What I Saw in Steubenville Shocked Me

About this sermon

Support the channel by visiting: https://brianholdsworth.ca/help I recently returned from the Defending the Faith Conference at Franciscan University of Steubenville (@FranciscanU) and what I encountered there surprised me. Steubenville is a struggling Rust Belt town marked by decades of economic and demographic decline. And yet, in the middle of it, something remarkably Catholic is taking shape: families, schools, apostolates, businesses, friendships, and institutions creating a genuine culture of faith and community. It reminded me of Benedict XVI’s argument that Christians in a declining secular civilization must become a “creative minority”, not by obsessing over political or institutional power, but by building communities capable of preserving and embodying what our civilization has forgotten. Maybe the future of Catholic renewal won’t begin in Washington, Rome, or some major cultural center. Maybe it begins in places like Steubenville. Timestamps 00:00 When the online Catholic world becomes real life 00:55 My experience at Franciscan University 02:42 Something is different about Steubenville 03:10 A dying town with surprising new life 04:25 What monasteries did after Rome collapsed 05:40 What can Catholics actually do about cultural decline? 06:48 Benedict XVI and a civilization Without Roots 08:00 Christians as a “creative minority” 09:46 What intentional Catholic community actually looks like 11:08 The idea of a Catholic “takeover” 11:51 Why God chooses unlikely places 12:56 A defense of Catholic influencers 14:54 The imperfect people God uses Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/