Gavin Ashenden: Confessions of an ANGRY CATHOLIC

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Here Gavin responds to claims that he is not nice enough when he discusses Anglicanism. He explains how what some perceive as unkindness is actually driven by jealousy for Jesus. Anything that keeps people away from the mass, and therefore away from Jesus is a problem.
#anglican #catholicchurch #jesuschrist #angry #protestant

[@elisabethsullivan78]

Dear Gavin Ashenden, you are such an edifying and wholesome CATHOLIC soul, please 🙏 keep confessing your heartfelt gratitude for the real presence of JESUS in the HOLY EUCHARIST.

[@SoyebAkhtar25]

Of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil, until death faces one of them, and he says, "Now have I repented indeed;" nor of those who die rejecting Faith: for them have We prepared a punishment most grievous. - (Quran 4:18). Allah forgives all sins if anyone repents to him - (Quran 39:53). La ilaha illallahu Muhammadar rasulullah - (There is no deity but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah).

[@susand3668]

@@SoyebAkhtar25 you didn't listen to this video, did you?

[@SoyebAkhtar25]

@@susand3668 No

[@susand3668]

@@SoyebAkhtar25 Okay, then. Try listening.

[@SoyebAkhtar25]

@@susand3668 Many Priests and Bishops are not preaching the teaching of the Bible.

[@louisescott1480]

Thank you so very much, Dr Ashenden. May God bless you always in your Catholic faith.

[@user-jn5wq6zd5e]

As a cradle Catholic, I find your observations on this topic profoundly meaningful! Thank you!

[@Kitiwake]

If not already, read or watch the portrayal of the life and trial of saint Sir Thomas More. His life and death were repeated hundreds if not thousands of times in England, Scotland Wales and Ireland. Can we measure up to them? Greatest respect for English Catholics.

[@veritastangg9486]

Thank you for sharing your great love for the Holy Mass & the Eucharist. May God & Our Lady continue to guide you & inspire you.

[@PattiS3]

Gavin, if in my last years I receive the grace to be half as charitable and loving as you are, I will consider it a big win.

[@mezza4711]

You are a grace-filled man! Thank you for all your wonderful discources. God bless you.

[@andymalone7338]

True if we Catholic believed and appreciated the miracle of the mass we would crawl to Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on our bellies and never tolerate the personal sacrilege of not valuing it sufficiently.

[@gerardbrady7049]

I'm currently reading Holly Ordway's spiritual biography of Tolkien and it deals with his great love for the Blessed Sacrament. When I as a young and very confused young adult it was what continually drew me back to the Catholic Faith and kept me on the right path. I am reminded of the quote from Augustine Birrell a former Chief Secretary for Ireland, "It is the Mass that matters; it is the Mass that makes the difference, so hard to define, so subtle is it, yet so perceptible, between a Catholic country and a Protestant one, between Dublin and Edinburgh, between Havre and Cromer. Here, I believe, is one of the battlefields of the future".

[@AnneOfNYS]

Your comment is so beautiful that it takes my breath away! May God richly bless the Catholics in Ireland and in Great Britain.

[@outoforbit00]

​@@AnneOfNYS I'm Irish, Amen to that.

[@AnneOfNYS]

@@outoforbit00 Amen and Amen! You have an outstanding heritage 💚🍀💚

[@tolkienlewis6887]

I enjoyed that book very much. Yes, the Eucharist is at the heart of everything. That's why there can be no true ecumenism without it.

[@glenvere]

Surely Christ should be at the heart of everything and not the ‘works’ of the Mass.

[@fredhakel5826]

Shared with great tenderness and love...May God continue to bless you in your important mission!

[@user-wh8pe6gq5n]

As a fervent Catholic I just feel sad for my loved ones who no longer practice their faith and am inspired to double down on my prayers and trust in Our Lord that He will bring them back through my Trust in His Goodness.

[@ChrisS-ps4lg]

Dear Dr Ashenden, you are a jewel in the treasury of the Church. Bless you.

[@Basaljet]

I had no doubt in my Anglican life that what I held in my hands at the altar was the very body and blood of Christ. I recall the exhilarating discovery that everything "Catholic" was accessible as a teenage student within the Anglo Catholic tradition in the late 70's. Rome held nothing that we didn't have (except for communion with Peter but we would work to fix that!)The week after my "Priesting" my Godly training incumbent (now aged 90) asked me what I had been reading. I was rereading the response from Canterbury and York after apostolicae curae and had tried to remember all the points. He was annoyed and said "You don't need to keep lifting your garments to look at your belly when youv'e only just put on the shirt", but the document gave me confidence that I had nothing less than the real thing! 13 years later something abruptly changed. Unexpectedly and in moments. It all slipped through my fingers and left me. I could no longer stand in conscience and conduct the Anglican Eucharist. I was a charlatan, a liar, dishonest a false prophet a bad apple. If I had stayed, which I very much wanted to do I would have tumbled into a breakdown. Suddenly 30 years have past and I have been a (Married) Catholic priest for 28 years. DG. It feels like less than 10. Now I find myself very tired and exhausted. I realise something must change. I have great affection for my past life and all my Anglican friends but when I go into an Anglican Church of whatever "tradition" I am overwhelmed by a sense of the divine absence, the very opposite of "Real Presence" especially at the (Anglican) Eucharist. That is ungracious and unkind but for me it just doesn't work. It is real emptiness. I thank God for every moment of my Priestly life from the very beginning but most of all for the extraordinary concession that was given to me 28 years ago. "Cast your bread upon the waters -LITERALLY -" said my old confessor and SD who preceded me by a year across the Tyber and lived to be 102. I am very glad i did! "All things work together for good!" I just need to have a bit of a rest and perhaps write a book but the 24/7 task of catholic parish ministry prohibits that and there are limited resources for assistance.

[@christinereich6050]

It would be an interesting book. I do wonder what life is like as a married Catholic priest.

[@sanjivjhangiani3243]

One way to be charitable and truthful regarding Anglican churches, as a Catholic, is to think of them as shrines rather than churches. They don't have the real presence, but they are "holy" because many Christians have prayed there.

[@AnneOfNYS]

Such a beautiful post. God bless you for your journey. I pray you get a breather, that rest you need. ✝️

[@DrGAshenden]

I’m very deeply moved by this. It was exactly this sense of absence that acted to propel me too.

[@declancooney1029]

thanks and God bless you

[@jameswall6270]

Anglicanism has some great people and has and continues to do great works of mercy, but ultimately it's a shadow. Pray for the conversion of England.

