At Steubenville, we encounter Jesus in many special ways—in small groups, in praise and worship, in the volunteers who serve us, in the Sacraments where we encounter the person of Christ. At Mass in particular, we encounter Jesus in an extraordinary way that elevates earth to meet heaven. So with the tag-line “Elevate,” there is no other way to begin the second day of SteubySTL than with Mass.

Fr. Crisman, the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Denver, concelebrated with Bishop Rice. He preached that we must be elevated by Christ to encounter Christ, and demonstrated how that happens in a most extraordinary way at Mass.

“Our engagement in what is happening at the Mass will assist us in being lifted up to Jesus—our hearts and our very lives being elevated really to the gates of heaven.”

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Four THOUSAND high schoolers are on their way. Four thousand high-energy, over-caffeinated, spent-four-hours-on-a-bus, in-desperate-need-of-fidget-spinners teenagers and their patient chaperones are about to arrive at the campus of Missouri State University.

Because amazing things are about to happen at the first weekend of Steubenville Mid-America:

The prayer pins, the t-shirts, Frisbee on the quad, and dare I say it: the Cross Clap!

All of these contribute to radical environment that makes the Steubenville Conference an entity all its own.

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Today’s Gospel was about Martha, Mary, and the Lord. Bishop Rice began the homily discussing how we, at different times in life, can find ourselves feeling more like Martha or Mary. When we are like Martha, life is busy and we are pulled in opposite directions. Sometimes we look at the world and feel swamped or overwhelmed. But, there are times when we are at the feet of Jesus like Mary. Some of us feel that we have to struggle to find this balance between Martha and Mary.

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At Mass on Saturday, Fr. Mike Schmitz’s homily focused on the very heart of Jesus present in the Eucharist and challenged us as to whether we are willing to give our whole heart back to Him.

Lacking Heart

How hard is it to put our whole heart into things! Putting our whole heart into things means that we are risking our very selves. Fr. Schmitz noted that it is that very risk that prevents many people from living with heart.

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Despite the early morning wake-up call for most of us volunteers, there was a lot of hugging and smiling and excitement at Mass this morning! The energy comes naturally as we arrive here in Springfield to experience the gift of serving the teens this weekend. I think we’re as excited as the kids. We’ve been praying, preparing for the part we play in the conference, and reminding ourselves that it is about them – the teens – and their relationship with Christ. One intercession voiced our desires the best, “That we might be the face of Christ to the teens we encounter.”

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