CHARLESTOWN — On Monday, July 24, the Living in the Spirit tent revival began its first day of prayer meetings. Held at St. James chapel in Charlestown and taking place over the course of three days, the event was the result of the coordinated efforts of three parishes (St. Pius X Parish, St. Mary’s Parish/St. James Chapel, and St. Francis of Assisi parish). The event was organized by Deacon John Dowd, of St. Francis of Assisi parish in Wakefield.
The prayer meetings began at 6:00 p.m. each night and lasted for two hours. The evenings began and ended with praise and worship music performed by John Polce, a New England-based Christian musician. On the first day of prayer meetings, opening remarks were made by Deacon Dowd, who, in his statements, attributed the success of the events organization and the large turnout to the Holy Spirit. Deacon Dowd went on to emphasize how, if we trust in the Holy Spirit, and give Him even the slightest efforts, He will transform it into something great. “The Lord said, ‘If you give Me a little, I will multiply it,’” Deacon Dowd said to the packed audience.
Opening prayers were offered by Father Albert Ranallo, the pastor of St. Francis of Assisi parish. “Holy Spirit, Divine Counselor, We adore You as True God, with God the Father and God the Son,” Father Ranallo prayed. “We give You our hearts and offer our ardent thanksgiving for all the grace that You never cease to bestow on us.”
The theme for this year’s event was “Living in the Spirit.” The speakers present addressed different ways in which the faithful can be more open to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the different elements involved in living a life guided by the Holy Spirit.
The first speaker was Father Paul Desmarais, the pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Charlestown. His talk, titled “God’s Love,” focused on the nature of Divine Love and the necessity of using God’s Love as the standard by which to judge our own self-worth, our purpose in life, and the nature of our relationship to God.
Father Desmarais began by comparing God to an artist.
“An artist looks at a canvas. It’s blank. But that artist sees what it can become. That artist sees what is possible for that canvas to look like,” said Father Desmarais, going on to explain, “What does God see when He looks at you? God sees possibility.”
He went on to say, “God sees more than who you are. The Divine artist in the beginning of creation saw that what he created was good. … But when God created man and woman, it [the Bible] tells us that God saw that it was very good. When God sees you tonight, He sees that you are very good.”
Father Desmarais explained that the way in which God views us, which also serves as the standard by which we should judge ourselves, is based on what he created us to be, everything we can become when striving to fulfill his will.
The next talk, titled “Salvation,” was offered by Deacon Noel Edsall, of Immaculate Conception Parish in Cranston and the Director of the Office of Deacons for the Diocese of Providence. In his talk, Deacon Edsall focused on the nature of sin and repentance.
Deacon Edsall began by stating the basic issue involved with the problem of evil. “If God is an artist — and he is — then why are things so messed up?”
He said that since God is all-good, everything God creates is also good, with humans being the epitome of God’s creation. Yet, God’s good creation became corrupted by the effects of sin, sin being caused by humans believing the lies of the devil. The fundamental lie of the devil is a false conception of reality that plants doubt as to the goodness and trustworthiness of God.
The sin that results from this distrust in God enslaves us, preventing us from fully living out God’s plan for us. Only God can save us from the power of sin, which He did in the Person of Jesus.
“Sin is a power, but what has God done about it? God sent his Son,” Deacon Edsall explained, going on to say, “We all know John 3:16, ‘God so loved the world that He sent his only Son, that the world may be saved through Him.’ Jesus didn’t come to condemn us. He came to save us. But we only need a savior if we are in bondage.”
During and after the seminar priests were present throughout, hearing confessions on the front lawn of the parish.
More people than expected to attend were touched by the message of the revival.
“We hoped that we would get maybe 100 people; we had double that each night!” Deacon Dowd exclaimed.
For many present, the revival was reminiscent of other similar experiences in the past.
Such was the case with Donna Sweet, a parishioner of St. Mary’s/St. James Chapel. Sweet has been regularly attending Life in the Spirit revivals since 1972. It was the revivals that helped bring her to the Catholic faith.
“I was looking. I always knew God, but it was like, ‘Where was God?’ A friend of mine had made a Life in the Spirit seminar, and she told me about it, and that’s what got me into it. And I got my whole family involved.”
“I wish that this message could be conveyed to so many of the young people that are out there that are lost,” Sweet said, going on to note that she asks for “God to show me, within my own family, how I can help them.”
Similar views were expressed by others in attendance. “It was beautiful,” said Mike Rogers, a parishioner of St. Mary’s/St. James Chapel. He noted how he was most struck by the message that humans must measure their worth not by what they are but by what God created them to be.
