Archbishop Robert Carlson started his homily today by referring to today’s Gospel. In the reading, the Lord took his disciples to a deserted place. He related this back the journey our teens have had this weekend.

“I’m sure when you go home you’ll want to share the weekend with them (your family)… When you go home it may seem as if nothing has changed and you’re alone in how you feel. Either you can complain or you can do what we’ve been doing all weekend and spread this message. We take on the responsibility to teach others what Jesus has taught us”

Father Chris Martin started out his homily this morning by mentioning the world didn’t totally stop when Jesus was born. In fact, many people viewed him as “ordinary” and rejected Jesus because he didn’t meet their expectations early in his life.

Father then turned to the story of St. Augustine, who was a Doctor of the church. He went from city to city searching for God in truth and pleasure. For us as Catholics, similar to Augustine, we sometimes think there should be a big sign or angel appearing proving God is with us. The truth is that Jesus comes into our lives with humility and gentleness.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and that may be true, but I can tell you for sure that it takes a village to put on a Steubenville youth conference.

Every weekend, 140-ish staff members and volunteers begin their service to God’s kids at SteubySTL by converging on O’Reilly Catholic Student Center at 10 am on Friday morning, as we did this morning. We gather to pray before we get to work.

Our church teaches that the Eucharist is the “source and summit” of our faith, which means that it is the most powerful thing we can experience (because we receive Jesus) and it is also the point from which all of our inspiration and energy flows. So, we began our conference with Mass.

Today’s Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Peter Wells who serves as the Apostolic Nuncio to Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland. Bishop Kemme from the Diocese of Wichita was also with us. Additionally, dozens of priests from all over the United States concelebrated.

We all have a desire to be chosen. Whether that be for a sports team, a club, a play, getting into college or attaining a job. There is something deep about the human heart that desires to be chosen. In his homily this morning, Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, reminded us that we are all chosen to be holy.

In the Gospel today, we hear Jesus speak of the wheat and the weeds growing together in the fields (Matthew 13:24-30). Bishop Edward Rice’s homily focused on how this image is very similar to what we are heading into as we prepare to leave the Steubenville Conference to return to our homes, parishes, and schools. Though we live in a culture thick with weeds, we must stand strong and engage the culture, sharing the Gospel message.