As technology expands and grows, many of us are almost constantly plugged into at least one form of social media. In one of this afternoon’s workshops, Kyle Heimann encouraged all of us to elevate social media.

While social media can be a tool for great good, Kyle explained early on that it can also be destructive. When social media begins to replace our social interactions and relationships rather than improve them, we need to start examining the amount of time we are investing.

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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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Our men’s session today began with praise & worship, a game of “Nail it or Fail it” (which got everyone involved), and even some beatboxing which was done by volunteers from the crowd.

After these icebreakers, Kyle began his talk by reminding us of the story of David and Goliath. David was skilled at the using a slingshot. He had used the slingshot to ward off the prey who had attempted to kill his sheep. So, he used what he knew to fight the battle against Goliath.

Kyle challenged us all to consider what our personal Goliaths might be, including but, not limited to: low self-esteem, drugs, drinking, sexual sin, pride, selfishness, despair, laziness, and unforgiveness. Kyle didn’t list every struggle that any of us might have, but we all know what are own personal struggles are, right?

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At Steubenville, we encounter Jesus in many special ways—in small groups, in praise and worship, in the volunteers who serve us, in the Sacraments where we encounter the person of Christ. At Mass in particular, we encounter Jesus in an extraordinary way that elevates earth to meet heaven. So with the tag-line “Elevate,” there is no other way to begin the second day of SteubySTL than with Mass.

Fr. Crisman, the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Denver, concelebrated with Bishop Rice. He preached that we must be elevated by Christ to encounter Christ, and demonstrated how that happens in a most extraordinary way at Mass.

“Our engagement in what is happening at the Mass will assist us in being lifted up to Jesus—our hearts and our very lives being elevated really to the gates of heaven.”

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Listen to the audio from Jake, a teenage participant in Franciscan LEAD.

Jake shares his testimony about a profound experience he had in Confession, when a priest shared with him a story about St. Teresa of Calcutta.

We don’t go to Confession because God doesn’t know our sins, we go to Confession so that He may forget them.