[@stevehall9333]

It's not a conversion that's needed, it's a complete return to God - most do not have him in their lives, hence our current deep troubles

[@ninaluz8710]

@@stevehall9333 when Russia converts so will the Anglicans - protestants.... Lord have mercy on us all🙏🙏🙏

[@maryn8139]

Well put -- a shadow -- dark, insubstantial & fleeting.

[@acr164]

My problem is your anger against the pope, not Anglicanism

[@Apriluser]

@@jameswall6270 why is it that wherever the Roman church is the strongest (think Central and South America), those countries are poor and have deep societal corruption? Why is it that wherever the Protestant/ Anglican churches are strongest (think the Western countries) there is the rule of law and much less corruption?

[@gerri49]

Henry VIII ripped the heart out if this country and it has never recovered. Which is why we are such a brutal and wounded country that does not care for itself or its people. Maybe rather than praying for the consecration of Russia we should be praying for the restoration of our nation. A nation that was a once a Holy place of pilgrimage.

[@maryn8139]

Excellent point & so true.

[@Kitiwake]

A holy and blessed land once upon a time.

[@CatholicTraditional]

🇬🇧 would’ve remained a Catholic country if it weren’t for Henry VIII. 🇺🇸 would’ve then been a Catholic country with a constitution as such, as the 🇫🇷 & 🇪🇸 colonies were Catholic. 😊

[@rogeryoung5180]

So much wrong here. England was a country where the Reformation found fertile soil,with or without Henry VIII. But you do realize, hopefully, that things that happened 500 years ago are beyond our understanding and ability to judge. Even the “Catholic countries” are not as Catholic as you think, based on Mass attendance, numbers or ordinands, closed churches, and clerical scandals. To say Britain and Anglicanism has troubles is no different from saying the same thing about the RC Church. Think of the situation of the RC Church in Ireland, France, and Germany now, to name a few. Their crises are beyond anything you can find in Anglicanism.

[@maryn8139]

@@rogeryoung5180 -- These crises you are mentioning stem from the further Anglicanization of the RC church, ie., vapid N.O., Vatican 2 downgrades of all the churches, practical elimination of good catechesis, etc, etc.

[@marcelw6045]

Being Catholic is ever more difficult but, proportionally, more spiritually joyful as we face these times in the sure knowledge of the miracle at the heart of our Mass.

[@MegaESSBEE]

There is a great hunger for our Catholic faith out there if only we could get our message across consistently so that people recognise it - thank God for Catholic Unscripted together and individually for working so hard to explain, educate, enthuse, mourn, guard jealously, teach, learn, and spill tea on their microphones...

[@catholicunscripted]

😂 Perfectly put

[@marcokite]

@@catholicunscripted - There is a great hunger for the Holy Orthodox faith out there, if only we could get our message across consistently so that people recognise it - thank God for the Holy Orthodox Church for working so hard to explain, educate, enthuse, mourn, guard jealously and teach. The Orthodox saints are in a different category to the Roman Catholic good people of the past. It's not sour grapes but i'm overwhelmed by the beauty of Holy Orthodoxy. A great time to be Orthodox! So many really holy Orthodox bishops & priests out there in the world NOW! The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is the Holy Orthodox Church. Sadly the Roman Catholic Church went into schism from it around 1,000 years ago. But God is generous and has raised up some holy people who were and are Roman Catholics.

[@marcokite]

There is a great hunger for the Holy Orthodox faith out there, if only we could get our message across consistently so that people recognise it - thank God for the Holy Orthodox Church for working so hard to explain, educate, enthuse, mourn, guard jealously and teach. The Orthodox saints are in a different category to the Roman Catholic good people of the past. It's not sour grapes but i'm overwhelmed by the beauty of Holy Orthodoxy. A great time to be Orthodox! So many really holy Orthodox bishops & priests out there in the world NOW! The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is the Holy Orthodox Church. Sadly the Roman Catholic Church went into schism from it around 1,000 years ago. But God is generous and has raised up some holy people who were and are Roman Catholics.

[@boojasmine]

Excellent as always Gavin. Thank you. Myles, Edmonton, Canada

[@MN-nr8bq]

God bless you Gavin for this heartfelt, humble and honest message which spoke directly to the pain the I have felt in my own heart since becoming a Catholic 3 years ago at the age of 59 after spending my life as an Anglican/Evangelical. I am profoundly grateful to the Holy Spirit for drawing me into the truth during COVID and I absolutely love my faith and the church but struggle with regrets about the wasted years and what could have been for my family etc. I realize that God’s timing is perfect and He has me here at this time and place for a purpose and I rest in that while I work to get over my weaknesses and tendency to look back over my shoulder with regret.

[@marygunning5121]

Don't worry about it I returned to my Catholic Faith at 65 I am now 66. God Almighty works in mysterious ways. God Bless you.

[@ginabideau3748]

I pray the Holy Rosary that all lapsed Catholics in Ireland came back to the one true faith and for the conversion of England. God bless you Gavin.

[@Danny42759]

Today is the day of Hedda of Wessex, Saint of the British Isles from the 6th century. Hope that the brits understand their heritage and come back to the catholic church. All the best, God bless.

[@marcokite]

Today is the day of Hedda of Wessex, Saint of the British Isles from the 6th century. Hope that the English understand their heritage and come back to the Orthodox Church. All the best, God bless.

[@Danny42759]

@@marcokite must be nice copying without giving any context. The kingdom of Wessex was under the jurisdiction of Rome and the pope at this time and not under the patriarch of Konstantinopel. Currently the catholic church is in a crisis, maybe we are back on track with a good pope. The orthodox church just went through a schism, Konstantinopel and Moscow do not accept each other anymore because of politics. Hope the christians unite again.

[@royquick-s5n]

Did the Brits leave it? It would be nice, though, if the Church of England were back in communion with Rome as well as the schism between East and West ended. One wonders whether the obstacles today are from what occurred, added, after the Reformation and after the East-West schism.

[@ejpcvqjno]

One of the things I admire about Dr. Ashenden is his willingness to tell you that he's changed his mind. Your lifelong process of discernment is a benefit to all of us.

