First, I have to say that it wasn’t a big step for me to return to Catholicism; at the bottom, I always was, even when I denied it.
I was born and raised in the Catholic Church during the 1950s, before the Second Vatican Council. In Quebec before the Quiet Revolution, almost everybody who spoke French, parents, neighbours, teachers, doctors, and police, was Catholic. My Gnosticism and after the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship was promoted, defended and taught with Catholic arguments, my spouse, who is a Baptist Minister, always put it under my nose that the Baptist, Evangelist and Pentecostal do not refer to that answer when it is an argumentation.
There are many doctrines with which I disagree, such as the doctrine of communion. However, open communion aligns more closely with how Jesus planned it; He didn’t specify giving it only to specific groups. The ordination of women is another major issue.
Two factors in teaching make me cross over. First, the teaching of the Franciscan Nun, Ilia Delio, who is, according to me, a modern version of the Gnostic teaching that I was part of.
Second, the Thomistic Institute exists to promote Catholic truth in our contemporary world by strengthening the intellectual formation of Christians at universities, within the Church, and in the broader public square. The thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Universal Doctor of the Church, serves as our touchstone that resonates with me. I am also listening to Brother Paul-Adrien, a Dominican Catholic priest, with whom I have a hard time with his teaching on the ancient world, but I appreciate his approach.
Then, the newcomers in my life were Father Casey Cole, a Franciscan Brother; Father Richard Rohr, another Franciscan Brother; and Robert Spitzer, an American Jesuit priest, philosopher, educator, author, speaker, and retired President of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.
In 2020, I joined an Ecumenical Franciscan group. Then, I became a Volunteer Chaplain with the National Association of Catholic Chaplains on February 28, 2022. I didn’t need it; I was already a member of the International Federation of Christian Chaplains since 2012.
The Metaphysical Effect
We have beautiful churches in my area, so I spend many Sundays visiting them and, of course, taking pictures. The Catholic Church in Lachute, Quebec, the Saint Anastasia Parish, located at 174, rue Béthany, features a narthex with shelves for displaying magazines and flyers. One day, while exploring, I found a publication from the Heralds of the Gospel. On a page, there was a small publicity square with an internet link. I was led to go to the website.
I began a 33-day course for Consecration to Jesus through Mary, as taught by the Heralds of the Gospel, following the teachings of Louis Marie de Montfort.
Consecrated on November 11, 2023, OUR LADY OF THE PORTUGUESE
Catherine Labouré and the Miraculous Medal
In 1946, the 300th anniversary of the declaration of Mary Immaculate as Queen of Portugal was commemorated. November 11: on the anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Catherine Laboure.
Wow, what a wonderful thing! Followed by a mass in Brazil that you can attend in Montreal church and other churches, as well as on YouTube.
I received an email from Father Michael Carlson, EP, saying that the Holy Mary set all the steps leading to the consecration, which I took with a “grain de sel”, a French saying meaning To take something with a “grain of salt” or “pinch of salt” is an English idiom that suggests viewing something, specifically claims that may be misleading or unverified, with skepticism or not to interpret something literally.
But it’s the aftermath; amazing. If it’s not the Holy Mary, I wish to know who it is.
A strange force compelled me to do things like becoming a soldier of Mary, Militia Immaculatae, on December 12, 2023, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I register online, and when it’s done, I ask myself, ‘What did I just do? My God, I don’t understand. It must have a reason for this, but I cannot explain it. It is not rational.
Later, I became a member of a few others in Mary’s group, and then, one day in 2025, I started a Facebook group called the EMMI Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary.
Now I am a born-again Catholic.
My YouTube Heroes:
