#bearing witness
Amid the challenging prophecies of persecution for His followers comes Jesus’ promise of the witness of the Paraclete, The [Holy Spirit Himself, Who] is to be the backbone or mainstay of the [nascent] Christian movement as [either] the substitute for, or [altered] Presence of, the physical Jesus. [Initially] the help provided by this ‘Advocate’ concerned the truth of the [internalized] message: the Paraclete would make clear to the disciples the implications and the fullness of the message of Christ. Now, [this depth being grasped,] the Paraclete faces outwards in bearing witness to that truth.
‘Paraclete’ is obviously a sort of work-name for the Spirit. In the Book of Judges, the spirit of God – not yet understood as a separate Person – comes suddenly upon God’s chosen agent (Gideon, Samson, Saul), giving power to lead Israel to confront enemies and conquer them. Here, however, [coming upon those chosen by the Son,] the Spirit bears witness by giving the strength to confront opposition and speak out boldly, as we see the apostles doing in the Book of Acts. [The Holy Spirit remains willing and able to bestow this strength upon all Christians facing spiritual warfare, both within and without,] but we still retain free will, and no strength will come from the Paraclete unless our own spirit is moved to stand firm. In the daily calls to bear witness by putting ourselves out [onto the front lines], by risking loss of ease, credit, or comfort, let alone actual pain, [injury, or even death], our own resolution is needed too.
Dom Henry Wansbrough; Commentary on John 15:26
If you’ve been following my journey on social media, then you already have seen the changes happening with what I post and what I’m working on. When I first began this vegan journey I was focused on my health and the benefits I could personally gain from a plant based diet. I was amazed when I not only lost over 50lbs of excess weight, but my asthma, acne, and overall mood even improved!! I share full details in my video ‘My Vegan Story’ below:
Over time what started out as simply a health and wellness journey, evolved into my life’s passion to help animals and be their voice against those who would cause them unnecessary harm. Over the last several months my social media content has been changing from recipes and fitness posts to animal rights and activism.
I started getting active with groups like Toronto Pig Save and the various local groups bearing witness to animals before slaughter. The images and videos I began to post were hard to watch even for me - though there is no gore, the cruelty in what we are doing to these animals is very evident - but with every post I make, someone, somewhere reaches out and says it affected them, that they will no longer eat meat, that they are curious about vegan food etc. To me if has proven to be the most effective form of animal advocacy.
I have also started writing an ebook titled ‘The Every-Day Activist’ - a resource for anyone interested in veganism and becoming an active part of the compassionate change. More details about this and my other upcoming projects will be posted on my new website:
With all that being said, this website will likely remain quiet - though still available as a resource for those interested in the health and fitness benefits of a plant based diet. If you’d like to keep in touch, please check out my blog @ theeverydayactivist.com/blog and follow me on Snapchat,Twitter,Instagram,YouTubeandFacebook!
Thank you all for the support and I hope to connect with you soon! <3
