WITNESS TALK - Mary Beth Ehney

Good Morning,

My name is Mary Beth Ehney and I am here to speak to you this morning on how the Holy Spirit has affected my life.
Before I begin, let me tell you a little about myself. I live in Middleboro with my husband, Ken, and my two children, Amanda (15) and David (10). Both my parents live here in Middleboro and are members of this parish. They are very supportive of me and I owe them a big thank you for everything they have done for me. I wouldn't be here today without the loving support and prayers from my family and friends. I am a fourth grade teacher at the H.B. Burkland School where I have taught for the past 20 years. Fifteen of those years have been as a special needs teacher and five of those years have been as a fourth grade teacher.

When I was first asked if I would give this talk to you today, I was very apprehensive. I told Fr. Crowley that if he couldn't get anyone else to speak, then I would do it. When he told me that he would like me to speak at this mass, I agreed. I went home and immediately told my husband and called my parents. My daughter Amanda reassured me that everything would be fine and that she would help me prepare for this talk. As I sat down and started thinking about how the Holy Spirit has affected me, all of these thoughts came rushing into my head and I felt a sense of relief. I felt that the Holy Spirit was by my side and would also support me.

When I was six months old I was diagnosed with cancer, a neuro blastoma that encased my spine. At that time my future and recovery was very bleak. My mother who was a smoker, learned that I had cancer, she put down her cigarette and has never smoked since that day. My parents were told that if I lived I might not be able to walk. They turned to God and prayed for my recovery. It is a miracle that I am here today. Although the surgery and radiation treatments cured the original problem the side effects of the treatments created ongoing health issues. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit I have been able to get through those difficult times. As with my parents, it was the faith they had and passed on to me which has guided me to turn to the Holy Spirit, especially in time of stress and need.

I come from a very Catholic family where participating in the parish was very important to us. At one point, I lived in south Tiverton, Rhode Island not far from St. Madeline's Church. We used to walk to Mass. My sister and I volunteered to clean the church each Saturday and we were both in the church choir. Both my brothers were Altar Servers. Fr. Began was our pastor and he would come over to our house for dinner on occasion. When we moved to New Jersey, Fr. Began came to visit us. I remember after we ate dinner he celebrated mass in our living room. I thought that was great. My parents kept in touch with Fr. Began until he passed away.

I moved to Middleboro, during my sophomore year in high school. It was at that time that I became more aware of the Holy Spirit in my life. He guided me in focusing on my future for I knew that I wanted to become a teacher. He remained by my side during the ensuing years at college and always being focused during some difficult periods. Now I am a teacher and I am blessed to have the job that I have always wanted.

When my husband and I started dating we would often go to the 5:00 Sunday mass at Sts. Martha and Mary's Church in Lakeville. Ken and I became friendly with Fr. Moran. That is where Ken and I got married with Fr. Moran assisting during our mass. He baptized both Amanda and David. Amanda's First Communion class was Fr. Moran's last First Communion as pastor of that parish. When Fr. Moran retired and moved here, my husband and I thought that it was time to come back to this parish. We wanted to keep in contact with Fr. Moran as well as have Amanda attend CCD classes with her friends. She was in third grade and David was in preschool. Amanda joined the choir. The following year she became and Altar Server. David couldn't wait until he was old enough and is now an altar server too. Both children joined the Drum Corp and still participate in it. They love receiving free drum lessons from Fr. Crowley. As time went on we felt like this was our home and began to become more involved in our parish.

I feel very blessed to be a part of this parish where the Holy Spirit has continued to affect my life. A special thank you to Fr. Crowley, Fr. Mc Nulty, Fr. Moran, and Deacon Bower for making my family and I feel that we are an important part of this parish. I love being involved as much as I can. Having my children involved in this parish is very important to me. Three years ago, I began taking my children to the Living Station on Good Friday. That was very moving for us. Amanda would say that she wanted to be a part of that. Well, this year she was Mary and I was truly moved to tears when I saw her participate in the living stations. It was very powerful and a very moving moment.

This was our second year being involved in the Generations of Faith program. I enjoy participating in the discussions and know that it has strengthened my faith. I was recently asked to be a Eucharistic Minister and am looking forward to serving in this capacity in this parish.

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to my story. May the Holy Spirit remain with all of you.