[@user-ll9wh4jt2k]

In the side entrance to the Heilig Geist church in Munich Germany there is a 14th century Pieta made of painted wood. It is so beautiful. Seeing the Michaelangelo Pieta in the Vatican was an anticlimax for me. A few years earlier, I attended a lecture in divinity school. A Protestant lecturer showed a photo of this Pieta to Protestant ministry candidates, who resoundly said that it should be destroyed. This pieta survived the WWII bombing of this church. The church was rebuilt but had no stations of the cross or other decorations , except for an equally ancient wooden painted crucifix. The bottom of the cross had been blown off. The crucifix was placed at the height of the people. On a Wednesday morning in winter I attended a Mass which was full of elderly Germans. I realized that these people were the ones who had been paraded through nearby Dachau concentration camp. I knelt at the foot of the Pieta and wept. An elderly German woman put her arms around me and offered to console me. Becoming a Catholic for me was an enormous occasion for healing because of my childhood grief and the lack of answers my Protestant upbringing provided. So was every confession I attended. When I was going in and out of a coma 20 years ago, I received the Final Sacrament of the dying, and I was conscious of the priest taking the oxygen mask off my face and placing the Eucharist in my mouth. I remember tasting the host and saying, "Oh my God is with me!" Priests say that no matter how injured or close to death a person is, they remember the words of the " Our Father". Every time I get angry at what is happening in Rome and in society in general, I remember how precious those memories of receiving the Sacraments were. A people recovered through their Catholic faith from the Nazis, enough to have compassion for me in Munich as I was kneeling before that Pieta, weeping for the horribleness of the world, as Mary wept holding her dead son Jesus in her arms. A holy image or icon like a Pieta is a remembrance of the conversion of human beings to compassion and mercy, because of that horrible loss that Mary suffered in the death of her son. The Eucharist is not just a remembrance of the death and resurrection of Jesus, who is capable of overcoming all the evils of this world, including those within our churches. It is a living reality. Our God is with us. By all means every Protestant needs to come home to the reality of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. But I pray that those leading the church astray also return home. The more they stray from the reality of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, the more horrible people become, and the more evil is allowed to prevail in the world. Currently it feels like the evils we are witnessing in the world and the Catholic church is like being dragged through Dachau, in order to open our eyes to what we have done in our stupidity and lack of attention. I beg every Catholic to kneel before a Pieta and remember the cost of allowing evil to prevail. Most of all remember that Our God is with us.

[@GerryRose777]

What a beautiful thought provoking comment thank you so much x

[@geoffjs]

Thank you!

[@suziesmgmr]

Thank you for writing this most moving account.

[@maryn8139]

God bless your BEAUTIFUL heart & kindness for sharing your sacred experiences & thoughts. It is outrageously evil that anyone would want to destroy a Holy Pieta -- these offending people have hearts of stone.

[@susannestorm9705]

Thank you for this beautiful comment! ❤❤❤❤

[@mikemorales4855]

If it is difficult for us to be Catholic. Imagine the pain of living in China and trying to practice the faith.

[@user-SgHDr217]

Love can be all positive and wonderful things, and God’s love is indeed unconditional. Love is also painful, and sanctifying and goes far beyond suffering, to joy. To experience it all, is to truly know God!

[@Kitiwake]

Almost like being a Catholic in Glasgow.

[@user-sd6yu1xs4g]

Gavin, a paradigm shift may be required, clarity of mind is 1 thing but, strength of backbone is another....what was lacking yesterday, is now vital today!

[@donaldlippert6374]

Thank you Dr Ashenden. I wish everyone would share your amazement before the miracle of the Eucharistic. I also pray that people would understand the consequences and implications of that amazement… as you do. 🙏

[@Nora-ky5bt]

Thank you for your honest thoughts Dr. Ashenden.. I feel the same way. We must pray for conversions

[@AnneOfNYS]

So beautifully said, Doctor! Thank you! The history of Anglicanism in the "Protestant Episcopal" Church into which I was born was just that... history. My church thanked the Presbyterian Church for ordaining Bishops who could then have a " number" (for Apostolic Succession, which isn't so.). I was Episcopal because my mother's family, in particular her father, were Anglican. Her father's family were raised Anglican in Jamaica. (Ruling class in that then-colony). They all spoke with accents, which was delightful I thought. They were committed Anglicans, so when arriving in NYC, they joined one of the snootiest Episcopal churches, very very high church. And sometimes they complained, *the Americans this" and "the Americans that My great grandmother died the year I was born, and she stayed with that famously nose-in-the-air church. May she rest in peace. Henry VIII and Crammer were hardly mentioned. We were the Church of the American Revolution, and we children were taught to be proud of God and country. I learned the horrific actions of Henry VIII in European History Class. A secular high school ànd then a secular college pulled bo punches. And I began to be ashamed to be part of a "Communion" that did all those terrible things. I stopped attending. But after I was married, I decided to return to church so my future children could be raised Christian.. And that is when I found that my once sensible Church had fallen into the abyss lof modernism. I found something in the transmigration in the Eucharist (wafer and wine) when I was Episcopal.Or maybe heaven gave me grace when I made heartfelt prayers during communion. I had been taught in RICA about the actual presence of Christ in the host and wine. I said *okay' and went with the flow. But communion knocked my socks off! I felt the sheer power and love like nothing I had ever known in any church! I was in all the way.. I stopped keeping track of the Episcopal Church early in my Catholic life. I was now in a church with beauty, meaning, gravitas and God. I am horrified at the radical social path the Episcopal Church. GAFCON hadn't yet started when I left. So I didn't have much of a choice. That is the path along which God led me. I deplore the Vatican 's consorting with Anglicans. And that is just one thing I dislike about the current regime in the Vatican. But I am every day blessed to be part of the Catholic Church and all its practices and lovely devotions. So my journey has been different. And YES, I looked into the scientific reports of the body and blood of Christ. I was flabbergasted!! A daily miracle! I am so thankful to the Holy Trinity and the Church. Praise be to God

[@AnneOfNYS]

@@royquick-s5n OMG! Go away! Just go away! You are so wrong about me in so many ways. I'm not going to tackle correcting you. Now get lost!

[@AnneOfNYS]

