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| The Annunciation by Leonardo Da Vinci |
And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the U′lai, and it called, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was frightened and fell upon my face. But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.” - Daniel 8:16-17 RSV-CE
Today September 29 is the feast day of St. Gabriel the archangel.
The Hebrew word for angel "mal'akh" (מַלְאָךְ) means messenger as does the the Greek word "ángelos" (άγγελος). So it makes sense that the Catholic Church has made St. Gabriel the patron of messengers, telecommunication workers and postal workers.
St. Gabriel first appears in the Hebrew bible as a translator of visions
(Daniel 8:16-17 above). If the dream was a message, Gabriel's clarifies that message by interpreting the dream.
In the book of Enoch (which is not cannon but read by both the Church fathers and at least two of the disciples), Gabriel is an avenger - a role he also plays in Daniel as well. In the Talmud, it is Gabriel who delivers a message to Queen Vashti urging her to disobey her King - thereby paving the way for Esther and the preservation of the Jews.
Nowhere, however, is Gabriel's role as a messenger more important than when he addresses the Blessed mother in Luke 1:26-38:
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High;and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever;and of his kingdom there will be no end.”And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” And the angel said to her,“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;therefore the child to be born will be called holy,the Son of God.And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.-Luke 1:26-38 - Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition
While I am not a telecommunications worker, I do think that blogging and a digital downloads shop falls somewhat under that heading, so I am planning to prayer to St. Gabriel for help with both of these ventures!
Although there is a part one and part two to my audio testimony, it actually makes more sense if you listen to the second one first. But please feel free to go in whatever order works best for you.
Testimony Part 2: Specifics on my involvement in the New Age and some info on my Protestant experience. Includes my return to the Catholic Church.
Testimony Part 1: Details of my New Age and occult experience and how I realized these teachings were false. Includes my return to Christianity.
My Testimony: From New Age To Christian
This is an audio recording of the first half of my testimony. It focuses on my experience in the New Age and occult and how and why I became a Christian. This testimony was recorded in 2017. When you're done with this video, please check part two of my testimony which talks about how and why I came back to the Catholic Church (New Age To Catholic).
My New Age to Protestant to Catholic Bible Journey
I became involved in Evangelical or Bible based Christianity immediately after leaving the New Age due, in part, to the influence of Doreen Virtue and various New Age To Christianity groups. I didn't realize until writing my New Age To Catholic testimony, however, quite how much I had to say about that - or how much my experience as an Evangelical affected my relationship with Scripture - in good ways and bad.
In this video I talk a bit about why happened and how Catholic apologists like Trent Horn and Patrick Madrid have helped bring me back to the Bible.
My new Catholic Bible - more pictures follow
Things have been going well for me lately.
I feel good about my Etsy shop. Most days, I even feel good about my writing. But I've been wondering lately if continuing with the new age to Catholic content really makes sense. Sometimes I think that it's a waste of time.
I feel discouraged and I'm not sure if that's fatigue, spiritual warfare or just plain common sense. So I prayed for guidance. And then I came across a bible.
Finding the Bible
The Bible was exactly what I'd been looking for ever since I returned to the faith.
It was white, just like the Bible my grandmother had given me when I was young, and it had amazing illustrations and very readable type. There was a section on the Rosary and another on the Stations of the Cross - both complete with pictures. And it was the exact version I'd been looking for.I liked that it was published in 1962 and still in its original box.
So I bought it on the spot.
Reading My New Bible
My new Bible is lovely and it has lots of little extras, like the prayers before the readings and illustrations on the end pages and quotes from the pope and the fathers of the Church in the introduction. Reading the quotes in particular inspired me to start reading the Bible everyday.
I began with St. John. And on day two or three one verse in particular jumped out at me.
One thing I do know, that whereas I was blind, now I see. - St. John 10:25
When I was in the new age I was spiritually blind. And when I returned to the faith, things were suddenly crystal clear. So this verse says it all. It reminded me of how important it is to keep talking about the deception of the new age and occult.
So I decided that for now I am going to hang in there with the blog and continue with my testimony.
Probably the best reason to read the Bible is that it increases our understanding of our Catholic faith. But there are many other reasons. Receiving personal guidance is one. Combatting the lies of the enemy is another.
Both of which were huge for me this week.
What is the Examen Prayer?
