Dr. Edward Sri speaks at the SEEK24 conference
CV NEWS FEED // “Tonight, you have two choices … It’s either Jesus, heal me, or Jesus, hold me,” Fr. Mike Schmitz told the audience at the FOCUS SEEK24 conference before a night of Eucharistic adoration.
Keynote speakers Dr. Edward Sri and Fr. Schmitz emphasized healing and the love of God in their talks, with Fr. Schmitz using the parable of the prodigal son to illustrate his point.
“The younger son left home and regretted it, the older son stayed home and resented it,” Fr. Schmitz said. “The younger son regretted it and needed to be healed. The older son resented it and he needed to be held,” Fr. Schmitz continued.
Fr. Schmitz said that what it means to be Catholic can be summed up in one question: does God have your permission to love you as you are?
“See, a lot of times we’ll say ‘of course God can love me, but he can love me later. God can love me when I’m better. He can love me when I’m fixed … He can love me when I don’t have a broken heart anymore … he can love me at some point in the future,’” Fr. Schmitz said. “But the question is not that question. It’s not ‘will you give God permission to love you at some point.’ The question is ‘will you give God permission to love you right now,’ because it’s only you right now that he wants to love.”
“It’s only right now that he can love,” Fr. Schmitz continued. “He is taking every step that he possibly can to get to your heart. Except for one there’s only one step left.”
Fr. Schmitz said that the only step left to take is to choose to be like the older and younger sons in the parable.
“Tonight, you have a chance for confession where we just get to say ‘Jesus, I’m going to let you heal me,’ and adoration when we get to say ‘Jesus, I’m going to let you hold me,’” he said.
Speaking on trust and healing, Dr. Sri told the audience to examine their lives in adoration and identify the crosses in their own lives.
“Will we allow those crosses to change us, to transform us the way God wants us to?” he asked. “Because in every cross, there’s a spiritual gem that God wants to give us, to help us to grow and be transformed.”
“Whatever cross you’re facing in life, whatever burden maybe you’re carrying into this conference this week, don’t ever waste those crosses,” he continued. “Know that there’s a spiritual gem waiting for you, that in all things God can use it for good.”
He continued:
So this evening, take that to Jesus. Ask the Lord about that cross in your life right now, or that fear in your life right now. Ask the Lord, right here before the Blessed Sacrament: Lord, what are you trying to teach me? What is it you’re trying to show me about myself? How is it that you’re inviting me to grow?
Dr. Sri also invited the audience to emulate Our Lady “who gave everything and was willing to follow Jesus all the way to the cross.”
“Jesus doesn’t want us to give him just parts of our lives,” he said. “He wants us to give him everything. Not that he takes it away. But he wants us to put it all in his hands—because God’s hands are trustworthy.”
