This morning, we were blessed to have three of our shepherds here to celebrate Mass with us: Archbishop Carlson from the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Bishop Rice from the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, and Bishop Kemme from the Diocese of Wichita.

Archbishop Carlson began his homily by reminding us that the God who has invited us here for the Eucharist is the same God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the saints. That same God most likely touched many of our hearts and souls this weekend. He also placed prayers and goals on our hearts, but we are not able to achieve those goals alone. We need each other. We need to be bold and inspire hope in one another by how we live our lives because none of us need to walk alone.

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This morning as we gathered for Mass, Fr. Chris Martin shared with us times in his life where he did not feel like he belonged. Many of his stories took place outside of the country. Being 6’4 he often stands out, but one story in particular was when he traveled to Calcutta, India to teach with the Missionaries of Charity. Fr. Martin likened the Sisters to the Marine Corp. of the Catholic Church. Every morning, the Sisters would go to the trash dump down the street and pick up the children that had been thrown away and would bring them back to their house to care for them. He was amazed by their amount of charity and love and he did not feel as if he belonged.

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They say that it takes a village to raise a child, and I think there’s some truth in that. But I can tell you for sure that it does take quite a crew of dedicated volunteers to put on a Steubenville youth conference!

Last weekend’s youth conference was staffed by 108 volunteers – and there are 112 volunteers staffing this weekend! When you consider that each volunteer is here in Springfield from at least 10 am Friday until at least 1 pm on Sunday, that means that over 6800 volunteer hours are put in each summer by amazing people devoted to making our conferences a positive experience for every teen and every adult who attends. And I couldn’t even begin to calculate how much time and energy and prayer that staff members of the Office of Youth Ministry and Franciscan University of Steubenville devote to these amazing events!

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Bishop Edward Rice of the Diocese of Springfield – Cape Girardeau, during his homily this morning, called to mind the desire we have to belong.  We have been reflecting on this all weekend, and Bishop Rice reminded us that we as humans have this desire to belong to something bigger than ourselves. For us as Catholics, we belong to Christ.

Bishop Rice pointed out that no one likes being an outsider and if we don’t feel like we belong to a group, we can feel unwanted and unloved.  He then reminded us of the sacrament that immediately brings us into Christ and his Church.  At our Baptism, we are immediately incorporated into the life of Christ.  Bishop Rice reminded us that we no longer belong to ourselves, we belong to Christ.

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Fr. Mike Schmitz began his homily with a few jokes, of course. My favorite was that when he was younger, he felt like a man trapped in a woman’s body…and then he was born!

He then shared about a certain line from today’s Gospel that makes him laugh: when Jesus is talking to his disciples and says, “You are worth more than many sparrows.” He shared how this line can be quite comical when taken literally; but that it has a much deeper meaning. Fr. Mike explained that Jesus was simply telling his disciples that they belong. He said, “One of the key things that helps us know who we are is when we know we belong – and if you belong to God, it means you matter, that your life matters.”

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