@@royquick-s5n Thank you for the clarification. I appreciate your good words. I don't think you were historically inaccurate. You mentioned horrific facts that are now hard for me to read. That is because the Episcopal Church used to have a separation or buffer between itself and the England Anglican Church. We were taught barebones history from the Episcopal Church. Mostly, folks thought the church was the cat's meow. And there was lots of pride of being the church of many Founding Fathers of America. I didn't learn about the awful things in church. But in a semester of European history in high school and another semester early in college I learned the full story. It was part of my excuse for not only leaving that church when I was in college, but leaving all other churches too. I didn't ask anyone anything. I just gave up. By the end of my twenties I cried out to God because I had really gone astray. God did help me. So I went back to the Episcopal Church. That was the very end of the 1970's. So I saw the change as it happened. And even I knew that church was a Trainwreck waiting to happen! But I hung in for over a decade. Finally, I had had enough. To paraphrase Pres. Reagan, I didn't leave my church. My church left me. Becoming Catholic was such a a relief. Since by 1993 our RICA class was very thin on theology, I have been learning the Catholic faith as I attend church. Why didn't I leave because of the Inquisition? Early on, I felt the supernatural part of Catholicism. I couldn't leave for where would I go? And I learned that Protestant churches are all descended from Luther. So I couldn't go there. Orthodox, no! Later ón Messianic Christianity was tempting as it wasn't from Luther. But why leave the one true Church that Christ established? And I didn't want to celebrate ALL Jewish holidays! As to what you wrote relating various new factions of possible unity. I know there is a Catholic Anglican Rite Mass. Just for old times sake I'd like to see that. They accept the Pope and core Catholic teachings. But I have never been able to find one near me. And that's okay. But the rest probably were in infancy when I left in 1993. And I never looked back. I bumped into GAFCON on my KZbin feed last summer. I found Dr Gavin Ashenton interest (a former Church of England Bishop and Confessor to the late Queen who is now a Catholic layman). But I am not going to check out a GAFCON church just because I'm confused and unhappy about what is happening in the Vatican! I'm Catholic and I will die Catholic. (At 72 I do think that way). That the Pope is buddies with that Anglican Archbishop (head of the Anglican Communion). is dreadful. Our Lady of Good Success has some fascinating prophesies about what is happening in Rome. It is an extremely serious situation. And I'm not leaving. However I may become a Remnant Catholic. I'm trying to learn about the remnant-thing. Saint Sir Thomas Moore and Saint John Fisher had their Feast Day a week ago. Henry VIII was awful . Henry, Crammer and Luther were devilish. (I'm not fond of Queen Mary either.) That is the short story of my Church life! Lol! God bless you. ✝️🛐💟🙏🏻💟🛐✝️

[@AnneOfNYS]

@@royquick-s5n The word STARTED is interesting. It can mean the legal establishment of something. Likewise it can mean the inception of something . I have see Brits say the Church of England started under Queen Elizabeth I. We in the States cut to the chase. St Sir Thomas Moore and St. John Fisher were unalive by Henry VIII. And it was Henry VIII who broke with Rome, making himself the head of the Church of England. And this British monarchs have been the head of that state ever since. Charles III became king the moment his mother passed away. He was coronated about a year later. The Church of England started when Henry VIII broke with Rome . After that many who would not renounce their Catholic fate met terrible enda. They were martyred. Elizabeth I put the finishing touches on the legal paperwork. But that Church started under Henry. By the same token, we say the United States started on July 4th, 1776. It was legally established with our Constitution after 7 years of Civil W and a couple of years of a different legal document, the Articles of Confederation. We do have a day called Constitution Day, but I don't know when it is.! This country started with the Declaration of Independence. The Church of England started when King Henry VIII declared independence from Rome. It was Henry VIII who is responsible for the martyrdom of many Catholics who wouldn't leave Rome. It was an awful time. Absolute monarchy was evil in Henry's hands.

[@AnneOfNYS]

@@royquick-s5n Bully for you (as another President used to say. That is a whitewash. Henry VII beheaded his two good friends., St. John Fisher and St. Sir Thomas Moore. And there is a woman saint who was unalived at the stake. As were many other Catholics Don't make history sound pretty when it is abominable. Mary, Henry's daughter, just reversed the process of who burns whom. If things were so peachy keen under Henry VIII, why did Crammer make his famous statement to his friend "Play the man ..." Then he but his right arm into the fire before he was placed at the atak. He pronounced that he was sending his right arm to he;; because of all the death warrants he unjustly signed. Why all this if there was nothing really until Elizabeth I. Henry VIII was a psychopath. And no, I never claimed I was Anglican. The USA Episcopal Church was part of the Anglican Communion. But we had/they still have a head Bishop of the Episcopal Church. And that church makes its own rules. A woman priest was ordained the first woman bishop in the Episcopal Church decades before Canterbury even considered that kind of thing. When ai finally learned the (late) Queen was the head of the Anglican Church and this the head of what was then my church, I wanted to vomit. It is one of the reasons aI left that church. Americans don't mix church and state. Period. I never was straight out Anglican. So I didn't get get the whitewashing brainwashing. I thought we were like the Merjodistss. They broke from the Anglican Church and became totally independent No such luck. (BTW, I deeply respect the late Queen Elizabeth II. I just didn't want a foreign Queen or King being the head of a church I was part of.) So yes, I was USA Episcopal, which is part of the Anglican Communion. But I was NEVER Church of England Anglican. Thank God. You should take a college course here in Western European History. You would then see the whitewashing of Henry VIII, who lots of Brits think epitomizes Merry Ole England. That man held what amounted to pogroms on any who remained faithful Catholics... Faithful to Rome. Monks were unalived. It was ghastly. But believe what the heck you want. I am done with you. Don't post to me anymore. I am not interested in falsehoods. Godspeed.

[@AnneOfNYS]

@@royquick-s5n Okay, thank you for your last post. Yes I am very interested in Catholics Unscripted. They do give me new angles to things, yet they are completely Catholic. It's a fascinating broadcast . I especially like Dr Gavin Ashenton. He is 2 years younger than I. Sometimes his references go over the heads of the excellent Gen X'ers. But I get it. I don't think the Church of England was as crazy as the Episcopal Church. I learned in 1976 the Episcopal Church not only allowed, they actually recommend abortion for emergency situations. Define Emergency situations ... It is relative (proof modernism had reached the highest ranks of the Episcopal Church by 1976.) The situations ranged from the usual mother's life endangered/rape/incest to undefinable relative situations like it would cause a difficult negative change in the life of the mother. Now many Episcopal parishes are demonstrating outside school boards and the likebto allow children to have transgender operations. I was very sorry I googled for a news update on my former church. It is now an abomination. My hope for the Catholic Church is that God prevents a total modernist take over. But if that evil day does come, I am prepared to become a Remnant Catholic . Elijah thought he was the last true Jew in Ahab and Jezebel's Israel. But the LORD told him He had a thousand who had not bowed to Baal. That was a Remnant. I am prepared to become a Catholic Remnant as a final step. But I sure don't want to. May the LORD bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine up on you. May He give you His peace 🕊️ Amen

[@AdamCarroll-tq3te]

Thank you Gavin for your beautiful and honest testimony. Keep up the good work.

[@navarrenavarre]

Watching this again with a friend and the zeal is so infectious because it is a man who speaks after being given vision by our Lord to see again. It's so 'Paul' on the road to Damascus that it inspires. A great heart Gavin is a true heart - nothing stops it beating.