The examen prayer is a prayer recommended by St. Ignatius of Loyola and discussed in Fr. Timothy Gallagher's OMV book The Examen Prayer: Ignatian Wisdom for Our Lives which I am currently reading. In it Fr. Gallagher presents the Examen prayer as a five step process that will help us develop relationship with God in our everyday life.
Essentially the examen helps us to examine our day with God and develop an awareness of God in our lives. For me, the examen goes hand and hand with the first fourteen rules of Ignatian discernment because it really does teach us how to see the movement of the good and bad spirits that Ignatius talks about in the rules.
Praying the Examen
The steps of the examen as presented by Fr. Gallagher are, in paraphrase:
Transition. Become aware of the love God has for you.
- Gratitude. Notice the gifts God has has given you over the course of the day and thank him.
- Petition. Ask God for insight and strength in order to make your examen a fruitful work grace.
- Review. Review your day with God. Look for the ways God has stirred your heart and the thoughts He has given you. Look for those ways and thoughts that were not of God. Review your choices in response to all of this and the other choice's you made throughout the day.
- Forgiveness. I ask for forgiveness and healing and allow God to remove your burdens.
- Renewal. Make plans with God about specific ways you can live tomorrow in accord with His loving desire for your life.
Transition. Conclude with prayer and an awareness of God's presence in your examen.
While these steps will get you started Fr. Gallagher's book on the examen can provide some very valuable insights well beyond the scope of this post.
My First Experience with the Examen
As I entered into prayer, I found it surprisingly hard to recall the events of the day. This showed me how very un-examined my life actually is! But I was able to remember most of what had happened.
I talked / prayed about how good I had felt about working in the garden earlier that day, how happy I had been to help a family member in a minor way and how grateful I was for a certain conversation. I saw how God was in all those things and regretted that I had not been aware of it at the time.
I expressed regret for wasting time on unimportant things, skipping the rosary and being impatient with others.
I talked about the insight God had given me earlier that evening - about being too focused on exterior things - and began to understand that it was my own spiritual lack of awareness that had made it necessary for God to make what seemed like an obvious move toward me in the first place.
This insight seemed important. And I realized how unfocused and dull I really am, in a spiritual sense, and how being focused outward is definitely a part of the problem.
I asked for forgiveness and healing and help to do better today. I planned my day with God but I was very tired and didn't get far. I decided only two things really, to get up early and say the rosary and to not let my media consumption cause me to pray the examen late again tonight.
This morning, I was struck by how helpful the rules of Ignatius and the examen prayer already are for me. I have a long, long way to go and the truth is that there is no "getting there." But I am grateful to feel that I have finally and truly begun the journey.
This week's post was supposed to be on the third and fourth rules for spiritual discernment as presented by Fr. Timothy Gallagher and St. Ignatius. But I have found it necessary to take my time with the Rules, just as I found it necessary to take my time with Interior Castle.
Sure I can zoom through the rules and write a series of blog posts on what I think they mean but if I don't slow down and actually apply them, I won't really benefit and neither will anyone who reads what I write about the process.
So I've spent the past week trying to establish a spiritual routine that includes a nightly examen. My success rate has NOT been 100% but I know that I have to keep at it til it is.
In many ways, working with the Rules of St. Ignatius as I have been lately is subtle. We have to train ourselves to be aware of the inner movements of our heart and the affects of the good spirit and the bad. We can't do that unless we are paying close attention, not only to the events of our day but to our inner responses to those events.
In this, the examen is an incomparable resource.
The Examen in the Process of Spiritual Discernment
This week's post was supposed to be on the third and fourth rules for spiritual discernment as presented by Fr. Timothy Gallagher and St. Ignatius. But I have found it necessary to take my time with the Rules, just as I found it necessary to take my time with Interior Castle.
Sure I can zoom through the rules and write a series of blog posts on what I think they mean but if I don't slow down and actually apply them, I won't really benefit and neither will anyone who reads what I write about the process.
So I've spent the past week trying to establish a spiritual routine that includes a nightly examen. My success rate has NOT been 100% but I know that I have to keep at it til it is.
In many ways, working with the Rules of St. Ignatius as I have been lately is subtle. We have to train ourselves to be aware of the inner movements of our heart and the affects of the good spirit and the bad. We can't do that unless we are paying close attention, not only to the events of our day but to our inner responses to those events.
In this, the examen is an incomparable resource.
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