AYF HISTORY
2002: Made for the Mystery
It was a day of blazing sunshine, interspersed with periods of fierce thunderstorms. There were times of pumped up praise, intermingled with periods of intense prayer. Hand-waving and crowd-surfing went hand-in-hand with confession and adoration. Speakers held nothing back as they spoke the raw truth about what it means to be an authentic young Catholic in the new millennium.
The event was the second annual Abbey Youth Festival and the participants were 2,700 strong from seven states. On April 13, St. Joseph Abbey and Seminary College outside of Covington, Louisiana opened its gates to the flood of teens, young adults, youth ministers, priests, brothers and nuns who came together to celebrate their part in the body of Christ.
This year the crowd learned more about the trinity in discovering that we are all “Made for the Mystery.” As the logo on the official festival t-shirt proclaimed: “The Trinity. It’s that simple.”
“The trinity really is the simplest thing in the universe,” said Fr. Basil Burns, O.S.B., a monk at St. Joseph Abbey. “Think about this: humans, the universe, are all made up of millions of swirling cells. God is made up of only three parts. There is an eternal harmony, like the members of a band all playing together. It’s your responsibility to bring that mystery to your brothers and sisters in Christ,” Fr. Basil challenged the teens. Next the group heard from Fr. R. Tony Ricard, a priest from the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Fr. Ricard approached from the back of the field, strutting down the center aisle, brandishing a walking stick, working the crowd much like an old-time Baptist preacher, while speakers blared the Motown fave “I’ll Take You There,” setting the mood for his talk.
“If you are a child of the King, let me hear you say, ‘Amen!’” he sang out. “If you claim your place in the heavenly kingdom, let me hear you say, ‘Oh, yeah!’” The crowd shouted their assent.
Once on the stage, Fr. Ricard launched into a very hip retelling of the Creation story. As he announced each thing God created he shouted, “Boom!” at which the teens slapped their knees, snapped twice and said, “Whoop, there it is!”
After singing his own rendition of the Carman song, “Lazarus, Come Forth,” he told the group, “If you’ve been living in the tomb, it’s time to come out. I’m willing to drive the train. All ya’ll gotta do is get on board.”
Fr. Burns prepared to lead the teens in a prayer of baptismal recommitment by talking about the “mark of baptism.” “In Jesus’ time the Roman soldiers were branded for life. Baptism is like that,” he said. “It marks you forever. You will carry that mark into heaven or hell some day.
After the recommitment prayer, Mass was concelebrated by Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes, Bishop Robert W. Muensch of the Baton Rouge Diocese and several priests.
“We need to recognize the light that triumphs over sin and evil by the power of the risen Lord,” said Archbishop Hughes in his homily. “I want to issue a challenge to you. Are you willing to look at the light? Are you afraid?”
“‘Do not be afraid, it is I,’ Jesus said to the apostles in the boat. He says this to us today. We need holy men willing to proclaim God’s word and celebrate it in sacrament,” the archbishop said. “God grant you that grace. God grant His church that grace.”
