Can We Talk? - Mary Beth Bonacci

Can You Keep a Secret? Hope Not
The oldest, most powerful evangelization secret is one you should let everyone in on.

I have a secret evangelization "weapon" — a force so powerful, it decimates even the most powerful arguments and topples even the most ardent opponents. And all this without even messing up my hair. Of course, it's not a very well-kept secret. I've shared it once or twice. And now the Holy Father has told the whole world about it — even dedicating an entire year to my secret weapon. So I may as well come clean with all of you, too.

My secret weapon is the Holy Spirit.

Get this straight. You don't evangelize. I don't evangelize. Nobody really evangelizes — at least not on his own. The Holy Spirit evangelizes. We're just the clay pots (as Fulton Sheen said) that He rides around in to do His work. Our main job is to take Him where He needs to go, and let Him get to work.

We don't ever do the work by ourselves. If we try, we fail. Guaranteed.

Of course, partnering with the Holy Spirit doesn't mean we can just wander around blabbering whatever comes into our minds. We do our part by learning all we can. He won't generally "download data" into our brains like some kind of Divine Web Server. We have to fill our minds with good information. But then He kicks in — organizing and presenting that data in amazing ways.

It works. I can't tell you the number of times I've had the eerie sensation of sitting on top of my own head, listening to a talk I'm sure couldn't be coming out of my mouth.

How did I manage to stumble upon this secret weapon? Almost accidentally. As a child, my family prayed the rosary together every evening. There was a prayer we said at the end that I particularly liked. After I left home, I continued to recite that prayer daily — I think mostly because it reminded me of home and linked me to my family. And I began to notice that a lot of people were asking me about my Faith — and taking my answers seriously.

Then I picked up this "hobby" of speaking to teenagers about chastity, and it exploded into a career. A few years later, completely by surprise, I chanced upon a novena to the Holy Spirit which contained that prayer. The prayer was entitled "Prayer of Consecration to the Holy Spirit." I had been consecrating myself to the Holy Spirit every day of my life, and I didn't even know it! But it certainly explained a lot of what had been happening.

I want to end by reprinting that prayer. It's much more important than anything else I could have to say. I urge you, in this year of the Holy Spirit, to pray it every day. I guarantee it will make a difference in your life, and in the lives of those you meet.

Mary Beth Bonaccit can be reached at: Real Love, Inc., 1520 West Warner Rd., Suite 106-138, Gilbert, AZ 85233, 602-812-1194.