Ave Maria University Catholic Youth Conference

In the Beginning...

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:07:00 +0000

"In the beginning" life was different. It was meant to be different: better, holy, beautiful. It was not meant to be a disaster, a series of dramas, scandals, and sins, of hurt, use and abuse; of weakness, sickness, sorrow and death. That was not the original plan.

The creation story in Genesis 1 and 2 is meant to reveal how that original plan was supposed to go and how much our Father loves us. See, when we look at the rest of creation, we see things that, just by existing, give Him glory. Mice, just by being mousy, give glory to God. Dogs, cats, termites, just by being themselves, offer to God all that He created them to offer.

But for humanity, He wanted to give us more, and in return wanted more from us. God created us for love, for us to share in His love by sharing in His freedom. He gave us the ability to choose to love Him, to serve Him, because if love is forced or coerced, it is not love.

For love to be real, it must be free.

And therein lies the problem of Genesis 3, the story of our Fall. When God decided to create us as creatures capable of intentional love, contained within that decision of His was the capacity to choose not to love, to not serve God. So our first parents had the options set out before them: love God or love yourself.

Don't let over-familiarity with the story of the Garden of Eden distract you from the deeper layers of meaning. This story unfolds intense psychological and theological truths. Let me explain.

The serpent's appeal to Eve was not to choose to hate God. That is an absurdity. Eve did not grab the apple while cursing God, saying "Take this, ya jerk! You don't own me!" She did what everyone of us do when we sin, from the biggest mortal sin to the smallest venial sin: she chose herself first.

The serpent's psychological attack first got Eve to focus on what she could not have, on what limited her freedom. The "Father of Lies," which is what Jesus called Satan, is such a good liar that he can use the truth to tell lies. See how, in his first wordes to Eve, he draws her full attention to the only thing that limits her freedom, and in doing so, he gets her to question God's loving generosity, thinking that He is holding out on her.

"Is it not true that you cannot eat of every tree in the Garden?"

Technically, that is true. They cannot eat of every tree because there is one, and only one, out of the thousands of other trees, that they cannot eat. So yeah, they technically cannot eat of "every tree" 'cause there is one single tree that's outlawed.

The serpent draws Eve's attention to the very edge of her freedom and gets her to focus on this one limitation, this one tree.

Our sins begin in the same place. We sin because we think that God is holding out on us. That maybe, just maybe, we can get real happiness faster and surer than if we wait for the Lord to do His thing. We get frustrated, so we look for shortcuts. And even more than this, we believe a subtle lie that propels us into sin just as it did Adam and Eve in the Garden.

It is a lie, the most subtle, that love is subordinated to freedom. For love to be real, it must be free, but when freedom is placed above love, when it becomes the highest ideal, then that means we will do anything to rid ourselves of limits and restraints put on our freedom. We will even push away love, push away God, in order to have it.

In short, we choose ourselves over and against God. It's not that we hate God or something extreme like that. It's just that we prefer ourselves. Eve's sin began in her act of switching places between love and freedom. Love, then, can even become an enemy if it is perceived as restraining one's autonomy.

Autonomy. That's a heavy word, but it strikes the heart of the story.

Autonomy was the preferred expression of Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant for his concept of freedom. Autonomy is based on two Greek words: "autos" meaning "self", and "nomos" meaning "law". Having autonomy means that you are a law unto yourself, you create your own laws and standards of action. You create your own morality. "You shall be like gods, knowing good and evil."

Eve ignored God's love, not because she hated Him all of a sudden, but because she loved herself more, wanting more freedom for herself, and in so choosing, she lost her life, her love, and her hope for happiness. She was deceived. She thought the shortcut to happiness would work. She thought that limits on her freedom would stop her from being happy. She was wrong.

And as the juice of the fruit ran down her chin, she found herself robbed of joy.

God's laws are written from the hand of love, and so they never really restrain us, as long as we see that love is higher than freedom. Love is real, and it makes demands on us. Its limitations may at times feel like we are being hemmed in, like happiness is passing us by, but those limitations are really only temporary. Because love is fruitful, it is generous, it will always expand. And in its expanding, that essential ingredient to love, freedom, expands along with it.

That is why Jesus Christ can tell his disciples: "If you love me, keep my commandments." Eve loved God, but she loved herself more. I guess that's also why Jesus says, "If any man would be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me."

By: Mike Gormley

from his blog: http://layevangelist.com

Ave Maria Youth Conference and the New Evangelization

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 02:42:00 +0000

John Paul II was arguably the best Youth Minister in the 2,000 year history of the Church.

The Holy Father established World Youth Day as an International event where young people could encounter the Lord in powerful ways. Literally millions of Catholic youth have experienced conversions, deepened their faith, and discovered their vocation at World Youth Day.

Every year, the Ave Maria Youth Conference helps Catholic teens and youth ministers to share in the graces of World Youth Day. Uniting ourselves with the universal Church, each year we base the theme of our youth conference on the annual World Youth Day scripture quote.

World Youth Day 2011 quote: “Rooted and built on Jesus Christ, firm in the faith” (Col 2:6-7).

Ave Maria Youth Conference 2011 theme: Built to Last!

Please join us in praying for the young people who will attend this year’s youth conference. We hope to unite teens and youth ministers with the blessings and graces of the universal Mystical Body of Christ.

Peace,

Bill Maguire

Director of Mission and Outreach

Ave Maria University

Get excited for 2011!

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:47:00 +0000

Things are coming together for the 4th Annual Youth Conference! We hope that you are getting excited because we certainly are!

