What happens when you take a weekend and cram a bus full of teens…
Add a visit to the largest Benedictine monastery in the world (St. John’s, Collegeville, Minn.)…
Include in that visit midday prayer with the monks…
A stop by an ancient Marian shrine…
A walk around the campus…
Another bus ride and visit to the Cathedral of St. Paul…
Then mix in a longer stop at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul…
And join your teens with nearly 2,000 more (and a few nuns)…
And take over the campus for a couple of days, all in the name of sparking the spirits of those young souls?
Steubenville North — or #SteubieStPaul as we used for the weekend’s social media hashtag.
How does one describe such an experience from a chaperone’s perspective?
I don’t know where to begin to be honest. So much of what we took in involved a movement of the soul. No words suffice.
Perhaps a hint can be found in the whispering of our friends here, who aligned the walkway to the confessionals, where 1,300 people over the course of a couple days unloaded a backpack full of sins to start clean over and fully receive Christ.
This is just a visual glimmer of the smallest proportions. Maybe something moving will more accurately depict what our weekend held in store: https://youtu.be/uK97-NYx4rw
THIS IS LIVING NOW!!!
The Lord is so good. I am so grateful to have accompanied this group and gotten pulled into the excitement of it all. We have every reason to feel hopeful about the future — a reality that becomes real when traveling with youth who’ve had an encounter with the living God. Wow!
Q4U: What energized your spirit recently?
I can feel the energy through your pictures. I always marvel at St.Paul’s Cathedral, how cool to attend! Some of those youth gatherings for me, left such deep impressions – I pray it will be the same for all these attendees! My spirit was energized through my weekend celebrating the Stanley Cup- in community with friends who feel like family. And then by the celebration of life ceremony in Wahpeton, for our cousin Randy. We passed by the road leading to Carmel and it felt so fitting to be close. Much love to you friend!
Vicky, so sad to hear about the sudden loss of your cousin. I’m glad the road to Carmel was a small comfort to you. That brings a smile. 🙂 Thanks too for sharing about the Stanley Cup. You prompted me to go find your recap! So much fun and love!