We took a group of 50 teenagers to the conference, most of whom were from St. Pius, Immaculate, St. Michael's and St. Clare's.
What a fantastic group of young people! Most, if not all, entered into the weekend with open minds and hearts--and Jesus blessed them in many different ways for their openness! (On that note, make sure you check out next Sunday's homily, in which I will quote what some of the teens had to say about their experience on the retreat.)
The theme for the weekend was "the 8th day"--which is an expression that symbolizes the new life we have received as baptized believers in Jesus Christ. As the Catechism puts it, "the 8th day begins the new creation."
The Biblical theme-verse for the weekend was Isaiah 43:1 which reads, "But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.'"
Below you will find some pictures from the conference. One thing that strikes me about these shots is how many of them are of "groups" of teens. These young people truly lived as the unified body of Christ on this retreat. They demonstrated, for the most part, a true Christian charity toward one another. One young man, for example, who has attended the conferences for a number of years, told me afterward that his focus this past weekend had been on "the younger ones--those who were there for the first time."
He wanted to help them to get all that they could out of their Steubenville East experience.
I think he succeeded.
(Click on images to enlarge.)
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| Remember to get your ticket early for Steubenville East 2013! |
