Behold how good and pleasant it is…
93 souls from the far reaches of North America and beyond converged upon our small slice of suburban Cincinnati this July for the 8th annual Young Adult Get-together.
It was a YAG of change as well a YAG of tradition. Something like 40% of attendees were new. Some of the mainstays of previous YAGs did not join us, many of them having graduated out of the system. It was the passing of the guard, in a way. Even the average age (21) was a year or two lower than last year. But speaking of the passing of the guard, the most notable absence was that of the most mainstay-ing mainstay of them all, the irreplaceable Colleen Eldr… erm, Klabenes, who in November of last year, in the sight of all her friends and beneficiaries, left behind her organizational labors and ascended into a cloud of nuptial bliss over the Great Plains, from where it is said even today she gazes with loving eye over the legacy of her Magnum Opus.
Bolstered by reams of detailed notes that Colleen left behind, I, as the new YAGermeister, didn’t change all that much. I contented myself with reformatting instances of ALL CAPS on the YAG website and arranging live square dance and waltz music to replace YouTube (thank you, Hop River Band!). I also presided over what was likely the longest roll call in YAG history, which was unplanned but unsurprising, I suppose.
It was one of the most geographically diffuse and international YAGs in recent memory. People hailed from 23 American states and one Australian one, as well as one Canadian province, one French region, and two (2!) Norwegian counties.
It was edifying and consoling to see so much congeniality among such a wonderful group of Catholics. People who weren’t flying out on Sunday in many cases got together again in the succeeding days, before they departed.
Perhaps you don’t need this exhortation, but never succumb to believing that you as a sedevacantist belong to a weird, closed cult full of inexplicably sickly-looking weirdos. And don’t believe for a moment that you neeeeed to go to the SSPX or the indult or the Novus Ordo or the local nightclub in order to not be alone forever. Look, I have friends from all these institutions, besides the nightclub, and they are wonderful people, but there is no shortage of friendships waiting to be made with people who share all of your Catholic beliefs; people who don’t believe 2+2=5 and who don’t trash talk a man they believe to be the Vicar of Jesus Christ on Earth. You can’t claim to be invincibly helpless just because you forgot that airplanes exist. Take advantage of them!
Deo Gratias for a fantastic weekend — looking forward to welcoming everyone back alongside more newcomers next year!
Fr. McKenna’s talk from Saturday
Very slightly remastered to make it a bit easier to listen to. Thanks to John Perkins for having the wherewithal to record it at all!
Photos
Thanks for having me! I loved being there and I can’t wait for the next one
The pleasure was mutual, Jeffery! Come back!