[@amymargaretabigail]

Dr Ashenden, I’m tearing up.. you perfectly express the thoughts and feelings that almost plague me daily. It’s so LONELY and PAINFUL being Catholic, and although American, of English descent… I have a hard time forgiving Henry for essentially destroying England, ripping the riches and beauty and eternal Truth and Presence of our Lord from the people he was called to protect and defend. The lasting damage extends far beyond the borders of Great Britain, and penetrates American soil, for sure. I guess i just have to keep thanking the Lord that He rescued me from Protestantism at age 50 and feeds me Himself in the mass now. Dr A, your talks really mean so, so much to me. Thank you for sharing all that you do.

[@DrGAshenden]

Bless you, and thank you most deeply for taking the trouble to write.

[@maryn8139]

Hi! I share similar sentiments with you & am also a convert. Recently, I was very fortunate to stumble upon some talks by Pastor Joel Osteen -- they really changed my mood most profoundly -- he is such a caring, positive & true believer. Check him out -- you don't have to be lonely & alone, etc. God bless you! ❤

[@royquick-s5n]

Was it Henry VIII who destroyed England? Do you know that final break with Rome did not occur till 1570, twelve years into the reign of Elizabeth I? And look at Mary I, "Bloody Mary," who brought the Church of England back in communion with Rome before Elizabeth I. What many do not know is the devastation that the Church of England, Anglicans, suffered from the Puritans during the Commonwealth, Interregnum.

[@royquick-s5n]

Henry VIII was followed by Edward VI and Mary I. Mary I forced the Church of England back into communion with Rome, hence the name "Bloody Mary." The final break did not occur till 1570, twelve years into the reign of Elizabeth I.

[@timmoore9736]

Welcome home! It takes a tremendous amount of courage to make the change. God bless!

[@elizabethhfyh]

Beautiful. Nothing sour about living in a 5 star hotel and wanting everyone else to join the joy.

[@AndrewLane-pm2ro]

Thank you for mentioning the Eucharistic miracles. 👍 They're awesome and kinda frightening at the same time. ❤

[@arthurchurms683]

Thank you so much Gavin for opening your heart to us and sharing your such profound thoughts with us. I’m an Anglican in South Africa, worshipping sometimes at a very high church in the suburbs of Cape Town (I live outside of Cape Town), and I recognise much of what you say. Yes, I will pray for you as I also pray for my own way towards our Lord. Thanks again for your internet ministry, which I find to be helpful. God bless from, Arthur

[@user-dk1nq3cn4e]

Thank you, Dr. Gavin Ashenden.

[@giancarlocavaciocchi475]

Welcome Dr Ashenden! God bless you

[@karenstack543]

You’re a lovely person Gavin & your intentions are good and clearly originate from a deep love of God. Keep doing what you’re doing😉

[@MegPea391]

Dear brother Gavin, Thank you for this. I too have been mystified by your recent tone and urgency of late. I recently drafted/penned a comment that never got sent on another video - to call into question the dissonance I saw at your joy at Ayam Hirsi Ali’s coming to faith contrasted with the strong criticism and impatience for those (like me) not yet drawn to catholic faith. I appreciate the journey I have been on with you listening in on your thought processes, changes of heart, and the opening of your eyes to the riches of life in the Catholic Church. I am delighted for you. But also crave your patience with those of us who are put where we are by the grace of God in the place we are at the moment. I was baptised Anglican as a baby, mum re-married a Lutheran and I have married a Lutheran pastor myself. My simple faith has been nurtured and grown in this church. And I am very thankful for this. I occasionally go to catholic mass due to the heartbreak around my national church (LCA) seeking to walk further and further away from orthodoxy. It is utterly tragic. But why was I brought here to this church? And, related to your musings on the historical anglicans you have been blessed by, why did God bless JS Bach with such gifts of faith, reverence, creativity and exquisite beauty if not for the building up of his church? Yes, perhaps it is to draw us back to the one true church. This may be the case. Once again it is an interesting experience and a somewhat tricky path of exposing so much of your walk with all of us on KZbin. God bless you and keep you safe from attack. And when you are, the Lord grant you his peace and trust in the only one in whom we can boast. In christian love Meg

[@chucklumb3500]

You ask, "But why was I brought here to this church?" By church do you mean the Lutheran Church? That should not be an impediment to converting to Catholicism. You can regard the Lutheran Church as a stepping stone. Otherwise, why would any person convert from their original tradition to another? See Matthew 28:19-20. This is the whole history of the Church from the beginning. 🙂

[@DrGAshenden]

Meg one of the things that I didn’t say, is that I don’t think the journey - the speed of the journey -can be forced in anybody. It took me a very long time indeed. And I think that was partly because when I came across it was God’s time. I strongly think that each of us should look for God’s time and wait for the Holy Spirit.

[@MegPea391]

@@DrGAshenden thank you, Gavin.

[@anniethompson1041]

This was a lovely explanation, Dr. Ashenden, thank you. It's so difficult to explain the effect the true presence in the eucharist has on the human soul to non-Catholics. Recently I had a discussion about it with friends (who I presume were raised in the Anglican tradition) and they told me that had had the same spiritual experience (as I have had with the eucharist) during a Hindu meditation retreat in India. I could only smile and say a silent prayer for them. It sounds condescending for me to even think that way, but I've been born again in Christ, and I know He is the way, the truth, and the life. I wish sharing the truth with others was an easier thing to do.

[@maryn8139]

Quite frankly, meditation is a transforming spiritual experience that deeply imbues the meditator with profound loving kindness towards all. So. although I converted to Holy Mother Catholic Church about 3 years ago, I continue to meditate & experience God's love.

[@mikemorales4855]

Prince William appears to want to reduce the magnificence and splendor of the monarchy. He also appears to not show any interest in the church. He should be careful about how he goes about changing a thousand years of tradition.

[@Mark3ABE]

“Kind hearts are more than coronets, and simple Faith than Norman blood.”

[@maureenelsden1927]

@@Mark3ABE The so-called Windsors have very little Norman blood - mainly Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII.

[@marcokite]

@@maureenelsden1927 - Incorrect, they are more importantly, descended from Beaufort's daughter-in-law, Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV.

[@maureenelsden1927]

@@marcokite I am correct: Edward IV was a cuckoo whose father was not Richard of York but an archer.

[@maryn8139]

Thank you immensely Gavin for reviewing the often ignored differences between the Catholic Church & Protestant church -- how many would remain Protestant if they knew the tenets of their faith?! Thank you!❤

[@edh.9584]

See Blessed Carlo Acutis' display on Eucharistic Miracles he did in his early teens. Wonderful!

[@mezza4711]

Thanks

[@patbuyce9491]

Thank you so very much for this heart-felt video. Truly, one of the best I have ever heard about our beautiful Catholic Faith. God works wonders 🙏 God bless you, Sir. My brother and fellow Catholic.