We ask that you please pray for those who will attend the conference this summer and for those who have attended our conferences in the past. We hope the Ave Maria Catholic Youth Conference has been instrumental in the lives of these youth, bringing them ever closer to the love and knowledge of Christ.

If you have any questions or would like further information about this summer's program, please do not hesitate to call the youth conference office at (239) 280-2541 or email youthconference@avemaria.edu.

Blessings continued

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 13:54:00 +0000

The second day of the youth conference started off well as teens and adults enthusiastically move from one place to another. The conference team is very gracious for the speakers in attendance throughout the week. A big thank you goes out to: Martin Doman, Fr. David Engo, John Leyendecker, Brigid Sweeney, and Sean Dalton. Thank you so much.

Saturday’s session offered a variety of different talks given by John, Fr. Engo and Brigid. All talks were motivational, spiritual and relevant to all ages in the crowd. The individuals in attendance were split between males and females. Males listened to the testimony of John, while the girls listened to the testimony of Brigid. In John’s talk, he stressed the importance of being continually active in scripture. Especially in today’s world, Catholics need to be in a continual connection, love and obedience with God’s LIVING word. In Brigid’s talk, she stressed the importance of Mother Mary and how her actions portrayed a perfect example of how to give one’s heart completely to God’s will. Christ is our bridegroom and we, as a church, make up the body of Christ. We need to be completely and devoutly in love with Christ, giving him our whole heart, mind and body. Fr. David gave a talk to the adults attending the conference. The talk focused on the power and importance of prayer in our lives. We as Catholics need to make continual time for prayer throughout the day to enter into a deeper spiritual experience in our everyday lives. The devout lessons learned at today’s conference sessions were uplifting and motivational to all in attendance.

This event has really been radical and life changing for many people here. When talking to different teens during break hours, one can really tell that a since of piety and devotion towards the Lord has taken place. It’s awesome to see how everyone here is really taking the words spoken by the speakers to heart. Saturday’s events ended with a powerful Mass and Adoration. The homily given by Fr. David was dynamic, enthusiastic and inspiring. Everyone in the church interacted with Fr. David in celebrating the true divinity of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. If you wish to comment on your thoughts about various events or talks throughout the youth conference please do. God Bless.

In Christ,

Ave Maria Youth Conference

It has begun!

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:05:00 +0000

Wow what a week so far. The Ave Maria Youth Conference is officially up and running. Students from all over are beginning to rush into campus as I write. It’s so good to see surrounding communities coming together to rejoice in the power of prayer, love, and peace. Teens are already talking and laughing with soon to be new friends.

A big thanks goes out to the staff and students who have spent 3 days thus far working to put together a terrific event for those attending. A bigger thanks goes out to the Franciscan Brothers who have traveled from Fort Wayne, Indiana to celebrate the Lord with the Ave Maria community. Their help has been a giant factor to the success of this year’s youth conference.

Together the staff, students and brothers have come together to put on a conference which will raise spiritual awareness, growth and healing for all those who are in attendance. The youth conference has begun! A since of joy and excitement is defiantly arising in the air.

For some students and Brothers, this is the first youth conference they have participated in. I am a student at Ave Maria University and this is my first youth conference I have participated in. So what are your thoughts? If you have been to a youth conference, what were the high points atthe conference? What made the conference a fun spiritual experience for you? If you are currently at the Ave Maria Youth Conference, what has been the best experience thus far? The staff could use any and all suggestions from readers and bloggers. So put them down!

In Christ,

Ave Maria Youth Conference

Opening Night

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:31:00 +0000

"For such a time as this we have been born", these are the opening words of Rev. John Gallagher at the Conference today. The opening line set the spiritual tone for the youth conference as kids from all over the United States packed into the ballroom located at Ave Maria University. Miracles are expected here, life altering experiences. After the deeply insightful and uplifting speech by Rev. Gallagher, Sean Dalton was introduced to the audience. Within seconds of Sean's presence the entire ballroom was electrified by the overwhelming prescience of God. Sean is the West Regional Director for the FOCUS organization and is like a miracle worker when it comes to youth conference in multiple states.

The ballroom was packed with lights, banners, media crews, and also a beautiful altar honoring our Most Blessed Mother Mary. The décor of the event was dazzling and breath taking. During the event Sean talked to teens about the powerful presence of God and how His love is unconditional and everlasting. Sean heavily stressed the concept of how we are all called to walk in faith, praise, and worship in Lord. The talks were captivating down to the very last word. Teens often cheered vigorously in the crowds and were seen sitting on the very edges of their seats. The sight of so many teens praising and worshiping the Lord in such energetic ways was a miracle in of itself.

Throughout the event, Martin Doman performed live music to the enthusiastic teens. Martin is a Catholic Musician and has been performing around the United States for over 10 years. The music performed by Martin set tones throughout the event. During times of solemn prayer, Martin played music which helped everyone in the ballroom enter into a spiritual connection with the Holy Spirit. During the times when Martin would play up-beat religious music, the entire ballroom were up on their feet dancing and raising their hands in praise to the Lord.

Brigid Sweeney offered an insightful perspective on the human dignity and the divine calling of all people in the world today. Brigid enthusiastically expressed how each person is called to a special relationship with the Holy Trinity and how everyone should love the Trinity with all their heart, just as the Holy Trinity loves us unconditionally and wholly with all Its Being. After the talk, the crowed rose up with spiritual vigor and applauded the motivational, powerful and overwhelming speech.

The conference for the night concluded with the prayer of affirmation and adoration.The beginning of something spectacular has just begun here at the Ave MariaYouth Conference. A union of Christ has entered into the hearts of all those present today.

In Christ,

Ave Maria Youth Conference