Today’s Witnesses are from a Day of Reflection that I went to last Saturday. The Charismatic Renewal Service of Boston put it on, and some Encounter Ministry students ran it from the Boston Campus. Year 2 students at Encounter need to do a project before they graduate to show they have learned what they were taught. It was a really special day filled with praise and worship, adoration, mass, and fellowship, and we had a section where people could receive individual prayer for impartation and prophecy. We asked the Lord what call he had placed on their life and what gifts they might need for that call. Any gifts he has given us that they may need, we imparted our gifts on them. It was really amazing, the things that the Lord showed us. The group I participated in ran very smoothly, and the Lord was so good to confirm most of what we were hearing. The participants said they were moved and that what was said really resonated with them. There was a time for large group sharing towards the end, and these witnesses were shared during that time.
Witness Wednesday #149 Day of Reflection
Today’s Witnesses are from a Day of Reflection that I went to last Saturday. The Charismatic Renewal Service of Boston put it on, and some Encounter Ministry students ran it from the Boston Campus. Year 2 students at Encounter need to do a project before they graduate to show they have learned what they were taught. It was a really special day filled with praise and worship, adoration, mass, and fellowship, and we had a section where people could receive individual prayer for impartation and prophecy. We asked the Lord what call he had placed on their life and what gifts they might need for that call. Any gifts he has given us that they may need, we imparted our gifts on them. It was really amazing, the things that the Lord showed us. The group I participated in ran very smoothly, and the Lord was so good to confirm most of what we were hearing. The participants said they were moved and that what was said really resonated with them. There was a time for large group sharing towards the end, and these witnesses were shared during that time.
One woman named Nancy said that they did the project so they could give back to the community. “And when I see three people from my prayer community that gave the Life in the Spirit seminar, that was my introduction to faith-filled Catholics. And it was my gateway to be reconciled to the Lord, to come back to the faith. The Life in the Spirit seminar is a series of talks; they kind of lay out the gospel message. I had such an experience of the presence of Jesus at that seminar. And it just changed my life.
And I've had such a beautiful life since. So I was so happy that in some way, I hope, I could give back to Gail, Carolee, and my husband Mike for all the years that they've accompanied me on my faith walk. And so I'm enjoying it.
Next, Mike spoke and said, “Today has been a blessing to me. Just a flood of beautiful blessings and memories since I've been in the Spirit. It started off right when I walked through the door and was given a book a book by Father Ralph Diorio, who died recently.
I had been to one of his healing services. And I heard he's going to be in Franklin, the next town from us, in that way. And for healing services, a big deal, St. Mary's Church, you have to get tickets. You want to sit in the upstairs church. I wasn’t going to go, but then they said, there's a bunch of women, from one of the senior housings, they want somebody to drive them there. All right I guess I will go. So we're down in the basement. Beginning of the service, Father had some kind of word of knowledge thing and announced a few ailments that he felt the Lord wanted to heal. If you had the problem he was talking about he wanted you to come up to where he was.
He started talking about a man who had this and that. I started to think, I have those problems. Then he said a man who recently had back surgery. I said, I'm getting a throbbing throat. He's talking about me. And so I went up, and they had about five of us sitting in the sanctuary when he went through his healing service.
And then he prayed with the other ones, one, two, three, four. Then he got to me. Now, what are you here for? Well, I'm the back person. He said, Okay. You can sit down. I'm going to look at you. He said, Did you know your one leg is shorter than the other? I said, Not really, because it wasn't significant. So he said, Stretch out your legs. And the way this ran, it was like a closed circuit TV. So the people in the basement in the lower church could see what was going on.
And so the camera behind me was focused right on my feet. The people in the upper church couldn't see what was going on. But some of my neighbors and their friends down there, they could see. We saw your leg grow. Yes. Now, frankly, it was just a little bit shorter. And nothing had ever bothered me. But I said, you know, I always wear out the heels of my shoes faster. So that was true, I guess.
So it was nothing that even fascinated me. So okay, well, that's interesting. But it turns out my neighbor, who was also there, had a son who was a little older than the toddler. He had some kind of growth, I don't know what you'd call it, abnormally, where one of his legs was growing less than the other. At his next doctor's appointment, the doctor told my neighbor’s son, “Oh, you're okay now.” So I said, I think mine was just a sign for what was going on with my neighbor’s son.
Next we heard from another Nancy:
As I was preparing to be on the team today, you know, I took a day and I fasted. And I prayed that I could hear Him for each person that I was going to pray over. I get nervous. And God, in his faithfulness, is easy. He gives us the graces so easily that in praying over people, a word would just come. Not that I had prepared it or thought about it or whatever. And so, God is faithful. And I have learned over and over again and still need to learn over and over again to just trust in him to relax and step back and watch him show up.
Next was another man named Mike. My name is Mike, and I have been for more than 20 years. I am dealing with an issue that really began several years ago. But last April, I had to have my jaw replaced. It had actually died. And in order to do that, they had to take a bone from my leg and put it in where my jaw was. And part of the outcome of that is that I have been completely unable to swallow, much less sing or do many other things immediately after that. So I really have not sung a note, hardly, in almost 10 months. And today, during the praise portion, I sang song number one and song number two, and then my voice was just gone. It was nothing. My diaphragm told me, don't bother, because there's nothing here.
And so I sat down and started to get really discouraged. But God said, No, I don't care what you sound like. Just stand up and sing. And when I did that, my voice came back. I have been unable to stand up and sing in almost a year. And let me tell you, God is just incredible. Thank you.
Someone else got up and said, “Thank you, Jesus. I have to say, I didn't have a chance to tell you how beautiful your voice was. You were singing right behind me. I was like, who is that? Who is that incredible voice?”
Next, Matteo got up and said, “Mike and I have sung a lot together over the last 10 years. And we always sing at a men's conference. Mike has been singing with our chapter for a while and has sung for our retreats. And this year, he was unable to do that. There was a really big hole. And it's just been breaking his heart. So, for me to see Mike be able to sing today was powerful. Thank you.”
Someone else shared a vision they received. “So I got this a couple of times. So I want to share. What I saw was a giant field. And I saw a bunch of little campfires and people sitting around the campfires. And in the middle of the field, there was this enormous construction of wood, like enormous. And I saw Jesus just sitting beside it. And everybody's really kind of happy around their own little campfires. And then I saw Jesus say now. And everybody took their torches from their little fires, and they brought them into the middle of the field. And they set a bonfire that could be seen from space. And I feel like us coming together here, that God is doing so much more than we realize by us coming together.
I am so grateful for all those who worked hard to put on this amazing event. I am grateful to all those who came to the event, and I am grateful to all those who were brave enough to get up and share their experience at the event. I hope you enjoyed hearing these witnesses about how God was working that day. Maybe next year you can join us for this event. It happens every year around this time. It was an amazing day!