September 17, 2013

Onsite at Ignite NW—Part 2



So finally, it was check-in time for the youth! We had the check-in outside. The weather was so nice. There was a string backpack for each participant--sort of like World Youth Day. (In fact, one of the organizers said, "World Youth Day is just like Ignite on steroids!") Below is Christine from Star of the Sea, who helped with checking people in.






The green shirts and religious spread throughout the campus to welcome the youth and direct them to the check-in area.



Here they all come!



These two little helpers who were so good the whole time their mom, Priscilla, was busy checking the groups in. What cutie pies!

Priscilla (with braided hair) and Molly (far left) hard at work


We even had some Canadians! Woo  hoo! I was so excited.


























Finally, everyone was settled and things got underway with talks, Mass, supper, and icebreaker games.





The band was The Thirsting. Here is their singer, Daniel Oberreuter. The first evening, he gave a talk on how to meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary. I will never say the rosary the same way again. You can hear a 6-minute version of the talk here (second video on top--WARNING: turn your speakers down before you click on this website!):

http://www.thethirstingcatholic.com/video.html

The song he sang with the talk was "Come Hold My Son" on the same page.

It was so moving.

From the website: "The Thirsting is a Catholic rock band whose mission is to inspire you to love and follow Jesus Christ through the Catholic Church, the Eucharist, Mary, and the Rosary."

Well, that's different, to say the least!

Right after that talk, we got ready for the outdoor rosary procession.







We said the rosary and sang hymns, which echoed loudly all throughout this very, very secular campus. It was the neatest feeling, as if we were accompanying Jesus and Mary on a triumphal walk through an area which has never received them before. (And seriously, the employees at the campus were asking the sisters in habit, "What are you? Is this something to do with religion?" They honestly had never seen habits before.)




Loved this T-shirt one of the litter bearers was wearing:




The first day ended with the Salve Regina.



The next day, we had workshops.

Above, the youth gathered for a workshop in one of the classrooms

Left, Dr. Joy Ruiz-Molleston speaks on end-of-life issues






Right, Fr. Bryan Dolejski, vocation director for the Archdiocese of Seattle, prays before his workshop on discerning God's will.



Fr. Bryce Sibley (below) was a big hit. He spoke on the issues of same-sex attractions and defending traditional marriage. You can hear one of his great talks here:

http://www.igniteyourtorch.com/#!torch-talks/c17zc




Mrs. Sarah Duffy gave a workshop on sacred music.













Sr. Esther Mary spoke about "Women Priests: Why Not?"

Sr. Catherine Marie talked to the girls about true womanhood.







Sr. Simona Pia, who is from Australia and belongs to the Franciscans of the Immaculate, talked about St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Militia of the Immaculata, and consecration to Mary. She gave us beautiful Miraculous Medals at the end of her talk.




(There were many other talks and speakers; this is just a sampling.)






Time for Mass! (right and below)




















And then for lunch and some informal social time.





Our trusty MC's, Flannery and Joseph, kept things moving along in a timely manner.


John Sohl, our busy media man from Louisville (he had just come back from WYD in Rio):


In the evening we had a special holy hour in which Jesus was brought to each person individually, using this beautiful monstrance. Many confessions were heard.


To be continued....

1 comment:

  1. Hi Ann - I tried to post a comment here a while ago, but I see that I was unsuccessful - will try again:

    Thanks so much for sharing your experiences on the Ignite retreat - the photos are wonderful! It looks/sounds like a fantastic conference!

    And I have to tell you again just how beautiful your blog layout is! :)

    ReplyDelete