The Holy Spirit takeover of the Good News Show

Nancy Ward responds to call-in listeners during an interview with Dave Palmer at GRN KATH 910 studios 7-15-19 (Photo by Phil Ward)

The Good News radio show began with fundraising — giving away tickets to a Fr. Spitzer event to those who called in and gave a short testimony. So much is going on in the Diocese of Dallas that we were twelve minutes into our 30-minute slot when Dave Palmer, general manager of the Guadalupe Radio Network, introduced me to the listeners.

Dave always mentions how he and I go way back to when he and my sons were in my husband’s Scout troop – and how Phil is with me in the studio taking photos. Our conversations always reflect our relaxed and affectionate relationship.

Dave told the listeners, “We all should be evangelizing, but it’s nice to have a book that shows you how to do it. It’s not the kind of thing we naturally do.“ He then encouraged them to call in and share a quick summary of their story with me.

Catholic evangelization

His first question to me was about the word “evangelization” and how Protestant that sounds to many Catholics. He asked me, “what is Catholic evangelization and what does that mean to you?”

Dave Palmer, General Manager of GRN KATH 910, interviews Nancy Ward on the Good News Show on 7-15-19 (Photo by Phil Ward)

“To me, evangelization is all about love and sharing the truth of God’s love. I got that idea many years ago when I worked at the Texas Catholic with Deacon Steven Landregan. He spun off and I went with him to start The Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Center for Catholic Evangelization. I didn’t know that much about evangelization, but I really learned a lot about it. Steve Landregan taught me the simplicity of evangelization and how it’s just talking to people about what God has done in our lives. You want to share that with others because you love God and because you love his people and you want them to be with you in heaven. And you want to do that without discrimination.

The two main messages you have from the Great Commission would be that God loves all of us and wants everyone to be saved, and that he has established Christ and the Catholic Church as what is called “universal sacrament of salvation.” You know about those things, and you tell about your part in that.

The Holy Spirit takes over

The first caller, a former Methodist named Molly who found “the full truth” in the Catholic Church, interrupted the six-minute opening interview.

Then Dave turned the tables. He asked me to grade Molly on how well she shared her testimony. I gave her an A+ for her enthusiasm and for effectively giving only the highpoints of her story in a short time.

Immediately the second caller, Valerie, told a sad story of how she was “very much Catholic” before getting married for the wrong reasons, trying to make her husband a good Catholic, and leaving him because she was discouraged. She stayed away from Mass because she was divorced and thought she was unworthy and not welcome.

Feedback overload

Boy, did she get a truckload of encouragement from Dave about the way the Catholic Church welcomes everyone to Reconciliation and Mass! He assured her that she was not unworthy to receive the sacraments just because she was divorced.

I heard myself commending her transparency and vulnerability in sharing her story and how it gave hope to others. She was helping those in a similar situation who heard her story.

The third caller, Olivia, shared how her marriage had been redeemed through the mentoring of teachers on Catholic radio and how she became heavily involved in helping with pilgrimages. I told her, “Thank you for your exuberance and for living your faith as an evangelist.”

Personal but not private

We now were out of time with only a moment for Dave to ask me for a closing comment. I chose to dispel the idea that our relationship with God is private, and mistakenly had kept my relationship with God hidden.

“When I gave my life to the Lord, I didn’t tell anyone about it for decades because it was so personal and private. I’ve learned something about evangelization. God gives us our story to share. It may be personal, but it’s not private. There’s somebody out there that’s meant to hear your story that only you can tell to bring them closer to God.”

My husband took a quick photo of Dave and me as the next guest settled in with the mic.

What happened?

When we got to the car, Phil and I looked at each other, asked, “What just happened?” and began to laugh! The experience was so unreal. I looked at my iPad with my talking points and realized I had glanced at them only briefly at the beginning of the show. All the long way home we marveled at how I had poured over my talking points for two weeks, then the interview was rescheduled and I prepared for it again — but used only a line or two.

Then I remembered. That morning I had taken a minute to settle myself in my Grandmother’s big wicker chair. I surrendered my day to the Lord, especially the interview. I prayed that those who tuned in would receive what he wanted them to hear about evangelizing with their personal witness.

I realized how he took me up on getting out of his way so he could display his glory and show me his incredible sense of humor! He used me to demonstrate how to listen to those sharing their stories, and encourage them, rather than tell them how to do it. I didn’t share anything about my conversion or renewal stories but somehow I know the KATH listeners got the message they needed.

Holy Spirit, you are amazing!