Fr. Chris Martin reminded everyone that when Jesus called His disciples, He then spent time with them. “The first step in following any vocation is friendship with Jesus… Seek holiness. Seek virtue. Continue to grow in intimacy with Jesus and everything else will be revealed.”

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The Steubenville Mid-America 2022 conference concluded with Sunday Mass. This is our greatest form of worship and a fitting way to end this weekend together. We were blessed, not only to have so many priests with us, but also to have three Bishops present to concelebrate the Mass. Main celebrant, Archbishop Mitchell Rozanksi of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, was joined by current Bishop Edward Rice, and retired Bishop John Leibrecht, both from the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau.

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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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How does a family form us? How do we experience God’s grace at home? Home should be a safe haven, but sometimes it is the most difficult place to be. So, how do we encounter God in the midst of that? These questions set the context for the second workshop of the afternoon, presented by Fr. Chris Martin.

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