One Huntsville High School student by the name of Joseph Steber, with a maturity beyond his years, seems to live as if he has understood those words all his life. Yet, he will be the first to admit that going to Mass was not always on the top of his list of favorite things. Frankly, he shares, “Growing up, I really didn’t have an appreciation for it.”

After completing fourth grade at a local public school, Steber’s parents enrolled him at their parish’s school, Holy Spirit Regional Catholic School. When it was time for his confirmation, Steber says he was prepared for the sacrament by a wonderful teacher, who, he says, got him “to thinking.” His thoughts led him to the parish’s youth group, which he joined his freshman year of high school.

Blessed with the guidance of a fairly sizable number of upperclassmen, Steber became more involved with the group’s activities, and as he did, he says his eyes were opened to the “richness” of the Catholic faith. One “activity,” in particular, which was rather eye-opening for the young man was adoration.

For his parish, perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has been an integral part of parish life for more than 38 years. In 1986, Father Donald J. Grainger, then pastor of Holy Spirit, led the way and support continued under pastors Msgr. Michael Sexton, Father Louis Giardino, and Father Michael Mac Mahon. Being such an important part of the parish, Holy Spirit built a new and larger Perpetual Adoration Chapel which opened in June of 2022.

Before his youth group experience, though, Steber confesses, “I don’t think I had ever been to adoration before the first few times I went with the youth group.”

By introducing the teens to adoration, Lori Lai, Holy Spirit’s youth director, says she and her team are able to share with the teens “how much God loves them and is waiting for them to ‘pick Him’ and put Him first in their lives.” When they do so and “center themselves on the Eucharist, attending Mass on Sundays and as often during the week as possible, going to confession regularly, and visiting the Perpetual Adoration Chapel,” Lai points out that “the other things in their lives order themselves.” When that happens, she contends that the youth find comfort when things are hard, celebration when things are great, and community when they are lonely. “Christ waits for them patiently … always.”

Her proof is not far.

One year after the opening of the new chapel, which was the summer between Steber’s freshman and sophomore years, he says he began “periodically” going to visit the chapel. Ultimately, those visits became more regular, even after the beginning of a new school year. This past summer, he even added daily Mass attendance to his morning routine. “I think I have grown, and adoration has helped me with that 100 percent,” acknowledges Steber.

Knowing the Eucharist is "the source and summit" of the Christian life contributed to Steber’s decision to attend July’s National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. He says there was never a question of his being there. Not surprisingly, his most memorable experience from the congress was his participation in adoration. “The first night of adoration was crazy,” he remembers. “We were all in our seats in Lucas Oil Stadium, and some speaker was giving their talk. He finished, we did a song, then everyone got on their knees as Jesus came in. It was breathtaking!”

Looking back at the congress, Steber believes the effort wasn’t made with the intent of convincing the faithful of anything they didn’t already know. After all, Jesus is Jesus. “You can’t change the truth!” Rather, he observes, “They shaped our perspective.” With so many Catholics having a so-called surface knowledge of the faith, “We need to understand the deeper meaning.” He says when you look below the surface, “it’s mind blowing.” He gives the example of when the priest holds up the chalice and host during Mass. “The whole of Heaven — all the angels, the archangels — are right there,” he exclaims. “We must realize that there is a surface, and in doing so, we will take a step back and strive to delve deeper.”

In that sense, Steber considers himself lucky. “It’s as if God just took me up and said, ‘You’re coming with Me,’” he explains, “but all kids are different. You can’t make them want to come to church.”

So, what can be done? Steber’s remedy is magnificent in its simplicity: make your life a prayer.

He came to this realization in prayer during adoration when reading one of his favorite books, Mother Teresa: In My Own Words. “There are some people who, in order not to pray, use as an excuse the fact that life is so hectic that it prevents them from praying,” the saint writes. “This cannot be. Prayer does not demand that we interrupt our work, but that we continue working as if it were a prayer. It is not necessary to always be meditating, nor to consciously experience the sensation that we are talking to God, no matter how nice this would be. What matters is being with Him, living in Him, in His will. To love with a pure heart, to love everybody, especially to love the poor, is a 24-hour prayer.”

He says removing distraction from our lives and getting back to personal relationships will make a world of difference. Good, old-fashioned kindness is key, whether that be having compassion for a stranger, respecting those we disagree with, or offering words of encouragement. “Gosh, it makes my day,” he notes, “when some old dude says to me, ‘It’s good to see a young guy in the adoration chapel.’”

Kindness can be a challenge, but Steber maintains that a relationship with God will never fail. “The happiest people I see are the people that come to Mass every day. People have their priorities out of whack. The world is longing for fulfillment, but you are never going to find it: you are going to just keep digging and digging until they find that person who tells them, ‘I know what you’re looking for … get into Mass, get into adoration, get into anything you can relating to Jesus and the Eucharist, and your hope won’t diminish, it will only grow.”