[@kooky2]

Bless you Gavin and thank you for your candour. 😊

[@LesRitaMitsouko]

Let's not forget that priests were hung for saying Mass in Ireland during the centuries of English conquest and colonisation (mass starvation, depopulation, deportation, crushing of the Irish language, material and spiritual impoverisent, plantation, the list goes on). In desperation, some people converted to Protestantism and became known as "soupers".

[@guynicholls8154]

Don't make the mistake of thinking that English Catholic priests and laity of the penal times felt any less pain just because it was their own people who were persecuting them.

[@royquick-s5n]

Let's not forget what occurred during the reign of Mary I, "Bloody Mary," or what the objective of the Spanish Armada was.

[@Elvidb]

Things go around and around, they never stay exactly the same. If this pope is not what you preper it will change in time. One thing that will never change and end though is the Catholic Church because it is the true church with Christ as head. God bless and he will never let us go.

[@marycrawford1594]

The late Mick Aston, leading archeologist of Time Team, once compared the destruction of the monasteries to the Beeching destruction of the railways. He was pointing out how in some places the railway lines were actually pulled up, how houses were built over former railway routes and stations. As he put it, they were making a statement that these railways were never coming back, and it was the same with the monasteries. And at this distance of time there does appear to be something spiteful or malicious about it. The ending of some railway lines destroyed the living of many people, such as market gardeners who depended on fast trains to get their produce to the markets in large towns while still fresh, and so on. No account was taken of this. There is also a whiff of corruption about it, just as with the 'dissolution' of the monasteries. It is said that the government of the day couldn't abide the strength of the railway workers' unions as it challenged their power, not unlike Henry VIII and his henchman Thomas Cromwell. The point Gavin makes about the current uses of what were once holy buildings (and the holiness is part of what created their beauty) is a good one. What I would say is that the abbey churches that were left as ruins, such as Glastonbury or Walsingham, seem to me to have retained their atmosphere. They are still holy places. Another example of the 'time warp' that characterises the Catholic Church. Thank you, Gavin, for that very profound talk.

[@johndillon300]

Thank you Gavin for your insight! I am very troubled by the recent events. I will pray for you and ask Our Lady to keep you slinging out holy help and guidance!

[@David_Sammons]

Thank you, Dr. Ashenden. You articulate so eloquently what it means to be and remain Catholic. Looking forward to meeting you at the upcoming Catholic Identity Conference.

[@evangileenlanguesanciennes8612]

Thank you for these very interesting insights into the problem of anglicanism for non-ex-anglicans!

[@royquick-s5n]

Would he share with you what he viewed as an Anglican to be the problems of Roman Catholicism?

[@DerryCursillo]

God Bless you Gavin Ashenden

[@christophergriffin4643]

Access to TLM is a postcode lottery in UK.

[@davidcooney3781]

Thank you Dr Gavin. It is beautiful to see the Holy Spirit work through you as he tempers the passionate part of your nature with a genuine love for all your fellow human beings. Prayers for you Catherine and Mark🙏 May St Thomas a beckett, St Thomas More, St John Fisher, St John Henry Newman and all the English Saints and Martyrs continue to support you with their prayers and inspiring presence 🙏

[@josephcouch7651]

being blessed with ears that hear lovely video Gavern God bless

[@peggyhyland2705]

Thank you for your insights and honesty. As an ex Australian Anglican, (71 years old) now recent convert to the Catholic "deposit of faith" can you please help me see how the Novus Ordo church is not a similar "dangerous decoy"? Do you see the Novus Ordo Mass as truly a place that the real presence of Christ is re-presented? I am very, very unclear about this. Thank you for your time and work.

[@maryn8139]

I feel the same way about the N.O. -- a very Protestant decoy.

[@susannestorm9705]

You said it!! Well done❤❤❤❤

[@royquick-s5n]

May I intrude? I have observed a strong similarity in the new Masses celebrated in Roman Catholic parishes with the Eucharists as they are celebrated in many Anglican parishes, the differences being the Roman Catholics stand to receive the host and Anglicans kneel, and, of course, the wording of the text is not exactly the same. Both converge, I suppose, from liturgical reforms coming from the Early Church. Too, Anglicans have been celebrating the Eucharist in the vernacular for over 400 years. I see a similarity between the Traditional Latin Mass and Anglican Ordinariate Masses because of heavy emphasis on ritual practices originating from or since the Middle Ages.

[@geoffreystephen6840]

Gavin, I agree with all this 100%, I was received into the church nearly 40 years ago. Sadly, it seems most people are almost unaware that the church even exists now; the world is so secular, and while Islam is respected, catholics are mocked. Even the Holy Father seems to be trying to dismantle our faith. Never mind, it'll all come right because the Lord promised!

[@jimmidgley861]

As always, Gavin helps me to understand things that I have felt but haven't been able to explain very well. Too bad he's not the pope.

[@susannestorm9705]

Gavin for Pope❤

[@marygunning5121]

Reading the Stripping of the Alters by Eamon Duffy. England went from Merry England to Gray England.

[@stevengriffin6161]

This Protestant has appreciated much of your cultural commentary, but even if your religion of miracles and wonders and beauty is right, you still have figure out how to be (and stay) in fellowship with believers of so many traditions who have simply taken hold of God's promise as they've heard it proclaimed, who like Abraham seek a city with foundations, and who will find that you're requiring for unity and fulness of the faith things that are not at all clear in Scripture, and therefore perhaps acting in a sectarian way yourself.

[@Apriluser]

Amen. Anglican here.

[@royquick-s5n]

If I am not mistaken, the miracles and wonders of which Gavin speaks are not required to be believed even by the Roman Catholics, i.e. they are optional.

[@stevengriffin6161]

@@royquick-s5n Yes, as required for salvation likely not. But for unity and fulness of the faith I think they function much like tongues-speaking among some Pentecostals/Charismatics.

[@tumbletoes909]

If this is anger, I think we need to see more of it! (Btw, excellent term, “destructive decoy”. Hash-tag that someone.)

[@WhatisTruth747]

Of all of the KZbin channels that I’m subscribed to, yours is the only one that I have turned on notifications. Thank you for your wise and intellectual perspective, coupled with love & passion for the beauty, holiness, and truth of the Catholic Church.

[@Apriluser]

“They will know my disciples by the love they have for one another.” Jesus

[@UrsulaPainter]

Thank you, Gavin Ashenden for expressing the truth of our faith. As for ancient churches being misused, it's a shame that Britons have lost simple common sense.

