I have always been Catholic and thought that I had a fairly good idea of what this meant. I attended Catholic school, fulfilled the sac-raments, prayed, went to church and followed the Ten Command-ments. However, I realized that these were all stereotypical and that being a Catholic could be so much more than that.

The first night of the conference we were all asked who God was in our lives. The answer is different for everyone. Some said God is love, their salvation, Saviour or Creator, but when I was presented with this question I realized I didn’t really know who God was. All my life, I was so focused on finding the answers to questions about my faith when I should have been searching for God, because He is the only answer.

Many of us do not know how to find God, so instead, we look for love and happiness in the wrong places. We turn to fame, money, alcohol, drugs or sex, because we think these can provide what we need and the happiness we deeply desire. We provide ourselves with the wrong answers and lose track of ourselves when all we need to do is let Him into our lives so that we may know of the great plans He has for us.

I realized I was not happy with my own life and that I can change this by letting everything fall into God’s hands and let Him guide me. With Him I will not be disap-pointed. He will always be by my side to protect me, encourage me when I feel like giving up and pick me up when I fall.

At the Steubenville Conference, the passion and love that everyone had for God was undeniable. There were youths raising their hands up to the Lord, crying because of God’s message to them and singing their hearts out in praise of the Lord. It gave me a feeling I cannot describe and made me wish that we can be as excited about God as we are for our favourite singers, bands and celebrities. Instead of keeping our faith to ourselves, we should all be proud followers of Christ and proclaim His promise and good news to the world.

It may be difficult to embrace the idea of devoting our lives to God, but I am confident in doing so because I know His love never fails, never gives up and will never run out on me. We are God’s children and He loves us uncondi-tionally. He has come so far to try to reach us and the least we can do is step forward and acknowledge His presence.

(Juson, 18, is a graduate of St. Joseph’s College School in Toronto.)