The End of the Beginning, Part II

Posted on by charliej373

pilgrims boarding ship

By Charlie Johnston

When he was in St. Louis and Milwaukee, Cardinal Timothy Dolan was an archetype of shrewd orthodoxy, a reliable defender of both the faith and the faithful. It was sometimes delightful to watch him elegantly skewer an attacker with a shrewd riposte. I miss that guy.

Dolan announced he would not excommunicate New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo over the overtly infanticidal abortion law just passed, because he feared enemies of the Church would criticize him for it and use it against the Church – that it would give our enemies ammo. I am utterly flummoxed. Sadly, in these hideous times, all the junior Himmlers and Mengeles out there are free to advocate making the womb a death chamber for millions of infants. It is a long, hard struggle for all of us who would restore the culture of life. You cannot, however, be authentically Catholic and promote and enable death chambers for infants. That is pretty basic. Thanks be to God that in the many times Sts. Peter and Paul were jailed or punished for proclaiming Christ, they never decided to back off for fear of giving their opponents ammo.

It is true that excommunicating Cuomo would almost certainly not change his mind – and that it would be used to attack Catholics as being bullies. But the situation with the Covington kids showed that our opponents don’t care about getting ammo from us. They have manufactured plenty of their own to persecute and revile us. What could be viler than supposedly mainstream leftists lying about teenagers and then unrepentantly using those lies to fantasize about burning or throwing the kids into a woodchipper? Perhaps they will just call it post-natal abortion when they start acting on their vicious, violent fantasies.

I am not at all concerned that defending the faith will give ammo to leftists who don’t need no stinking ammo to viciously attack us. I am far more concerned with those people who will look at the squib of a response Cdl. Dolan fired and conclude that, when push comes to shove, Catholic leaders don’t believe in anything enough to stand for it. I am most concerned about the many Catholics who will look at this statement and conclude the same thing. It is our solemn duty to defend the faith, hearten the faithful, and defend the faithful. Cdl. Dolan abdicated all three duties here.

There is something much larger than the particular incident here. The battle has been joined. We will not escape the trials that have already begun. That effort is already lost. Now we must prove to the world and future generations that we DO believe what we preach, that we WILL stand for it in season and out of season, and that we WILL be true to the Christ who formed our faith. It is our solemn duty and our holy privilege to proclaim the Kingdom, to announce Christ and Him Crucified – who rose again – to a world that is savagely tearing itself apart, having been seduced by the false promises of satan. Anything less is a rank betrayal. If we who follow Him won’t proclaim Christ, who will?

I long admired Cdl. Dolan for his shrewd and joyful orthodoxy. I had much affection for him because of the close mutual friends we have. But he has lost me. The Blood of Christ has not become anemic – except in some of our leaders.

*******

I am always grateful for where I live. St. Joan of Arc Parish in Arvada is a wonderfully orthodox, vibrant and thriving Parish. It has plenty of older folks like me – and a whole lot of young Catholic families. It is a wonderful community.

This last Sunday, I was forcefully reminded of how fortunate we are. It was Catholic Schools Sunday and our Archbishop Samuel Aquila sent out a letter to be read at all Parishes. The Colorado legislature is pushing for formal adoption of laws requiring that abortion be championed in public schools and that parents will not be notified before sex education starts promoting transgender ideology and promoting disordered sexual orientation. Archbishop Aquila made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that these viruses will NOT infect Catholic Schools in the Denver Archdiocese:

“Today I join our pastors, principals, teachers, staff, parents, students, and benefactors to say that our Catholic schools will stand firmly against all ideologies that defy natural law and contradict the truth that has been revealed to us about the human person through the teachings of Our Lord, Sacred Scripture, and the Church.”

This is not unusual for him. Within a few days of the Supreme Court’s decision on gay marriage, he issued a full-throated statement standing for Christian Marriage and family life. It was he who ordered and led the Jericho March around Planned Parenthood a couple of years ago. Abp. Aquila is not a flashy guy, but he routinely defends the faith, heartens the faithful, and defends the faithful – in this case, our vulnerable children. This is the unshakeable resolve we must have to weather these storms.

*******

I read voraciously. I have, I think, a fine mind – but a clever mind not wedded to disciplined study and rigorous logic is just a megaphone for error. Couple that with a few dashes of vanity and you have the makings of a vicious, petty tyrant.

I said near the end of Part I of this piece that we have to put away childish things. We like to come up with simple solutions, panaceas, that we think will solve everything. They never do; what they do accomplish is to cause us to quit thinking about the issue at hand, because we think we have already found the solution. My friend, the eschatologist Desmond Birch, wrote an astute Facebook post last week on this. I quote:

“1) In times of stress, people tend to look for quick simple solutions or endings to what is causing the stress.

2) The quick solution they wind up with, is usually the first one which is presented to them.

  1. There are a whole list of such fetishes out there. I shall give a very partial list of some of them now. Allow me to warn you, there may be people on my friends list who will be offended by one of the list items to follow. But I must be a man of courage 🙂
  2. All we have to do to solve all of the worlds problems is return to the Old Latin Mass as the only allowed Mass. [A caveat: The Eastern Rite Catholics tend to take a dim view of this kind of thinking, as the Tridentine Mass was never part of their Liturgical practices. I have nothing against the old Latin Mass. I just know that when we still had it, the vast majority of Catholics were contracepting and becoming part of what JP II calls ‘the consumer culture’.]
  3. If everyone would just become part of the Charismatic Movement and speak in tongues, the whole world would convert in no time at all. [Caveat: Nowhere near all Charismatics think this way, but there are plenty I know and have known who do.]
  4. If they would just do away with Vatican Council II, then we could return to the good old days. [Caveat, the good old days they are thinking of are the ones where at least 3/4 of the Catholic Couples of child-bearing years were already contracepting. Good old days?]
  5. If the Church would stop being so rigid in Her moral teachings, then most everyone would see the balance of the truth of the Church and join – and the world’s major problems would disappear. There wouldn’t be war no more. People would stop judging one another. [Caveat, Jesus says there will be wars and rumors of wars till the end. He also warned that there would also always be the poor, and Pharisees would always judge the poor as having done something bad to deserve their poverty.]
  6. If Rome would just cave in on a celibate clergy, then the priest shortage would go away, and there would be enough priests to care for the flock, and everything would gradually get better. [Caveat: In the various Eastern Rites of the Church – where married men are allowed to be ordained as priests, they have the same kind of priest shortage. Sorry, celibacy is not the cause of the priest shortage even in the West. [3nd Caveat: That shortage is not universal, in my diocese we have no such shortage, and there are other Dioceses where that is the case also. Where are they? They are where the Bishop is traditional/faithful to the Gospel, and the seminary is faithful/orthodox.

I promise you the list could go on and on through almost the entire alphabet.

My central point is that it is not just ‘the Antichrist is just around the corner’ crowd who have an overly simplistic solution for the world’s problems – and are personally emotionally invested in it. There are a plague of them.”-Desmond Birch

The fundamental problem in the Church today, as St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, is that I am a sinner. Let us deny ourselves and follow God completely. We come up with half-baked solutions that are extraneous to the challenges we face, convince ourselves that if only our half-baked solution were adopted to replace the existing muddle, all would be well. I exhort each of you to challenge your own premises. Look for the flaws in your own thinking, be candid about those areas where you lack extensive knowledge, then either remedy those matters or dial it down. You don’t have to do all that studying: the simple way of “acknowledge God, take the next right step, and be a sign of hope” is sufficient to all. But when you engage in debate, when you find yourself struggling, do not double down out of vanity: dig deeper into the facts of the case. If you are wrong, admit it graciously as soon as you know and move on. If you believe yourself to be right after thoroughly studying the matter at hand, stand your ground but let the other guy up easy.

We are in very deep water now. The FBI and the Dept. of Justice, for almost a decade, have been using the “law” to savage Christians and conservatives, while helping leftists to destroy evidence. Several US Senators and Representatives openly avow that anyone who is a faithfully practicing Catholic should not be allowed to hold public office. The Twitter Mob, accompanied by well-regarded public figures, routinely attacks Christians, Jews, and conservatives for who they are, not what they do, even when they are the ones who clearly have been victimized. Official agencies throughout business, the states and federal government routinely try to destroy the lives, property and livelihoods of people because of their faith or deeply-held beliefs. We most assuredly are not in Kansas, any more – or even a reliably Constitutional Republic .  The persecution of Christians and others who engage in “wrong-think” has proceeded in the same path all pogroms have throughout history: First, ridicule the enemy; 2) then dehumanize him; 3) then blame him (however absurdly) for every failure of your own;  4) do not offer him serious police protection when rogue elements attack him; 5) then have the government, itself, covertly participate in the attacks; 6) then have the government take the lead in the attacks; 7) then jail him and send him to re-education camps; and 8) finally, if he will not submit, exterminate him. WE are midway between items 6 and 7 already – and it is speeding up dramatically. Many of our institutions and governmental officials are become fascist totalitarians. In fact, they hold most of the levers of power. Fortunately, they do not yet hold all the levers of power. Those who defend traditional American institutions and Constitutionalism are become the thin red line between us and carnage – and that line has become very thin, indeed. We are tottering on the very brink of the sort of destruction that sent Jews, Gypsies, Poles, Russians and clerics to the ghettoes and concentration camps in German-occupied territory in WWII – or that erupted in frenzied mass slaughter in Rwanda just 25 years ago. It has very quickly become deadly serious – and we have to discipline ourselves to be ever bold, but never brash.

The late Rev. Martin Luther King, in his letter from the Birmingham Jail wrote that, “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action.” (bolding by me) We must step up our game and step down our vanity if we are to prevail – particularly to prevail in a way that converts many, even multitudes, of those who are currently our tormentors.

*******

More and more people are writing about the expected arrival of the Antichrist. It is important to distinguish between the spirit of antichrist (which I identify by using a small a) and the personification of Antichrist – the diabolical incarnation (the latter phrase is meatily descriptive, but not theologically precise), which will not come until the actual end. The spirit of antichrist has been with us from the beginning of the Church, ebbing and waning in its influence on the world, depending on the tenor of the times. There are many who are foreshadowings of the actual Antichrist. What was Hitler, or Stalin, or Mao, or Pol Pot but images of the Antichrist who, though not themselves the personification, were filled with the spirit of antichrist and so became precursors? The Antichrist comes just before the actual end, so there is a certain need for precision in this matter. People think if they can defeat Antichrist, they can forestall the end. They cannot: that is a matter reserved specifically for those God has chosen from the beginning for the purpose – and even the defeat will NOT forestall the end (which will end in judgment and a glorious transformation – a new heaven and a new earth).

I am adamant that this is not the end – and that if people get caught up in that, they get drawn into irrelevant peripheral work that distracts them from what is useful and important, at best – or led into ambush and destruction, at worst. The Antichrist is not here and is not coming anytime soon. We have entered what the Fathers called the Minor Chastisement (a terribly misleading name, because it is the worst crisis in history except for the actual end – so it is, up to this point, THE worst crisis in history anyone has ever known. It is only “minor” in comparison to the tribulations to come at the actual end.) On the other hand, the spirit of antichrist is rampant – perhaps as rampant as it has ever been in New Testament history.

Let me tell you a snippet from my first great vision (a “great vision” is not necessarily more important than others: it is the term I use to describe the big visions that expound in some detail on what is happening and what is expected of me). It came in March of 1993 (in fact, this was the vision which I recounted in full to my first spiritual director at the instruction of my angel). The significant parts for consideration are that I was told that the spirit of antichrist had grown rampant in the world over the last century, that it was deceptively simple and seductive. It was simply this: the belief that good can be done without reference to God. It became institutionalized in a unique way with the Russian Revolution to become “good can ONLY be done without reference to God.” It was seductive because those taken in by it believe they are actually doing good – and every failure is used to inflame their vanity to double down on the error, while still believing they are doing good. I frequently comment that the belief that good can be done without reference to God is as absurd as the notion that thirst can be quenched without reference to water – and those who are determinedly trying to get us to quench our thirst with sand or sawdust are leading those who follow them to doom. I developed this formulation specifically from contemplation of that supernatural encounter.

From the very beginning of my consciousness of these things when I was a very little boy, two of the things that have been consistently emphasized were that this would be the greatest, most comprehensive crisis in the history of the world to this point but that, despite that, this is NOT the end. Had it been otherwise, I do not think I would have signed up. To help people through a great crisis is something worth sacrificing a lot for. To be color commentator for the Apocalypse is a role I would never have had any interest in.

I was pleased that Birch recently wrote another post on the subject that is more technical and authoritative. Again, he is one of the foremost living eschatologists in the world today. He has spent his entire professional adult lifetime, over 50 years, studying what the Church actually teaches, what the Fathers say and what both approved and non-condemned mystics have to say on the subject. He has been guest lecturer at Seminaries around the world. Here is what he wrote in a brief essay on the subject:

“What I am about to write is critically important to our ability to follow the Scriptural admonition to: Read the Signs of the Times.

There is absolute chaos amongst Christians in general [and on average, the Catholics are no exception] in our ability to see where we really are in salvation history.

Therefore I will begin with a statement of Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, “There are regions of the world which have not yet received their Initial Evangelization”.

What does that mean? It means that the very end-time events cannot yet begin, e.g., ‘The fullness of the Gentiles’, and the ‘Great Apostasy’ spoken of by Paul, the ‘advent of the Antichrist’ who will make such war on the Church, etc.

If you want to know where the Church says we are, please read the text below. I can give you the ammunition to combat the desperate thinking of those who think the Antichrist is right around the corner. Here is the text I posted to another site this morning on this issue:

“I would link the beginning of this “last period of the world” with the end of the period of Satan’s greater power foreseen in the vision of Pope Leo XIII.”

I was reading fast – and evidently missed the full import of that last sentence. The last period of the world – the last out of several others – according to the private revelations of a number of Canonized Saints, Blessed and Venerable – that period contains a complex quilt of events – which include the following: the Initial Evangelization of the world will be completed “sometime in the third millennium”, as Pope St. John Paul II states after his famous Encyclical, “Redemptoris Missio.” St. Hildegarde, a Doctor of the Church, states that this period includes a massive virtually global struggle between good and evil [within which Satan will be as active as he has ever been. Satan and his forces will be so powerful that, God will finally have to physically intervene – with a miracle of Divine Intervention as dramatic as His slaying of the forces of Pharaoh in the Red Sea. THAT, IS A KEY PART OF THE MINOR CHASTISEMENT. [Hildegarde is only one of many to say God told them this.] Also included will be the absolute defeat of Muslim forces in Western Europe. The percentally few survivors of those defeated forces will be chased back to the Middle East. That will mark the end of Islam as a major force in the world.

All the great Saints, Blessed and Venerable who speak with any fullness about that time in Salvation History, they say that the ‘minor’ chastisement will be followed by an ERA OF PEACE, within which the entire world’s Initial Evangelization will be completed, ALONG WITH the Re-Evangelization of the parts of the whole world which had previously received their Initial Evangelization – but have subsequently in large part lost the faith.

[All the serious Catholics in ‘the West’ – who are not also deaf, dumb and blind, know that the heart of the previously Christian World is now in ruins spiritually speaking, filled with people who have never heard the Kerygma and rest of the Good News effectually proclaimed to them.]

This leads us to the question of, ‘What constitutes Evangelization’? Someone commented the other day that the whole world has previously been evangelized because, Christians have visited every country of the world [or something just like that].

What does Jesus and His Church mean by Evangelization. What will be going on during the period of the 3rd Millennium which Pope St. John Paul II describes as the period when the world’s Initial Evangelization will be completed.
1) Jesus sends his disciples out ‘two by two”.
2) With no suitcases, hotel reservations, no money, no extra shoes,
3) in the Gospel it says that wherever they stay – in the same place for their evangelization stay, they are to gratefully eat whatever is put before them,
4) heal the sick in the town [mother Theresa and her order did and do this by establishing houses for that purpose (I helped establish the one in Denver which cared for men dying of AIDS),
5) PROCLAIM THE KERYGMA – AFTER THEY HAVE SEEN PROOF OF YOUR LOVE FOR THE CHILDREN OF GOD [The first full Kerygma took place on the first Pentecost, when Peter proclaimed the salvation of Jesus Christ to the assembled Jews outside the building which contained the Upper Room where they had awaited the anointing of he Holy Spirit.]
6. Then to those whom the Kerygma has Initially been preached, they were offered the opportunity to enter the Catechumenate. THERE THEY LEARNED WHAT THEY HAD TO BELIEVE AND HOW THEY HAD TO LIVE IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE SALVATION OF JESUS CHRIST. Only after that Catechetical minimum of 3 years average, could they receive the Sacraments of Initiation, Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, EXCEPT in immediate danger of death – they could be baptized without the Catechization.

Evangelization is not comprised by a couple of Christians visiting a country or town.

To cover much of the above – we see a passage from the Gospel of Luke below:

“10 After this the Lord appointed seventy[a] others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you; nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

Nowhere has the Catholic Church ever considered a couple of ‘Christians’ going to a country as Evangelization. When the Church comes to the factual conclusion that a whole country or region has been evangelized, She has always removed that country or regions from her list of Mission Lands.

The USA was finally removed from the list of Mission Lands during my lifetime. i.e., The Church saw that the Gospel had been initially preached to the entirety of this massive United States of America. The same thing occurred in Canada when I was a boy.

