Last Friday I traveled north to my hometown and diocesan see of Steubenville to help out at the first of this summer's youth conferences at Franciscan University. Thousands of kids go to these conferences every summer, on the main campus or at other sites across the nation.
When I was growing up in Steubenville, I spent a lot of time on the campus of FUS. I worked many summer jobs there including being a janitor. One part of that job was working a couple midnight conference shifts - that meant coming in at 12AM and working until 6AM. We cleaned the bathrooms in the dorms, emptied the incredibly full trash cans, and did our best to stay awake.
That was my primary experience of the youth conferences. I never actually went to one as a participant, but they did have an effect on me. Seeing all these kids come, every summer, said something - God was working here.
And so, I have really enjoyed the opportunities I've had as a priest to visit FUS and help out. This year I was asked to celebrate the "travelers mass" before the beginning of this first youth conference. It's held in Finnegan Fieldhouse in the gym, so it's a BIG room that was mostly full. I find it a little intimidating to preach to a big crowd like that, but it went well.
I love that about the priesthood - I can just walk into a new place (at least liturgically) full of people I don't know and we can all celebrate the Eucharist together. We're connected even when we don't know it.
That night, I was one of about 10 priests who heard confessions from about 10 until 11:30. It's incredibly inspiring for me to see all these kids participate in the sacrament. They just kept coming!
All of this just confirms what I witnessed and suspected as a custodian all those summers. God is touching the lives of these kids, and now I get to play a small part in that.
I'll be back in Christ the King Chapel this Friday night for the next conference.
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