Same-sex attraction is not an easy topic to talk discuss but it’s an important one in our society today. Joel Stepanek tackled this topic at one of our afternoon workshops.

Same Sex Attraction: A Matter of People

Joel started by acknowledging how challenging the topic of same-sex attraction is to talk about. But the heart of this discussion is not a matter of philosophy or politics. When we talk about same-sex attraction, we are talking about people. We must always approach this through the lens of people.

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College can be difficult; that’s not exactly a secret. You’ve got to deal with new spaces, new people, new classes, new teachers, time consuming homework, weird sleeping schedules, and of course, the dreaded freshman roommate who may be you new best friend or worst enemy.

High school has prepared you some, but the next four years are still an unwritten story. When you unload you bags in that dorm parking lot, you will be walking into a world more daunting than it is familiar. So how do you survive? How do you navigate the complex changes while still keeping your personality, your faith life, your soul?

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Katie Prejean started the women’s session with a Hail Mary and a simple prayer to call upon God’s truth, especially when it comes to our roles as His beloved daughters.

Katie shared that the fundamental part of who we are is that we are loved; it’s our greatest identity. We are wanted by the very God who forged us in his sacred image. This means that, even in our mess, when our breath smells and our hair is bedraggled, we are Jesus’ chosen image to represent beautiful, selfless love. We are love incarnate! It’s also our greatest purpose. We were created specifically to love others and to be loved by Him.

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Wisdom is to despise the perishable things of this world and to aspire to what is eternal. – St. Francis de Sales

Bishop Edward Rice, bishop of the Diocese of Springfield – Cape Girardeau, reflected on this quote from St. Francis de Sales at Mass this morning. He challenged the 4,200+ teens to truly be wise by seeking the eternal things and not becoming caught up in the things of this world.

While he acknowledged that things of this earth are good and necessary, Bishop Rice said that our identities can become wrapped up in the latest trends and what other people think. It is then that the things of the earth become an obstacle to the ultimate purpose of our lives: Heaven. The things of this world are to help us reach eternity.

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We all long for peace. Yet we often times look for peace in the wrong places and in the wrong ways. We think that we can quench our thirsts in other people and other things. Fr. Chris Martin called us to recognize the ways in which we forget that God really is the one who brings us peace and can quench our thirst. He encouraged us to identify these ways that we have fallen short of loving God, our family and friends, and ourselves and to ask for forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

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