I was recently able to attend the Los Angeles Religious Education conference and came away with some interesting insights. There were a number of great speakers that I had a chance to experience including Bishop Robert Barron and his talk on the Eucharist as well as Fr. Greg Boyle who spoke about his work with rehabilitating former gang members and others that have faced difficult lives in the city of Los Angeles. One of the most amazing stories was that of woman who gave birth to twins one of which was still born however when they place the child on this mothers chest they began to speak to the child with no heartbeat and pray for him and his heart began to beat and he came back to life. Clearly a miracle. Beyond the stories of lives transformed through the power of the Gospel, and there were many, what struck me most about the Religious Congress was found outside the conference itself.

The congress took place at the Anaheim Convention Center, a massive complex of 1,600,000 square feet. There were three different conferences happening at the same time, the Religious Education Congress, a conference on Forensics and a gaming conference full of teenagers hauling around gaming computers. What struck me most about my experience was what I saw walking from one end of the Anaheim conference center to the other which provided a study in contrasts between the attendants of all three conference. The Religious Education conference was truly a multicultural experience, there were attends from many different cultural backgrounds, there was a prayer service for Filipino Catholics, a strong Hispanic Presence, a well as Italians and others from French, German and English backgrounds. I was also shocked to see how many young religious and consecrated persons present, many of which were extremely happy individuals with great smiles interacting with friends as well as customers in the booths where they were selling books, music and other liturgical aides. There was generally a sense of joy and peace amongst the attendants of the ReCongress. In the adjacent conference, the Forensics I noticed a monolithic crowd of younger professionals, I also noticed a great deal of aggression and stress in a group that seems to be in a very competitive and stressful career. One fraught with aggression and possibly a great deal of anger in the search for justice. Which is quite opposite of the message of the Catholic Conference were peace, healing and forgiveness were stressed over justice.

The gamer conference however one the prize for chaos, however. What a shock. The first thing I notices was the group of 5-6 young police officers waiting outside the doors of the gamer conference. As if prepared for a riot. Inside the conference itself was a much darker room with flashing lights, like what you would see at a rock concert. The faces of the people milling around outside were also grim, and there was a sense of competitive ness and disappointment as well. A young couple clearly during an argument, gaming teams with great levels of anxiety as they faced their rivals in this new form of competitive sports. Besides the sights and sounds of complete chaos was the smell. It was the smell of unwashed masses, the smell of thousands of young men that had emerged from their parent’s basement for the first time in a year. It was the smell of a 100 locker rooms after a hockey game. It’s not a place or space I want to return to, despite my interest in computers in technology.

To be honest in the past I have told my students that the happiest people are holy people. And not being one myself or honestly know that many besides my wife I was hoping this to be true not quite believing it with such thin evidence. This past Religious Education conference for me provided ample proof of this statement. Beyond the stories of miracles which though never ceasing to amaze were plentiful, the memory that will stick with me the most is the looks on the faces of the attendees of those three different conferences, it was literally like a journey from hell through purgatory to heaven. And in the future, I can confidently say that yes, the Holiest people are truly the happiest and most at peace.

A TALE OF THREE KINGDOMS /February 23, 2020 by TONINO VICARI