Steubenville Conference

This June, thirty high school youth and six adults from Notre Dame had the best weekend of the summer encountering the love and mercy of Jesus at the Steubenville Lone Star Conference in Irving, TX.  For many this was their first conference experience and for several others who recently graduated, their last as a student.  We wanted to give you a “glimpse” into our experience and say thank you to Fr. Rafal, our Notre Dame staff, and so many in our parish family who helped our fundraising efforts in making this trip possible!

As an outreach of Franciscan University of Steubenville, the mission of these conferences is to build the Church by helping teens encounter the love of Jesus Christ, especially in the sacraments. On June 20-22, 4,100 Catholics from around the country gathered at the Irving Convention Center to experience a weekend of high energy, many laughs, dancing, and deep prayer. 

This year’s conference theme, CONSUMED was based on Deuteronomy 4:24, “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” Throughout the weekend the students were challenged to consider what it means to consume, and what things currently consume their time and thoughts. Furthermore, they were encouraged to be consumed fully by the love of God.  At first look, this verse from Deuteronomy may seem confusing…our God is a jealous God?  What does it mean for God to be jealous?  The Hebrew translation of the word jealous means “passionate exclusivity” and “fully faithful.”  Our passionate God wants our realization and truth of His love for us to be “exclusive” to Him alone.  He isn’t just asking us to be fully faithful to Him, but He is fully faithful in His relationship with us!  God’s consuming fire does not destroy us, but rather it burns the dead and harmful parts of our lives and refills them with His light, mercy and love!  This theme certainly resonated throughout the weekend – in the powerful praise & worship music, words shared by the keynote speakers, prayer and of course the celebration of the Sacraments.

On Friday night, Sarah Swafford reminded the students that we do not have to look for a savior in the things of the world, because we already have one in Jesus!  We must run to the Lord for He loves us not because we are good and perfect…but because He is!  Students were encouraged to seek the Sacrament of Reconciliation at some point throughout the weekend, and thanks to the 40+ priests in attendance nearly 70% of the teens did so.  That’s over 2,500 confessions being heard in the course of about 36 hours!  Wow!

Saturday morning began with a reflection from Noelle Garcia on the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, focusing on how God's word, like seeds, is generously offered to all, even those who may not be receptive at first. Noelle pointed to the words of Pope Leo in his first general audience when he noted that the one thing that doesn’t change in Jesus’ parable is that the sower continues to sow!  God continues to pour Himself out for us, even at times when we may be less receptive.

We then celebrated a beautiful liturgy, during which Fr. Jonathon McElhone, told us that worry, concern and doubt are all part of the human experience.  But in the Gospel, Jesus invites us not to worry!  Fr. Jonathon asked, “what are three things your heart desires?...Is your life then aligned to achieve those desires?”  Students were encouraged to place their worries and desires into the procession of the gifts at Mass and present them to Jesus on the altar, trusting that if the Lord can transform simple bread and wine into His very Body and Blood, then He can certainly also transform our lives!



Saturday afternoon included the joy of seeing teens play volleyball, nine-square, and gaga ball with new friends…having the courage to sing karaoke in front of strangers…line dance with even the priest who passed by…and enjoy a bite to eat from local food trucks. 

But perhaps what everyone who has been to a Steubenville Conference thinks of first is the powerful encounter with Jesus in Saturday night’s Adoration and procession of the Blessed Sacrament.  Before this experience Noelle Garcia shared that Jesus chose to come to us in the Eucharist, not only to feed us, but to be one with us in a physical way, so that we would know that He is real.  Then, as Fr. Jonathon processed Jesus throughout the crowd the reality of His True Presence was undeniable.  Words can’t fully explain the sight of 4,100 youth and adults on their knees in prayer, with their voices lifted in worship, arms around each other and eyes fixed on Jesus, the Living Bread that came down from Heaven!Sunday morning, concluded with final words of encouragement from each of the conference speakers…two of our favorites from Sarah Swafford, “You will never have peace unless you give up control!” (actually a quote from Kung Fu Panda)…and Fr. Jonathon, “Failure to plan is a plan to fail” as he insisted that teens must have a plan of how to keep the consuming fire of Jesus burning in their hearts once returning to their routine at home.  

We were surprised at the presence of Bishop Burns of the Diocese of Dallas who celebrated the closing Mass, which happened to be the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus. At the close of Mass, Fr. Jonathon called the young men and women who may explore a call to the religious life or priesthood to receive words of encouragement and a blessing from Bishop Burns. What a beautiful sight it was!  Finally, we ended the conference with meeting and taking a picture with our new Pastor, Fr. Scott who was attending with his group from Our Lady of Guadalupe in Helotes.  We are excited for his soon support, guidance and involvement with our teens!  

I could share so much more about what Jesus did personally in our hearts and conversations, but be assured that our group of students are an absolute joy to be around!...So I want to ask for your help!  The fact that this was the largest group of students Notre Dame has taken to a Steubenville Conference is a testament to our growing Youth Ministry, and the adults who serve our young men and women. We now have over 200 students consistently attending our programs on Wednesday evenings! What a blessing to our parish...but this means our need for adults committed to helping these students encounter Jesus is even greater! Would you consider joining our team of adults who simply share their love of Jesus and the Church with our students while getting to know their stories?” If so, please click the link below to show your interest and sign up to learn more! Perhaps now more than ever, our parish is in need of faithful servants to minister to and with our youth!
 
Please continue to pray for the students who went to Steubenville Lone Star, and so many more in our ministry, will continue to be brought to the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

In Jesus,
Wyatt Wentrcek
Director of Faith Formation & Youth Ministry

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