The power of the Holy Spirit descended upon the campus of St. Joseph Parish and Donovan High School, Toms River, and warmed the hearts of the approximately 900 teenagers and their adult leaders who gathered for the 2026 Diocesan Youth Conference Feb. 7. The day, which had as its theme “Power-ful,” had the young people who represented more than 45 parishes, joining in praise and worship experiences, hearing inspiring talks, rolling up their sleeves and getting involved in service outreach projects, quieting themselves and spending time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament during a workshop on Adoration. The cafeteria was rocking throughout the day where the young Catholics from eighth
through 12th grade had lunch, browsed the various display tables and got up and danced along to the popular party music. At day’s end, they came together as community and celebrated their Catholic faith and each other during the Mass with the Diocese’s Chief Shepherd, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M.
“I think DYC has definitely lived up to the hype and it’s cool to hear from the speakers and to be around a lot of people who share the same beliefs as me.”
Bring hundreds of kids together for an event like DYC and there’s bound to be a lot of energy and smiles .
Matt Marzorati photo
FINN RICHARDSON Religious education, Mary, Mother of the Church, Bordentown
Bishop O’Connell accepts the gifts of bread and wine during the Offertory.
God is always near
“
What if I told you that the power that you’re chasing … that it’s already inside you … What if it was already woven into your very existence, and you just don’t see it?”
These words of New Jersey native and keynote speaker Oscar Rivera directly wove in the “Power-ful” theme of the day, reminding the teens that the power of God is something they can draw upon in their daily lives, infused in them from the time they were baptized.
“When we think about being powerful, it’s not what we acquire ourselves,” he said, “but who acquires us into the mission … and that is God himself, true power.”
Telling stories of social media influencers online who used their large follower base for either good or ill, Rivera juxtaposed the need to “go viral” with the desire to “do the right thing.”
“God says, ‘I don’t need you to have followers, I don’t need you to have influence … I just need you to … be faithful and be open to transformation,” he continued. “When I die … God is going to ask, ‘did you do for the least of them? Did you rely on me, or was it all you?’”
Rivera spoke about the breath of God that lives in each person, relating that to his experience of a near fatal asthma attack a little over a year ago.
“Every day that I take a breath, I realize that is the power of God within me,” he said. “I stand here realizing that in Acts 1:8, when I receive power, it is ‘when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,’ upon every single one of us in this room.”
Understanding the beauty of the Mass and Eucharist
Just before the Mass with Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., began, Oscar Rivera presented his second keynote address, “Power of the Liturgy and Eucharist at Mass,” in which he reflected on the significance of the Mass and the Eucharist in a way in which his young audience could relate.
The teens know when to stand, sit and kneel during Mass, but what they might not realize is how each of those postures “is an act of worship, an act of gratitude.”
“Every bit of the Mass is meant to be a movement, a prayer,” Rivera said. “The Mass isn’t about just the words.”
Of the Mass Readings, Rivera admitted they can be difficult to understand, “because we think they are not relevant to our lives today.”
“How many of you are ready to check out when the Readings start?” Rivera said, nodding his head at the show of raised hands.
“But what if I say the Readings present for us a potential roadmap on how to deal with our upcoming mission? Rivera said.
Junior at Donovan Catholic, Toms River, and member of St. Joseph Parish, Toms River
There’s so much camaraderie and sharing similar experiences of faith. I really liked how [the speaker] incorporated comedy into his expressions of how God loves us. He bridged the gap.”
Once the Readings are proclaimed, and “we get our marching orders from the Word of God instilled in our hearts on how to carry out our mission, we prepare to receive the very person who is going to feed that mission,” Rivera said.
“All Sacraments point to the Eucharist. The Church, in her wisdom, says that the Eucharist is the source and summit of all Christian life. That means you and I can’t reflect a Christian attitude or have a Christian mindset if it’s not powered by the Eucharist itself.”
“The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass sends us on a mission,” Rivera said. “Hearing the Word of God and then having received God himself, you now become his mission to a world that really needs hope.”
Matt Marzorati photo
Keynote speaker Oscar Rivera gave two talks during DYC. He urged his audience to rely on the power of God. He also spoke on the meaining. Matt Marzorati photo
CAROLINE MORGAN
Bishop: ‘You are the Church right now’
As Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., looked out at the young people gathered for the DYC Mass, he told them exactly what he saw.
