Reporter’s note: only students’ first names are given to respect their privacy.
CV NEWS FEED // As priests carried the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance through the main aisles of the stadium, 24,000 students, families, missionaries, religious, and St. Louis locals experienced healing and encounters with Jesus in a night of adoration during the FOCUS SEEK24 conference this week.
Several students shared in interviews with CatholicVote that God’s power was evident during adoration that night. Many experienced joy, love, and healing while praying. Some said that they received clarity or direction for their lives, while others said that their encounters with Jesus brought them deep peace.
Henry R.
I’ve been struggling a lot with patience and loving myself as of recently and [struggling with] where my career is going to go. I’m in a master’s program, and I wasn’t sure where I needed to go, so I just opened myself up to the Lord and let the Lord love me. I just felt so overwhelmed with joy. Finally, I’ve heard my calling and what I need to do on this earth while I’m here, and I’m super happy to have had that experience last night.
That was my first adoration ever, so I need to go to adoration back at my campus. It was one of the most peaceful moments of my life, probably second most peaceful next to my confirmation. I’m really grateful that I had that experience.
Emily P.
I’ve been really stressed out lately, and when I came to this conference, I realized that I haven’t been giving that to God. When I went to adoration, people started crying, and I was just sitting there. I was like, “okay, what’s going to happen—is anything happening?” And I was like, “Well, this is actually kind of peaceful.” And I realized, “Wait, this is peaceful, not stressful. And this is exactly what I’ve been looking for.” Then I just sat there with Him and didn’t really need to think or do—I just needed to be there with Him.
Charlotte S.
The first hour [of adoration] was just tears of joy. And as the monstrance was walking through, there was a moment when it stopped right over me. It was just a split second, but it felt like it lasted forever and yet, lasted a split second at the same time. It was just so beautiful. But then I noticed that the monstrance was still walking—but because of the way the priest was turning [the monstrance], it just looked like Jesus—even though He was wandering through this huge crowd—was still looking at me.
It was the first time in a while where I actually felt seen. There’s not a lot of people who I feel like see me. This was the first time in a long time, where I felt like someone actually sees me, someone actually loves me. The next hour was a peaceful moment where God just told me “Hey, rest,” and I found myself growing tired, but it wasn’t like, “I’m about to pass out because I’m exhausted.” It was God saying, “Hey, I realize how tired you are. Rest in me.” I curled up in a little ball, and I just rested. It was so beautiful to be able to rest.
Brady M.
I struggle a lot with idolizing running. I run cross country and track in college, and I put a lot of my value and my purpose in that. It’s not consistent, and it lets you down. God really opened my heart to Him, and His love and His presence and His peace in life, and how if you put your life in Him that it is constant and safe. He just wants to let you prosper, living a life through Him.
Tanya C.
I had talked to God [in the past], but it was never a deep conversation. It was never from the bottom of my heart—it was just ‘God, thank you for another day, thank you for this meal’—it was those prayers that we say every day, but it was never anything that I had bottled up that I should be bringing to God.
I finally went to confession after way too long yesterday. I did the prayers in the adoration chapel and then I spent the rest of the time just accepting that I finally reached out to God.
I think I spent the first hour and the last hour crying in adoration because there were so many things I wanted to give thanks for but I couldn’t because I felt shame to come, to even have to give thanks for going through the things that I did—for putting myself in situations that God had to pull me out of.
I’ve just spent a lot of time giving thanks. I walked out with so much peace of heart and so much weight off my shoulders. It was powerful.
