Return To Love: Red Stick Catholic Fest 2021

The story of a prodigal son, a resentful elder brother and prodigal father who is extravagant in his love and forgiveness was the backdrop of Red Stick Catholic Fest on Oct. 30 at St. John the Evangelist Church in Prairieville. 

The Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry of the Diocese of Baton Rouge sponsored the event, which was themed “Return to Love.”

Bishop Michael G. Duca welcomed the youth by urging them to develop their relationship with God, who is love itself, and to listen and be sensitive to what God is calling them to do. From that relationship rooted in love, they can love one another.

Throughout the day, youth heard separate presentations for young men and women.

Erin Franco spoke about how, like the prodigal son, her efforts to succeed and “be somebody” ultimately left her searching for and returning to her loving father and rediscovering her Catholic faith roots.

Growing up, Franco was shy. In college she decided that she needed to “come out of her shell.” 

During her college years, her push to get out of her comfort zone led her to New Jersey one summer to help pay for school, and she spent time modeling in New York City. 

Franco’s pursuit of success found herself living a “dream life,” visiting places that people talk about, but the experiences left her feeling empty. 

She was also stressed and didn’t agree with some of the things it took to get ahead. This is where she learned the value to embrace saying “Yes,” and being brave when saying “No.”

Along the way Franco revisited the roots of her Catholic faith, which she did not really fully embrace while growing up. And she found herself in the arms of a waiting God who loves her as she is and pointed out her true value. 

Franco is now a Catholic blogger, speaker, a show host of “Catholic Mom Minute” on Catholic Community Radio and a mother of five. She and her husband, Michael, live in Baton Rouge and serve on the national level for Domestic Church, a Polish Catholic lay movement for Catholic lay married couples. She also blogs about marriage and family life and faith on her website ErinFranco.com.

She shared an encouraging message she had received to “come back toward the mission” the God who loves them gave them.

Avera Santo, a junior theology major at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University in Baton Rouge, who travels the country proclaiming the Gospel message, spoke about how the story of the elder son resonated with her during one period in her life.

An avid “life of the party” Santo opened up to the women about the time she struggled to join in the celebration.

Santo talked about attending a friend’s “absolutely beautiful” wedding. One of the “sore spots” for her, however, was the wedding reception.

“There were signs of joy and everyone was dancing and singing, as we normally do,” said Santo.

But for some reason, she couldn’t enjoy the celebration, walked outside and couldn’t understand why she was so uncomfortable, agitated and resentful the whole night.
 

As she read over the parable of the prodigal son, she realized the wedding was the first one she had attended since the breakup of her engagement a couple of months prior to the wedding and her heart was broken.

She became keenly aware that joy and resentment cannot co-exist. She said it cast a pall over her life, as she avoided some social gatherings and did not speak at events.

“If you are too full of resentment you can cannot love yourself, you can’t love God and you can’t love your sisters,” said Santo.

Referring to a copy of Rembrandt’s painting “Return of the Prodigal Son” displayed during the event, Santo said the artist highlights not only the father embracing the younger son but also the distance between the elder son and them.

“(The elder son) can’t enter into what’s happening. He can’t actively love his father or his brother because he’s too resentful of them both. He is too resentful of the grace that’s happening here,” said Santo.

She urged the attendees to think about their own connections with the elder son.

“We should see there’s a celebration in heaven in order to love each and every one of our brothers and sisters, in order to love ourselves and in order to live life to the full. Because we cannot do that if we are standing outside, complaining, moaning and groaning about what’s happening inside because (of) what we thought we deserved,” said Santo.

Referring to the Rembrandt painting to underscore her message, Kathleen Lee invited participants to think about their associations with the people portrayed in the prodigal son parable. Because Jewish customs dictated that inheritance was be distributed after a person’s death, the prodigal son, in asking for his father’s inheritance, was essentially saying, “I wish you were dead.” He then squandered his wealth on debauchery.

“The old man looked out the window every day,” said Lee to emphasize how the father, which is God, loved his son and waited for him to come home. 

Lee pointed out the painting illustrates that God is our father.

“There is nothing I can do, you can do that can take that away,” Lee said.

As the youth prepared to end the day with praise and adoration, Father Mathew Dunn, parochial vicar at St. John the Evangelist, urged attendees to think about the Sacred Heart of Jesus, of which there were illustrations near the altar and monstrance.

In speaking about his own journey to priesthood, Father Dunn noted that he wanted Jesus to take away all the brokenness, bruises and bleeding. 

“No one talks about the sacrament of brokenness,” Father Dunn said.

But it was during eucharistic adoration that Father Dunn came across the image of the Sacred Heart. 

He went to confession and when the priest said, “God has freed you from your sins. Go in peace” he discovered the healing and restoration brought about with the sacrament.

He told attendees, “Your home is with the Sacred Heart, our Lord Jesus Christ.

“That heart is the heart that is your home, Jesus’ divine home for you as a son or daughter of God.”

He pointed out that, “God loves you and misses you, just like the prodigal son. Return to love, return to home.”

Bishop Duca led adoration, with a majority of the attendees receiving the sacrament of confession offered by several diocesan priests. 

After the closing remarks, upbeat music played and balloons floated in the air as attendees danced.