The Assignment

“Catholic” means “universal.” The Catholic Church is for everybody. Even me.

I am here to tell you how Jesus prepared me in this way, having walked the slippery paths and wide roads followed by most men. I want to share my story. Why would Jesus’ own mother appear to me and show a ladder to ascend? Who am I to be shown such a sight? It’s not who I am. It’s who God is.

G. Toby Gaines, M.Ed., former Cathedral Deacon in Pittsburgh, PA, is currently serving his local parish in Butler, PA. This is the story of his life – from Catholic military school, prep and college years, the Vietnam era, and years running a successful family business, to his rewneal in the Catholic faith, and his surprising mystical experiences at Medjugorgje in the former Yugoslavia.

“Toby Gaines speaks with a voice uniquely his own, yet thoroughly Catholic. He’s honest, frank, blunt, yet winsome. To read this book is to spend time with a man practiced in the virtue of friendship. To read this book is to benefit from friendship with such a man.”
– Mike Aquilina, Catholic author and TV host