Southern Nebraska Register
Jeff Schinstock, director of the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis for the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln, gave the opening keynote address Feb. 6 at Mount2000 in Emmitsburg, Md.
Mount2000, an annual Catholic youth retreat hosted by the seminarians of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, was held Feb. 6-8 and attended by more than 1,100 youth participants. Mount St. Mary’s is one of the seminaries utilized by the Diocese of Lincoln for formation.
Isaac Cross, a seminarian from the Diocese of Worcester, Mass., served as chair of Mount2000 this year. In a promotional video inviting students to the retreat, he shared the theme for the year: “the sign of contradiction.”
“We’ll really be leaning into the radical love that Jesus shows us on Mount Calvary,” he said, “and we’ll be exploring how to find undying inspiration and hope in the cross as we head out into the world.”
Schinstock introduced the theme Feb. 6, explaining to the young attendees how God works in contradictions.
“I was able to talk about the reality of the cross and how much God loves us,” he said. He highlighted the Beatitudes and how God reset order in the world, from the Incarnation through the Resurrection.
He was also able to talk with the young men of the conference about fatherhood, and he joined a panel to answer their questions.
“It was an amazing conference,” he said. “The fraternity of the seminarians was incredible. They really run everything efficiently while being deeply invested in every student, every volunteer and every speaker.”
Another keynote speaker was Sister Miriam Bethel Heitmann of the Sisters of Life, a native of Hebron.
“It’s been such a blessing to represent the Lincoln Diocese this weekend,” she said. “It’s a gift to witness the Lord’s powerful work in the hearts of so many young people and I’m grateful to have shared the weekend with so many others from the diocese.”