[@declancooney1029]

God bless you Dr Gavin

[@TheAuntMar-USA]

God bless you, Gavin. As a fellow convert, from lutheranism, since Christ the King Sunday 2015, I am very grateful for your talks, your encouragement and your witness to Jesus Christ and the miracle of the Eucharist, that takes place at every Mass. I will pray for you and your family … and for Katherine & Mark & their families too.

[@R.C.425]

The Catholic Church is the only church Christ, left behind.

[@geoffreystephen6840]

Our Lord didn't leave His church behind- He's still with us!

[@Apriluser]

Ask the Eastern Church about your statement. Also, read the Scriptures for yourself. You’ll find that your statement is not true.

[@fionaobrien3591]

We stay for the Sacraments! Always the sacraments! May we always be able to avail of them 🙏

[@NapoleonSolo452]

I enjoy listening to your commentary. Inspiring.

[@dorriegalea6449]

I am so grateful that I am a Catholic, so appreciative of the Holy Eucharist.

[@marcokite]

The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is the Holy Orthodox Church. Sadly the Roman Catholic Church went into schism from it around 1,000 years ago. But God is generous and has raised up some holy people who were Roman Catholics.

[@maureenelsden1927]

Roman gets in the way of the Bible. Anglican does not get in the way of the Bible. My mother said, "Christianity is the religion of the Bible - well, that's the religion of the Church of England." The Protestant Reformation went in for "sola scriptura" rather than "scriptural foundation" and the saints of the Catholic Counter-Reformation Church went in for mysticism, particularly Eucharistic and Marian.

[@maryn8139]

Roman absolutely does NOT "get in the way of the Bible" -- you are completely wrong, utterly deceived. Please do some urgently needed on your part research.

[@maryn8139]

@@royquick-s5n -- LOVE it! Thank you, Roy! 🌹❤️

[@maureenelsden1927]

@@royquick-s5n The Holy Spirit is said to have inspired the Bible. The Church is very human.

[@royquick-s5n]

@@maureenelsden1927 You are aware some people take that inspiration in a mechanistic way. You may or may not agree these words of Wilson: "Books are made by men. God did not make the Bible--men wrote it. Therefore, when we say that the Bible is an inspired book, we do not mean to suggest that it is the result of divine dictation and, for that reason, exempt form the possibility of human blunders. We mean that men who did the writing were actively seeking God's will, inscribing accounts of God's dealing with human life, and that the spiritual reliability of these accounts was tested over long periods of time by the people for whom they were written. Only in a secondary way can the Bible itself be called a revelation of God. It is the record of His revelation which culminated in the Person of Jesus Christ." 🤔

[@christopherquinn5899]

Well I am very glad to hear that you are not disillusioned with Catholicism in these difficult times. We have to remember what Catholicism is about rather than what some of the authorities are currently doing.

[@barbararen3617]

A friend of mine attends an Anglican parish in West Croydon. The parish priest offers the Novus Ordo Mass, believes in transubstantiation and in our Blessed Mother. I have attended the church with my friend and in fact several misguided Catholics attend the parish and receive an unconsecrated host. Where does this sit within your criticism of Anglicanism?

[@geoffreystephen6840]

Too much confusion. There was none when we had the traditional latin Mass.

[@daisyd2392]

Most Holy Trinity-Father, Son and Holy Spirit-I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners. Amen 🙏 ✝️🕊

[@Apriluser]

Hmmm. What about all those who tell the story of leaving the Roman tradition and finding new life in Christ in other parts of the Church (Protestant, Eastern)? They call it a conversion!

[@annakimborahpa]

From the sermon of Father John Henry Newman on July 13, 1852 during the first synod of the Westminster archdiocese, convened by Nicholas Cardinal Wiseman and held at St. Mary’s College in Oscott: "Three centuries ago, and the Catholic Church, that great creation of God's power, stood in this land in pride of place. It had the honours of near a thousand years upon it; it was enthroned on some twenty sees up and down the broad country; it was based in the will of a faithful people; it energized through ten thousand instruments of power and influence; and it was ennobled by a host of Saints and Martyrs. The churches, one by one, recounted and rejoiced in the line of glorified intercessors, who were the respective objects of their grateful homage. Canterbury alone numbered perhaps some sixteen, from St. Augustine to St. Dunstan and St. Elphege, from St. Anselm and St. Thomas down to St. Edmund. York had its St. Paulinus, St. John, St. Wilfrid, and St. William; London, its St. Erconwald; Durham, its St. Cuthbert; Winton, its St. Swithun. Then there were St. Aidan of Lindisfarne, and St. Hugh of Lincoln, and St. Chad of Lichfield, and St. Thomas of Hereford, and St. Oswald and St. Wulstan of Worcester, and St. Osmund of Salisbury, and St. Birinus of Dorchester, and St. Richard of Chichester. And then, too, its religious orders, its monastic establishments, its universities, its wide relations all over Europe, its high prerogatives in the temporal state, its wealth, its dependencies, its popular honours,-where was there in the whole of Christendom a more glorious hierarchy? Mixed up with the civil institutions, with kings and nobles, with the people, found in every village and in every town,-it seemed destined to stand, so long as England stood, and to outlast, it might be, England's greatness. BUT IT WAS THE HIGH DECREE OF HEAVEN, THAT THE MAJESTY OF THAT PRESENCE SHOULD BE BLOTTED OUT." [Newman Reader Org /works/occasions/sermon10.html]

[@threeinone6977]

From the same sermon: "The English Church was, and the English Church was not, and the English Church is once again. This is the portent, worthy of a cry. It is the coming in of a Second Spring."

[@AnneOfNYS]

Wow! What a great quote. Thank you so much.

[@DrGAshenden]

This is very powerful. Thank you. I’ll find the original.

[@annakimborahpa]

1. You're welcome. Just copy the link in the brackets at the end and paste it into a new web browser. The Newman Reader Page containing the sermon should appear at the top of the listings for you to click on. 2. It was God's permissive will that an execrable schismatic monarch advanced a scheming clergyman who was both an apostate and literary genius. Their legacy incubated until an island nation became a Protestant world empire upon which the sun never set. The upside was that, in turn, by the 19th century and its granting of religious toleration, the British Empire inadvertantly became the means by which (A) continental Catholicism was spared its neutering by Napoleon Bonaparte, (B) the faith was spread worldwide in large part by impoverished Irish migrant laborers fleeing a starving Eire, and indigenous Catholic minorities, particularly in India, were given breathing space to thrive.

[@annakimborahpa]

You're welcome and may you live many thousands of days.

[@duaneadams5210]

Right now, I find the Traditional Anglican Church to be more Catholic than the modernist catholic church.

[@susannestorm9705]

The modernist Catholic Church makes on cringe!

