 Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and I'm a priest of the Diocese of Duluth in Minnesota. I'm going to be heading to Encounter in St. Louis in just a couple days, just a couple of weeks, and I'm incredibly excited because, one, I get to be with you guys during the whole weekend. Secondly, is because I think that Encounter in St. Louis is absolutely critical for any young adult. Not because of this, not because, like, well, I need to recreate the experience I had of Stupendville when I was in high school and do it like as in a young adult. That's not it at all. It's very, very different from that. Because in high school, yep, there was this kind of like, I needed a shot of energy. I needed a shot just kind of to get me off my butt to encounter Jesus. But a lot of times, what do we find ourselves doing? We find ourselves wandering through this world, not knowing where to turn. Looking to this world for answers. And sometimes the world gives us some decent answers, and sometimes the world really misleads us. Encounter STL or St. Louis is all about trying to give young adults concrete tools, like adult tools. And adult level tools. Like actually one of the things I'm excited to do is present on a level that's just kind of the next level. And a level that's not simply limited to, OK, here's the introductory versions of Christianity or Catholicism. Although, we're going to start there, so you're not going to be lost if you feel like, well, I'm not at a certain level. That's fine. The reality is, we're going to begin at a certain place, but then we want to go deeper. And don't you want to actually have a life that goes deeper? Encounter STL is all about taking help in young adults, take that next step to a deeper, more fulfilled, more profound life in Jesus Christ, rooted in Christ. Because as you know, you have bigger questions now than you probably did when you were in high school. You have bigger issues you're facing now than you probably did when you were in high school. All the things you look forward to when you're in high school and thought, well, you know, once I get to college, once I get past college, all these things will be resolved, that you're actually facing bigger, more complex, and more difficult situations in your life now than you ever have in the past. And so what Encounter STL, St. Louis, is all about is about trying to provide the tools for adult Catholics to live in an adult world. So that's one of the reasons I'm incredibly excited. If you haven't registered yet, I understand why. Because you might be suffer from optionitis. You maybe suffer from commitment phobia. And so this kind of notion of, well, maybe I'll do this. Maybe I want it's a whole weekend. I don't know if I have a whole weekend to spare. I don't want to get done on Sunday. I know how tired I was when I was in high school and I got back from Steubenville and I was exhausted and all I had to do was sleep. Now I'm an adult. I have to go to work on Monday. This is the kind of thing where it will definitely be worth it. And I invite you, please don't give into the fear. Don't give into the, you know, kind of the optionitis or commitment phobia, but just to take the step. And if you still have time to register, fantastic. If you don't have time to register for this year, please make the commitment, mark it on your calendar for next time. But why put off something that you could do now? Why put off getting the tools that will help you live your life? Now, why delay in any way or for anything? My name's Father Mike Schmitz. I just want to encourage you to get to St. Louis in a couple of weeks. Get to St. Louis in a couple of days and get to encounter St. Louis because you will encounter more than you could ever imagine. God bless.