Beautiful Lady, Beautiful Heart

She loves. Oh, how she loves.

The Blessed Virgin, always pointing to her Holy, Divine Son. Providing sinners refuge within her mantle. Ever advocating to her Son for each and every need. Could one ask for a more lovely women? A more perfect Mother?

So often, she enamors me with the Mysteries of Christ. It is at her school that I learn the truths of the Faith, and love for the Church. She stands with me at every moment throughout history to which
I am brought: beckoning me to look upon her Son's perfect face in the manger, at the wedding feast at which Christ begin to reveal Himself, and standing with me, consoling me, as her Son hangs on the Cross, on those hills at Calvary.

She provides a most wonderful example of humility. She conforms herself in each moment to the Divine Will of her Heavenly Father, as His simple Handmaiden. But so much more is she than that to me. My Mother is humanity... the most human one could be. An inspiration, an aspiration.

And a Queen.

Soon, and Very Soon

Beloved,


rest now. Our time here is short. They will come soon. They will bring weapons, and other means to hurt us. Implements of torture; tools of war. They will imprison us in the lowest dungeons, and the highest towers. They will pour us out for the world to see, but we mustn't give in. We will not fail. We will persevere. 

Iscariots will show themselves. We will be greeted with a kiss, and then bound in irons. Brought before the authorities, and our charges will lay bare before us. Denied by our friends and families! Do not doubt. Do not waver, not even for a second, or they will pounce like lions, beloved.

"Crucify them! Crucify them!", will fill the air. Flayed, scourged, and bled out.

We must follow the bloody footsteps over our Lord, carrying whatever gruesome cross they force us to bear. Embrace it! Now is our time!

We follow forever. Nails driven through our hands. A thorny crown upon our torn brow. But we follow each step, even those they do not see.

What comes next has happened before, and will happen again. Brought low; made strong. Our defeat, true victory. After death; life. The bride follows each step. Each condemned footprint. Each fall. This must happen. Embrace it.

Have no fear, and rest. It is almost time.

-Gabriel

Who is God?

An absolutely astounding benevolent being, completely capable of caring for your deepest and most daring desires. Eternal entity, everywhen and everywhere. Fundamentally faithful father, from the foundations of our far-flung fledgling galaxy. Graciously giving, glorifying greatly honest, and hopeful hearts hungering in internal intentions for Jesus' heavenly Jerusalem. King in keeping with kindness, keen on lavishing laurel-less love, and lowering Himself mainly to make man move, now and ever nearer out of our own particular preference for pride. Without quantifiable qualities, He causes questioners and queries to fall quiet; regality that reaches and regenerates solemn, stoney souls. Trustworthy, total and titanic truth, unveiled and unfailing. Usurping unbelief; vaccinating vacancy, and vicious, vulgar voices. The Word, without weakness, nor wild, worldly whim, in His excruciating execution, expedites our exultation with His exaltation. He yearns, year after year, that we may yield our yoke to Him; that we may reach the zenith of zest and zealotry. 

That's my God.

Take A Stand

"The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, but the upright are as bold as lions."

Proverbs 28:1

Do we remember how to be bold? To be men of courage? To take a stand?

I'm not so sure.

I am a man of cowardice. My fears are many; my weaknesses, plentiful. Vice and inconsistency are my happy bedfellows, and worldly things have far greater sway over me than I care to admit. In most areas of my life, I fall much shorter than I wish, trusting in my own power, strength, and wisdom to carry me to my lofty goal.

Why don't we stand in the boldness Our Lord offers us? The Saints and martyrs throughout history spoke with the words of angels; they spoke of Christ unto their deaths. Yet many of us fear even to go offer a stranger a mere, "how are you?". Droves of Christians gave up all wealth, status, and state of well-being, in order to give all they could, yet we don't have a dollar to spare for a man ravaged by poverty. We seek our own self-pleasure, and use a disordered idea of "meekness" to hide our own greed and apathy.

Catholicism is not moderate; Christ was not a man of many words, and little action. We follow not a "middle way"; we blaze a narrow trail, in the footsteps of a King.

My life, and yours, must be Christ. Not "centered around", nor "about". Christ must be all. In every action you do; in every word you say. It is not about ourselves, our families, our jobs, or our hobbies. Christ must be inseparable from every thing in your life.

He is our joy, our hope, our love. He is all-consuming. He is ever-lasting. He is the source of all that is good.

He is Life itself.

Thankfully, though, I am not the benchmark for Catholicism. I am a dying breed.

Young seminarians, and Priests, eager and able to cast out the demons of the "spirit of Vatican II". Courageous men: Priests forever in the order of Melchizedek. Extolling and LIVING the virtues of piety, faith, and obedience. Pray for these men, that God will grant them the depth of faith and understanding necessary for their unbelievably important work. 

New, ever more faithful religious, serving God and their communities with deep, true, and burning compassion, and humility unseen by society. Fervor that threatens to set the whole world ablaze in a conflagration of unshakable love for the unloved.