POINT: A couple of people or a couple of hundred for that matter, visiting a country or region does not constitute what Jesus and His Church call Initial Evangelization. It requires living witnesses who proclaim the Good News, that Jesus is Savior and Lord. Those who respond to this announcement are then offered living instructions by members of the Church, who are mature enough in their faith to live it in front of their Catechumens – and lead those Catechumens through what Jesus will require of them as Christians – both what they must believe and how they must live.

THAT IS WHAT EVANGELIZATION IS.

That has not happened in all the countries and regions of the world. After an exhaustive search of the records in the archives of the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI publicly announced in 2010 that there are entire “regions” of the earth which have not yet received their Initial Evangelization.

Now if someone chooses to respond [whether or not they say it out loud or write it] that that isn’t what evangelization means – then they are arguing with  Jesus Christ and His Church. They are not arguing with me.”

Sadly, that post was littered with comments from people who angrily told Birch the Anitchrist IS just around the corner. Their arguments were not based what the Church teaches, not what the Fathers or Doctors of the Church teach, but just because they KNOW (though in a few cases someone would mutilate a piece of teaching out of context to support their idea). Sorry, but when it comes to this subject, I will take what I was told from the beginning AND what the Church, the Fathers and the Doctors of the Church teach. It is somehow “Sexy” to preach the coming of the actual Antichrist, which is why all generations since the Resurrection have had loud voices proclaiming his arrival. I would ignore them, except to the extent that they distract the faithful from what God calls us to do in these times.

If you are a commander of troops, you  plan attacks on the enemy. But if that is all you do, you will lead your troops to destruction. You must anticipate and protect against avenues by which the enemy may exploit your plan and any flaws in it to his advantage. You must rigorously examine your plans for flaws and error. To do otherwise is to fail those under your command. Whether those given into your care in these times are your family or a cohort of faithful warriors, take care not to lead them into destruction. That means to stay grounded in the hard foundation of facts and authentic teaching, steering clear of the murky waters of speculation and ignorant willfulness.

*******

This concludes Part II of the End of the Beginning. Part III, the final, will deal with what my mission actually is – and what it is not…and what your mission (should you choose to accept it) actually is and is not.

We all need to meditate deeply right now on how to walk the knife’s edge, neither reflexively condemning to outer darkness those who disagree with, or even, persecute us nor failing to defend with vigor those who are attacked – always defending the faith against all attacks. My friend, Susan Skinner, wrote a thoughtful piece on the matter at her Veil of Veronica Website. Let us all “Joan up!”

411 thoughts on “The End of the Beginning, Part II”

  2. Bravo, Charlie! Outstanding on all points! I love your forthrightness. We NEED it. Appreciate, too, this review of the spirit of the antichrist which clears the air on the confusion on that topic. And oh how great to read Desmond’s writing, erudite, solid, strong and true, standing on the foundation of Catholic Church Teaching! Thank you so much, Desmond. I’ve been watching this unfold on your FB page. Magnetizing given what we survey all around us and live.

    Charlie, thank you, too, for the exhortation to self-challenge our own thinking, digging deeply into what we express and to do so while abiding in humility and charity. This whole piece is worthy of rereading… in chunks that can be pondered deeply à la Thomas Aquinas style, before the Blessed Sacrament. (For those who cannot get to a tabernacle or monstrance, there are online sites with webcams beaming Jesus in His Eucharistic Presence. He knows our hearts and what we can do.)

    Liked by 15 people

      1. Especially heartening for those who “follow you” (today’s techie term), Desmond, is your fortitude and patience in the face of people slinging their pet ideas your way with disdain for you, rather than taking pause and reflecting. It is evident that you know your grave responsibility as an instructor of Church Teaching. You’re a living icon of what Charlie wrote: “Now we must prove to the world and future generations that we DO believe what we preach, that we WILL stand for it in season and out of season, and that we WILL be true to the Christ who formed our faith. It is our solemn duty and our holy privilege to proclaim the Kingdom, to announce Christ and Him Crucified – who rose again – to a world that is savagely tearing itself apart, having been seduced by the false promises of satan. Anything less is a rank betrayal. If we who follow Him won’t proclaim Christ, who will?”

        Prayers for you as you continue manning your post in these ultra choppy waters for the Barque of Peter. So grateful for your presence here, Desmond. Saint Giovanni Bosco pray for Desmond, for Charlie and for us all as we press on in the Spirit, clinging to our rosaries, kneeling before Christ’s Eucharistic Presence – adoring and drawing strength, heeding Mother Church in her Truth and Wisdom, and building each other up as we, each, proclaim the Kingdom in whatever next right steps to which God calls each one!

        Liked by 8 people

        1. Thank you. Jesus gave us the example of how to deal with those who try to rip the truth of Christ and His Holy Spirit to pieces. He loves them to pieces in return. And that loving response is the only thing which has any chance of turning the hearts of those who are in error. Yes, you must respond with the truth. But it can be done with patient love, as described by Jesus,

          Mt 5:43

          43 “ You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
          44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
          45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
          46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
          47 And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
          48 You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

          Jesus doesn’t tell me this is not merely a Counsel of Perfect for those willing to take that track. He tells me I MUST do it.

          Liked by 4 people

  3. Thank you so much for this, Charlie! Praying that St. Joan of Arc make us brave with God’s strength for these times, give us both great courage and great humility and please fill us with God’s love.

    Liked by 8 people

  4. Thank you Charlie for this excellent read. Much to think about. The twists and turns of this world and this country today, ever remind me that this is not the country I grew up in. When I can accept that fact, I can turn my attention to what my role will be in the future and how I can aid God’s people. God Bless You all here…I am honored to be surrounded by such a great group of people.

    Liked by 11 people

  5. We live in such shocking times…it’s so hard to believe….it’s so sobering. Watching those who have not paid attention, or have not believed we were heading this way, finally start to understand where we are, is really interesting. The speed of the downward spiral is dizzying. Hanging out with Our Eucharistic Lord is the antidote, for sure, as Beckita suggested. Love you all– God bless you all.

    Liked by 13 people

  7. Thank you Charlie! I too am quiet taken with Desmond Birch’s book and writing. Certainly cleared up some critical points for me. No, we are not yet near anything as the AC time. However, he does say, we are close to the Three Days of Darkness. I am looking forward to your part III. We have entered into a terrible dark time. And I admit, I am scared. Not so much for myself, but for many family and friends who are not prepared. Thanks again, Charlie!

    Liked by 5 people

  8. “All we have to do to solve all of the worlds problems is return to the Old Latin Mass as the only allowed Mass.”
    The Latin Mass may not be the only method of conversion of Catholics but it would bring them back to the TRUE Catholic Church. When this Mass is so hated and derided by the prideful and modernist and faithless hierarchy then that should indicate how powerful the Latin Mass is.They react and behave to the Latin Mass as a demon being bathed in Holy Water.

    Pope Leo witnessed that the devil would be given 100 year to destroy the Church that time is quickly coming to an end. As we see the evil accumulating it appears the devil is throwing in everything but the kitchen sink for he realizes his time is nearing the end. After this era there will be a “springtime of the Church”. Or maybe not. If the world enters a time of great anguish as the Akita visionary seems to indicate and if there should upon the scene a man of great personality who will be seen uniting the governments of the world via a “new” religion of peace, then that would not be the end of times but the beginning of the anti-christ who will rule for 3.5 years . And it does seem to me that in the current state of the modernist hierarchy of the Catholic Church they would be easily deceived.
    As I recall what Fr Kramer wrote the anti-christ would be a living human being who would be defeated but that will not be he end of time.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. If that is what Fr. Kramer wrote, it is contrary to what St. Augustine, the great Doctor of the Church insisted. I’ll stick with St. Augustine, Gary. You know that I am an advocate for those who prefer the Latin Mass to be treated with full dignity – and I enjoy one myself from time to time. Are there a lot of very oppression of those who prefer the Latin Mass by officials. You bet – and I have condemned such oppression here repeatedly. It disgusts me. But there are some ultra-traditionalists who condemn anyone who does not stay only with the Latin Mass. They disgust me, too, but I speak less about them because they have little actual power and are just cranks.

      Desmond was NOT denigrating the Latin Mass, Gary. He was denigrating those Latin Mass triumphalists who would condemn everyone else. With respect, you got a little too touchy on a matter from one who has no ill will towards you.

      Liked by 10 people

      1. The problem with the Latin mass is it is not in English. I do not understand Latin and it takes much away from my prayer leading to my mind wandering. In the 1950’s my Mother related to me, she and others would pray the rosary during mass since no one could understand what the Priest was saying.

        A local Pastor here speaks Latin in certain times and phrases during the mass. It is a determined chore to focus and recall the English phrases. To keep up and not miss speak, I say aloud the English in tyme with the Latin. It deflects from my worship and is annoying at times. However beautiful it sounds.

        Liked by 4 people

        2. Hi Sean, I get your point and agree, but I also think there are many good points of the Latin Mass too. I am a world traveler and have been to Mass in many countries. One of the beauties of the Mass is the consistency no matter where you go. I know I am receiving Jesus no matter where I go and the order of the Mass is the same.

          Funny, I was in Japan in Kumamoto (who has heard of Kumamoto?). I asked the hotel clerk if there was a Catholic church near by that I could go to. Sunday obligation was always a priority for me even when on business travel. She gave me directions to get on a local train, get off on a stop in a local neighborhood, walk about 1/4 mile with a few turns. My coworker from the U.S. came with me. We arrived at this small neighborhood parish. Ironically, we were greeted at the entrance by some Japanese pre-teens passing out the Mass on pamphlets in English. It was like they were expecting us. My coworker and I were the only 2 English speaking folks there and probably the only ones who visited since who knows when. It was surreal in that we were two Americans that showed up in this obscure Japanese neighborhood. It was like God was expecting and welcoming us. The Mass was simple and at the sign of peace, we bowed to each other instead of shaking hands. The whole ordeal had a most profound effect on me even though I could not understand any words in Japanese.

          I think Latin can give the Mass more consistency around the world and can be unifying. I bet in older times, many more folks understood Latin too. Today, it would probably have little impact to go back because we have moved away from it for so long. I can’t really say. I have never been to a Latin Mass and do not think I have been called to attend one, but I can imagine a sublime beauty in it. Our parish has gone back to Latin for some prayers at various times of the liturgical season. Since I already know them in English, I can follow along and I find them edifying. I do believe that God has graced us with a symphony of variety to worship him him in the Mass, but with a common structure. Oh the beauties and the depth of the grace of our Lord! Blessings!

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          1. I have heard of Kumamoto, Doug! Kumamoto and Missoula are sister cities. Actually, Kumamoto city is a sister to the whole state of Montana. My childhood faith was nurtured via the Latin Mass through 8th Grade when, guess what? Songs such as Kumbaya were used in liturgy. Not kidding. It took a while for the dust to settle after the Council and for the goofy errors connected to experimenting with the liturgy, albeit many made with good intention, to be cast aside – I mean using the Carpenters’ song, Top of the World, for a respomsorial psalm was too much. (And I’m the nut case who chose it 😱!) Thank you, Doug, for your reflection which bespeaks the beauty of unity amidst sensible varieties of expression.

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              1. 😊🙃🤗 I was twenty-one, had whisked through my undergraduate work in three years and had moved to Missoula from Sioux City, riding the wave of seeing God in everyone and ALL His good things around us. My pastor who appreciated my hard work and enthusiasm didn’t want to put a damper on either of those qualities and simply said: “Gee, I thought I was in Kelsey’sBar in downtown Butte.” I laughed and was also mortified as I had already figured out the inappropriate flop. There was lots of that kind of stuff in those days. You win some and you learn some.

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                1. You know, Beckita, I long ago learned that, particularly with neophytes, if you want to find someone with real talent and potential, do not look only for someone who is notable in their success – pay attention to those who are extravagant in their flops. I am serious. A good percentage of those who are extravagant in their youthful flops are also amazingly original thinkers who, when they mature, can become incredibly powerful and unique talents – who have the guts to take risks that, when they pay off, pay off huge. Of course, some are just flops…but I found it often enough profitable to look for those genuine rubies in the rough that I never abandoned it.

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                  1. So true, Charlie. I know just what you mean as I recall how the varying strengths and challenges of the many student teachers I mentored over the years played out in the infancy of their teaching careers.

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            2. A brave admission indeed, Beckita! My esteem for your Christian honesty has reached new, stratospheric heights. I know full well that we should be willing and prepared to confess our sins to one another, but I’m sure that God would have excused you for somehow “skipping” over that choice for the responsorial psalm.

              Personally, my strong suspicion is that I would have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. My many versions of your secret about The Carpenters would have been long ago buried deep in the foundations of Giants Stadium along with the sad remains of Jimmy Hoffa, never to have seen the light of day again. Besides, Beckita, it’s really a pretty song, not without a spiritual quality;

              The Carpenters – Top Of The World – YouTube

              Lyrics

              “Such a feelin’s comin’ over me
              There is wonder in ‘most ev’ry thing I see
              Not a cloud in the sky, got the sun in my eyes
              And I won’t be surprised if it’s a dream.

              Everything I want the world to be
              Is now comin’ true especially for me
              And the reason is clear, it’s because you are here
              You’re the nearest thing to heaven that I’ve seen.

              I’m on the top of the world lookin’ down on creation
              And the only explanation I can find
              Is the love that I’ve found ever since you’ve been around
              Your love’s put me at the top of the world.

              Somethin’ in the wind has learned my name
              And it’s tellin’ me that things are not the same
              In the leaves on the trees and the touch of the breeze
              There’s a pleasin’ sense of happiness for me.

              There is only one wish on my mind
              When this day is through I hope that I will find
              That tomorrow will be just the same for you and me
              All I need will be mine if you are here.

              I’m on the top of the world lookin’ down on creation
              And the only explanation I can find
              Is the love that I’ve found ever since you’ve been around
              Your love’s put me at the top of the world.

              I’m on the top of the world lookin’ down on creation
              And the only explanation I can find
              Is the love that I’ve found ever since you’ve been around
              Your love’s put me at the top of the world.”

              admiringly …. Dave

              Liked by 3 people

              1. I was at a youth Mass once with my son when he was in high school. For the Recessional, they did, “Hey, Hey, Goodbye,” a song typically used to taunt losing opponents after a sporting event. I was furious and went ballistic. I loudly complained of the sacrilegious nature of it – and that there ought to be some respect. I was truly in full rant. My poor, mortified son was trying to shush me. I turned on him and angrily said, “I will not shush in the face of desecration.” He just hung his head and tried to shrink into the floor until we left. He tried to reason with me in the car, but on this, I was having none of it. On the bright side, they never had anything but a religious song for recessional for the rest of the time when I was there.

                A few years ago, I was at Mass with my son in his home Church in far southern Georgia. They made an offensive error (I hope it was error) in the liturgy…and he started muttering. After Mass, he was in high dudgeon and went to make his anger known to the Priest. I chuckled, reminded him of the incident when he was a teen, and said I was glad to see he had grown to truly be his father’s son. He was still too mad to laugh then – but we both chuckled over these parallel incidents later that night.

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                1. Not only that Beckita – I have found that many contemporary love songs, obviously written with a particular person in mind by the songwriter, can be sung wholeheartedly to God Himself – and I bet THAT was furtherest from the mind of said songwriter!

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            3. Ha! We all go through growth. I think often that doctrine can get confused with discipline. Doctrine cannot change, but discipline has a level of flexibility.

              So how did Kumamoto become your sister city?

              Liked by 2 people

              1. True that, Doug, about doctrine and discipline, yet, even in discipline good order and respect for Church guidelines is important. The years right after the Council ended were filled with innovations before legitimate Church authority began cleaning up some of the confusion.

                Here‘s some history on the Kumamoto sister city relationship which, as I mentioned, exists with the entire state of Montana. On the campus of the University of Montana is the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library. In a nutshell, from the article: Mike Mansfield, the former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, visited Kumamoto in August of 1979. Kumamoto Prefecture asked Ambassador Mansfield for his suggestion concerning a candidate state in the U.S. with which the prefecture could start a sister state relationship. He recommended his home state, the state of Montana, as a good candidate. We also have a men’s choral group in our city, the Missoula Mendelssohn Club, which first organized and presented, in 1987, the International Choral Festival. It returns every four years. In the early years of the festival, we hosted in our home two grandmothers who were part of the chorale from Kumamoto. Great fun!

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                1. Oh that is wonderful Becks. I have my Japanese counter part in engineering whom I have a beautiful professional relationship. We have shared laughter at dinners knowing our humanity is the same when describing our wivrs amd families. Whether real or not, I admire the Japanese culture of respect. So I feel a kinship with him and his culture and his home city. Now that kinship applies to you with Kumamoto as a sister city. We are now more connected in different and profound ways. My soul magnifies the Lord with this great beauty!

                  Liked by 2 people

                  1. It’s a gift that you have been able to travel to so many places, Doug, and make friends such as your Japanese counterpart. I’d love to see your Kumamoto pictures some day.

                    Liked by 1 person

                    1. Oh Becks. I do not recall taking pictures as these trips were prior to simple smart phone pictures. I also usually worked very long hours on these trips with some almost all nighters. So I have not given that much thought. The images are all in my mind.

