PHOTOS | “It’s Just You and God”: Teens Encounter Christ in Annual Steubenville of the Rockies Conference

Describing intimate moments of faith, the teen attendees of the annual Steubenville conference in Denver learned what it means to be consumed by faith rather than noise and distraction.

2,800 attendees came together for the annual Steubenville of the Rockies conference in prayer, fellowship and formation in faith. (Photo by Kaylee Stoll/Denver Catholic)

What consumes the younger generation of the Catholic Church? 

This weekend, 2,800 attendees came together at the annual Steubenville of the Rockies conference to seek an answer to that question. The yearly event brings together Catholic teens from around the Mountain West for prayer, fellowship and discussion with their peers, all centered on a particular theme.

This year’s theme, “Consumed,” delved into what it meant to be consumed by the Word of God and love for him. It is derived from Deuteronomy 4:24, which reads, “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”

Consumed by the Culture

For Vanessa Renteria Beltran, a parishioner at Our Lady Mother of the Church Parish in Commerce City and first-time Steubenville attendee, her generation faces plenty of challenges.

“I feel like this is the first generation in which we believe there’s no God,” Beltran said. “We’re consumed by our own person. We believe we can do everything ourselves.”

Beltran thinks an obsession with progress and success has turned her and her peers' focus away from God and inward toward themselves.

“The definition of success in society is consuming us,” Beltran said. “‘I have to get good grades, I have to go to this college, I have to get into this Ivy.’ We’re consumed by our goals and our dreams, and we forget the will of God. What is his plan for me?”

In a word, said Derek Torres, also a parishioner of Our Lady Mother of the Church and another first-year attendee, he and his peers find their minds and hearts consumed by noise or distraction.

“I think what consumes teenagers nowadays is how noisy the world is,” Torres said. “I know that is a perfect way for the enemy to trick us into thinking we’re going the right way. And then all of a sudden, your life will go down and we don’t see it [coming] because it’s full of distractions.”

For Lauren Wright, one of the weekend's keynote speakers, these distractions and our acceptance of them seem to fall under the tripart fear response. In addition to “fight, flight or freeze,” she proposed a fourth “F” that she believes contributes to what’s consuming the young generation of Catholics.

“When it comes to not just fear, but stress and worry and feeling overwhelmed, I think there’s a fourth,” Wright said. “And that is that sometimes when we’re stressed we fill. So we don’t just fight, or fly or freeze, but when we’re feeling like we can’t keep up with the things around us, we try to fill our lives with things.”

That process of “filling” looks different for everyone, Wright explained. Whether school, social media or getting into the best school after graduation, the process of adding more noise to one’s life can function as an attempt to escape from feeling overwhelmed.

“So we do this thing where we fill and fill and fill and the only thing that it does is make us feel more stress,” Wright said. 

This noise, the constant sound surrounding Catholic youth — whether they bring it into their lives themselves or not — is something Wright challenged the attendees to reflect on within their own lives. 

Jesus Christ, truly present in the Eucharist, is adored during Eucharistic Adoration at Steubenville

Chris Padgett speaks at the annual Steubenville of the Rockies conference.

2,800 attendees came together in prayer and praise at the annual Steubenville of the Rockies.

"He's actually here," Torres said.

Teens from several states came together in prayer and praise at the annual Steubenville conference.

Through intimate moments of faith, teens encountered the Risen Christ at the annual Steubenville.

Saturday's Eucharistic Adoration is the high-point of the conference for many attendees.

"It's just you and God," Levesque said.

Encountering the Lord Jesus in prayer and praise, teens found their faith fostered at Steubenville.

For many teens, the faithful witness of so many of their peers is a boon to their faith.

In prayer and praise, thousands of teens encountered Christ at the annual Steubenville conference.

(Photos by Kaylee Stoll/Denver Catholic)

Consumed by Faith

Torres went on to share how much he appreciates the theme of this year's conference. He feels it’s extremely relevant in today’s world and the present challenges young people face when walking in the faith.

“It reminds me so much of the Holy Spirit and how we can be consumed by its graces,” Torres said. “On the other side of [the distractions], you have a God who actually wants you, who is a jealous God. You want to be consumed by him and feel the Holy Spirit just flowing through you.”

One of the most impactful parts of Steubenville is the feeling of community, worshipping together with other teens. Many attendees experience a reinvigoration of their faith at events like Steubenville, especially during Mass and Adoration with friends and peers.

“I’ve never experienced anything like it,” Beltran said. “I feel like a big event like this has a lot of ways that it can get to you.”

“I have a hard time seeing Jesus through the Eucharist,” Torres added. “When I can’t see him is when I turn towards my community. When I see that they’re joyful and there’s all these graces coming around, that’s when I’m like ‘He’s actually here.’”

Jonah Schumacher, a rising junior in high school and a parishioner at St. Frances Cabrini Parish in Littleton, shared a similar feeling of renewal he experienced during his second time attending the conference this year.

“I have really enjoyed the silence and reflection I’ve gotten here,” Schumacher said. “It’s like a reset. I have all this stuff going on with school starting soon, but when I come here, it’s all gone. I have been able to restart my mental state and my spiritual state.”

And that renewal in faith, largely connected to the witness of devout Catholicism from so many other teens, is a big part of the profundity of the experience.

“Hopefully, during this conference, [teens] witnessing thousands of their peers diving deep into reconciliation, Adoration and the Mass allows them to witness these sacraments and praise God together,” said Landon Baird, archdiocesan director of youth and campus ministry and one of Steubenville’s organizers. “This is where the Lord steals hearts. That’s what we’re praying for.”

There’s nowhere better for the attendees to encounter the Lord than Saturday evening’s Eucharistic Adoration — one of the weekend’s high points, and a favorite part of the weekend for many attendees.

“Adoration is always so special,” said Cate Levesque, a friend of Schumacher and fellow parishioner at St. Frances Cabrini. “It feels like nothing else in the world is happening. It’s just you and God. It’s incredible to be in a room with so many people, but it feels like no one else is there.” 

While the experience can be extremely contemplative and profound, Steubenville only lasts one weekend out of a busy year. Many of the teens hope that, as they leave the Gaylord of the Rockies, they will be able to apply what they learned in conversation, Adoration and Mass to their faith lives beyond the conference walls.

“One of the most important things in being consumed by God is making my life a constant prayer,” Beltran said. “Prayer is an authentic dialogue with my Creator who loves me deeply and eternally. That’s what I want to take away, making my life a prayer and a testimony to others.”