Picture thousands of college students from all over America and across the globe together in the tropical city of Indianapolis, Indiana for a weeklong conference where they will be praying, listening to talks, and learning about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. More than 17,000 people signed up for the SEEK2019 event, hosted by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS).
At this conference, a large number of these 18-22 year olds will go to Confession for the first time in a long while and many of the students will have their first encounter with the Person of Jesus.
Imagine a conference crawling with hundreds of priests and religious sisters and brothers who are smiling, laughing, and sharing the infectious joy that a conference like this brings to the masses.
It is clearly no secret that the Catholic Church as an institution has had a tough go of things in recent months. Environments like the SEEK conference remind us that throughout history of His Church, the Lord raises up Jubilee Generations where men and women have gone against the tide to change culture. These men and women raise up their lives and standards in the Name of Jesus, change the culture, and themselves become Saints in the process.
In scripture, where there is a Problem, God always issues a Promise to his people and provides them with Provision for how they are to enter into the Promise. SEEK is a living example of what this looks like in 2019. The young adults who attend are the type of people who are destined to be vessels to heal the brokenness that is unfortunately so pervasive in our Church today. I am excited to watch these faithful men and women not only step into leadership positions within the Catholic Church, but also change the tide of culture by allowing themselves to be developed by Christ so that His Light in them can shine brightly in their communities.
A theology professor this week told me that the best way to change the trajectory of a family is for a husband and wife to learn from the mistakes of those who have gone before them and implement a new pattern of behavior in their marriage and family life. For me personally, I am excited to watch as these 17,000 souls leave SEEK and continue the work of learning from the mistakes of their Church leaders while working with the Holy Spirit to usher in a New Springtime in the Catholic Church. “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19