                      Liked by 2 people

            4. Your comment about yourself and your musical choice set me into a fit of laughter. And I needed to laugh in balance to CJ’s post’s seriousness.

              Liked by 3 people

          2. Thanks Doug
            There is a certain power that accompanies the grace in Latin liturgy. Our local chaplain to the hospital attends those suffering with dementia and alzeimers. He says that as soon as he says “Introibo ad altare Dei'” they Come back with the response “Ad deum qui laetificat juventutem meam.” I am all for Vaticam II and my 90 year old old mum loved the change to English but in the old days the English could be closely followed on the page of the missal facing the Latin text. In many way it kept your attention far better. And it was the same across the world. I could serve mass in any country. Fr Amorth the exorcist of Rome said that the demons laugh at some of the vernacular rites of exorcism. Only the Latin in his experience was truly effective in this regard.. I fee l there is definitely a place for Latin in todays world. It still forms the basis for many aspects of anatomy and law and often allows for shades of meaning not accommodated by English. and of course many English words have their root in Latin and Greek.

            Liked by 6 people

          3. Dear Doug, I’ll be 78 years old at midnight tonight. So I lived those years when more people understood spoken – or even written Latin?

            Even as an altar boy beginning at the age of 7 in 1948, with a Father who taught me my Latin responses, I knew no Latin. I simply parroted the Latin Prayers without a proverbial clue what I was saying.

            Neither did hardly anyone else – except the parish priests. That is the reason that in the year I was born, 1941, they came out with the first Roman Rite Missals for Mass which had both Latin and the Vernacular texts, side by side on alternating pages.

            But that didn’t solve the problem: If you didn’t know where the priest was in the prayers of the Mass in the Sacramentary on the altar, you had no way of knowing where you should be in the English text in your Missal. My mom, a convert from Lutheranism, finally figured out how to accomplish that when I was a teenager. But she was someone who never turned aside till she had mastered something which was important to her. After about 15 years of effort, she got it down. The vast majority of others who did not try that hard – they provided the sound behind us altar boys, of people’s rosaries clacking against the wooden pews when they were kneeling.

            Amongst other things, I tutor seminarians in Latin. But very few of them become fluent enough to understand spoken Latin – even after 2 years of intense study. They can however follow it in a missal in written form.

            It was no different when I was a boy in the 1940’s.

            Does that mean I have anything against the Mass in Latin? No it doesn’t. But I still work on a number of my friends who attend the Latin Mass [1962 Edition] almost exclusively. I try to get them to learn Latin [only a couple of the people in that parish do] so that they can concomitantly follow the prayer of the priest as he speaks those prayers. It isn’t absolutely necessary. But I can tell you that if I wasn’t fluent in Latin, I’d be bored compared with Masses in the vernacular.

            I too still travel somewhat extensively [at least for my age ;-). In the East, it is rare to find a Roman Rite parish, so I wind up attending a Liturgy of the Eucharist in their Liturgical language. When I was in Rome last May, I rediscovered that my Italian is not up to snuff for immediate translation. But I can follow in in print form in Italian.

            In my experience, the fact is that the vast majority of those who regularly attend the Mass in Latin, of those who care, they read it in the English out of a Bilingual Missal. And they will not take the time to learn Latin. Many of the rest still clack rosaries against the back of the pew in front of them.

            Liked by 3 people

            2. Ha! When you say “clack Rosaries”, I picture a bunch of old ladies in unison clacking to a beat. It would be interesting to see something choreographed to this on You Tube. I’m 57 and came into the church in 1991. So pre Vatican II is very foreign to me, but traveling around the world gives me a great sense of appreciation of the unity of the Mass and helps me see why the Latin rite serves a valuable purpose. Ironically, I have only experienced the Roman rite in the far East. Kumamoto & Tokyo Japan, Taiwan, Seoul South Korea and Singapore is where I have been to Mass in the far East.

              Liked by 2 people

          4. It’s TLM for me all the time now……once in awhile, I have to go to a NO Mass……I just keep my eyes closed and pray pray pray.

            Liked by 1 person

        3. Following the Mass with the St. Andrew Missal or the Roman Rite (1962) Missal is a breeze……it’s in Latin and English. At a TLM “sung” Mass there is less distractions.

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        4. Latin is the language of Mother Church.

          As for the traditional Mass, you can follow along easily in a hand Missal. Paperback copies are easy to order. They always read the scripture readings for the day in English before the homily if you do not have a full hand Missal for the year.

          Everyone does not have to like the Latin Mass, but even the documents of Vatican II insisted on retaining Latin as the language of the Church:

          “the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites”

          CONSTITUTION
          ON THE SACRED LITURGY
          SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM
          SOLEMNLY PROMULGATED BY
          HIS HOLINESS
          POPE PAUL VI
          ON DECEMBER 4, 1963

          Liked by 2 people

          1. I agree, Eric– I don’t go to Latin Mass because it’s only available once a week at a time and place not convenient, and my hubs doesn’t prefer that Mass
            But I think it is no problem to follow along when you have English and Latin side by side. This may rankle some here, but a little effort put forth might help people to be able to follow along, if they really wanted to. Clanking the rosary beads definitely wouldn’t. But I totally agree that Latin is not better than English, or vice versa. All Holy Masses are Heavenly! Just want to make the point that it is not impossible have a wonderful experience at a Latin Mass. My personal preference is ad orientem in English, which is not available here at this time.

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          2. Latin is the ‘Mother Language’ for the Roman/Latin Rite. It is not in the East. The vast majority of their prelates cannot read Latin, ergo, the Ecclesial Documents which are sent to them are now sent to them in their own Ecclesial language.

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      2. I quote Fr. Kramer’s “The Book of Destiny’ in ‘Trial, Tribulation & Triumph’ and in other of my writings. Fr. Kramer did NOT say the world ends immediately after the death of the Antichrist. He was too knowledgeable an eschatologist to say that. He was aware of the writings of St. Robert Bellarmine’s [the last Doctor of the Church to make an extensive study of Eschatology] teaching that, very shortly after that death, will come the Final Judgment. He cites the Fathers and Doctors of the Church who virtually universally teach this — that there will be a very very short period of time after the death of Antichrist for people to repent. Then comes the Judgment. Kramer knew that – and even if he hadn’t, his credentials as an eschatologist are paltry [as are mine] compared with St. and Doctor Robert Bellarmine. Bellarmine was declared by his Pope to be a man without equal in the Church for his knowledge about the Faith, theology, eschatology in particular, Church History, the Writings of the Church Fathers, etc. Additionally, as Charlie stated, I did not denigrate the old Latin Mass in any way, shape, or form. I simply observed that vis-a-vis its universal exclusive return in the Latin/Roman Rite of the Catholic Church would not lead to a binding up of all Her wounds – any more than it stopped the moral plague of Contraception. That plague was nothing new in the 20th and 21st centuries. The Church had to do battle with that horror during Her infancy – even when Greek [not Latin] was the Universal Liturgical language in the Church in the West. The change from Greek to Latin as the Church’s Liturgical Language in the West was ordered by Pope Damasus I, in the 360’s A.D. Contraception had been extirpated within the Church well prior to that Liturgical change within the Church to Latin. And the form of the Mass was nothing like the Tridentine Mass which the commonest Mass form throughout the West when I was a boy. There were numerous other Rites even within the West at that time, the Dominican, and Cartusian being two of the most well known exceptions.I can understand peoples love of the old Tridentine Rite. But it was never the Universal Rite of the entire Catholic Church. All of the various Eastern Rites of the Church had and yet have their own distinct Liturgical Rites. Contraception and other sexual aberrations, and numeruos heresies, were for the most part extirpated prior even to the development of the Tridentine Rite beginning in the Middle Ages. People who think that it – or any other single thing can wipe out the evil of today simply do not have a sufficient grasp of the Liturgical History of the Church.

        Thanks for the defense, Charlie

        Liked by 6 people

        2. Seems to come back our individual love for Christ and an understanding of the Body of Christ. Most important the Sacrifice of our Lord, and his asking that we become one with him. Spirit Daily did an article on a youth this past week of a young man (15) who had researched all the Eucharist miracles that had taken place throughout time . It was beautiful. “On Wednesday, 23 January, the mortal remains of the Venerable Carlo Acutis, were exhumed in accord with Canon Law and transferred to a suitable location in preparation for their translation to the Shrine of the Renunciation in Assisi, scheduled for 5-6 April,” Nicola Gori, the postulator of Acutis’ cause of beatification and canonization, announced online.
          “Body Of Computer ‘Geek’ Incorrupt?” Jan 25th, 2019 “According to the publishers of a biography on Acutis, he “was a teen of our times, like many others. He tried hard in school, with his friends, [and] he loved computers. At the same time he was a great friend of Jesus Christ, he was a daily communicant and he trusted in the Virgin Mary. Succumbing to leukemia at the age of 15, he offered his life for the Pope and for the Church. Those who have read about his life are moved to profound admiration.”

          One of the quotes Acutis is best remembered for is: “To always be close to Jesus, that’s my life plan. I’m happy to die because I’ve lived my life without wasting even a minute of it doing things that wouldn’t have pleased God.”

          He also said that “our aim has to be the infinite and not the finite. The Infinite is our homeland. We have always been expected in Heaven,” and he called the Eucharist “my highway to heaven.” He passed in 2006. Since this article, the postulator has said the body is to early in casket to declare incorruptible. No matter, what a beautiful child of Christ and his life has impressed on me God’s greatness and love! Each step is infinite and we should carefully pick the direction! Once again Desmond Birch’s book is excellent and I will share with my 4 teenage grand children this weekend, in hopes they will get a clearer understanding of God’s Mercy and our paths – our next right steps.

          Liked by 4 people

        3. Desmond;
          I’ve been following this site (and previously TNRS) since mid 2015. There has always been lots of really bright people commenting here but, without taking anything away from them, your participation has brought a new level of value to these pages. To wit: The above Liturgical History. Wow!
          Thanks a million.

          Liked by 2 people

          1. If the priest is following the rubrics, and saying many if not most of the prqyers ‘soto voce’, and you cannot hear his voice, one is guessing where he is at. I still attend Latin Masses from time to time, so I’m not misremembering. I’m fluent, but if I can’t get into the first couple of rows, I can’t hear his voice. I know, I’m 78 today and my hearing is not what it once was. On the other hand, I’m not deaf. 🙂

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    2. I read Fr Kramer’s book on the
      Apocalypse While it has many good features, unfortunately it is marked
      by anti-Semitism and hostility to the Jewish people. That it why I would not
      recommend it to people. Also, I think some of his interpretations on other matters
      are not accurate.

      Liked by 2 people

  9. Charlie, you always leave me with a banquet to ponder, think about, & digest. I relish all of your posts & have learned a great deal! Thank you & God continue to bless you & yours❣️

    Liked by 4 people

  10. I copied ;Maggie’s comment from part one:
    (The above youtube video is the one she mentions)
    Maggie
    January 30, 2019 at 9:02 pm
    Another example of effectiveness of raw photos…At least a couple of decades ago, our small pro-life group was granted permission to show Eclipse of Reason to our local Catholic high school.(a relative who volunteered with Human Life Intl /Fr. Paul Marx in D.C. area was able to send a copy.) It has an intro by Charlton Heston, who inferred the importance of showing Auschwitz victims’ pictures, and the necessity of abortion’s graphic images. The video featured former abortionist Dr. Nathanson, and two women who had abortions. A couple teenage girls walked out during the screening, but by the grace of God, we found out later, one pg student changed her mind and kept her child. The teachers said they had never experienced complete silence during an assembly as this one. Our local paper printed our short letter to the editor informing, as a PSA, donating this video to the local library. This was before youtube, although now E.of R. video can be viewed there.

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  12. As we continue on this journey before us, I thank you for giving of yourself to be an anchor of knowledge and truth. May your faith ever remain steadfast and strong that you will continue to be a beacon of light to God’s people. Praying for God’s peace that passes all human understanding in the midst of the storm and to always do the Next Right Step knowing that He is at our side. God abundantly bless all of you on this journey.

    Liked by 6 people

  13. Very meaty post Charlie; thank you for your hard work.

    You consistently point to Christ and only Christ. When “leaders” such as Dolan shirk their duty, you serve the Lord. Very, very, heartening.

    “6. Then to those whom the Kerygma has Initially been preached, they were offered the opportunity to enter the Catechumenate. THERE THEY LEARNED WHAT THEY HAD TO BELIEVE AND HOW THEY HAD TO LIVE IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE SALVATION OF JESUS CHRIST. Only after that Catechetical minimum of 3 years average, could they receive the Sacraments of Initiation, Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, EXCEPT in immediate danger of death – they could be baptized without the Catechization.”

    This is an interesting Catholic thing. Tradition?

    It makes sense for the dignity of the RCC as an institution. St. James’ evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work of our Sanctification takes time to develop. (In my case, three years is much to short a time–three or four decades would more likely fit the bill).

    The “emergency” clause supports the reality of the Gospel, that we are saved, by grace through faith and the reality that God dearly loves us.

    Regarding Dolan…
    “66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
    67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”
    68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,
    69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

    Maybe he will repent. I will walk with the Twelve with the Lord.
    Perhap’s the greatest disappointment of this Storm is the vapidity of our purported ‘leaders’. A leader runs towards the fight, guns blazing..these guys? sad.

    God bless you.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Timothy, to answer your ‘Tradition’ question, there are various written descriptions of the Catechumenate in and from the time of the Infant Church. Those documents we possess come from various locations/Dioceses around the Mediterranean Basin. They confirm the existence of the same ‘Institution’ in the Church, called the Catechumenate.

      The Catechumenate of the Infant Church was much broader and deeper than RCIA is today. Within that Catechumenate you had to go through a period of BOTH TRAINING AND TRIAL BEFORE you were received into the Church – with early Baptism available to those in immediate danger of death..

      From My studies of that period and process over the last, say 40 years, I would estimate that approximately 5 to 10 percent of that time was exercised in learning what Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Church require you to know in both Doctrine and Morals. The balance of those three years minimum [some averaged four or five years] was spent under the watchful eye of the Bishop and one’s Catechists/Mentors. They watched the Catechumen quite carefully to see whether he or she could live a basically moral life BEFORE EVEN ENTERING THE CHURCH.

      The Great Eastern Father and Doctor of the Church, St. John Chrysostom, writes deeply of this process – clearly stating that if one is habituated to what the Church today calls ‘grave’ sin, an adult cannot be Baptized therein. Unless they can demonstrate that as adults they can live a life free of grave sin, they may not enter the Church. He wrote this in the 390’s A.D. while Archbishop of Constantinople.

      IN the Infant Persecuted Church, the communities were quite small compared to the next phase of our Church’s History:

      That history demonstrates that after the Edict of Milan which officially freed the Christian Church from persecution by the Roman Empire, freed them to evangelize and freely practice Her religious faith was issued in 313 … the Church became swamped with those seeking entrance into Her.

      Also, a larger and larger percentage of the Church’s members were one’s who had been baptized as Infants. Obviously, the cradle Catholics then as now, had had no deep Catechization process and TESTING AS TO LIVING THE FAITH prior to their 3 Sacraments of Initiation, Baptism, Confirmation, Chrismation.

      The Church subsequently began to lose the depth of convictions and especially of self discipline of those who had been through the Catechumenate in the Infant Church.

      EXAMPLE: St. Augustine was already struggling with this problem in Hippo, North Africa, in the first quarter 35 years or so of the 5th century, the 400’s A.D. The biggest problem was the very size of his Basilica Pacis Cathedral. The community was now just to large to operate in the same intimate ways the smaller communities of the past had done. He had trouble finding enough qualified people to serve as Catechists to those seeking entry into the Church, etc.

      This history of the Catechumenate of the Infant Church began to fascinate me many years ago. I subsequently began a search to read everything I could on it over the next 4 decades or so.

      And ‘yes’, Timothy, the Catechumenate is part of the Church’s historical Practicum or Tradition.

      All my love in Christ

      Desmond

      Liked by 4 people

      1. It seems like the Church suffered and still suffers from the problems associated with scale.

        I heard a priest describe how the very earliest Christians met in the homes. Call it the first “home Mass”. There was no organized liturgy. Maybe the neighbors come in and break bread together. Say some prayers and share some common experience or communication from those who knew Christ. No Bishops. No priests. No Code of Canon Law. We can imagine the scene. “Jesus said This Is My Body This Is My Blood.”

        As the Church expanded the “Church in the Home” model became inadequate. Larger spaces needed. The intimacy no longer as tight among the community. “Who’s that stranger in the back of the room?”

        Larger spaces needed larger ORGANIZATION. Larger organization lead to rules, regulations and defined duties. Perhaps to assure quality control. Bishops. Deacons. Priests. I heard that in those early days subsequent to the Home Church model only the Bishops could confect the Eucharist. The Eucharist consecrated by a Bishop was carried far and wide by the Priests and distributed to the far flung communities. Priests did not have the dispensation to confect the Eucharist.

        We can see where this was going. As the organization grew and grew the opportunity for disputes and heresies. Rivalries? Usurpers?

        Along comes Constantine in the early 4th Century and the kids in the basement model goes global corporate model. Constantine builds big Basilicas for the Christians in Rome. St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s. Constantine sits the boys down in Council and from the head of the table tells them to get their act together and STANDARDIZE the beliefs of the Church so that they are the same everywhere in the Empire. Canon.