[@royquick-s5n]

Especially if you apply the 434 AD Vincentian Canon!🙂

[@Bungadin2845]

Why are there female deacons in the NT but not in the RC? Why did the RC church do nothing about slavery? How can the leader of the RC church sack bishops for repeating orthodoxy ? Asking for a friend.

[@Apriluser]

Thank you.

[@susannestorm9705]

Hard hearts again and again💔

[@royquick-s5n]

Women deacons simply disappeared for over 1,900 years. It seems the Feminist Movement has raised interest in them again. It is my understanding that the Quakers and the Mennonites were among the first Christian bodies to believe slavery to be immoral, before the large, historical churches. Obviously their belief spread. Pope is administrative position, as are cardinal, patriarch, and archbishop. No one is ordained a pope, although popes are ordained bishops, i.e. Bishops of Rome. A pope may sin, e.g. sack bishops for repeating orthodoxy.

[@navarrenavarre]

Greetings Gavin I noticed the 'Maltese' Cross of St. John on your bookshelf. Are you a member of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem?

[@TheLeonhamm]

When some English (Roman) Catholics, c. 1967-75 CE, looked at what the 'reforms' of the New Order (of everything) in Catholic worship meant - in practice, not theory, in actual deeds not words alone - a similar sort of surge in feeling welled up .. if only from the opposite end of the perspective: what was then being removed by command from what had been received by divine grace and human effort. And the odd part is, even (or moreso) non-Catholics realised and understood and appealed against the loss, as though it were a kind of wanton destruction, vandalism, an act of cultural iconoclasm .. or as Pope St Paul VI himself called 'autodestruction'. Indeed, as heaven would have it, all graciously - though duly obstructed by man, a tiny little window appeared even amid the blossoming mushroom cloud of self-imposed self delusion .. for an Indult was sought and given, if only by the scratch of a famous signature. Such minor miracles, insignificant on the grand scale, easily dismissed or ignored, are what make Rome's Catholicism so much greater than the whole of all its parts. Mary's memory, Paul's napkin, Peter's death .. Pius V's Missal, Vatican Councils, and the Miracle of the Eucharist with its odd Eucharistic miracles, etc; and this not only yesterday or today, but for each tomorrow. Yet the greatest assistant to man's Adversary amid all these witnesses is .. as ever it was .. our own allotted clergy. Keep the Faith; tell the truth, shame the devil, and let the demons shriek. God bless. ;o)

[@AnneOfNYS]

Speaking of Henry VIII, today is a special Feast Day. Saint Sir Thomas Moore and Saint John Fisher, both beheaded by order of that King, have their Feast Day today. They were two men who lived Christ and His One Holy Apostolic Catholic Church.

[@tf8066]

Inspirational!

[@MartinPaulKase]

Beloved Gavin God Loves you dearly

[@geoffjs]

For those not familiar with Eucharistic miracles that science can’t explain, investigate them with the same AB blood type & living heart tissue

[@Apriluser]

And how are those miracles changing your life to be a better follower of Christ?

[@Veritas353]

great to have Gavin back home. May he be brought to the heights of the Mystery .

[@christopherclayton8577]

Dear Dr Ashenden - There are the Eucharistic miracles and then there is the Shroud of course. Same blood type I understand. We needn't go into the various Marian phenomena right now.

[@helenrogers1400]

Thank you, Dr. Gavin, and may God bless you. ✝️🙏☘️

[@Le_Trouvere]

I appreciate your passion even if it comes across as sour grapes. They may call them sour but they became a fine wine for me in my journey. To know the truth and beauty of catholicism you must understand the shortfalls and betrayals of Anglicanism in practice and history. Of course they seem sour to those who have never tasted the truth. God bless you and keep you.

[@tadstilwell6127]

I am the son of a Lutheran-Missouri Synod pastor. I went through middle school in a heavily Catholic community. I attended a Mass with my Catholic neighbors and while I could not verbalize what I saw and felt, it began a long conversion to truth. I loved the Lutheran liturgy. I liked Luther. But, the Holy Spirit kept chipping away at my stubbornness. By the time I had reached 31 years of age, I knew that the Catholic Church was inescapably the place where I would find Jesus. I converted at Easter in 1989 and never looked back. Loved your “fireside” chat.

[@lightinlondon8168]

Louder volume please

[@pearl1606]

Britain has been a revolutionary state since 1688 (and probably since 1534). And revolution fills every space.

[@gerridalton1345]

Dr Gavin as always wonderful words of wisdom. Have you studied the mystics much? Going back to the twelfth century we have St Hildegard of Bingen .visionary,prophet,healer, social reformer,scientist,dramatist and composer of wonderful sacred music. I played her music found on Utube to a Protestant Pastor friend of mine who ended up playing and loving it.He even bought a cd of her music . God works in his ways Dr Gavin 😊Not always what we want 😞We need to detach at times and let him do his Will.🙏 Another more recent Mystic is Luisa Piccarreta from Italy who died the same year as St Faustina in 1947. I just thought I would share those with you .They are so many wonderful Catholic mystics as I am sure you know . We are very Blessed to have in the Catholic Church.Do not be too hard on yourself. Blessings Gerri in Canada (Alcatraz)😊☘️🙏

[@MaryCWeaver]

"The tender pastoral hand of Pope Francis." Love it.

[@paddyearly]

Powerful confirmation of the one true Church being the only way🙏 Pray for conversions🙏 St. Augustine says these lost Christians/lapsed Catholics are our brothers & we must keep reminding them🙏

[@marcokite]

Come on Gavin, come home to Holy (Eastern) Orthodoxy, you don't have to be angry here, just Traditional and at home with holy priests. You'd be right at home. ☦

[@paulusmagdaleno]

CATHOLIC: AN-ANGRY-PROTEST-NATION-!

[@outofoblivionproductions4015]

Nothing wrong with righteous anger. Do not ask forgiveness for a virtue. It is ridiculous how the herd has complicitly endorsed Henry's schism, and unfortunately it has not attracted but rather detracted souls from seeing life as a holy gift. It seems almost a miracle how stubborn people are, if it is not ignorance.

[@royquick-s5n]

"Complicitly endorsed Henry's schism"? Forgetting that Mary I, "Bloody" Mary, forcibly brought the Church of England back in communion with Rome? That the final break did not occur till twelve years into the reign of Elizabeth I, 1570?

[@user-SgHDr217]

Love can be all positive and wonderful things, and God’s love is indeed unconditional, but love is also painful, and sanctifying, and goes far beyond suffering, to joy. Yes, you can experience the fullness of God and His love, even through martyrdom.

[@MS-pm4dc]

"Gap between aspirations and reality of performance" is well spoken.