Praise for the Steubenville Conferences

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Five years ago, I attended my first Steubenville East youth conference, and God rocked my world. 

I was not yet fourteen, preparing for my freshman year in high school. I had braces and primarily wore brand-name clothing because I thought it looked cool. I looked and felt incredibly awkward, at all times, without exception. 

My older sister had invited me to our parish's youth group a few months before. I heard about the Steubenville East conference after a holy hour with the youth group. My youth minister bounded up to the podium and delivered an invitation to a conference for Catholic teens. Having experienced Eucharistic Adoration for the first time that night, I felt compelled to learn as much about the faith as I could, to join this "new" community of young Catholics. So I grabbed the forms for Steubenville East and headed home. 


I anxiously awaited the conference. As much as I was excited, I had hastily signed up without recognizing that I knew very little about the conference. And I ended up rooming with my older sister (it was her first conference as well) because so few teens my age were attending. In retrospect, I am grateful to have had no expectations for Steubenville East, because I (inadvertently) allowed God to have His way. 

I was shocked to find a stadium full of passionately Catholic teens openly proclaiming their love for the Lord. I drank it in heartily. Each talk, each song, each opportunity to experience the sacraments left me elated and thirsty for more. Saturday night, we all spent two hours in Eucharistic Adoration. The priest processed with the monstrance throughout the stadium so that Jesus could gaze upon us and we could adore him. Moved by Jesus' love, I wept. 

Honestly, my memory fails me now. I know I promised my life to God at that conference, vowing to follow Him without comprehending the weight of that promise. I know I went home, struggling to reconcile the image of God that I knew real and true with that which the world handed me.  I know I doubted my faith and my experience at Steubenville East and the intentions of those practicing Catholicism. I know the next year's conference was the worst I've attended, because I thought the conferences were to be my only source of strength. And I know that slowly, gently, God began to transform my heart, then my life. I know that high school left me questioning and broken and disappointed and angry but that, through the sacraments, God called me back to His Love time and time again. 

Five years later, God continues to change my life. I attribute much of my spiritual growth to the Steubenville conferences, especially that first one (although I still don't really know what I'm doing. But sometimes I can fool people into thinking I do). That first encounter planted a seed in my heart which God has lovingly--and patiently--cultivated. Since 2010, I have attended five Steubenville East conferences. Each one had a unique theme (The Word Became Flesh, Rooted, The Eighth Day, Chosen, God Is) and each made a distinct mark on my life. Last fall I began studying at Franciscan University of Steubenville, which has been a wonderful adventure so far. 

This past weekend, my three youngest sisters had the opportunity to attend Steubenville East at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. My heart swelled upon their return as the girls tossed around the Mark Hart books they purchased while relating every detail of the conference schedule. I suppressed the urge to cry, "Did Jesus change your life?" 

Right now, I rejoice because God called them to the conference. I smile because they feel comfortable sharing the details with me. I wait, because I know that they, too, will have questions soon. And I pray that the Holy Spirit works through me and their youth ministers to lead them to the foot of the Cross. 

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. 
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy  his consolations, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.