of freedom one day in the airport in a little three-year-old girl who stopped dead in her tracks to lay down on the floor and make imaginary snow angels. She was completely free from any fear of judgement or ridicule. She was totally herself.
We all have that instinct to want to impress others and maintain our ego; it is simply human nature. We tend to define our worth by our outward appearances or our achievements. In his homily this morning, Fr. Chris Martin challenged us to think differently about our worth. He establishes two very significant points that apply to our approach to sin.
