# Unbroken – Prayer of Supplication to the Holy Spirit for Father Stanley
*2016-12-25*

> Bill Young reflects on the martyrdom of Father Stanley, shares a personal sign of the Trinity, leads a prayer of supplication to the Holy Spirit, and reads the poem “Unbroken” left by the priest’s community.

## Remembering Father Stanley

Father Stanley, a priest from Oklahoma City who served as a missionary in Guatemala, was martyred on July 28, 1980. In July 2016 Pope Francis declared him a Servant of the Lord, the first title given when a cause for sainthood is opened. Father Stanley chose to stay in Guatemala when others fled, and he was executed by the government. The poem we will hear today was left by his parishioners at the house where he was killed.

## A Sign of the Trinity

While preparing for work in my garage, I noticed flower petals on the floor moving in a circular pattern, forming a perfect triangle. I sensed the presence of the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—communicating with me. Earlier, I had seen similar symbols in nature, reminding me that the Trinity is one God, not a hierarchy, and that God can reveal Himself in simple, everyday moments.

## Prayer of Supplication to the Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, pour forth the source of your grace and bring a new Pentecost to the Church. Come down upon bishops, priests, religious, the faithful, and even those who do not believe, upon the hardest sinners, and upon each one of us. Stir us with your divine breath, purify us of sin, free us from deceit and evil, and inflame us with your fire so that we may be consumed by your love. Teach us that God is everything—our happiness, our present, our future, and our eternity are in His hands. Transform, save, reconcile, unite, and consecrate us to yourself. May we belong completely to Christ and to God. We ask this through your intercession and under the protection of Mary, the Immaculate Mother of Jesus, our Mother, and Queen of Peace. Amen.

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me. Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on all of us.

## The Poem “Unbroken”

Unbroken – for Father Stanley from his people:

Your days clasped to our days, one by one, had chained you tight.
You would not cut and run, bound by your affection and our trust.
You had no other world but here with us.
Long days, hard days, tight links through the years.
Knights sharing plans and other people's tears.
Host lifted up high against a resting roof.
You fed us, God. How can we set you loose?
Torn by flesh, you shaped hearts; remains.
Capel that we sin your bones.
We kept the chain.

May Father Stanley’s cause progress toward beatification, and may one day he be recognized as a saint.

## Closing Prayer

Thank you, Lord, for all the signs from heaven and for the gift of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. Amen.

*May we remain unbroken in faith, trusting the Holy Spirit to guide and transform us.*