Adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament brought tens of thousands of worshippers together on Jan. 3, the third night of the annual Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) SEEK24 Conference in St. Louis. The experience was a highlight of the conference for many.
Approximately 24,000 people gathered to adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, an increase of 5,000 attendees from last year’s SEEK23 Conference in St. Louis.
The evening began with keynote speeches from Dr. Edward Sri, the vice president of formation for FOCUS and a theologian, author and speaker, and Father Mike Schmitz, the director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota and the host of the popular Bible in a Year podcast.
Reconciliation was the third theme in a sequence of keynote speeches at the conference focusing on a relationship with God, rebellion, reconciliation with Him, re-creation and response. A reported 4,500 confessions were heard that evening.
Sri spoke about Jesus’ first miracle, which took place during the wedding feast at Cana when he turned water into wine. The Blessed Virgin Mary told the servants at the wedding feast to do whatever her Son told them to do.
Sri encouraged the audience to be inspired by Mary, and like her, give everything to God. He said that Jesus wants His people to give everything to Him.
He also spoke about suffering. Many Catholics do not understand the meaning of the cross, Sri said, and one drop of Christ’s blood would be enough to cover the sins of all humanity. However, Jesus gives everything on the cross.
“In every cross there is a spiritual gem,” he said.
Father Schmitz, who also serves as the chaplain for the University of Minnesota-Duluth Newman Center, explored the Bible story of the Prodigal Son. The Gospel recounts how the son returned to his father after leaving and sinning against him, and his father welcomed him back with open arms.
“We’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and yet, He still wants you,” Father Schmitz said.
Every person has inherited a broken heart, he said, and that is the truth they must accept. Sin fractures and splits a heart that then needs to be healed.
Father Schmitz said broken hearts are healed in the sacrament of reconciliation, and God holds His people during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
“There’s not any number of steps that Jesus Christ won’t take for you,” Father Schmitz said.
He encouraged the audience to take a step for God by letting Him hold them in Adoration or heal their hearts in confession that night.
“This last step is yours to take,” Father Schmitz said.
Several priests who were present offered the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Adoration.
After Father Schmitz’s keynote, the Blessed Sacrament was processed around The Dome at the America’s Center Convention Complex, where the conference took place. Pope St. John Paul II celebrated Mass there in 1999.
Thousands of attendees fell to their knees before the Blessed Sacrament.
Peter Johanni, who is from Columbus and recently graduated from the Ohio State University, said he was convicted of his need for Christ while adoring the Lord.
“Tonight really impacted me a lot, hearing and being reminded of the need for a Savior and how we have a Savior Who loves us infinitely, and it was paid – the debt of love that we owed – so that we might have life now and life with Him,” he said.
“I tried to sit with Him for two hours in Adoration and just soak in the reality that we have a Savior who loves us and Who has given us everything. To be in His presence was a huge gift, and to be here with so many other people and getting to experience the same thing with them was really powerful.”
Johanni said before the conference he knew he needed a savior but was “so strongly reminded” of that in his heart. He said he was convinced of that truth while sitting with the Lord in Adoration.
Mackenzie Hoog, a senior at Ohio State, has attended multiple SEEK conferences. She said she appreciates how intentionally the Gospel is presented through the different keynote speeches and talks. She also enjoyed her time in Adoration.
“I’m consistently reminded that during the Mass we have the cherubim: ‘Lord, I’m not worthy You should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed’ and that it’s a permission that we give to Him in order to do that,” Hoog said.
“It’s always beautiful to be reminded of that in Adoration and to sit with that and delight in the Lord as He delights in us, so it’s been beautiful to experience that once again this year.”
Hoog said being “constantly reminded” of God’s mercy is what she loves most about the conference.
“I’m constantly reminded of the restoration that He’s doing in my heart, in my family’s heart, and He gives me solace in that,” she said.
Ethan Williams, a member of Columbus St. Patrick Church, attended for the first time this year. He said the conference gave him hope.
“I am absolutely blown away by the number of Catholics here and how much they all love the Lord,” he said. “It’s amazing to be in a liturgy with over 20,000 people.”
During the conference, each morning began with the recitation of the rosary and celebrating the Mass in The Dome. Clergy, religious and laity gathered for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
“In the liturgy that I love so much, to see everyone doing that together as the universal Church in the U.S. and beyond is very inspiring,” Williams said. “It gives me so much hope.”
He enjoyed time spent in Adoration. Williams said it was “extremely liberating to sit and learn from the Lord things about myself that I have not known before.”
Speakers at the conference showed him different aspects of the Catholic faith that he did not recognize before, he said, “especially in knowing who you are in Christ and how to surrender to Him.”
Gabriel Shroyer, a seminarian for the Diocese of Columbus, joined other diocesan seminarians at the conference. He said the experience inspired him to serve the Lord.
“It’s very inspiring, and it’s very moving, and it makes me want to be on mission. Even though I’m in the seminary, I still want to go out and spread the Gospel.”
This year, 450 seminarians registered for the SEEK24 conference, which is more than double the number of seminarians who attended last year.
As a seminarian, Shroyer had the opportunity to volunteer to assist with the distribution of Holy Communion during daily Mass. He helped escort priests around The Dome to their assigned station for distributing communion.
“Walking through the aisles and aisles of people that just want to receive Jesus really moved my heart and inspired me, especially in my vocation and for young people and their desire for the Lord,” Shroyer said.
He said he also enjoyed the hospitality that SEEK offered seminarians and clergy who attended the conference. He appreciated how they were received and he enjoyed meeting seminarians from other dioceses.
“Seeing the guys from different dioceses also really on fire and want the Lord, and the way that they’ve treated us also has been really good – giving us a lounge and treating us very well, it’s inspiring,” Shroyer said.