        Back to the problem of scale. Average Christians have less and less influence on the worship. Institutionalized worship demands conformity. Problems of subsidiarity.

        This is the problem with Government today in the U.S. Average voters feel very distant from those in Washington or the State Capitols who make up the rules for them. We have no influence on them. the word is alienated. This leads to a deterioration of the cohesion of the body politic. A kind of political Balkanization. Lack of unity. Lack of common purpose. Concentration of power leads to restlessness especially on matters of conscience.

        So what is happening in the Church today? Many are feeling more distant from the Vatican and its leadership. Problem of subsidiarity? Problem of growing alienation? We have no influence on Pope Francis or the curia. Is there a deterioration in the cohesion of the Church today? A kind of religious or even theological Balkanization? A certain restlessness in the pews especially on matters of conscience?

        It seems that all around the world today people want to claim their subsidiarity. We want to make our own rules at a level we can control. See Brexit. See Yellow Vests. See the disintegration happening in Germany. The Big International Corporate model where decisions are made by faceless bureaucrats or faceless Bishops in far off places who are beyond our influence is perceived as a threat to our way of life.

        We don’t know where that historical process is going to lead us eventually in the U.S. We don’t know where that process is going to lead us in the Church.

        I don’t think we are going back to the future of the New England Town Hall where everybody gets to stand up and influence the Town Council. Still done in some very small communities in New England today. We are not going back to the Church in the Home model of worship and belief in Judea and Galilee.

        And Catechumens? Nobody is going to take the time to examine them for two or three years and observe their behavior. Nobody is going to take the time to examine political beliefs before joining the Democrat or Republican Party.

        The question of the hour is: At present scale of organization and bureaucratization can the Government or the Church withstand the stress occasioned by ever growing distance and alienation from the faithful?

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        1. I ponder so many things about these times, too, Ed, and all I know for sure is that I’m keeping my eyes on God as He unfolds His Plan. I don’t mean that as a discussion stopper or simple platitude. I think of the times when Charlie, at TNRS, mentioned that if everything crumbled quite completely, God would have a New Way for us. If our rebuilding of culture and life is going to be a major undertaking – perhaps a new governing system for our country and/or a new structure within the Church, whatever God deems best – so be it. Whether minor or major reform is needed, God’s Grace will be there as we engage in co-creating the New Beginning with Him. What a bight future awaits us and I will cling to that certainty when tempted to despair because we’re ALL going to feel as Jesus did when He cried out: “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” But that will be a feeling while our faith teaches us what Fr. Carey Landry captured in his song of simplicity:
          I will never forget you my people,
          I have carved you on the palm of My hand,
          I will never forget you,
          I will not leave you orphaned,
          I will never forget my own…

          In fact, in every age and time, God has been our refuge and our hope.

          Long before the mountains came to be
          and the land and sea and stars of the night,
          through the endless seasons of all time,
          you have always been,
          you will always be.

          In ev’ry age, O God, you have been our refuge.
          In ev’ry age, O God, you have been our hope.

          Destiny is cast, and at your silent word
          we return to dust and scatter to the wind.
          A thousand years are like a single moment gone,
          as the light that fades
          at the end of day.

          Teach us to make use of the time we have.
          Teach us to be patient even as we wait.
          Teach us to embrace our ev’ry joy and pain.
          To sleep peacefully,
          and to rise up strong.

          You have been our refuge
          You have been our hope.

          Liked by 6 people

            1. And that saint-in-the-making (SIM) for these times is you and me, Doug, and Lambzie and Ed and Mick and thankful and dianebelvs and Crew Dog and San San and Sean and SteveBC and Bob and Kris and Marisa and MP and Frank and JT and James and BD and audiemarie and Kim and HandToThePlow and Karen and Roman and Randall and dolordee and Jen and gotojoseph and Patrick and Christopher and Maggie and John and Sarah and Katherine and quietpathways and Sr. Bear JBrad and and robill and little one and Jack Hiller and Eric and Timothy and Theresa Tamborine and Missy and texasooz and Islam_Is Islam and ascotinfrance and R. Sèy Moürre-Tissot de Mérovingien and Patricia and Doctor Dave and joyful and the phoenix and joseph fazio and Desmond and Charlie and joecro and Lilia and all our silent readers and ConnieB and joanne1950 and Judith and Hans and JMary and Anne and Al and jaykay and Linda and Phillip and just a sojourner and for the sake… and Andy and all the other commenters who share this community – forgive me if I left your name out because even one comment is a blessing as we gather round this table of plenty with people sharing from the head and with the heart. That SIM for these times is each of us.

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              1. Beckita, I slowly read your list of SIM’s and started worrying perhaps I missed the cut. Hallelujah, lo and behold I saw my name. Everyone knows that Beckita’s “Book of SIM’s” is second only in importance to the “Book of Life”… 😉

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                1. Of course you’re there, BD. 🙂 What would we do without our SIM who brings us smiles, grins and laughs? I actually scrolled through thirty pages of cleared comments to remind me of as many of our community members as I could find. And I meant it when I added all who have commented and those who are silent readers. We all qualify for the Ballad of the Ordinary Man and each one is needed. Then I ponder how each one of us has an effect on those with whom we share this leg of the journey and it’s pretty amazing what God has begun in all of us. May we stay strong; may we be faithful and true. Every last one of us.

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              3. Oh Becks, you are too kind. I was thinking more on the lines of a Saint Catherine of Siena or the likes. Maybe Charlie even, but someone quite visible to us.

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                1. Yes, Doug, it is an oft repeated spiritual saying that God raises certain saints for times of great need. I was simply echoing Charlie’s message to us that each of us is called to mission via next right steps. Of course, we need leaders… always do. However, seems to me that this greatest confrontation in salvation history has God calling on a lotta saints, or SIM, to bring His Plan to fruition.

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                  1. Yes Becks. I guess you could say he is fashioning a remnant. On a lighter note, it explains why I am using the SIMulator at work so much lately 😎

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              4. Beckita, love this song…I play guitar and love this verse…”I am your song and servant, singing your praise like Mary.
                Surrendered to your Spirit, “Let it be done to me”…

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              5. Saints in Making — SIMs. I like it.

                I was once a CIT. Counselor In Training. Summer camp. The difference between a C and a CIT was that the Cs got paid. CITs were just kids running errands for the grownups. Go get the wood for the campfire.

                Thinking of your litany of SIMs here at ASOH, I was searching for my favorite quote re saints. This one by Leon Bloy oft quoted:

                “The only tragedy in life is not to become a saint.”

                My favorite definition of a saint: A saint is a friend of God.

                Frankly, that is what I aspire to be … a friend of God.

                Ran into this random observation invoking of all people C.S. Lewis. Coincidence?

                ““It’s someone ye’ll never have heard of. Her name on earth was Sarah Smith and she lived at Golders Green.”

                “She seems to be…well, a person of particular importance?”

                “Aye. She is one of the great ones. Ye have heard that fame in this country and fame on Earth are two quite different things.”

                ~ C.S. Lewis

                Followed by this appreciation of one of the saints — Pope Urban 1

                “Then my eye fell on the entry for Pope Urban I, who served the Church of Rome for eight years before his death in 230. Here’s the entry in its entirety: “Nothing of note occurred during Urban’s pontificate.”

                It seems that Pope Urban dealt with lingering dissension and Christological heresies, but these seemed to be already on the wane by the time he was ensconced. Plus, Weltin points out that Urban’s pontificate coincided with the reign of Emperor Alexander Severus “who was favorably disposed toward Christians,” so the Pope probably died in his sleep – not martyred like so many of his predecessors.

                what we already know from the liturgy: Pope Urban I is a saint. And sanctification, as we all know from experience, is always noteworthy and hardly the stuff of insignificance. It’s the whole point of the Christian enterprise, and it’s, frankly, grueling – at least for most of us. It’s why we keep going to Mass and saying “Amen” when the Body of Christ is held up to us at Holy Communion. It’s why we strive to keep our disordered appetites in check and choose virtue over vice when it’s inconvenient, or even seemingly impossible. And it’s why we go to Confession, over and over again, surrendering our selfishness at the court of last resort – really, the court of only resort – and promise to try again.

                No, Pope St. Urban I led a significant life, despite the historians’ inability to divine the details. He’s a saint, after all – a saint! To paraphrase Leon Bloy, becoming a saint is all that matters, but that “becoming” is wild – like a steeplechase in a puzzle in a whirling tumbler. And the vast majority of all that is interior – acts of conscience and intention and self-abandonment – so how could anybody keep track of anyone’s path to glory with all its hidden ups and downs?

                So it will be for you and me should we realize, with God’s grace, the same heavenly prize as Pope Urban. Sure, he’s an obscure figure as far as the scholars are concerned, but can there be any doubt that he cares little about that now? Similarly, all those who’ll join him in Paradise won’t care a whit if their doings are recorded in a book – not even a single line. Nobody on earth will know about the extra prayers and fasting you undertook for your ailing grandma; nobody will know about the kindnesses you doled out on strangers in need; nobody will know when you didn’t do the wrong things you wanted to, nor right things you embraced when you were inclined otherwise. But God knows. God knows our doings, God knows our hearts, and that’s plenty. Indeed, it’s everything.”

                A friend is as a friend does. God loves his friends. Especially all the Sarah Smiths living at all the Golders Greens of the world. The anonymous ones. The ones who Like Pope Urban 1 lead lives leading to the conclusion of the world that “Nothing of note occurred during [ his/her] lifetime.” I’m guessing something similar will be written on my gravestone.

                “But God knows. God knows our doings, God knows our hearts, and that’s plenty. Indeed, it’s everything.”

                SIMs. I like it. I accept the job. Even though like my summer camp CIT duties — the pay is deferred.

                I like being in the company of a whole lot of similar minded SIMs here at ASOH. Good company. Pilgrims on the journey.

                Liked by 4 people

          2. Ed, your depiction of the early history of the Church appears to be very worldly and gives no consideration for guidance of the Church by the Holy Spirit which alone can give an adequate explanation as to why it remained basically unified for 1500 years until the Satan made a significant dent in it in the so called Reformation. If the Church had been merely the human institution you describe subjected to normal human activities and reactions, It would not have survived at all as even Gamaliel the great rabbi stated at St. Peter’s trial by the Council. Both our nation and the Church are being assailed by the modernism Pius X warned about. Thankfully we can rely on Jesus’ promise that the gates of hell will not prevail, heavily damage, but not prevail, It will be saved not by human efforts but by God’s intervention in the Rescue we are now experiencing. We must be prepared to do our assigned part as instruments of God’s will, May the Holy Spirit continue to guide and protect us as we strive to do just that. Lord save us lest we parish.

            Liked by 1 person

        2. Actually, there was only one form of the Liturgy of the Eucharist from the very beginning. When they met and ‘broke bread’ without the Bishop [by the middle of he 2nd century – bishop or Presbyter], they were celebrating what is called an ‘Agape Meal’ – not a Eucharist. Laity never tried to consecrate the bread and wine to confect the Eucharist – except in a very few cases we know of. In those cases – when the Bishop heard of it, the rock fell on those who presumed to perform such a sacrilege.

          The earliest complete liturgies of the Eucharist which are extant, which we possess [those of St. Hippolytus in Rome] are virtually identical to the form we celebrate today. Those come to us from around the year 215 in Rome.

          Liked by 4 people

          1. Well, it raises some question doesn’t it? Who said the SECOND Mass? Who said the words of the Consecration with authority? Who empowered the Priests to do the consecration of the bread and the wine to this day? Not a liturgist but curious about the who, what and where of the development of the liturgy and the authorities of the Mass. Who was the bold guy who took the bread and the wine in his hands the SECOND time?

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      2. Thank you for your reply. I think to Charlie’s hippie dude with the Eucharist and Charlie being admonished to ‘feed my sheep’ and at the same time am enthralled by the depth and seriousness you describe. A seriousness I had no idea existed. This will be fascinating to ponder on when I start studying history.

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        1. Oh gosh, no Timothy, I was not told to “feed my sheep” at that encounter. Rather, I was told, “Behold my people given into your care. Guard them well.” It was intimidating enough without adding any Petrine dimension to it. It was a rebuke not to merely condemn people who were far from what we are called to be, but to gently help lead them back to safety.

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  14. I think your post today Charlie very much goes hand-in-hand with this speech given on radio by then Fr Joseph Ratzinger https://www.ucatholic.com/blog/the-lost-prophecy-of-father-joseph-ratzinger-on-the-future-of-the-church/
    It is a real seismic shift to move from here to where we need to go! Did we not get another sign from Heaven on 11/11/2018 the day before the USCCB had it’s plans changed in Baltimore – the day the whole planet mysteriously rang (silently) like a bell for 20 minutes? https://spiritdaily.org/blog/news/mystery-earth-rang-like-bell

    Liked by 5 people

    1. I hadn’t thought of that mysterious ringing in that context, Karen, though I had read some reports about it in secular media at the time. I think you are on to something here.

      Strange…after walking for a few months during my pilgrimage, I knew when it was going to rain and when it was just going to be overcast. I don’t know how…I just did. When my son came to meet and spend a week with me, we camped by a river in Lafayette, Louisiana one night. Very early the next morning, well before dawn, I woke him up and told him we need to break camp, for it was going to start raining in about 15 minutes. He objected, saying it did not feel like rain. I told him to trust me. So we broke camp and got to his car, just before the skies changed suddenly and the rains came. Maybe when we lived more primitively, we were more sensitive to natural cycles and the signs in the sky. I know the stars became very important to me for orienting myself at night. I didn’t know the constellations well, so made up my own…the one I constantly looked to was what I called the “Easter Cross,” for it looked like a cross with a sash over it to me (after the pilgrimage I discovered this is commonly known as “Orion’s Belt). Lightning struck the Vatican with Pope Francis’ election. After the Revelation 12 sign in the sky, revelations of deep corruption and abuse started erupting across the world – in politics, media, entertainment. I wonder if God sometimes wonders, “What have I got to do to get these chowderheads’ attention?”

      Liked by 14 people

      1. Karen and Charlie you raise an interesting area for contemplation. The Weather. More broadly perhaps natural phenomena.

        Definition of phenomenon. 1 plural phenomena : an observable fact or event. 2 plural phenomena. a : an object or aspect known through the senses rather than by thought or intuition.

        Early man took much note of the Weather and ascribed a lot of the effects to gods of nature. Lately, modern man considers that approach to interpreting ” observable facts or events” as superstition readily dispelled by the science of meteorology or vulcanology or geophysics or whatnot. Science explains everything. Or so modern man has been lead to believe.

        But maybe, just maybe, early man had the right intuition about the Weather and the movements of nature — just ascribing it to the wrong pagan source. In search of the true God?

        I wish somebody would do a weather and environmental review of many of the interventions of God into earthly events. I believe it would be a long, long list. The Flood. The 10 plagues of Egypt. The parting of the Red Sea.

        https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/what-are-10-plagues-egypt

        Closer to home, in reading through the life and times of George Washington in the American Revolution the number of times the Continental Army was saved by the skin of its teeth by rain and fog and natural phenomena falls under the heading of beyond coincidence.

        This was brought home to me on a Smithsonian Institution tour of revolutionary war battlefields including Trenton which we all know about. But it was standing on the site of the Battle of the Clouds in Malvern, Pa that the stunning reality struck me. God saved Washington and the Revolution from Washington’s failures in generalship time after time after time. Through the weather. Weather miracles.

        “George Washington learned of Howe’s plans, and prepared for battle. Before the two armies could fully engage, a torrential downpour ensued. Significantly outnumbered, and with tens of thousands of cartridges ruined by the rain, Washington opted to retreat. Bogged down by rain and mud, the British allowed Washington and his army to withdraw.”

        Could have been the end of the whole deal right there on Sept. 15, 1777. Rained so hard it ruined the ammo and bogged down Howe’s cannons. Amazing.

        Back to the point: We should be not so quick to dismiss weather events as a form of divine intervention. As a warning like the 10 plagues. As a deliverance in the case of the Red Sea and the Battle of the Clouds, Battle of Brooklyn Heights, Trenton etc., etc., etc.

        Warning, deliverance —- discipline and punishment? Stuff worthy of contemplation.

        We seem to be surrounded by natural phenomena we find inscrutable, unprecedented and somewhat disturbing to our scientifically rational minds.

        The Paradise fires? -75 Degrees???? Maybe God is trying to tell us something. Perhaps to focus on the basics? Like helping one another — loving one another — in the midst of trial? Perhaps to look to God and not science for the answers to the really important questions?

        Make sure your neighbor is safe and warm today.

        Liked by 8 people

        1. That has long fascinated me, Ed. Washington was an indispensable – and great man – as first president. But I have long thought him only a mediocre general (and that is a generous assessment). It blows my mind how, time after time, sudden shifts in weather saved Washington from fatal blunders. There is a story, too, while he was a mere Colonial officer, from men who served under him, when they were under withering fire. They panicked when Washington sat tall in the saddle in the midst of this. They thought sure he would be felled and that it was a stupid thing to do. Though his horse was hit repeatedly, nary a bullet struck Washington. His greatness was in statesmanship and the confidence he inspired in others. I think it pleased God to spare him from his errors in military matters that he might be preserved to enter into his greatness when the new nation needed it to get off on the right foot.

