Dear Phatmass Phamily,

Praised be Jesus Christ!

It is almost time once again for the annual "Here I Am Lord Conference" held in St. Charles, IL (sub of Chicago)! I have been to MANY Vocations conferences -- trust me -- this is one of the best!

They talk about ALL VOCATIONS! They have lots of fun and very good speakers (Fr. Stan Fortuna, Matthew Kelly, Sarah Bauer, Popple. . . to name a few)! They have lots and lots of Sisters, priests, brothers, and others to meet, talk to, pray with, etc. etc. etc.!!!

So, please, if you can, consider coming this year. Mr. Zak promised to have good accomodations (at night) for the young adults to stay. It's gonna be great!

Here are some links:

Here I Am Lord Blog (with promotion video, etc.)

Here I Am Lord Homepage

PDF Flyer for Conference

Press Release for HIAL Conference

God bless you all! Please pray for God's Will in this Conference as always! All for the Glory of God!

I am hoping to go! Popple will be there and of course the many wonderful priests and religious!

I am not in discernment for religious life any longer, but I would go just to see Sr. Mary Michael and Sr. Ana.

That'd be cool! I'd love to see you again.

They do talk about the other vocations.....

You should come! It will be nice to see you again!

I will definitely be there. This is my 3rd year in a row.... It's just too good.

How long u all staying for? SIsters?

Just an update on the conference. We have 65 communities registered to attend

Not to mention that we cover all vocations. Important for all to realize that

Priesthood, Religious Life, Married Life and the Single Life are all vocations

Everyone is called to discern their particular vocation call from God.

I've witnessed people realizing their 'real' call from God at HIAL

Hey, what goes on at this vocation conference? I know this parish, St. Patrick's. My cousin lives down there. It's a great parish! Not sure if I'll be able to attend. But what goes on at the conference? I'll check the info Sr. MM gave too.


Okay, I saw the PDF file and everything. Oh cool, Fr. Stan is going to be there! My sem brother loves him. I'll let him know. Hey, it's Bishop Paprocki on the front. He's a totally awesome bishop!! He's the head of the Vicariate my parish is in too!

We're coming in on Thursday (they added Friday time in the schools) and leaving Sunday early afternoon.

Pray for those attending the conference. Thanks!

On Saturday we have really good talks and presentations, we always have Mass, some downtime to get to know people, etc. Some of the presenters are married, so the focus is really on, "What is God calling YOU to? Be not afraid! God is with you all the way!"

Sometimes we pray together in support of our vocations, sometimes we have small group discussions.... it's always well done and well attended.

Pray for God's abundant blessings and graces to fall upon us all!!!

Sr. Mary Michael, you and Sr. Ana need to bring jackets this time. It's below zero....like -15 here.

Thanks for the warning!!!

I just remember when I brought you guys downtown and you had no coats! Talk about poverty! BTW, I went to midnight mass at Holy Name Cathedral with Cardinal George officiating the mass.
Fun times!

HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT WEEK IN ST. CHARLES

STILL TIME TO REGISTER FOR SATURDAY

ALL EVENING SESSIONS WITH MATTHEW KELLY AND FR. STAN ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AT NO CHARGE - FREE WILL OFFERINGS WILL BE TAKEN

COME VISIT THE 60 COMMUNITIES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHO WILL BE AT THE CONFERENCE

Check out the new press release -- 2,000 people expected to attend.....

Here I Am Lord Press Release Page

Wow... that will be one packed church I imagine!

I can't wait....this is my first HIAL conference, and I'm so excited!

It is quite the experience! I am sure that you will very much enjoy it!

I think that number includes the teens that we'll meet at the High Schools, etc.

Pray for us!

Thou I'm not Roman Catholic, that would be great to see... too bad I dont live in the midwest no more

Totally awesome experience...

Friday night... wow
today... wow

This was definitely something I needed right now and those Polish and Slovakian Sisters are a hoot! I was leaving and they were giving me things for the ride home in the snow and freezing rain including an apple! Fr. Andy was absolutely hilarious... I've never met a priest like him before! I cannot recall her name, but the sister from Slovakia was absolutely amazed and touched deeply by Fr. Stan. It was so beautiful to see.

Some Pictures!!! I know you guys like pictures!



The Bishop sang "Jesus Loves You" from the fomer lead singer of the Backstreet Boys! It was great!



Sarah Bauer and Popple -- great job with the music!!!



Praise and Worship Music, talks, small group discussions, food, fellowship -- very inspiring for all! (If anyone is interested in doing this in their own parish, contact the Youth Director at St. Patrick's in St. Charles, IL.) It is an awesome conference!

SARAH BAUER!!!! She used to work at my parish!! She has a lovely voice!

She came to the NET Center I believe in Saint Paul, MN.

No that was Gina Bauer, youth minister at St.Joe's in West St.Paul