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Br.
Gabriel Thomas Mosher, OP
Nine days early I was born on October 22, 1979 in Albuquerque, NM. I
am the oldest child, the oldest grandchild and so began my life
thoroughly spoiled. To add insult to injury my maternal grandparents
were also my Godparents. I was raised Catholic until my parents
divorced at age seven at which point I was raised un-Catholic. I
went to public schools (where I surprisingly received an excellent
education) played soccer and did all the usually things that a young
boy of my generation does. In these years my faith was like an old
tennis racket. It was something that I owned, kept in he garage,
probably swung a few times a year and promptly returned for another
year of neglect.
My family was always a great
support to me even when I decided to be a Marine. While at Texas A&M
University in 1999 our annual bonfire collapsed killing 13 people
and I was struck by the fragility of life. I began to fail at my
training and my studies and so I decided to return home and seek a
different life path. Praise God my Godparents have always been there
to help me so I lived with them, got a job and began to live life.
While living there with my Grandparents the Lord prompted me to
finish my sacraments and it was there in RCIA that I first strongly
felt a call to the priesthood. Yet there were too many barriers in
the way. Well, God solved that problem.
At that time I was dating a
girl for going on five years and on New Years that relationship
ended. I was in a financial hole due to student loans but God found
at least a temporary fix for that one. I hadn’t received all my
Sacraments – that was completed in the year. So, with no excuses
left I went off to explore this strong pull I felt on my heart. So,
the very year I received my First Holy Communion and Confirmation I
began studies with the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
I was sent to Holy Apostles
College & Seminary for my philosophy education and consumed my
studies with more ferocity than Homer Simpson would a box of donuts.
I met some of the greatest guys I’ve known and all in the context of
seeking God for the sake of others. For my first year of Theology I
went to Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon where I also met wonderful
men but through a serious of personal trials I decided to leave the
seminary for a time.
While I was home I was blessed
to worked for the Knights of Columbus as the local Insurance Agent.
It was a pleasure to serve brother Knights and their families by
helping protect them from catastrophic loss. Also in that time I met
a girl that was my definition of perfect and we began to date. I
felt that I had found whom God wanted in my life and very seriously
considered the proposition of marriage. Yet there was something
lacking in this relationship it was in that lack that I found God’s
will. I cam to a realization that I could not in the exclusive way
that Marriage requires but that I need the freedom to love everyone
with the equality that Christ loved. So, it was in a trip to New
York to see a friend be ordained for the Franciscan Friars of the
Renewal that gave me the time to listen to the voice of God. I had
previously been attracted to the joy that their community
demonstrated and while I was staying there for the four days I was
able to talk through my thoughts with great friends to whom I will
always be indebted.
While at my friend’s “First
Mass,” during the homily, I felt God speak to my heart in such a
profound way that I was filled with a certainty that I was called to
the Single Life. When I returned home I ended the relationship and
began to discern how God wanted me to live this vocation. Based on
what I knew about myself (and many hours at Adoration) I realized
that I could serve best as a teacher and a preacher. Immediately I
thought of the Dominicans because they had been there in my life the
whole time and I had never really looked at them before. The parish
that I had RCIA was staffed with Dominican Sisters, my current
parish was named for St. Thomas Aquinas, my spiritual directors at
both seminaries had been Dominicans and I had developed an affinity
for them through other friends and fellow workers in my years in the
seminary. The light began to shine in dimness of my mind and so I
looked into the order of preachers.
My godfather, a good priest,
told me one time that “God calls you who you are as you are,” and so
I asked God why gifts he had given me that I could use in His
service. It all began to fit together since I felt a strong desire
to teach the faith but also to preach the faith. I couldn’t help but
tank God for custom making a Religious Order just for me! When I cam
out to visit the Province for the first time I felt like I was
coming home for the first time – for the last time. Now I am here in
the Order of Preachers keeping my eyes fixed on the Crucifix,
covered in the Mantel of Our Lady seeking the mercy of God for the
Salvation of Souls and please God I may do so for the rest of my
life.
Last updated: September 23, 2008
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