“I see a Church that is alive. I see a generation filled with energy, creativity and courage,” he said. “And I want to begin with a truth that the world does not always tell you: you are powerful.”
This was not because of anything they did, he emphasized.
“You are powerful because God has placed his light within you,” he said. He backed up his observation with the readings for the day’s Mass, with Jesus telling the disciples to share what they had with the poor and oppressed.
“God tells you power is about compassion,” the Bishop said. “Power is choosing trust, even when fear is loud.”
Bishop O’Connell acknowledged that their generation is familiar with darkness, anxiety, pressure, comparison and loneliness – yet the Psalm for the day promised “He shall not fear … his heart is firm … The just person is a light in the darkness.”
The Bishop reminded them that St. Paul – “the great missionary, the bold preacher” – was powerful because “he wasn’t relying on himself … he was letting God work through him.” Bishop O’Connell challenged them with three invitations: to be powerful in compassion, in trust and in witness.
“Young Church, you are not the future of the Church – you are the Church right now,” he said. “And the Holy Spirit is not waiting until you are older to work through you. He is moving in you today.”
To watch a video of Bishop O’Connell’s DYC homily, visit TrentonMonitor.com
Spending time with Jesus
AIn his homily, Bishop O’Connell reminds the youth of their God-given power. Matt Marzorati photo
ll teens had an opportunity to learn about and participate in a workshop on Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Father Alan Bridges, parochial vicar of St. Joseph Parish, Toms River, presided over the Eucharistic Adoration and the workshop was led by “Live Vertical Ministry,” a Pennsylvania-based ministry which focuses on Catholic high school retreats and conferences.
DYC participants pray during the workshop on Adoration held in St. Joseph Church, Toms River. Matt Marzorati photo
“God is the initiator, the relationship begins with him first,” said worship leader Tim Poole, a Live Vertical Ministry area director and resident of New Jersey. The session included both reflective meditation and praise and worship.
“There’s a difference between being here and being ‘present” he said, and
“God in all his goodness, gives us free will to decide whether we want to be fully listening and present to him.”
Rob Longo, Live Vertical Ministry’s co-founder and chief evangelization officer, provided some background on the group saying that its name was created based on a quote from Antonia Salzano, mother of St. Carlo Acutis, when once describing her son: “While people live horizontally, seeking worldly possessions, Carlo was somebody who was opposite, living his life ‘vertically,’ [and] focused towards heaven.”
and
photo
LAYLA DE LA PAZ Junior at Donovan Catholic, Toms River, and member of St. Dominic Parish, Brick
There are no boundaries on how our faith is spread. It’s so great to see young people uniting over such a common cause in a world that’s so divided right now. The speaker was absolutely amazing. It’s hard sometimes for adult speakers because there is a divide over the understanding of the world they knew in their youth and the world that is now. I think it was really cool that he was able to bridge that.”
Doing works of service
“
This activity might be small, but its impact will weigh so much!”
Those words came from Jeff Siedlecki as he observed the teenagers participating in a service project where they prepared 500 first aid kits to be sent to Haiti and distributed to families through a school via “Hands to Hands for Haiti.”
The workshop began with a special report from ABC News that detailed the desperate poverty situations in Haiti.
“Those kits will be considered God-sent to the people who will be receiving them,” said Siedlecki, who also emphasized the close proximity of Haiti to the United States – only 300 miles from Florida.
Before the young people began working on the first aid kits which were packaged with band-aids, gauze and alcohol wipes, they also heard from Julie Roche and her son, Chris, who are members of the group Hand to Hand mission to Haiti; a non-profit founded in 2010 by Father Yvans Jazon, a Haitian priest from the Diocese of Camden.
“How many bottles of water do you drink a day,” Roche asked, holding up a water bottle.
“This bottle is what some Haitians might have for only a whole week. Most people in Haiti are living on $1 a day.”
At the end of the DYC conference, it was announced that the young Catholics of the Trenton Diocese had reached their goal of more than 500 kits which will be sent to the Haitian islands.
This year’s DYC service project had the young Catholics prepare first aid kits to be given to Haiti.
Matt Marzorati photo
LACEY WILLIAMS Religious education, St. John Parish, Lakehurst
“I was inspired to hear the speaker talk about his asthma attack and how every day after that, breathing was a privilege for him. God is the reason we’re breathing, God is the reason we’re here. For God to give us the opportunity to breathe is an absolute blessing.”
Young people
DYC visitors hit the dance floor during their lunch break.
