REVIVE! - Young Adults Recharge Their Faith

NATALIE CHALFIN, Special Contributor

Published: December 2, 2004

A spotlight shines on the monstrance as Father José Robles Sánchez swings a thurible of incense before it. Father Robles Sánchez spoke to young Catholics in their teens, 20s and 30s on Nov. 20 and led them in worship before the Blessed Sacrament. (Photo by Michael Alexander)

ROSWELL—Young adults attending “REVIVE!” on Friday, Nov. 20, were challenged by Father José Robles Sánchez, one of the speakers: “Do you trust that God is who he says he is and that he’ll do what he says he’ll do? Do you trust that he has a purpose for you? Do you believe in a God that won’t let go?”

Father Robles Sánchez trusts and believes, and he’s living proof.

“We’re here for a purpose,” the pastor of St. Frances Cabrini Church in Alexandria, La., said. “God has a plan. Trust in that. Whether you like it or not—you can’t bend it or ignore it. It will always be there.”

“The truth is real,” he reminded the more than 600 young adults who had traveled from all over the Southeast to St. Andrew Church Family Life Center in Roswell. “The truth is with you always, just as God is there when you do good and when you sin. You can’t change it.”

God’s truth reverberated throughout the room all evening at the fourth “REVIVE!” sponsored by YAM, the Young Adult Ministry of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. The twice-yearly event brings national Catholic speakers to Atlanta in a setting of worship and praise, music, teaching and eucharistic adoration that is apparently unique around the country.

Hope in God was evident as these young adults, either in their college years or in their 20s and 30s, both singles and married couples, lifted their hands in worship and praise, many praying for a revival of purpose and the strength to fulfill that purpose according to God’s will.

“We really needed this,” said Angela Nosworthy of Cumming. “My husband Chris and I feel revived, renewed and refreshed. I know I have to trust God and that he knows the truth. I need to do his will.”

Coretta Alexander of Atlanta, a convert to the Catholic faith, also felt the impact of the “REVIVE!” message.

“I feel the desire to really pray and discern my purpose,” she reflected. “We’re called to know our purpose. We all have one. These programs really inspire me, as does the number of young people here. It would be great if ‘REVIVE!’ became a national program and inspired young adults everywhere.”

That inspiration and renewed hope proved to be the resounding feeling permeating the audience, Ann Blasick, YAM director and organizer of the event, agreed.

“I’ve received nothing but positive feedback,” she noted.

One of the speakers, Christine O’Donnell, and a friend who flew in with her for the weekend said they spent their plane ride back to the Northeast talking about how incredible “REVIVE!” was.

“One young adult said she was hesitant to come because she had been to many Protestant praise and worship events,” Blasick recalled. “She said she had enjoyed them, but she always felt that something was missing. She said she finally realized what that was tonight—the Eucharist. And she told me she was so glad she came.”

“REVIVE!” began in June 2003 when young adults asked for a track aimed at their age group during the archdiocesan Eucharistic Congress. A Friday night of speakers, music, adoration and worship preceding the Saturday Congress was titled “REVIVE!” and immediately took off.

It was repeated six months later as a free-standing event, Blasick said, and now the community expects “REVIVE!” to take place in June and November. “Initially it wasn’t supposed to be twice a year. Now people would be disappointed if we didn’t have it.”

From the feedback she receives and from networking at national Catholic young adult conferences she believes it is unique to the archdiocese, but could be taken to other cities with Catholic young adult ministries. Using video screens to project images and the worship music lyrics, the set-up and lighting is a two-day process involving 60 volunteers.

“If you look at Protestant churches, having large praise and worship sessions with speakers is fairly common. The Catholic version is unheard of,” she said. “The young adults love it. It is really unique . . . I think if you put this in any major city with a lot of young adults it would take off.”

In addition to the speakers and time of adoration, an emcee guides the evening and provides a closing talk. Eight or nine priests come to hear confessions throughout the night. Speakers share deeply and poignantly of their faith journeys, Blasick said.

“They were all really excited and humbled to be here. Father Jose had never seen something like this for young adults. … They were just as excited to be part of it and to participate in it as the participants,” she said.

O’Donnell, a “revert” to the Catholic Church, who was raised a Catholic, left the church and then returned, was the first speaker of the evening. Young, hip and lively, she has often been called upon by media outlets such as “Politically Incorrect,” MTV, CNN and FOX News to represent the “traditional values” viewpoint.

Armed with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and her knowledge of both the Catholic and Protestant perspective, O’Donnell immediately won the audience over with her story.

“I recently came back to the Catholic Church, kicking and screaming,” she said. The daughter of an Irish Catholic and an Italian Catholic, she began questioning her faith as a child in vacation Bible school.

“I remember feeling a desperate need for a Savior,” she said. “I came home and asked my mom if we were Christians. She looked at me and said, ‘Of course we are. We’re Catholic.’ Then I asked her what the difference was between a Catholic and a Christian, and my mom said she didn’t know.”

Those unanswered questions led O’Donnell on a journey to seek God’s truth in her life. Luckily for her, she said, God doesn’t give up, and he doesn’t let go.

O’Donnell reflected upon her time away from her faith and what eventually drew her back.

“Some people live with spiritual blinders on,” she said. “If you’re not following God, you’re following Satan, whether you know it or not. What drew me closer to Jesus Christ was finding a body of young people who worshiped God.”

The first community of young people she found worshipping God was a Protestant one. She immersed herself in her faith, but was told that to “fully know God” she would have to renounce Catholicism. Though O’Donnell was reveling in her renewed love for God, something didn’t ring true. She began waffling back and forth between Protestant and Catholic churches.

“Something was missing,” she told the audience, “but I basically kept my hands over my ears and refused to hear the truth.”

She later moved to Los Angeles and became a member of the Church of the Holy Spirit, a Catholic church where she felt at peace. The only problem was by that time she was a renowned Protestant speaker touring nationally.

“At first,” O’Donnell recalled, “I let the fear of man keep me from speaking publicly about my Catholic faith.”

Today she uses her knowledge and her experience to help reach others who are lost and confused.

Energized by the music provided by the Jon Ferguson Band as well as profound praise, prayer and adoration, attendees reported feeling centered and filled with a sense of God’s purpose, even if they were unsure of what that entails. The evening was clearly about opening one’s heart and letting God lead the way.

“I received a calmness of heart,” said Athens resident Brandon Horn. “I’ve been discerning whether or not to go into the priesthood. Now I’m filled with calmness and joy—no matter what God decides is my purpose.”

Throughout the night, the theme of hope resonated with the audience and inspired the speakers. Blasick said Mike Judge, a young adult minister, came up with the theme: “Hope in a God Who Won’t Let Go.”

“The theme combined the concept of ‘hope’—which we all need to be reminded to have despite whatever life throws at us—and the concept that God won’t let go,” Blasick said. “We can push him away. We can reject him. We can even hate him, but he will always love us. He is always present. He’s not a conditional God.”

Emcees Chris and Michelle Benzinger also put their stamp on the evening. Catholic missionaries for the past few years in Europe and Mexico, the parents of two young boys shared closing statements.

“I want to send you home with something to cling to when you start to doubt what God has revealed to you,” said Michelle Benzinger.

“God is trying to revive what is dead in our lives,” she told the audience. “God calls to life things that do not exist but that require faith. We need to be Christians who hope against hope. Do not doubt. Give God the glory because he is who he says he is—and know that God has a specific purpose and promise for each one of us.”

Her husband, Chris, continued, “Do the little things and be faithful. Then God will trust you with more. Have faith that everything will work out. Life comes of God’s promise. Keep saying yes to God, and he will bring you life.”