OYM - LIVE Online!

In case you were curious where all this LiveBlog content was coming from, here's a video from the team. Thanks for hanging with us this weekend; it was our pleasure to walk with you through this conference - whether you were in attendance or keeping track of us from home. We hope you will remain Rooted in Christ wherever you go.

"So, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him, rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." - Col. 2:6-7

Check out this sweet video of Sister Consolata inviting young women who have heard God's call to discern the religious life forward to receive the prayer support of 3,000 people and a blessing from Bishop Rice. See footage of Fr. Chris Martin, vocations director of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, making the same invitation to young men discerning the priesthood here.

bishopricehomily.mp3

Bishop Edward Rice, of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, presided at the final Mass for the Steubenville Mid-America Conference this weekend. His homily, just eight minutes, packs a punch - so we've posted it in its entirety.

"And so I pray to God that this weekend bear fruit. I pray to God that right now I am preaching to 3,000 young, radical teenagers. 3,000 young people who desire to be rooted, and to remain rooted in Christ. That's my prayer for all of us this morning. And if not, you're going to go home, and all you'll have to show for it... is a t-shirt."

In our final segment of J Walking, we hear what conference participants thought of this experience, and how they hope to continue on this journey.

Our host for this weekend was Catholic speaker and musician Steve Angrisano. Married with three children, Steve has been working in Catholic ministry for many years, travelling across the country from his home base in Texas. As our host, Steve introduced the rest of our speaking team, transitioned smoothly between sessions, made sure we made it to our events on time, and offered a few final thoughts at this morning’s keynote.

Our main Scripture verse for this morning was John 3:16-17: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” We focused more on the second half of this passage than the first – that our God takes care of His own, and will never leave them. Read more »

tantumergodivinepraises.mp3

Eucharistic Adoration this evening was a beautiful opportunity for 3100 people to look at Jesus, and let Jesus look at them. Here's some footage. And we've attached some sweet audio of Tantum Ergo & The Divine Praises.

God is so, so good.

padgettsaturdaynight.mp3

It's hard to summarize Chris' keynote talk tonight, so we have posted the full audio!

Earlier today we had men's & women's sessions.  We interviewed teens coming out of these sessions and they shared what they think the opposite sex needs to know.

Dozens of priests have heard thousands of Confessions this weekend.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. - James 5:16

Group Leaders and Chaperones:

When I tell people that I have spent my entire adult life working with teenagers in either counseling or ministry settings, they check my temperature. They look at me like I am completely insane and I often get asked when I’m going to get a “real job.” Sometimes people tell me that there is a special place for me in heaven. I happen to agree with that statement - not because of anything great that I have done, but because teens give me great hope in my journey with God. To see them surrender to the love of Jesus, as they often do at these conferences, challenges me to be as courageous as they are.

If you are reading this, you know what an awesome and humbling privilege it is to serve God by serving teens. On this weekend, we have the incredible task of emptying ourselves completely so that we can be there for teens. Whether that means to provide an ear for listening, a shoulder to cry on, or an inside joke for an abundance of laughter, your task is to serve the teenagers in your group. Here are a few things that have helped me during conferences in years past: Read more »