WITNESS TALK - Martianne Stanger

Good morning. My name is Martianne Stanger. As my husband and I have only been members of this parish for about two and a half years, I realize that some of you may know me, while many of you might not. One thing is certain though: God knows me…

How do I know this? Well, it's not just because the Bible tells me so. You know, how God had every hair on my head - and there are a lot of them - counted before I was even born. And, it's not just because the things I hear and read inside and outside of Mass tell me so. It's because the Holy Spirit tells me so, through the ways he moves me each and every day.

And, that is what I've been asked to talk to you about today: how the Holy Spirit works in my life. But, before I do that, I feel I must explain how I was introduced to the Holy Spirit:

As a child, I always heard Him called "the Holy Ghost". Now, to me, that was pretty scary. A ghost! A creature that lurked behind corners, ready to frighten me into doing some things and out of others. I didn't really want a relationship with that sort of being. So, I pretty much stuck with the Father and the Son - the creator and the teacher. They seemed a bit easier to deal with.

Then, I started thinking of the Holy Ghost more like Casper - you know, friendly. But, still, He was a Ghost. Something I really didn't want much to do with.

However, in time, I heard Him referred to as "the Holy Spirit". Now, spirit was something I knew about. My family was heavily into youth football and cheerleading. You know, "Yes, yes, yes, we do! We have spirit. How 'bout you?" And that was something I could take hold of. A spirit! A force that was good… happy… made a team work. Something you felt. Something you shared. Something that moved you to move others and moved others to move you… Finally, I let myself be open to the Holy Spirit.

And, so, here I am today, still feeling that powerful person of God that moves me every day in so many ways, helping me be a better member of "Team God", if you will. And, as I stand before you, though I can think of some rather that-should-be-in-a-book-or-a-movie events that happened in my teens and twenties, I don't feel that the Holy Spirit has called me to share those with you just now. Instead, I think He wants me share some simpler moments in life, because truly, those are just as important as the more dramatic times He's worked in me. Thus, I'm going to share with you three everyday examples of how the Holy Spirit has worked in my life since I became a member of this parish.

The first one was through Holy Spirit's Gift of Understanding. When my husband and I came to Middleboro, we were a bit disappointed with some of things happening in the Catholic Church. Although we were both raised Catholic, wanted to be married Catholic and to raise our children Catholic, we had been finding the Church, in its more human form at least, rather unwelcoming. Still, the Spirit moved us to try Sacred Heart before "church shopping", as some might call it, at other local Christian churches. That's when The Holy Spirit worked His Gift of Understanding - or revealing truth - to us in very simple ways…

After one of our first masses here, where Father Moran had presided, my husband Mike and I walked out of the church together hand-in-hand. Father Moran saw us and gave us a warm smile, saying simply, "It's so nice to see a young couple holding hands." Something about the way he said that, about the smile in his face, in his eyes and in his heart, made us feel so welcome. Then, in the weeks that followed, a few families came up to us at Mass to say hello. Others welcomed us when we went over to enjoy the donuts, which my husband loves so much. And through these simple interactions -- the Holy Spirit moving us to give the Church here in Middleboro a try and moving priests and parishioners here to welcome us warmly - my family has been provided with the Fruit of continued Faithfulness to faith we grew up in.

My second example involves my son Luke: Just before Mike and I got married in the Church, I was told I might not be able to have children. As someone who had waited my whole life to get married and have a family, I was pretty crushed by this news. But, instead of letting it bring Mike and I down at such a happy time as the planning of our marriage, we decided to practice the Holy Spirit's Gift of Piety, or prayer. We committed ourselves to simply trusting that God had a plan for us, aligned with the three tenets we had set forth for our upcoming marriage - faith, family and friends - and that, one way or another, He would make that plan known to us, if we simply prayed and let ourselves act on what we felt the Holy Spirit was calling us to do. So, as things turned out, in trusting the Holy Spirit's gift of Piety, and, through, therefore, receiving the Fruits of Peace, Chastity and Self-Control before our wedding and a small dose of Patience afterwards, we were blessed with the greatest of Fruits: Joy! Within a year of our wedding date, our son Luke was born, and as CS Lewis once described joy, Luke became "a glimpse of the perfect happiness of heaven that leads us to desire heaven" even more than we already had.

And, Luke is what leads me to my third example, which has to do with the Gift of Fortitude, or the courage to what is good, particularly when things are difficult. Let me tell you, as a new mother, especially one that is expecting a second child any day now, it is not always easy to get myself and my family out to Mass on Sundays. But, I know it's right. So, despite exhaustion, last-minute dirty diapers, and all the other challenges of parenting, I do it. Then, when I get here, sometimes I start wondering, "Why?" When Luke needs a change, or a drink, or a snack, or to be passed from Mommy to Daddy and back all through Mass, or, more recently, when he has the urge to try to escape the pews and run down the aisles, I think, "Oh my! He must really be annoying those people around us." And, that's when the Holy Spirit steps in… From Luke's first weeks of life, it has been amazing how many times people here at Sacred Heart have thanked Mike and me for bringing Luke here, for sharing him. These shared Fruits of Kindness and Goodness have meant a world of reassurance some mornings!

Likewise, through Luke, and those donuts I mentioned earlier that Mike loves, we met Patricia Mikus, who invited us to get involved with ministry here at Sacred Heart. Admittedly, when she first asked us, we wanted to help, but we were afraid. Could we fit helping our church into our already busy schedules? Did we really have any gifts to share that others might benefit from? The Holy Spirit said, "Yes!" So, we did, too. And, throughout the past year, our family has accepted the difficulties of scheduling life and embraced the gift of the Holy Spirit's Courage to do what seems right. I have provided day care at and helped with planning of WINGS. My husband and I have both become lectors. My entire family has gotten involved with Hospitality and the Baptism Ministries. And through these endeavors, we have received as many of the Holy Spirit's Gifts and Fruits as we have given… especially lately.

Lately, life has been extra challenging for us. Mike's between jobs. Finances are very tight. The future seems unsure. In short, it's is an easy time to lose faith, and, for brief moments, I admit, I have. But, every time, the Holy Spirit has stepped in! Through the support of people we have met through our ministries here at Sacred Heart and through what Mike and I built our marriage on - faith, family and friends - the Holy Spirit has moved us, and continues to do so. I know it sounds corny and trite, but despite many recent challenges, we know we are truly blessed!

So now, go ahead, breathe deeply. Say, "Well, we'll all be blessed if Martianne just brings this talk to a close". I will, by saying, "Thank you" to this parish and to God, who knows each of us so well. And by asking that, as you leave today, after grumbling about the length of this service, that you to take a moment to focus on the simple ways the Holy Spirit works in your lives, making us each, truly, a vital part - harkening back to my youth cheerleader days - of "Team God"!