          Liked by 5 people

            1. Thanks for the recommendation, Sean. Just ordered from abebooks.com (they have numerous copies for under $5, including shipping). 🙂

              Liked by 1 person

          2. Great post, Ed.
            The recent severe cold here in N.E. Iowa was indeed borderline crisis. People died and day-to-day life became very challenging and that’s understating it. But you know, there was a palpable difference in people’s attitude toward each other. Strangers became allies in a sort of ‘us against it’ struggle. I tried to critically and objectively discern whether or not I was just wishing this to be true or if there really was a more cooperative disposition in people. I concluded it was real. When you see something unusual or different dozens of times every day for several days in a row, it becomes impossible to dismiss as imagination. Btw, don’t buy into the notion that all Iowans are, by nature, friendly and helpful in every circumstance. The smaller Mayberry-ish towns I see that but in my locality…not so much.

            Tough times and crisis can bring out the best in some people and sadly, it brings out the worst in others.

            Liked by 4 people

          3. Battle of Princeton.

            Washington rides up to within 40 paces of a British regiment of grenadiers on a big white charger in an attempt to rally his panicking militia in the vanguard of his column. 40 paces. On a horse. 600 grenadiers. Washington rides to the front of the whole scene. Follow me! The British let loose a massive volley and the field is covered in white smoke. Washington’s aide de camp shuts his eyes because he cannot bear the sight of Washington torn to pieces by massed musket fire.

            When the smoke finally clears — Washington sits untouched. And the route was on.

            That right there was a flat out pure miracle. God had other plans for George Washington.

            Washington himself was amazed at God’s intervention at so many crucial turning points in the Revolution and made note of it in his post war correspondence.

            Liked by 4 people

        2. Hmmm… Well, the disciples were in the back of the boat in a storm, afraid, with Jesus sleeping. Don’t you care master? What did Jesus do next? Yup. Think we all know.
          Yup. Even the wind and the waves obey him. Weather? Just a cake walk for God. Love your reflection Becks!

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        3. And to give thanks in all things. Give thanks and trust-Storm Tracker.
          ______
          Our newscaster here in Billings, MT is Storm Tracker, Ed. Funny.

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    2. There is a website and you tube channel http://www.MRMBB333.COM which is outstanding and interesting to watch as he has recorded all these amazing signs through the years now. And this one (universal wave distortion ) he gave special attention to, the next day. There have been some since, and I always visit this site. Everything is not by itself…another step. And this past month’s blood moon…it is awesome, and I thank you, Lord, Jesus! He is speaking to us through all thins he creates.

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  17. To me, the magnetic pole shifting means the interior of the earth must be liquid and is shifting like an ocean current. I am no scientist in this area, but I wonder what the implications are. Possible eruptions? Earth quakes in various places? Eschatologically, this would fit “signs of the times”. Just say’n.

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      1. And Iin late 80’s she (Maria Esperanza ) said the fall of the Americas would begin in Venezuela. I miss her wisdom and words. What an amazing women of Christ. Well, we should be prepared, and bring others to Christ. Speak to our Blessed Mother more. She tells us she is listening. I am sure this polar vortex is not this severe because of anything man has done….nothing jives.(tongue in cheek). So much going on in the heavens The solar winds off the charts. And perhaps our clerics will repent, as we must all repent. OH, what evil we weave. Our Lord’s heart must be breaking.

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        1. I have never read that Maria said “the fall of the Americas would begin in Venezuela,” Robill. Doesn’t mean she didn’t say it, but I did sit with her on the veranda of her ranch home in Betania on three different trips to be with her for extended group presentations and personal conversations. Always, she referred to the difficulties which her countrymen would experience, such as the time when she said “to Venezuela will come many days of shadow and darkness,” and this would be the onset of what would spread not only in the Americas but throughout the entire world. She once said to Michael Brown of Spirit Daily, in an interview, “Something is coming, the hour of terrible things during which confused humanity will not find refuge in the human earthly heart. The only refuge will be Mary.” Just as Charlie has conveyed, what we are experiencing is a worldwide phenomenon.

          God bless us, one and all.

          Liked by 7 people

          1. Very sorry, you will have to read Michael Brown’s interview with her. And if I misunderstood…that it meant it was coming here also, because “it starts in Venezuela”, I was prob wrong. Brown recently wrote several times about this interview within last year. And I don’t know how much more he was familiar with her, it seems you have all the info, and I know by what was said about her, whether I met her or not, she seems to have been a great women. Some of the history was from Micheal’s previous books, and it seems God deeply blessed her. Thank you for your correction on the issue. Deeply appreciated.

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            1. I’m sorry, Robill. I didn’t mean my comment to be a correction for you. Maria may well have commented specifically on the Americas in various additional interviews. She had a close relationship with Michael Brown and granted him multiple interviews which were, eventually, the material for his book, Bridge to Heaven. (I have copies of both his original and his revised edition with more material.) I only meant to share her emphasis about the worldwide impact of the troubles and purification. And here we are. God bless you, Robill, and all of us.

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      2. That would make sense considering tectonic plate shift. Scientifically, if you think about it. It is a miracle we have land. Rock is more dense than water. So when the earth was formed, it was probably 100% ocean on the surface. It was probably a cataclysmic event like giant meteors or comets hitting the planet that disrupted the equilibrium and created land. This would put things out of balance in that there would be tremendous pressure on land (it would want to naturally sink) and water would naturally want to rise. I visualize the crust as an egg shell and if it gets too fractured, it could break apart and rearrange itself as I described. I go back to Genesis 1:2 “the earth was a formless void and and darkness covered the face of the deap, while a wind of God swept over the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:9 “and God said “let the waters under the sky be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land appear”. And so it was so.”

        The Genesis account seems to point to that the earth was all ocean at one point. Scientifically, this makes sense to me. I do not believe science and reason contradict the faith. Now, I have to say, I am not a geologist, but there are basic physics at work with what I described. I would love to see Dr. Spitzer do an expose on this. As an engineer, I love listening to him.

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            1. He is blind too in case anyone is not aware. So for a blind person, he paints the most beautiful pictures using the imagination. He is a gift to the church.

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      3. Anyway Becks, that the Holy Spirit would reveal to Maria Esparanza that the earth’s core is unstable makes sense to me. Is this a portent that means we will see some cataclysmic event as part of the storm? I can’t say, but it is probable. I hear of warnings of this. I will tuck these a way and put them on a shelf and focus on my daily task at hand and try to be a light to those in front of me. Much work to do in the mean time.

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        1. Again, so true, Doug. We can either worry and fuss over potential natural disasters to come – and I think there’ll be plenty – or we can TNRS in peace, trust and joy. And as Bob said, yesterday, (paraphrase now) spend our energy getting to know, love and serve God that we may better serve His people. What a GREAT time to be alive!

          Liked by 3 people

    2. That the magnetic north pole is shifting to Siberia is clearly a Russian plot and the collusion must be exposed now before the shift is complete!!!

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Hmmm…could God, Himself, be colluding with Russia? For heavens sakes, don’t mention such a notion to Robert Mueller (though it would be worth a lot to see Mueller try to sic a swat team on God).

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        1. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/earths-fresh-water/

          https://www.seeker.com/how-much-oil-is-left-on-earth-1792718444.html

          https://rentar.com/much-oil-used-whats-left-using

          I am not a scientist.

          Just as our bodies which are 60% water with trillions of selectively permeable cell membranes with a bi-lipid layer operating in a delicate balance of homeostasis perhaps also also mother earth has a delicately balanced equilibrium that we disturb at our peril. There are trillions of examples in biochemistry of tiny alterations of substances causing universal and largely irreversible changes to the host and tiny alterations of a structure that cause catastrophic and universal effects of function. Once again this pertains to a premise of my osteopathic profession: structure governs function.

          I do not make these considerations based simply on material science but on knowledge that comes through common reasoning, hopefully with the grace of wisdom. In my first undergraduate lecture a lovely Irish professor exhorted us to always remember that when a patient presented we would be treating the whole person: a creation of body, mind and spirit. The early osteopaths showed great respect for that which gave life: The Spirit, and thus they declared abortion to be the worst crime a human being could commit.

          Things have changed but that is how we began. Just as abortion desecrates and destroys the domicile of the Holy Spirit and cuts short His earthly life in that person so the domicile of humanity is threatened by the loss of faith. As I heard recently, when God is excluded everything goes to hell. In Garabandal there is a bust of Padre Pio at the Pines where most of the visions of Mary took place. It is inscribed with the words ““It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do without Holy Mass.” Not exactly scientific, but all the same, acceptable and understandable according to faith and wisdom..

          Pope Francis may not be 100% correct in the scientific details of his environmental concerns but is not his strategy 100% in line with the Heart and Will of God that exhorts us not only to make full use of the gifts that God gives us in and on planet earth but to make good use of them and employ good husbandry?

          It has become so common to see billions of people drinking bottled water these days – water that the earth had eons of time to filter and replenish before it was plundered so widely and deeply. On agricultural land the drilling for water has gone so deep that salt water has seeped up destroying the ability of the land to produce forever. There are three sources of atrophy of muscle in the human body, neorogenic, vascular and lack of use. Perhaps the muscles of planet earth will waste away as they are required to do less and less work to filter and replenish. Our oil is never replaced. Approx 50% has been used. Only 50 years of production is left and less if consumption and access to supplies increases.

          My thinking also considers the prophesy of St Lucia and I quote from Mark Mallett’s piece, Fatima, and the Great Shaking, Posted on September 12, 2017

          “That’s when I pondered the connection between the “great shaking” of the earth foretold by many credible prophets, and the “miracle of the sun.” However, with the recent release of Sr. Lucia’s memoirs, a new insight into the Third Secret of Fatima was revealed in her writings. Up till this point, what we knew of a postponed chastisement of the earth (that has given us this “time of mercy”) was described on the Vatican’s website:
          …at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendour that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand… —Message of Fatima, vatican.va
          But in recent disclosures from the Carmelite nuns where Sr. Lucia lived, the seer had privately recorded further “enlightenment” regarding this event:
          The tip of the spear as a flame unlatches and touches the axis of the earth. It shudders. Mountains, cities, towns, and villages with their inhabitants are buried. The sea, the rivers, and the clouds emerge from their limits, overflowing and bringing with them in a whirlwind houses and people in numbers that are not possible to count. It is the purification of the world as it plunges into sin. Hatred and ambition cause the destructive war! —reported on SpiritDaily.net
          What causes this shift in the earth’s axis? That is what I discuss below in this writing from September 11th, 2014. But let me conclude this little prologue with the hopeful words of Pope Benedict XVI:
          The angel with the flaming sword on the left of the Mother of God recalls similar images in the Book of Revelation. This represents the threat of judgement which looms over the world. Today the prospect that the world might be reduced to ashes by a sea of fire no longer seems pure fantasy: man himself, with his inventions, has forged the flaming sword. The vision then shows the power which stands opposed to the force of destruction—the splendour of the Mother of God and, stemming from this in a certain way, the summons to penance. In this way, the importance of human freedom is underlined: the future is not in fact unchangeably set…. —Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (BENEDICT XVI), from the Theological Commentary of The Message of Fatima,vatican.va
          It depends on our personal response to conversion…

          This gives me the impression of a gentle touch rather than an almighty push – that is all it will take so imbalanced have we made the forces of nature, so badly have we abused God’s goodness. We await to be tipped over the edge.

          Like

          1. Its not flesh and blood that we combat but the dark principalities. I doubt they care about balance or percentages – except the percentage of humanity they can drag into hell.

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Oh Man. I get your point, Joecro, and often think of a line from Ephesians in these days: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” That said, I’m fiercely fighting my own flesh and blood as I get back to full time keto eating. I wonder which powers send hunger hormones awry – insulin, ghrelin and leptin – when carbs are consumed. Good news happens when the first phase of dialing down carbs is complete. Then, a simple cup of coffee with heavy whipping cream is a delectable treat.

              Liked by 1 person

      2. Hi Joe, maybe, but I think that has negligible impact considering the oil is being replaced with water. I think a more substantial impact would be the Megaton nuclear bombs tested underground in Nevada and elsewhere. It is probably a good thing that this testing has stopped.

        Liked by 3 people

        1. There is vastly more power in huge storms especially tornados not to mention hurricanes and typhoons than the largest bomb that has ever been detonated.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Agreed. However, they are above the surface. Thus, I would expect geoligical impact to be negligble. I would imagine a multiple multi-Megaton explosions under ground would pulveriz a significant amount of bedrock. Does it do serious damage to the crust? If kept up, I would imagine so. Sorry Joe, I fail to see how removing oil from the ground and replacing it with water would cause any disruption. I would compare it to a balance scale balanced with weights on one end and gold on the other. If the gold was replaced with an equal amount of rocks, the scale would be balanced.

            Liked by 2 people

  18. Heartlight Daily Verse – 31 January

    Psalms 86:5
    You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call on you.

    Thoughts on today’s verse:
    Forgiveness is such a sweet blessing. But God does more than forgive! He cleanses and forgets. His love is not metered out or carefully rationed. He pours it out upon us if we genuinely seek him as our God and Father.

    Prayer:
    O Precious Father, I call to you wanting you to know how important your love and forgiveness are in my life. Thank you for sending Jesus to show your love and pay the debt of my sin. Help me to live today as your child: may others see my joy and my passion, to your glory. Through my Savior I pray. Amen.
    Visit heartlight.org for more

    MILINET & AM News 😉 ….. ??
    ========================
    After watching The Democrat Party accelerate at Light Speed to the FringeLeft these past two years … ;-( …. Is it beyond the realm of possibility that we will soon be hearing “Learned” Leftys pondering if it’s past time to perform “Late Term Abortions” on the elderly …. or traditional Christians …. or the White Privileged …… or Trump Deplorables ….. it’s ALREADY &%^$(#@ Happening Gang!!!! ….. and how long before The Below occurs at YOUR front door!??

    An American Nightmare
    https://townhall.com/columnists/judgeandrewnapolitano/2019/01/31/an-american-nightmare-n2540482?

    Virginia Gov. North am faces backlash for comments on 3rd-trimester abortion bill: ‘Morally repugnant’
    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/va-gov-faces-backlash-for-comments-on-controversial-third-trimester-abortion-bill

    The Infanticide Craze–RAMESH PONNURU
    https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/01/infanticide-craze-new-york-virginia-abortion-laws/

    Here’s How Northland’s Office Is Defending His Comments About Leaving Infants to Die After Birth
    https://townhall.com/tipsheet/laurettabrown/2019/01/30/virginia-gov-claims-his-comments-about-not-resuscitating-infants-born-alive-were-just-limited-to-certain-cases-n2540533?

    Va. Gov. North am draws outrage from Ghttps://wtop.com/local-politics-elections-news/2019/01/va-gov-northam-draws-outrage-from-gop-for-defending-abortion-bill/OP for defending abortion bill

    Court to hear Christian student group’s suit to stay at University of Iowa
    https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/01/30/Court-to-hear-Christian-student-groups-suit-to-stay-at-University-of-Iowa/6881548868932/?sl=3

    Diverse, international flock awaits Pope Francis’ UAE trip
    https://www.apnews.com/9392d1ae7f8149fe9781ae7c07bf238c

    WikiLeaks takes a swipe at the famously secretive Vatican
    https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/wikileaks-takes-a-swipe-at-the-famously-secretive-vatican/ar-BBSZcWm

    What the Covington High School Incident Tells Us About America
    https://townhall.com/columnists/scottrasmussen/2019/01/31/what-the-covington-high-school-incident-tells-us-about-america-n2540550?

    We need to COMBAT Ignorance in any number of places/venues to include The Faith, our civic beliefs (Constitution/Bill of Rights), Common Morality/Decency and self security!

    Why Combating Ignorance Is Vital To Pro-Gun Efforts
    https://bearingarms.com/tom-k/2019/01/29/combating-ignorance-vital-pro-gun-efforts

    Does anyone else here find it middling strange that the very same humanoids who promote/celebrate infanticide of their own citizenry are the very same who embrace Open-Borders and the invasion of peoples unchecked for criminal records (Terrorist/Drug/Human Trafficking/Gangs). Not to mention disease, pestilence, language/job skills ….and ;-( Oh!! They TALK about security … but if borders are unguarded and/or ICE/Border Patrol are told to “Play the 3 Monkey Routine” …… Something Evil This Way Comes!!

    Top DOD Official: Three More Large Migrant Caravans Are Headed Towards the US Border
    https://townhall.com/tipsheet/juliorosas/2019/01/30/top-dod-official-three-more-large-migrant-caravans-are-headed-towards-the-us-bor-n2540548?

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 5 people

  19. “If you are a commander of troops, you plan attacks on the enemy. But if that is all you do, you will lead your troops to destruction. You must anticipate and protect against avenues by which the enemy may exploit your plan and any flaws in it to his advantage. You must rigorously examine your plans for flaws and error. To do otherwise is to fail those under your command. Whether those given into your care in these times are your family or a cohort of faithful warriors, take care not to lead them into destruction. That means to stay grounded in the hard foundation of facts and authentic teaching, steering clear of the murky waters of speculation and ignorant willfulness.”

