Maria is proud to be a cradle Catholic from St. Simon Parish in St. Louis where she attends youth group, and goes to Mass every Sunday with her family.

But, after being made fun of for being Catholic, she put her faith into a box, becoming somebody she had never intended to be.

Then, on a Saturday night during Adoration at Steubenville, she realized she needed to face up to God and what she had done – and once again take pride in her Catholic identity.

Quotable

“I am not going to hide my light under a bushel basket to appease other people’s opinions.”

Just before this afternoon’s dinner break, Cas shared about the ways that Confession has enabled him to more freely encounter Jesus in the Eucharist.

Quotables:

“Something spoke in my heart, and I went to confession to completely open myself up to the priest.  What I saw wasn’t the priest judging me, but was the Holy Spirit freeing me through the Eucharist.”

“The freedom from sin changed how I was able to receive the Eucharist.”

“There are still times that I walk out of Confession and I don’t feel different, but I still know that God is working in my life.”

Before the women’s session on Saturday, LEAD witness Abby shares her testimony of how she was able to find God’s love again in Adoration. Before the Eucharist, she rediscovered that she made for love, by Love, to love.

Listen as Rissy, a teenager, shares about how she experienced God’s love through Eucharistic Adoration and how her life has been changed forever.

“All I could feel was calm and peace, and I started to sob tears of joy…genuine joy.”

“My need for God is satisfied through the Eucharist.”

Listen as Laura, a teen, shares about her experience of the love of God that has brought so much joy into her life.

“My challenge to you guys is when you leave this conference, don’t let it just stay here…”