When I was in middle school, I heard about NCYC from my older youth group friends. When I was finally old enough, I participated in the conference myself. I first attended NCYC in 2015 and it was an experience I’ll never forget. I still remember the day when I got on the bus with all my friends at St. Gabriel in Louisville, waiting in anticipation for the experience. We played games on the bus to start getting pumped up for NCYC and we even stopped and prayed together, praying specifically for all those who were flocking into Indianapolis for this three-day experience. 

    The first day I often found myself standing in awe and just amazed by everything going on around me. My friends who had experienced this before were dragging me around and showed me all the cool exhibits they remembered. As I reflect upon this experience, I begin to realize how much this conference helped in my discernment. With all the opportunities available to talk to priests, go to daily Mass and confession, it really helped me grow my spiritual life even though I was only a freshman in high school. 

After returning to Louisville late Saturday night I couldn’t fall asleep because I just kept on thinking about the three-day retreat from which I had just returned. I was blessed with the opportunity to return to NCYC in 2017 in my last year as a high school participant and I remember experiencing the same feeling as I did before - a feeling of awe. 

    Now that I’m four months into college seminary, I had the opportunity to relive NCYC, but from a different perspective - as a college volunteer. This opportunity made me look at NCYC in a whole new perspective. As a seminarian volunteer, I had the opportunity to help with traffic control, serve masses, and participate in a lot more behind the scenes activities. Some of the most moving experiences that I was able to witness was the closing Mass in Lucas Oil, and the Mass in the Extraordinary Form at St. John the Evangelist, and Adoration on Friday night in Lucas Oil Stadium. The closing Mass allowed me to see kids from a different perspective - they were singing so loud that they were able to be heard all around the stadium and it gave me goosebumps. Not only did this Mass cause me to stand in awe at the teen’s love for the church and Jesus, but the Mass in the Extraordinary Form allowed me to witness kids who might not have ever experienced this beautiful form of the Mass that lifts our minds to the transcendent nature of the Father. 

    Adoration on Friday night was a very powerful experience that allowed the young people to experience God one on one, face to face. I was helping lead people to confession during Adoration so I was able to witness teens running toward the altar bending down on their knees to get as close to our Lord as possible, as well as running toward the confessionals to experience God’s Mercy.