    This, this, this, this, this!!! THIS is exactly the purification that I have been experiencing and finally it has been put into words that my poor, dumb heart can understand. Praised be Jesus CHrist! It is a beautiful revelation but at the same time, a dire warning. I have a terrible fear of being the blind person struggling to lead others who are blind and all of us falling into a pit. And this is not a new struggle for me but it has been intensified after a couple of decades of service to Christ and His Church. It’s almost as if the first 25 years were just a rehearsal of what is to come and I haven’t been able to shake that feeling that I must prepare as a warrior who knows the last battle may be the bloodiest and most brutal of them all. Perhaps this is the reason God gave me a US Marine as a father and you, Charlie, as a type of CO. Marines are the first into the breach and they don’t leave anyone behind. They are always FAITHFUL. The struggle is with my feminine heart that wants to nurture and love and bind up the wounds. Can I do both? Only Jesus, my true CIC knows how and He has given me His Mother as my guiding star in the Storm.

    BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES (keep what is good and beautiful and true), HOLD FAST, (purify my intentions each day and have recourse to the sacraments and the Rosary) and STEER TRUE (keep my Mother and Her Son as my only goal, my greatest love and the happy destination of us all.)

    Peace, blessings and prayers to all here with an extension to all whom you love. Much for me to ponder but now I feel as if my orders have been confirmed. Thanks be to God, Charlie.

    Liked by 10 people

    1. My own dear Mother was erratic in calm times – but boy, when crisis came, she was magnificent. You might say she was a good woman in a storm. Sounds like you have very good instincts, Marisa – and will probably be better then you know when crisis is at your door.

      Liked by 7 people

    2. What humble things you say about yourself. God can’t resist the humble. So many humble people are such a light for others, without even realizing it. God bless you, Marisa.

      Liked by 3 people

  20. The solution to the world can be summed up by the crucifixion. Each of us needs to learn embrace the cross. Saint Thomas says that Jesus preaches every single virtue from the Cross . . . Pope Benedict said that the cross IS the power and the wisdom of God, and it will always be the answer to the world’s problems. So we really do have the answer . . . but for each of us this is more like an equation . . . where we know the answer, but we have to solve for x. This is a call to begin an intense dialogue and relationship with Jesus in our own lives. We should begin a practice of daily meditation in order to prepare ourselves for the times ahead. I like your style, Charlie, your articles put the events of the world in their proper context and instead of encouraging any kind of wallowing in horror at this darkness around us, or spending time in useless wishful thinking, you bring the focus right back to where it should be.

    Liked by 10 people

    2. Katherine, I find that praying the rosary, especially the Sorrowful Mysteries is a gateway to understanding the Crucifixion. 5 decades. 5 mysteries. Christ’s passion ending in the Crucifixion.

      First Mystery: Jesus sweats blood in the Garden. Fruit of the Mystery: Sorrow for sin.

      Second Mystery: Pilate has Jesus whipped at the pillar: Fruit of the Mystery: Purity.

      Third Mystery: Roman soldiers place a crown of thorns: Fruit of the Mystery: Courage.

      Fourth Mystery: Carrying the Cross, meets his Mother, falls 3 times. Fruit of the Mystery: Patience

      Fifth Mystery: Jesus nailed to the Cross and dies. Fruit of the Mystery: Perseverance

      Pray these mysteries regularly and they will deepen your desire to emulate Christ in his Passion.

      The fruits. For me the Fourth mystery is both a challenge and an inspiration. We all have crosses to bear. Some for a lifetime. Jesus fell 3 times under his burden. How many times have I fallen under mine? It is not how many times you get knocked down it’s how many times you get back up. And PERSEVERE to the end.

      Ponder that for awhile and it will change you.

      Liked by 7 people

      1. ED, Realizing that placing of the crown is not sufficiently accurate, I always say “pressed” a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head in the third mystery especially since the crowning is often referred to as the sixth wound and is listed among the fatal wounds since a thorn pierced the brain of Jesus.

        Liked by 2 people

        1. And to add further to the pondering of the Crowning with Thorns, here’s a meditation from one of Fr. Wang’s pages in his small catechetical books. He always writes in English first and I, then, edit. Often, I do so with tears streaming…

          The Crown with Thorns 刺冠之苦

          In his work of redemption, our Lord Jesus Christ chose to suffer the most atrocious pain. This is to make evidence of the multitude and gravity of our sins. In his three hour agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, his pain was so acute that he sweated blood. He was scourged almost to death. And on the cross his torment was beyond description.

          He also permitted the mockery and insult of wearing a crown of sharp thorns. As the evangelist Mark wrote: “The soldiers led him away inside the palace, that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort. They clothed him in purple and, weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him. They began to salute him with, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him. They knelt before him in homage. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and let him out to crucify him.” (Mark 15, 16-20. See also Mt. 27, 29; and John 19, 2-5)

          The crown was made of dried piercing thorns, three inches long in form of a bird’s nest, woven out of three branches. It was pounded into Jesus’ head with a stick. It penetrated into his head, eyes, ears and neck causing severe pain and bleeding.

          Jesus suffered this torture especially to repair sins committed through our mind: Sins of pride, evil thoughts, hatred, plotting, envy, anger and lust. Adam sinned and the earth was cursed with thorns and thistles. (Genesis 3, 17-18) Our Redeemer changed the curse into a blessing using the thorns to save us.

          Man was created and crowned as the head of creation. God put Adan in charge of all the animals and plants. Adam wore a crown of glory, virtue, innocence, honor and beauty. Adam lost his splendor, disfigured himself and made himself unfit for the crown, for nothing unclean can appear before God. Jesus wanted to restore the original glorious crown to us. That was why he chose to suffer this way.

          Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords. (Rev. 19, 16) Because of his suffering, Jesus merited the eternal victorious crown. Yet, the soldiers and the mob did not know that. Unknowingly they contributed to Jesus’ triumph.

          Jesus died with a bloody crown of thorns on his head. He rose from the dead wearing a brilliant crown brighter than the sun.

          Other reasons for this suffering: Jesus was blindfolded because he wanted to make reparation for sins of our ignorance, of not seeing the truths, of ignoring the value of sacred objects, of ridiculing holy things and actions, of theological errors, heresies, and of discrediting the official teachings of the Church.

          Jesus was clad with a dirty purple rag. This is seen as reparation for the sins of officialdom, ambition, greed, and abuse of power of rulers in every sector of life. How people suffered at the hands of the tyrants and dictators! Jesus suffered every kind of torture and repaired every kind of sin of the human race.

          Liked by 6 people

          2. “Adam sinned and the earth was cursed with thorns and thistles. (Genesis 3, 17-18) Our Redeemer changed the curse into a blessing using the thorns to save us.”

            Beautiful connection. Please thank Fr. Wang for me.

            Liked by 2 people

      2. “…I find that praying the rosary, especially the Sorrowful Mysteries is a gateway to understanding the Crucifixion.”

        For me, praying the Stations of the cross and then the Chaplet of Divine Mercy is a morning (& sometimes 3pm afternoon) routine leading me to ponder different aspects of the way of the cross.

        This morning before mass, I was delving into the crown of thorns and how they (we) ‘doubled down’ on inflicting more suffering and trauma. Todays homily was praying for “Compassion”.

        While praying the Stations I asked for the intersession of Saint Marianne Cope, formally from the Albany (now Syracuse) Diocese. I asked her to intercede for Gov. Andrew Cuomo and all NYS government leaders, for their conversion.

        Also, while praying the Stations, I pondered the role Mother Mary has and the Love Jesus has for His Mother Mary from her prayer. As Jesus falls the first time (3rd station) He meets His Mother. As in the Passion of the Christ movie, I imaging Mary saying (praying) ‘help my Son’… lift His cross {Simon}; wipe His face {Veronica}; show Him the love of Women and children…

        Liked by 3 people

  21. Charlie,

    You are not being entirely fair to Timothy Cardinal Dolan. You are not aware of all of the facts. The Cardinal, more than any other Bishop in New York State, has played a great role in fighting both the evil Reproductive Health Care Act (the vile abortion law) and the Child Victims Act. While the former was set up to allow no leeway, no mitigation, no compromise, and no give and take, the latter was directly aimed at the Catholic Church. Cardinal Dolan was involved in negotiations to make sure the Child Victims Act was fair to the Church (as fair as it can be) and fair to victims. What he managed to get in the Child Victims Act, over the opposition of New York’s Union of Teachers (one of the top five most powerful lobbying groups in New York State) was that school districts and teachers were included. I know of no allegations regarding a priest molesting a local child in over 30 years, but I know of several allegations involving teachers from the past five years alone. This is huge and deflects a lot of the burden from the Church, otherwise we would have no institutional church left. This is not to justify the sins of particular priests, or the failure of many bishops to speak more forcefully about the new New York abortion law, but it does tell you what Cardinal Dolan has been up to.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I don’t doubt the good works of Cardinal Dolan, James, yet on this issue of disciplining Governor Cuomo, I agree with Charlie’s stated concerns. I was disappointed with Cardinal Dolan’s dismissal of his critics by generalizing that they’re “far right” and then excusing himself from responsibility for responding to Cuomo’s grave errors. It was a pathetic reason meant for humor, I suppose, but not at all apropos at such a sobering juncture. I get that he’s human and can lose it. If that’s what happened, he then needs to own it and apologize and then speak more appropriately as a successor to the Apostles. And I am not angry or using a harsh tone – hard to perceive in writing. Cardinal Dolan’s response is just plain wrong as I see it. (That said, since Cuomo lives in the Governor’s Mansion in Albany, Bishop Scharfenberger is the local ordinary with actual jurisdiction there.)

      From CNS News:
      While explaining why he will not formally excommunicate New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) for signing into law a bill that allows abortion up to the day of birth, Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan dismissed his critics as being on the “far right,” and stressed that he personally has little “clout” and is just a “fat, balding, Irish bishop.”

      The cardinal, head of the Archdiocese of New York serving 2.6 million Catholics, also complained that people are looking to him to do something and called on the lay people themselves to “do something!” “Don’t look at me!” he said. “Look at yourselves!”

      Full, but short, piece here.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. I agree, Beckita, and when he was involved with the St. Patrick’s day parade a few years ago, as well as comments he made about two gay guys getting married–“good for them,” or something to that effect— he lost me. There have been other things, too.

        Liked by 4 people

      2. Check that, Beckita. I think in the case of a person who has multiple domiciles, the place where a person formally declares residency is the Diocese to which he is subject to jurisdiction. So, though as governor, he is domiciled in Gracie Mansion, I am pretty sure his residence is in New York City, so he is subject to Dolan, not Scharfenberger.

        Liked by 2 people

        1. Sandista Marxist Communist NYC Mayor Deblasio lives in Gracie Mansion as this is the official Mayors residence. It is a great location on the northern end of Carl Shurtz Park overlooking the East River. Gov. Cuomo resides in Mt. Kisco a nyc surburb.

          In any event you are correct, Cardinal Dolan holds say over his excommunication being in charge of the Greater NY Diocese.

          Liked by 2 people

    2. I have actually written praising him for his steadfast work on the Reproductive Health Care Act. I have also written praising him for his deft maneuver inviting former Pres. Obama to the Al Smith dinner – for which he was roundly criticized (primarily by people who did not know that Obama had planned to shut out all Catholic clerics from the Democratic National Convention that year – and this maneuver cut Obama’s legs out from under him). I have written often in praise of the good he has done. Even here, I do not say he has done no good. He is the man who restored some semblance of orthodoxy to Milwaukee after the departure of the disgraceful Rembert Weakland. Rather, I say he has gotten too focused on being clever and not focused enough on being true these last few years.

      Liked by 4 people

  22. Charlie: Thanks for an inspired, well thought out and prayer/thought provoking message. I was especially comforted by the quotes from Desmond Birch and his list of “fetishes”.

    Since the events of this past summer I have been doing much more reading and research on Catholic websites. After a loss of faith in my early teens God led me, in my early twenties, back to faith and to the Catholic Church through the charismatic renewal. Since my return I have had a deep appreciation for the Novus Ordo rite of the Mass and for the call to holiness that you can find in the documents of Vatican II. I have never presumed to say that only the Novus Ordo is valid. I actually rejoiced over a year ago when our bishop gave one of our churches over to the care of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter so that the extraordinary rite can be regularly celebrated in our diocese. I am old enough to have memories of the Mass prior to the post council changes and I had often thought that I would periodically attend Mass at the FSSP parish out of at least a sense of holy nostalgia for the Church of my youth.

    After some internet surfing I put my goal of attending the extraordinary rite aside. My expanded reading exposed me for the first time to the bitter enmity between various Catholics over the form of the Mass, the Validity of Vatican II, the validity of the elections of the past few popes. My response to this exposure has up to now been an extreme grief.

    There is so much we all share. There is such evil afoot, To me it seems that we need to put down these differences, (Which, to me, often come off as taking our personal preferences and trying to make them articles of faith) and rally together to proclaim the Gospel, adhere to the valid Magisterium and to support and seek the cleansing and renewal of Mother Church. We can be united in our differences, without giving up our unique positions, if we approach each other with charity and grace.

    Reading your quotes from Desmond Birch was the first time I seen in print a call for all of us to rise above our personal preferences and pet ideas in order to promote the good of the Church and the world. I am greatly encouraged. I will continue to participate, and try to take the next right step, in my novus ordo parish. Another next right step will be to renew my goal of re-acquainting myself with the traditional Mass for my own well being and with the hope of forming new friendships and alliances with my brothers and sisters who are called to protect and preserve the traditional forms and who seek to approach our same Lord through them.

    Pax Vobsicum. Peace be with you.

    JT

    Liked by 7 people

    1. God bless you, JT. It has long baffled me why people would get so ugly about what, in the end, are personal preferences. If I like Beethoven and you prefer Mozart, should I try to destroy you rather than be glad we both like magnificent music? If I like chicken-fried steak and you prefer sushi, should I try to destroy you rather than be glad we both eat well? God made great varieties to match all tastes that, by all means, many might be saved.

      Liked by 9 people

        1. It was fun while it lasted. Ever since I was little, Beethoven’s music – particularly the Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia (better known as Moonlight) and the Sonata Pathetique – just gripped and moved me. Mozart is fun, but Beethoven is big…raw, elemental power. But I don’t give up that easy…sometime I’ll make you laugh and you’ll say to yourself, “Okay, he prefers Beethoven…but some of these things are congenital and can’t be helped, so he’s my friend, anyway.”

          Liked by 3 people

          1. OK… I will grant you that the Moonlight Sonata is sublime. And I rather dig Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony and the second movement of the Seventh Symphony. But other than that, I’m just not feelin’ the Beethoven. Mozart, on the other hand… I can’t think of any Mozart that I don’t like.

            That said, I’m feeling rather like a battle axe this afternoon; so here’s some music that I KNOW you’ll love:

            🙂

            Liked by 3 people

            1. Oh the humanity…the flashback! This calls for a limerick:

              There was a dear lady called Mick,
              Her wit was elaborately slick,
              When caught in dispute,
              She’d give you the boot,
              Still better than a poke with a stick.

              Liked by 3 people

            2. There is a quote by a 20th century Christian theologian, speculating that “It may be that when the angels go about their task praising God, they play only Bach. I am sure, however, that when they are together en famille they play Mozart.” Mozart almost always brings me a smile. God bless.

              Liked by 1 person

  23. Yep, I believe & relate to a lot of what was written.

    It’s darn annoying when people are saying Antichrist this & that and even dumber when try projecting it onto a Pope. There’s definitely a war from evil spirits, be spirit of Antichrist or whatever…

    Liked by 1 person

  24. Charlie,
    Here is a photo of Dolan’s reason to not excommunicate New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. How could he when he was having so much fun? And, look, isn’t that Rep. Peter King in the background…all laughing, having a good time while millions of God’s Innocent Womb Babies are being sacrificed to satan on the black altars of abortuaries. The uproar over Cuomo’s infanticide is just so much futile beating the air and clanging cymbals after 1973 Roe v Wade… Next up on the pogrom? EUTHANASIA!

    https://www.breitbart.com/radio/2019/01/30/john-zmirak-cuomo-deserves-excommunication-for-ny-abortion-law/

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Well, I cut high officials some slack over such pictures. They have a diplomatic duty as well as an administrative one. Diplomatic duty often requires you to be solid with people you disagree profoundly with. (I, myself, in official capacities have sometimes been pictured cheery hearty with someone I loathed. In fact, once a minor scandal erupted when a photographer caught my look of disdain with such a one. Don’t discount it…conversions sometimes come from effective diplomacy, too). What I expect is a devotion to basic duty, without neglecting the finesse called for in effective diplomacy.

      Liked by 3 people

  26. Agreed. Time for out-of-the-box thinking and executing. Seems that many, if not currently paralyzed, might be spinning their wheels.

    Evil has our poor brethren convinced they’re building something worthy, rather than maniacally tearing it down. He, the masterfully diabolical marketer, ceaselessly plans and promotes it. Media is near the top of the toolbox at present. Tragically, a large % of politicians and other conspicuous figures are up there too, serving up the screws, nuts, bolts, nails and glue to other lackey’s who try to go vertical with the dung hill. We of course know that it’s anything but a hill –– not even a dung hill. Nor a latrine pit… just a bunch of deceived and confused folks flailing shovels in the dark.

