Greetings in Christ!

We are pleased to announce that for summer 2009 the theme for the Franciscan University High School Youth Conferences will be: ABOVE ALL!

The scripture that will guide the programming is:

“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.” 1 Chronicles 29:11

We live in the age of super-sizing. Everyone speaks of living large, getting the most out of the moment, and seizing the day. But in teen culture, this philosophy has led to a frenetic, fragmented approach to life where the driving force of existence is stringing together one experience after another in hopes of finding happiness. Teens are constantly driven to look for the next big thing, the higher “high” or the greater thrill. But often, there is no real consideration or contemplation for the purpose or meaning of their lives. Life becomes empty and is reduced to nothing. In turn, God is reduced to nothing with teens not really knowing who God is or what to believe.

But God is bigger. God is the ultimate. God is truly ABOVE ALL and He reigns as King of the Universe. His heart burns with a passionate, unconditional love for each of us. It is this love that changes hearts, sets people free, and draws us into deeper communion with the one who made us.

Jesus says in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.” This “real life” is discovered only when we take our eyes off of ourselves, the world, its false pleasures, its half-truths and give our hearts completely to the Living God.

In 2009, we will be calling young people to tear down the facade the world has thrown up in front of them. We will draw them into the presence of the God of the Universe where they will see that God truly is ABOVE ALL, better than anything else and living in their hearts through faith and Baptism.

We want to show them that God is not an experience but a journey. He is their beginning, He is their end. And He is in all, through all and with all of them as they journey through this life. And we want to call young people to make Christ King of their hearts – where He can reign ABOVE ALL!

I hope to see you at one of the 19 different youth conferences across the U.S. and Canada this summer! God bless you!

In His Peace!
John K. Beaulieu
Director of Youth and Young Adult Outreach