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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This morning’s Holy Mass, celebrated by Fr. Chris Martin, honored Mary: Our Lady of Mount Carmel. We are truly grateful for the 50+ priests who joined Fr. Martin, as well as the Carmelite religious sisters who have a special devotion to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

The Homily

Like Mary, we need to be courageous and fearless in the face of the challenges in our lives and world, as Fr. Martin reminded us. When you get to the heart of every problem, the ultimate answer is Jesus Christ – the One who created us so that we may have life and have it to the full. In Mary, we have the perfect model of ultimate trust in God’s plan and love for her.

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Today, on the Feast of St. Bonaventure, 97 volunteers gathered at Mass to pray for everyone journeying to Steubenville Mid-America, Fearless: Week 2! Bishop Rice, of the Diocese of Springfield – Cape Girardeau, celebrated the liturgy.

In the First Reading, the prophet Isaiah calls Hezekiah, a dying man, to “put your house in order.” Bishop Rice reminded the volunteers that these same words can be spoken to us. One day, we too shall die. However, as people of faith, we know that our story doesn’t end there. Even though fear might be present in our final moment, we know that dying becomes our, “last and greatest act of faith,” as we trust in the life of the world to come.

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The greatest commandments of our Catholic faith are to love God, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

But, as Bishop Edward Rice reminded the 3,000 teens, leaders, and volunteers today during the Steubenville Conference closing Mass, Jesus calls us to go a step further. We need to love with our whole heart, so we can become fearless disciples.

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Our Saturday morning Holy Mass was celebrated by Bishop Rice of the Diocese of Springfield–Cape Girardeau. This was a votive Mass, celebrated in special recognition of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We were blessed to be joined by priests and deacons from different youth ministry groups that came to the conference. Our team priest, Fr. Joe Freedy gave an empowering homily where we learned about how exciting in can be to be “all in” for Jesus.

Sometimes we can feel scared of what life with Jesus actually looks like. Fr. Freedy let us know that living for Christ is not stifling, but an opportunity to live life to the fullest. The saints have gone before us. Saints like Teresa of Calcutta and Maximillian Kolbe listened to the stirring of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, and they were all in for God. Their fearlessness and examples of selfless love provide us inspiration for our faith lives today.

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