    Light! Always more light!

    I look at David Daleiden. Sure, he leveraged media, but it seems clear that he really understands this directive from Holy Scripture: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” Matt 10:16, King James version. Also, we need to go about our work in the daylight. Something to seriously ponder.

    In the world, I encounter many professionals hyper focused on results. Consider “results” as the short term goals achieved having employed a series of tactics. How ’bout outcomes? Think of the larger “outcomes” as all the the truly meaningful developments and long-term growth (positive change) that indicate success in an organization. The short-sighted, those merely focused on results, are typically just intent on their own bottom line. So, their self-interested game plan is really not sustainable over time.

    Results. AND outcomes. It’s demanding, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.

    I don’t watch the morning news (Fox or otherwise) anymore. Let’s face it, we’re grumpy some mornings. Is there anything more ridiculous than the faux enthusiasm/cheerleading from a morning news crew… first thing in the morning!? Is anyone that consistently chipper? Oh, they want their results, which is to prime us all to continue as reckless consumers. How ’bout that debt!? The news is a business… in the business of making money. So, no. No morning news. God. First thing.

    I know. As far as strategies go, that might sound like some pretty small stuff. Some days I’d like to just cut to the chase and start defunding the government, but the fallout would include massive, painful repercussions. Besides, they’re doing a pretty good job of doing themselves in.

    This morning as the sun came up, I was just happy to pick up a shovel to clean up my dog’s doo. To clearly see it all in the light for what it was. A dog I’m fond of. Mess. A shovel. And that I could use it for something productive and good. The right tool for the right job. That, and it helps to not get bothered by shoveling dog doo.

    I”m open to out-of-the-box thinking. Any thoughts?

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Interesting to ponder MP. Although, I do not begrudge the news outlets making money. To me, there would be nothing better to make money at what my passion is. Too bad many a passion is steered in the wrong direction though. I have to say, I have tuned out many of the news outlets on the boob tube as well. I have to say, I like the internet because I can go to news sites, skip over the fluff and tabloid stuff and go right to the meat.

      Liked by 3 people

      1. To be clear, I don’t begrudge ’em making money either. Or any other business for that matter. I do have it out lately for chipper morning newscasters though. Odd, because I’m a steady morning person.
        Maybe if I had my way, I’d prefer a live cam and mic capturing everything that’s happening off air in the studio. Now that might be newsworthy.

        As always, thanks for not leaving a guy standing there whiffing at fist bumps, out-of-the-box belly flop into the pool notwithstanding.

        Liked by 3 people

              1. Did you ever have rambunctious prodigies under your tutelage? Seems Beethoven was unusually loud, and as for Bach, seems he was in the habit of copying off of other people’s papers. Somebody better fact check me though.

                Liked by 2 people

            2. Without a doubt, this has always been my favorite scene from “Jaws.” I remember seeing this at the drive-in with my entire clan filling up the back of a station wagon. Jostling kids rolling around in popcorn and spilt soda… but the nails on the chalkboard and ensuing dialog came through loud an clear over that crusty speaker.

              Liked by 2 people

                1. You’ve no doubt experienced the same, B. To paint that picture in full detail risks rivaling the opening scene of Tom Hank’s “Saving Private Ryan.” Wait… that’s overstating. There’s no comparison… except maybe the image of my ma trying to calm the landing platoon as dad navigated the ‘boat’ to the designated landing spot on the beachhead (i.e. – wagon at the proper viewing angle, within adequate cord length of the crusty speaker). Bonus points for forgetting the speaker was attached to the wagon after the movie.

                  In spite of the tough times, we’re still a band of brothers/sisters. Good memories. The youngest of us started a group chat at Thanksgiving and it hasn’t stopped since.

                  Liked by 2 people

                    1. Well, I said “station wagon,” when I should have said amphibious troop carrier.

                      I should note that Brother Gideon and I maintain a separate chat. A sort of ‘bat phone’ texting thread, limited by the head monk (unsure of the proper nomenclature, but I’ll research and correct later). Seems his superior didn’t want it to interfere with his duties, but thankfully he didn’t nip it in the bud either.

                      Br. Gideon and I are truly a pair out here still, such as we are, each where we’re at… clad in pj’s (I did mention I”m at home with a bug)… but not ‘unarmed.’ I can’t vouch for the rascal on the right, but the little one the left is solid.

                      I think everyone needs someone they can count who has their back. If someone doesn’t have that, here’s a piece of advice to avoid the painful learning curve. Just go take up position at someone’s back.

                      Liked by 2 people

                    2. Oh my goodness! Totally adorable pic, MP. And I love your closing advice… although I sense a mighty “have your back” via those from this community who constantly pray for all of us TNRSers (Dear God, I love how praying for the many in a heartfelt way takes nothing from each individual)… you know, like a certain trail trekker we love and appreciate who gazes at horses and all manner of desert life and rearranges stones while sending prayers above. Laughing with joy at those darling dudes in the pic!

                      Liked by 2 people

                  2. “Bonus points for forgetting the speaker was attached to the wagon after the movie.” I can so picture this in my mind. That is hilarious. Made my day. I did not need to be talked off a ledge, but if I was on one, that would have worked to get me off.

                    Liked by 2 people

      1. Where ya’ been? Long story short, Doug had to talk me off the ledge over chipper morning news casters. That, and we’re all contemplating the importance of facts.

        Liked by 3 people

        1. I’ve been playing hooky. 🙂

          Actually, I had a bunch of stuff (none of it earth-shattering, thankfully) come up over the past 10 days; and I absolutely had to deal with it all. But, thankfully, as of 10 minutes ago, I’m all caught up on reading my e-mail backlog of ASOH comments. Yay!

          Liked by 3 people

          1. On that rare morning that I’m grumpy, and –– even rarer –– tune in to the morning news, I’m convinced that I do it for the sole purpose of getting more irritated. Mornings can be tricky.

            Liked by 4 people

            1. I can definitely relate to that MP, tuning into news I know will just get me more cranky … I have a hypothesis that I maybe trying to justify my grumpiness

              Liked by 2 people

          2. You know what? Middays can be tricky too, especially if you’re stuck home, sidelined with a bug.

            Someone explain this headline I just saw on Drudge (via the Washington Times): “Boy Scouts organization inaugurates first all-girls troops.” Wha’?

            Is it the medication, or is this gross irony the new norm!?

            Liked by 2 people

          3. What bothers me is the constant barrage of media stimulus. There are gas station pump TVs, TVs on in almost all restaurants, airport TVs (although this allowed me to watch some of the Super Bowl yesterday), TVs in convenience stores, TVs in the Department of Motor Vehicles, etc, etc. Enough is enough and when I see morning news casters, it just reinforces how over stimulated we are as a culture. Ok. I wax on….

            Liked by 2 people

  28. Let the nations of the world be forever changed, let the falsities of this present age be torn violently asunder, let the provocateurs of the hellish enlightenment be forever made blind. As the age may close with the minions of evil in a victorious rage in the instant all shall lose coherency. As the Earth begins to chime & the seasons begin to change with shifting skies the stars shall seem as if to fall & the ground rumble in rhythms unknown while the heavens spin. The minions of evil shall march in great disarray, the good shall be martyred. Suddenly there will be silence as the great ship slips beneath the seas creating a whirlpool that destroys all iniquity. When the smoke of Satan clears all will be different & all will be changed with nothing left as is presently known. From the watery depths the great Ship will arise from the sea unscathed, alas the waters calmed with the enemy chained in the bowels of creation. As centuries will pass let the coming generations be warned the time of peace will only last for as long as they are faithful & true. The moment will come when this has been long since forgotten & the cunning serpent will be freed again through a feigned innocence & impurity of a descendent of the Iscariot who brings forth the accursed one, his final emissary before the end.

    Liked by 2 people

    3. That’s a fancy Fleur de Lis, RSMTdM! And a very descriptive, detailed and prophetic cry to match! Perhaps you are a writer, maybe a poet? May the Love of God reign in all hearts, convert all souls!

      Liked by 3 people

  30. A nasty 24 hour stomach bug has been making it’s way through my family. When my turn came, I offered up the misery for the sin of abortion. I just completed day five of this “24” hour bug. My forced down time has given me the chance to catch up on reading, especially ASOH. I am in awe of the amazing minds on this site. And the bravery, spirituality, intelligence…wow. God has put together quite the crew. I also came to the conclusion that I need to (wo)man up. So today I boldly fought the good fight by taking on the fight against the culture of death, twice. I entered conversations with family members and bravely spoke truth. Such a small thing, but a beginning. Timidly will not win this battle, nor will law. Only when hearts, ALL hearts, are turned to the Heart of God will this battle be over.

    Liked by 12 people

    2. Kristen, I hope you have now recovered from your bug – that’s an awful long time to have that kind of illness. Thank you for your offering. In tonight’s homily Father spoke about the need for each of us to speak an unadulterated truth. Of course I agree with him – he came from the loyalty point of view – we ARE Christian, there should be no watering down. I was looking at it from the ‘safe’ point of view in that The Truth has a power all of it’s own no matter who is the bearer. That is because I am a bit of a coward in that after all these (64) years I have witnessed that my presentation/credibility has a lot to be desired but my confidence comes from the knowledge/belief that Jesus Himself IS Truth, thus giving me freedom to speak in my foolish style!

      Liked by 2 people

  31. I was thinking today I should spent at least twice as much time getting to know better this Great and Awesome God we serve as time I spend looking at the disorder around us lest I get discouraged.

    Liked by 10 people

  32. I had the pleasure of attending the Screwtape Letters at Washington’s Shakespeare Theatre this evening.

    A tour de force for actor Brent Harris. He plays Screwtape the senior bureaucrat in the civil service of Hell. He serves as a mentor for his nephew Wormwood who has recently graduated from Tempter’s College and has been assigned to a human “patient” somewhere in England in 1941.

    Screwtape gives his nephew guidance on how to seduce humans to take the “soft, gentle road to hell”.

    C.S. Lewis penned the 31 letters as a weekly series in the Guardian magazine.

    The theatre crowd was transfixed by Screwtape’s description of how the Devil works. A bit eery. It reminded everybody of how vulnerable we all are to influence by demons tasked to ruin souls. Our souls.

    It is a wonderful production and if it comes to your town you won’t regret the $59 price of admission.

    Liked by 10 people

  33. Readers here might be very interested in Dan Lynch’s latest post about the Freedom Tower. As I was reading it, the thought struck me how very obvious now is the battle being played out in the heavens and how very sad it is that people do not realise that they are being used as pawns! This is not to make excuses for them/us but simply to say that we are put at very great risk if we let our guard down and do not avail ourselves frequently of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. First Friday and First Saturday is the perfect opportunity and I will be first in line tomorrow!!! Dan’s piece: https://jkmi.worldsecuresystems.com/will-the-freedom-tower-fall

    Liked by 3 people

    1. After reading Dan Lynch’s latest post about Christina Gallagher’s September 2018 Message and a pertinent previous one wherein – ‘Christina waved her arm towards the Twin Towers and prophesied, “Dan, all of this will be destroyed.”’ (and that was two years to the infamous day 9/11), I was reminded that Vassula Ryden was also given a Message ten years to the day 9/11 which included this prophecy: “- the earth will shiver and shake -and every evil built into Towers2 will collapse into a heap of rubble and be buried in the dust of sin! above, the Heavens will shake and the foundations of the earth will rock! pray that the Father’s Hand will not come down in winter;”

      In Vassula’s defense may I add (from her website) here that she has support from several priests and bishops including Fr Joseph Iannuzzi. A new book by Fr Joseph Iannuzzi is about to be printed titled, “A Theological Review of True life in God”. The book contains the following testimonial:

      In his Theological Review of the True Life in God prophetic revelations, Fr. J.L. Iannuzzi, S.Th.D. provides a timely and exhaustive research of Sacred Scripture, the Fathers of the Church, Magisterial documents and the mystics who are saints of the Church. Against the backdrop of Church Tradition and Magisterial teachings, this work successfully demonstrates the supernatural character of the TLIG revelations that I truly believe contain the Divine Dialogue of the Holy Trinity, Our Lady, and the Angels with humankind through Vassula Rydén. May it bring hope, advance souls on the way of salvation and love, and so further the kingdom of heaven on earth.
      Archbishop Felix Toppo, D.D., Archdiocese of Ranchi, India

      The reason I bring in Vassula here is not because of that particular Message but because of this next one just a few months later which has long since stuck in my mind. It contains the words: “My seed is dead for lack of irrigation; many of My shepherds have failed Me, drawing with them millions of souls in the Abyss and into perdition; can anyone say: “we have not been warned; we have not seen any celestial sign;” It was given on February 7, 2002 and is entitled ‘A Warning to the World and the USA’ and can be found here: http://www.tlig.org/en/messages/1076/

      Liked by 4 people

    2. I receive mailings from Dan’s apostolate and have read his latest. I admire the blessed, hard and good work Dan does! However, on this latest piece, I take pause because I have major reservations about Christina Gallagher and about interpreting authentic prophecy.

      First of all, Ms. Gallagher is *not* in good standing with her Bishop. EWTN provides the text of her local ordinary here. Johnnette Benkovic William’s associate Susan Brinkman who digs deep to research issues which people inquire about has written a piece concerning Ms. Gallagher’s purported mystical visions and messages, found here. In personal experiences, we had more than a few people contacting Fr. Wang and me in the late nineties because Ms. Gallagher’s team was sending out word anyone who wanted to be protected from the coming chastisements must travel to the House of Prayer in Achill and receive the “special seal.” And it had to be done by a certain date to be valid. The message was clear: without it, too bad for you. Good grief! Very superstitious it was and being contentious with one’s local authority is a major problem. Consider the initial rejection by the Church of Padre Pio and St. Faustina. In His Time, God rectified those errors.

      Maybe, just maybe, Christina Gallagher does have authentic mystical experiences. If so, the most wise and humble thing she could have done – and continue to do – would have been to completely submit to the local ordinary and allow God to work out the problems and continue to lead her. Perhaps Christina started out well and veered off track with this disobedient-to- Church-authority attitude. And IF what she wrote on her her website about New York is authentic, I must say we should exert great caution in interpreting those messages and, really *any and all* prophetic messages. It’s not just Governor Cuomo and New York at fault. We know Jesus said that if a man even looks at a woman with lust, he has sinned. What of people all over America – and the world – who gleefully joined in the celebration of what went on in New York because, in their hearts, they lust after and work to promote the lie that abortion is a right and brings freedom for women? We all are being and will continue to be held to account. So, I think in Dan’s latest piece, there is an overemphasis on how bad it is in New York. One of my favorite – OK, I have LOTS of favorite Charlie pieces – is the one in which he writes of how each and every soul is a battleground, a theme he has woven throughout his writings at TNRS and ASOH. God bless us, one and all.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. “I must say we should exert great caution in interpreting those messages and, really *any and all* prophetic messages.”

        Amen and double amen. If people are searching for a word, they should turn first to Jesus in the Eucharist and to how He has been revealed by the Holy Spirit in Sacred Scripture. “Christ, the Son of God made man, is the Father’s one, perfect and unsurpassable Word. In Him he has said everything; there will be no other word than this one ” CCC: P 65

        Liked by 4 people

        1. Surely should turn first to God’s Word recorded in the Bible, Frank.

          Also, in the CCC is this gem, for our Father in heaven has not stopped communicating with His beloved children. The challenge is “how to discern and welcome in these revelations”:
          “Throughout the ages, there have been so-called ‘private’ revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.

          Christian faith cannot accept ‘revelations’ that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment, as is the case in certain non-Christian religions and also in certain recent sects which base themselves on such ‘revelation.’ “.

          Liked by 3 people

    3. I’m not weighing in on the authenticity of Christina Gallagher as a visionary of God ~ or not. But I did have personal positive experiences with her on two occasions in the 1990s, when I was on a humble ministry budget.

      In 1993, I was in Ireland ~ a land of which I am very fond, with long heritage. I met with a conservative retired professor of moral theology at one of the major seminaries, and shared with him my concerns about things affecting the Church in the Isle of Saints and Scholars and elsewhere. He encouraged me to visit Christina Gallagher and her House of Prayer in Achill.

      I made my way there and attended some prayer sessions in the chapel. Later, I met with Christina and others in the kitchen of the former convent which was, by then, the House of Prayer. Christina seemed to me to be an ordinary Irish countrywoman, not well educated, devout. After we chatted a bit, she looked at me and said, “I want to give you some money for the bus trip back to Limerick.” I had not asked or mentioned my finances in any way, but her gift came in handy at the time. I have always remembered her kindness.

      Two years later, I visited Ireland and the House of Prayer again. The crowds were greater, and many people had donated flowers and other beautiful things for the chapel. I didn’t speak with Christina personally, but I did notice that many ordinary people from Ireland were helped and were spreading the word. For example, the Irish friend with whom I visited the House of Prayer was having troubles in her marriage. Thank God, those troubles were eventually resolved. Who’s to say that the prayers in the House of Prayer did not help?

      We’ll see how it all plays out.

      Liked by 3 people

  34. Ed: My wife and I saw the Screwtape letters a couple of years ago when a traveling production came to our area. I had read the book many years ago but seeing it acted out brought the message to a whole other level. It was powerful.

