A
LIVING MARIAN FLAME
Gabriel’s spiritual life was daily maturing in Mary’s presence. It gave
renewed birth to Christ in his life, a beautiful falling in love with Jesus
all over again each day through Mary. Once he was in Philosophy studies at
Pievetorina, he never wrote of Mary without mentioning Christ. This is the
way with Mary, enshrining Christ within our hearts. Mary’s perpetual Gospel
flame of love for God had penetrated Gabriel’s own heart, making him a
living Marian fire of love for Christ and His Church. This burning love led
Gabriel to give himself at last in a total offering and consecration of self
through a solemn vow to Mary, an intensification of his Baptismal vows and
his faithful stance at the Cross of Jesus with Mary.
The great day had come at last, Gabriel’s Marian offering of self, the fifth
vow he longed to make, and had asked permission to make for five years. His
spiritual director, Fr. Norbert, himself a great Mariologist–having
completed his own treatise on the spirituality of Mary, had at last
consented, believing without a doubt that Gabriel was ready, mature and
destined to be Mary’s modern knight in a world that sorely needed the gift
which Mary is destined to bring–Christ’s overflowing love. It is the love
that Christ pined for–begging hearts not to be tepid and non-committed, but
aflame with His burning love ignited on the Wood of the Holy Cross. Jesus
said, “I have come to bring fire to the earth and how I wish it were blazing
already!”(LK 12:49)
Now the fire of true romance with Jesus and Mary had arrived, a romance hard
tested in the fire that beautifies precious ores, the fire of penance and
charity, of patience and forgiveness, of reconciliation and daily joy in
good times and bad–now the hour had come to lay all these fire tried gifts
at the altar of Mary for her and in her to give to Christ. The hour of his
final illness and dying , his being barred to Holy Orders, the crushing
disappointments all were near–yet he would offer them all with a generous
heart to God with the added grace of this fifth Marian vow. It was offered
and taken in the utmost spirit of a lover.
Like his fourth unique vow to promote devotion to the Passion, (and
certainly inspired by it), first taken by the mystic Founder, St. Paul of
the Cross at the altar of Mary’s famous icon in St. Mary Major in Rome,
Gabriel knew that this fifth vow would complement the fourth and enrich it,
and like it, was more than “promoting” or “proclaiming” devotion, (apostolic
and missionary cored as that is), but also a total identification with the
Mystery–a becoming like the mystery, a configuration into the Sacred
Passion, and now, into Mary!
So the side chapel of our Lady was duly decorated with flowers from
Gabriel’s own garden, the candles glowed before Mary’s image, and
Gabriel knelt before Fr. Norbert in this solemn, private ceremony in the
stillness of the night of September, 1861. It was most likely the Feast
of Our Lady of Sorrows. Confrater Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin, his
hands placed in the folded hands of the venerable Fr. Norbert of St Mary
of the Garden, solemnly and perpetually vowed to promote devotion to the
Blessed Virgin Mary. Fr. Camillus marvelously comments that “...no
chivalrous knight ever rose from his accolading with such pride and
delight as did Gabriel that evening after he had pledged himself before
heaven to be the champion of her who is the fairest of all the daughters
of men.” (St. Gabriel, Passionist, p.166).
Truly, Gabriel was on fire with Christian love found in the spiritual
garden of Mary’s example and active presence in his life, and flowering,
to be precise, into a life for and in and with Jesus Christ. This fifth
vow was a total consecration of self forevermore, a rite of spiritual
passage and giving that lovers always seem to create–signs of genuine
love. We know that this ritualistic “sign” of love was a manifestation
of both a personal love but also an outward bound directed one,
completely missionary and ever vigilant to overflow in deeds of charity
to one and all, particularly in his love for the poor, but also the
spiritually impoverished, and the Souls in Purgatory–awaiting the full
light of heaven. This Christo-Marian love was so authentic that God
allowed one of Gabriel’s classmates, Michael Tadini, to experience it
for himself and later testify to it. Gabriel was speaking of Mary with a
greater awe, joy and intensity than usual. Michael was trying to follow
the train of thought and feeling exuding from Gabriel. Suddenly, an
actual flame shot out from the area of Gabriel’s heart shooting toward
Michael. For the rest of his life, Michael would remember that sensation
and warmth of the flame of Marian love from Gabriel’s heart. (St.
Gabriel, A Young Man in Love, p.104). Gabriel calls each of us to
be creatively alive in God, to be living flames of Marian love,
witnessing to the world the burning love of Jesus Crucified and Risen.
CONSIDERATION: In 1858, St. Bernadette of Lourdes was called by the
Our Lady to a life of Prayer and penance and toward renewal in the
living streams of Gospel and Eucharistic life; through Bernadette, the
world was alerted to this heavenly invitation. Two years before, our
Gabriel had been called by the Voice of Lady of the Icon to the same
intensified Program. He was living the message as a Passionist during
the actual Lourdes apparitions and he died in the year of their
ecclesiastical approval. Gabriel died on February 27, the 4th
anniversary of one of the Lourdes apparitions—a day when Bernadette had
washed in the spring and kissed the ground in penance. With Our Blessed
Mother, Bernadette and Gabriel both call us to penance, prayer and total
self giving!
Pause for Reflection
“Jesus invites us to pray through her...If we do not let ourselves be
won over by the countenance of Mary, we will perhaps agree to the Reign
of Jesus, but not to the folly, the folly of the Cross. When we proclaim
Mary as Queen, we use the...language of lovers: the Father is seeking
worshipers, that is, people who are mad with love...St. Grignion de
Montfort says again that the apostles of the end time will be great
saints....’they shall be a burning fire, ministers of the Lord who will
kindle the fire of Jesus’ Divine Love everywhere..’ ”. (LaFrance, In
Prayer with Mary, Mother of Jesus, pp. 309-310).
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