The definition of masculinity is debated in our society. Men’s keynote speaker DJ Bernal reminded the young men present this weekend that their identity is in Christ and Christ alone.  Discussing a world in which the meaning of being a man can be confusing and difficult, DJ reminded us that through the grace of Baptism we have what it takes, because God has called us by name.

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“Is it easy to be a woman?”

No. Women are a tremendous gift to the world, and so often we don’t realize the value and power of our dignity.

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“With courage…there is freedom from a future full of fear.”

Fr. Mike Schmitz opened our weekend with a keynote focused on having the courage to put our trust in Christ. Drawing from the second book of Kings and the Gospel of Mark, Fr. Mike highlighted the stories of those who risked everything on the possibility that the Lord would show up.

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During our Sunday morning session, Cooper Ray shared a childhood story about his group of friends at recess. They invented a game where they linked arms and walked around chanting, “We never stop! We never stop!” Cooper used this story as a starting point for his message about how to take the experience of this conference into our daily lives at home.

“The Lord is not going to stop.” Philippians 1:6 tells us that God will complete the work He has begun in us this weekend. Our experience is not over. Even though we don’t get to stay here forever, the work that God is doing does go with us. “The Father is not done with you yet, but it doesn’t mean you get to stay here,” Cooper explained. Leaving this conference, we might miss the feelings, the atmosphere, the big experience, but we have to trust that God is still working.

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“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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