A new generation of laity, fighting against the injustice of abortion. Informed, intelligent, organized. Acting without fear of being despised, calumniated, or crucified for truth and justice.

I urge you, brothers and sisters in Christ. Stand for God. Stand for His Church. Be bold in your faith. Bold in the Truth. Live for Him... and if it is your calling, die for Him as well.

-Gabriel

 "There is no place for selfishness-and no place for fear! Do not be afraid, then, when love makes demands. Do not be afraid when love requires sacrifice"

- Pope John Paul II

[Author's note: This post has been the works for a long while and sat on the backburner while I was working on a few other projects. Forgive it's datedness]

A Love of Suffering

 Suffering is a great grace; through suffering the soul becomes like the Saviour; in suffering love becomes crystallised; the greater the suffering, the purer the love.

-St. Faustina

Suffering is such a powerful force. Such a beautifully powerful force.

In recent days, I have been hospitalized for digestive problems. Pain in my chest and abdomen, amongst a sea of other symptoms, of which I will not bore you with details. Through all this time though, I find myself trying hardest to focus on my Lord: in particular, His Passion. Strange, how even dark moments, God is able turn my eyes Heavenward.

Our modern society is one of comfort. We do not like pain, sorrow, nervousness. We cannot stand waiting, even short whiles, for the most important things. We can't comprehend how much good can come from embracing our Crosses, instead of hiding them away, and hoping they never rear their ugly faces again. It saddens me deeply.

Very little in this life is learned without suffering, at least in some small part. Be it boredom in a classroom, taking time away from our joys to study facts and things we care little about(though often have much greater value than we imagine!). Or it may be something much greater. Every heartbreak I've ever experienced has taught me something about myself, about God, and about my future spouse. At the time, these experiences seem unfair, but God has a habit of turning something broken into something so much better than we could have imagined.

How does one gain control over their base passions? Suffering through self-denial.

How does one learn humility? Suffering through humiliation.

How does one learn to forgive? Suffering through betrayal.

More than a mere teaching tool, suffering can be incredible purgative. It purifies our roughness, and our follies, if we allow it. Metal cannot be purified but by fire; wood cannot be made smooth but by the coarse work of the sandpaper. Do not pass through suffering without learning what you can from it.

Suffering can also be redemptive. Oh, that my greatest suffering would assist those in need; that I may bear their burdens so that they may see God's grace. Our suffering can be offered as prayer: and no mere one at that. Suffering offered as prayer is more powerful than any other force imaginable. Suffering offered as prayer is to unite our love, with God's. How many demons and forces of evil in the world tremble each moment a Saint undergoes suffering?

It is through suffering and death that the world's redemption came. It is through suffering that Christians throughout the ages have borne witness to the pagan masses. It is through suffering that we will be able to stand before the Throne, washed clean of our transgressions and inequity, and hear our God say, "Behold my dearly beloved son, in who I am well-pleased."

Remember: love is sacrifice.

-Gabriel

The New Abortion Caravan

It begins today. The beginning of the end. The New Abortion Caravan will be embarking from Vancouver, and touring this nation of ours. Protesting, educating, praying, loving. To inform Canadians about the truth of abortion.

This genocide has gone on too long. The senseless slaughter that takes tens of thousands of lives a year. Catholics, rise up! Protestants, rise up! Support this movement where you can: attending, praying, informing.

Together, with God, we can end this.

-Gabriel

Sealed by the Spirit PT. 1

(Sorry for the time it's taken to write this post. Life has been full of twists and turns lately, and God has led me all over the place. He is thoroughly wonderful)

It is done! This Easter, I was welcomed into the Catholic Church. Full Communion with Christ, and with Rome. Praise the Lord. It has not been an easy journey, nor a short one, but I wouldn't trade my experiences for the world. Let me tell you about the last nine months.

When I began the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) in September, I was nervous, apprehensive, excited, and wary all at once. I had heard some negative things regarding the program(some of which panned out to be true), but also had heard of it's history. A tradition dating back to the earliest Christians. The ex-protestant in me resonated greatly with the latter. Impatient as I was(and still am), I wished that I could receive Christ in the Eucharist, receive the Sacraments, and begin my new life as a full-fledged Catholic immediately!

But such was not the will of the Lord.

Begrudgingly at first, I began attending my Wednesday night RCIA sessions, with Gregory Watson as my sponsor. His life was filled with an unending stream of questions from me. Everything from Genesis to Revelation. From particular local custom, to the oldest facets of Canon Law. I confess that I learned a good deal more from him than I did from the RCIA program(at least in terms of pure knowledge).

I spent hours reading more and more about every dogma, every law, every piece of Truth within the Church. During this time of prayer, my own inadequacies became more and more apparent to my eyes and to my heart. I was deeply convicted by my sin, and by my former life(the effects of with I struggle in many ways with even to this day). But through God's grace and providence, my life was irrevocably changed for the better.

This is just the beginning of my journey. What happened next, I will save for next time.

Yours in Christ,
-Gabriel