Posted on 10/10/2012 1:50:34 AM PDT by markomalley
Dear readers,
Im sorry to say this is my final letter to you.
A previous letter hinted at my mysterious disappearance from LifeSiteNews roster a few weeks ago. So tonight Im picking up the metaphorical pen one last time before I enter the Carmelite monastery in Buffalo, New York, to begin my postulancy there on October 14. The feeling is difficult to describe, but bittersweet is a large part.
No one could have ever asked for better coworkers, who work tirelessly but somehow, cheerfully and with humor, in their zeal to shed light on the darkest corners of our world. Very few are so privileged as to fight evil as a form of gainful employment - I was. I am leaving one deeply spiritual work, for another.
Yet the mission here is truly unique. After only four years, it still seems there is so much more to be done, and there is a slight pang at knowing Ill never be able to do it - at least, not as an LSN employee.
When I began as a very nervous novice journalist in August 2008, it was only weeks away from Obamas victory. As I set to work keeping up on the election, I began reading up on this strange character with the silky intonation, and soon came to the conclusion that he was not just bad - a mortal enemy of unborn children (somehow a ho-hum feature of political candidates now) - but a real force of destruction against America and its spiritual roots.
Panicking, I dove headfirst into the birther world, clamoring before family and friends that even though McCain was a tepid pro-lifer at best, if we elected Obama, America would never be the same again. Whether or not I was right about his birthplace, I was right about the outcome. We have ended Obamas first term with Christian retailers fighting a $1.3 million dollar-per-day fine in the United States of America, just for being Christian.
I came in with Obama, and, God willing, Im going out with him too.
As I sensed in 2008, to make that happen, we need the guts to expose the hidden agendas behind Obama and his administration as much as possible. At LSN, thats exactly what we do, and its why weve recently been growing by leaps and bounds: more and more, people are sensing that our work is now more critical than ever before.
Our M.O. is still as simple as ever: Shine the light where the other side least wants it shone, give a voice to those they want to keep from drawing their first breath. Its dirty work, but somebody has to do it.
Its a mission that pro-life actress Vanessa Ore summed up eloquently in an encounter with an abortion-minded friend: I love you, no matter what you do, but ... I have to be the voice of this child right now for you.
There is a desperate need for that voice.
There are many businesses in our world that exploit others. The business of killing has the advantage that the victims always keep quiet. Thats why the holocaust happened, why the unborn in America suffer another 9/11 every single day, and why Planned Parenthoods business is booming: the dead dont speak. Planned Parenthood client Tonya Reaves will also never speak in her own defense.
Money, on the other hand, speaks eloquently. The billion-dollar-a-year Planned Parenthood tells a tale that is clean, bright pink, and airtight. Blood money is always abundant: working to stop the killing is not nearly so lucrative.
In fact, there is no money in it. Which is perfectly fine with us.
We hope for only just enough to keep us going, to keep the mission alive.
And for that we depend almost completely on the generosity of those who dont want the light to flicker out, who dont want us to keep quiet.
There is so much I want to say before I go. I cant seem to put out of my mind that something big is coming.
Ive noticed something strange about 2012; its hard to put my finger on. But somehow I feel all of us fighting for the light are taking a new stance, our battle posts, this year. We sense that a storm is coming.
Yet at the same time, I see something very encouraging in 2012: the workings of grace growing bolder, a sign, it seems, of more prayer going up to God. I want to share one such powerful coup that happened earlier this year.
This is the sort of thing Im really going to miss.
As regular LSN readers know, the abortion mill in Rockford, Illinois was a front page staple for always pushing the boundaries of, well, crazy. Owner Wayne Webster and company seemed intent on making clear their total hatred for Christianity and anyone who would try to save unborn children: a nun in a coffin, a crucified rubber chicken, and signage mocking Jesus Christ for saving only a few of the thousands of children slated for execution were only a few of the items plastered in its dark windows.
This went on for years. But then, according to a local pro-life leader, after LSN began its reports, the mill went into a steady decline until finally health officials closed down the sordid business early this year. If it hadnt been for LifeSiteNews, the leader told me, the Rockford mill would still be here.
When the evil is this great, silence and darkness are its two most powerful weapons. We are here to break them.
Thank you and God bless you,
Kathleen Gilbert Recently retired U.S. Bureau Chief LifeSiteNews.com
Please join me in prayers for Kathleen Gilbert as she transitions from a career as a pro-life journalist to a vocation as a Carmelite.
Prayers up!
What a beautiful woman
Best wishes and Godspeed.
Right now I am looking at becoming an associate in a Francisian based group.
Brings tears to my eyes, but what an incredible organization she is joining. Last year I visited the mass grave where the Carmelites are buried next to General Lafayette in Paris. What an amazing group to forgot life rather than denounce their God. Peace be with Kathleen.
Best wishes to Ms. Gilbert for many years of fulfilling religious life.
I hope she voted prior to skipping town.
That is a terrific statement akin to Edmund Burke's "All that is needed for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing."
But Carmelite nuns take a vow of silence and hide away in monestaries, don't they? I guess she is going to become a testament to the power of prayer.
God bless her as she embarks on this exciting journey!
Her prayers will be her lasting words.
Those must be the Carmelites who died in the French revolution as martyrs if memory serves me correct?
May her heart’s devotion be seen as large as a lion’s,
May her devotion and commitment be noted as deep as the deepest river,
May Divinity show favor towards her learned literary skills,
And, in time, may we learn of all that shall flow from her, and possibly, make change within ourselves, to the better.
I salute her, for her choice of monastism, in this world of ‘monkey-mind’.
Your memory does serve you well! They were asked to renounce God for sparing their lives. Their final act was to sing the song which they sang when they became nuns.
Our prayers accompany Kathleen Gilbert on her faith journey!
Kathleen Gilbert will still be doing work for the unborn, but she’ll be fighting her battles in the spiritual realm, which as we all know, can be very powerful indeed.
Oh my goodness. No words to say. I know she is doing exactly what needs to be done. Big gulp.
Lord Jesus, bless richly Thy bride Kathleen in her vocation.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, amen.
Yes. They are known as the Martyrs of Compiegne
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.