    I would also recommend the book and the theatrical production to everyone.

    JT

    Liked by 8 people

    1. The play has been in production since 2007. There have only been 2 actors to play the Screwtape role. Brent Harris has been playing the role since 2011. He is so familiar with the script that he can stand on the stage and deliver the lines for 90 minutes without a break and make it feel like it is all out of his own mind. Really something to see.

      Liked by 3 people

  35. We Humans spend an inordinate amount of time “going through the motions” and worry about or debate “things” that even in “normal times” is a bit of a waste but …… in dire times waste on inconsequential “things” could be catastrophic.
    I sometimes wonder if God wished that His People would just take a little time throughout the day to talk to Him ….. as they would a not very talkative Best Friend.

    HeartLight Daily Verse – 1 February

    Deuteronomy 6:4-5
    Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

    Thoughts on today’s verse:
    So many times Satan seduces us into a flat, 2 dimensional Christianity – going to church and doing good deeds. But God calls us to a three dimensional faith. He wants us to love him with all of our being in all of our actions and with all of our might.

    Prayer:
    Dear Heavenly Father, I honor you as God Almighty. I appreciate you for all your kindness and blessings lavished upon me. I love you because you first loved me in Jesus. My heart’s desire today is to demonstrate my love for you in all I do, and love and say. Through Jesus. Amen.
    Visit heartlight.org for more

    One Feb Article Dump:

    MILINET – Articles for Christians
    ============================
    Progressive Va. School Refuses To Play Sports With Icky Christian Kids
    http://thefederalist.com/2019/01/30/progressive-va-school-refuses-to-play-sports-with-icky-christian-kids/

    This Is What Anti-Christian Bigotry Looks Like–DAVID FRENCH
    https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/01/this-is-what-anti-christian-bigotry-looks-like/

    Manifest Injustice–NR Editorial
    https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/01/abortion-new-york-virginia-bills-expand-injustice/

    Trump to throw spotlight on abortion in State of the Union
    https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/31/trump-state-of-the-union-abortion-1140704

    Dolan’s sneaky New York victory–Frank Friday
    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/02/dolans_sneaky_new_york_victory.html#ixzz5eH4w03hT

    Texas dioceses publish some 300 names of clergy accused of sexually abusing minors
    https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/01/31/Texas-dioceses-publish-some-300-names-of-clergy-accused-of-sexually-abusing-minors/4191548993468/?sl=5

    Anti-abortion movie financed by My Pillow guy Mike Lindell gets nation
    https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jan/31/anti-abortion-movie-financed-by-my-pillow-guy-mike/

    Democrat Who Laughed Out Loud at Pledge of Allegiance will Deliver Dem’s SOTU Response in Spanish (VIDEO)
    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/figures-democrat-who-laughed-out-loud-at-pledge-of-allegiance-will-deliver-dems-sotu-response-in-spanish-video/

    The long, painful slide down the slippery slope – Washington Times
    https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jan/31/the-long-painful-slide-down-the-slippery-slope/

    PERSECUTING THE GOOD GUYS
    https://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/vortex-persecuting-the-good-guys

    Is the Hierarchy Really Serious About the Abuse Crisis?
    https://www.crisismagazine.com/2019/is-the-hierarchy-really-serious-about-the-abuse-crisis

    The Lazy and Hateful Gray Lady Targets Christian Schools
    https://www.crisismagazine.com/2019/the-lazy-and-hateful-gray-lady-targets-christian-schools

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Issues Executive Order to Eliminate Common Core
    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/01/31/florida-gov-ron-desantis-issues-executive-order-to-eliminate-common-core/

    I decided to leave FaceBook …. Forever!!

    Study suggests Facebook users are happier if they leave for a month
    https://www.engadget.com/2019/01/31/study-says-quitting-facebook-improves-happiness/

    Pro-Death Advocates Are Just Getting Started
    https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/rachel-del-guidice/pro-death-advocates-are-just-getting-started

    Virginia Catholic Bishop: Late-Term Abortion ‘Comparable to Infanticide;’ ‘Our Governor, However, May Be Willing to Cross That Border And Go Even Farther’
    https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/va-bishop-denounces-gov-northams-support-extreme-abortion-infanticide

    LET US PRAY!! …. that the Gun Grabbing Baby Killer and his ilk find themselves on that “Bridge Too Far”!

    Virginia Governor Says He Doesn’t Regret What He Said–or Way He Said It—About Letting Born Baby Die
    https://www.cnsnews.com/blog/terence-p-jeffrey/virginia-governor-says-he-doesnt-regret-what-he-said-or-way-he-said-it-about

    Report: Planned Parenthood Va. Affiliate Spent $3 Million to Elect Post-Birth Abortion Gov. Ralph Northam
    https://www.cnsnews.com/blog/craig-bannister/report-planned-parenthood-va-affiliate-spent-3-million-elect-post-birth

    Kamala Harris calls 20-week abortion ban ‘immoral’
    https://www.theblaze.com/jon-miller/kamala-harris-abortion-ban-immoral

    HullyGee!! I wonder where this came from??!!!??

    Typhus Epidemic Worsens in Los Angeles
    https://www.nbclosangeles.com/investigations/Typhus-Epidemic-Worsens-in-Los-Angeles-505166301.html

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 4 people

  36. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. has it right!!

    You might recall that FRC/DC was attacked by a LeftWing Lunatic “Triggered” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. If we lived in a single tier Justice System, SPLC would be labeled as a criminal enterprise and Hate Group.

    https://www.frc.org/op-eds/convicted-anti-christian-domestic-terrorist-sentenced-to-25-years-in-prison

    Tony Perkins: Removing God from Gov’t Has Increasingly Become Focus of the Left
    https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/tony-perkins/tony-perkins-removing-god-govt-has-increasingly-become-focus-left

    Tony Perkins: Where Are the Self-Proclaimed ‘Human Rights Advocates’ When It Comes to Late-Term Abortions
    https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/tony-perkins/tony-perkins-where-are-self-proclaimed-human-rights-advocates-all

    Tony Perkins: The Pentagon Isn’t in the Business of Equality
    https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/tony-perkins/tony-perkins-pentagon-isnt-business-equality

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 5 people

  37. With Godless madness tearing this country apart right now, one sometimes gets the impression that everyone has simply lost their minds. But it isn’t so. Many good people are waking up and ready to fight back.
    This 4-minute Remnant TV video features movie star Robert Davi delivering one of the most powerful pro-life messages ever, along with a heartfelt denunciation of New York’s ‘Catholic’ Gov. Cuomo.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Bob: Thanks for pointing out the comments from Mark Mallett. I do not read his blog on a regular basis so I would probably have missed this article. He excellently expresses what I have been feeling, sensing, for awhile. It is uplifting to know I am not the only one seeing these issues.

      I think God is calling us to put aside these issues and to work together to renew His Church.

      JT

      Liked by 2 people

      1. I remember an argument one time between folks from, I think Ave Maria who liked the Latin Mass and folks from Steubonville who liked the vernacular mass said reverently, or at least people who attended these different ones arguing, and I thought of the Christians in Corinth, arguing, “I am of Paul or I am of Appolos” and realized that I am blessed by either form of the Mass and enjoy the honor given to God in each. The basics. We have a devil to resist. Of course, folks here know this well, so let’s stick to our real enemy.

        Liked by 4 people

        1. I learned very early to pray the mass along with the priest even if I was not following the words of the priest and engaging in my own private prayers as well, sometimes continuing on the then theme especially in moments of silence. I had no problem praying the mass at Lourdes when it was entirely in French, a language I know only a few words of, because I could easily follow by going along with the familiar actions of the priest. A person could only get bored and start daydreaming if they were used to being largely a passive participant. I think the ideal is to be able to pray the mass with the priest in a meaningful way as emphasized by Desmond.

          Liked by 2 people

  39. Thank you Charlie. This is a wonderful piece.
    I agree with your comments on Cardinal Dolan. I am sorry for him and I will pray for him. Our Lady of Medjugorje has asked us to pray for priests.
    This was his chance to do as you said, “defend the faith, hearthen the faithful, and defend the faithful.” This could have been a victory but as our leader on the front lines for Catholicism it looks like he turned and ran away and abandoned his troops. Just left us to fend for ourselves. At least for now.
    Just briefly I would like to share an experience I had in Medjugorje, 20 years ago.
    My group and I were on our way up Apparition Hill. I turned from them for a moment to take a video of the beautiful views and when I turned back they were gone. So I started up the path thinking I would catch up to them. Well I got to the top of Apparition Hill and they were not there. I sat on a rock and started to pray the Rosary. I suddenly heard a voice inside of me say, “you must do much penance. ”
    Startled, I understood it to be Mary.
    When my group arrived I asked them where they had gone. A fellow Pilgrim said, ” Joan, you walked right past us.”
    I believe Our Lord and Our Lady put ” blinders” on me so that I did not see my group because I needed to hear this message in silence and without distractions.
    I feel this relates to what you are saying Charlie because we cannot be a part of the rescue if we don’t give up our sins.
    Yes, I wanted to see the sun spin or anything fantastical while in that holy place but now I know I got something better. I received a Mother’s love and an invitation to be with them in Paradise.
    I am still trying to perfect my soul.
    I also know now that my pilgrimage to Medjugorje and the message I received was in preparation for the Storm, for these times and what lays ahead.
    You said our culture has led us to “the belief that good can be done without reference to God.” I can vouch for the fact that it cannot.
    So much work to be done!
    I am pleased and proud to be called into God’s army. That is where I am needed. That is where so many of us are needed.
    I want to share again Our Lady’s words, “YOU MUST DO MUCH PENANCE.”
    This message is not only for me now but for all and for our broken world.
    Peace and Hope always.

    Liked by 9 people

    2. JMary, Thanks for the recollection, can never be reminded too often about penance; timely as I was making out my grocery list, now I have to, ahem, I mean, get to, cross a few things off 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  41. Charlie I really am always amazed at the wonder of words you seem to produce with such seeming simple elegance. Truly a gift no doubt of some god or other, I daresay as I have no idea of such. Thing that gets me now Charlie tho is as you are so quick, (as remost on here) to say as to how we should interpretation as to how we should believe of some Judo-Christian thingy. Truth to be told tho as how the Jew murdered This Christ of ours…

    Threading in honey I do think as I have stated on some site on this here net…They of course do not seem to like me… I wonder just why ?

    No offence intended Charlie I do assure you but I do weary of the honey threaderz who say Jesus I trust in You.

    Wake up Charlie…Wake up those who come here to espouse we should trust that Talmudic curse of the Schofield bibble of the 60’s. Just what a curse that was on dear old Americay…

    Wake up Charlie. My apology if this seems offensive but you are living in a world of Christian Zionism…

    Like

      1. Sorry Charlie but I do get annoyed as of some stuff I read on here. Perhaps when I’m not inebritade I would et back to you…………..

        Christian zionism killed my Christ tho. Judo-Christian… Never the twain…

        Like

        1. Okay, Mac, I thought something was off, because though you are sometimes a bit curmudgeonly, you often have some well thought-out points. One thing, though, that I must insist on…neither “Christian Zionism” nor “Zionist Christianity” killed Christ. Our sinfulness killed Christ, thus I killed Christ and you killed Christ. There will be no scapegoating on that subject here – and particularly no anti-Semitic scapegoating. As I have said many times, all faithful Christians and Jews are FULL partners in the work before us and are to be treated as such – and they will be here. Heehee, and though I make that clear, I will not set a “Twitter Mob” on you, for here we know that our good friends sometimes have bad moments and do not lie in ambush to trash them for it. You have been a good friend of this site for too long for that.

          Liked by 4 people

          1. Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

            Eternal Father, I offer you the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of your dearly beloved Son our Lord Jesus Christ,
            => In atonement of our sins and the whole world… for the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and the whole world.

            Eternal Father, i offer Thee the most precious blood of thy divine Son our Lord Jesus, in union with all the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my home and within my family.

            Liked by 5 people

          2. Well hello yet again there Charlie.

            Indeed I had not but pressed enter on here but realized of how my thoughts were but yet another thorn in His head. True for you as to He being tortured yet again as we have bad thoughts or feelings in our daily routine. I have an analogy for that as people ask me of the suffering we cause by our actions which make The Christ suffer every day. One only has to remind me of a little detail of my late wife to create memories of past times which makes things ever present in real time.

            That wee thorn tho pales by comparison as I look about me here on the net of any old evening. When I see the news of Damascus and such like I really get annoyed. To think of Joseph and his family having traveled there on a donkey. Just what must go through the mind of any who turns a blind eye to such satanic barbarism ? I suppose that is a reason I try to avoid making comment on places such as here. A few too many tho has me riled up enough to say things I perhaps should not.

            I wondered for a long time as to why Holy Mother seems to be crying a lot in some of the locutions I read. Why would this Blessed Mother be doing anything other than crying tho as She watches how we do such things to each other in Her homelands. See there now Charlie as I ponder of being anti-semitic as none who believe in Most Holy Mother could be guilty of such a thing. I tend to think as to how some of Her blood-line of our world are being so shamefully treated in our modern world.

            In any regard there Charlie I would thank you for the reply. Your smile belies a good heart I have to say. Saying I was drunk yer honour does not mitigate the sentence really. I find it most annoying tho even as I listen to our priests as they serve The Mass. I find I tend to listen to words people hear and wonder as to how we are to believe Pilate was guilty of a murder he tried his best to avoid. For my reading on that event it ruined Pilates marriage and his life thereafter as he could not do as his wife wished by letting The Christ free. Good old Oscar comes to mind here as he said of the world being a stage….The one good eye Jesus had on that day would have forgiven Pilate for what had to happen.

            This old curmudgeon will away now Charlie and hope you are well…..

            Dia agut agus Beannacht leat. Murt.

            Liked by 3 people

    2. Welcome here Mac! I don’t see Charlie as one living a sort of Zionist Christian belief. Although, I am not sure where you are coming from. Is English not your first language?

      Like

      1. Hello Doug.

        Never intended to imply as to Charlie being a Christian Zionist. I do think Charlie would have been aware of that….
        I suppose you could be right tho as to denglish not being my “first” language….

        A Celtic heart, a Gaelic tongue, just speaking a foreign tongue..

        My regards…

        Liked by 2 people

          1. Meant to say Gaelic mind, tho that now is suspect….

            Nowhere near the cliffs though I have passed there on occasion. Auld truck driver donchano as I have known most of the old lanes of this here rock in the river.

            Dia agut…

            Liked by 3 people

      1. Last Evening, at Fr. Wang’s suggestion, I called the Bishop’s office and left a message for Bishop Daly from Fr. Wang and me, thanking and encouraging him. Whenever a Bishop is so courageous, it’s good to email, write personal notes or leave messages which hearten and offer prayer support.

        Liked by 9 people

    3. God willing but this is someone making a snowball atop a mountain………….

      Just why do people take so long to decide infanticide is wrong.

      It is said of Hillary asking Mother Theresa as to a woman president to which the reply was…

      How will we ever know if we keep aborting babies…?

      Liked by 3 people

  43. “Luke passed away in the arms of our Lady at 3.30pm immediately after having received viaticum and after having completed yet another first Saturday. Deo Gratias”

    Just got this From my friend’s wife Josie. They have nine children. Please pray for him and his family. He has truly had a holy death.

    Liked by 9 people

    1. May Luke’s precious soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace. Praying for his soul’s repose. Praying, too, for his beautiful family as they continue this mourning journey. So sorry for your loss, Joecro, but so happy you have a friend now living beyond the veil to whom you can call upon for help. May the Lord strengthen and console all who love Luke. (Photo of Luke and his clan from the “give a little page” which had helped the family through this difficult time)

      Liked by 13 people

  45. Merry Candlemas & Happy Groundhog Day 😉
    Last day of Old Days Christmastide …. Ya Know!!??

    MILINT: Articles for Christians – 02 February
    ===================
    Virginia Governor, Ralph Northam’s medical school yearbook page shows men dressed in blackface, KKK robe
    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ralph-northams-medical-school-yearbook-page-shows-men-dressed-in-blackface-kkk-robe

    Dr. Manny Alvarez: Late term abortion in New York and Virginia — An Ob-Gyn’s take
    https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/dr-manny-alvarez-late-term-abortion-in-new-york-and-virginia-an-ob-gyns-take

    N. Korean Christians keep faith underground amid crackdowns
    https://www.apnews.com/a7079dea595349928d26c687fa42a19c

    THE WASHINGTON POST
    To understand what a weird, wicked world we live in, look at these abortion laws
    By Kathleen Parker February 1 at 6:13 PM

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/to-understand-what-a-weird-wicked-world-we-live-in-look-at-these-abortion-laws/2019/02/01/9df9da40-2669-11e9-81fd-b7b05d5bed90_story.html?utm_term=.ca879672e0b3

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 5 people

  46. Happy, Holy, Merry Feast of Candlemas, Everyone! May the Light of Christ ever burning brightly in each sherpa, light the way to Jesus as we bring His Light to those around us.

    From a writing by Pope St. John Paul II in December of 1996:
    “In the temple, Joseph and Mary meet Simeon, ‘righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel.’ ” (Lk 2:25).

    The Lucan narrative says nothing of his past or of the service he carried out in the temple; it tells of a deeply religious man who nurtures great desires in his heart and awaits the Messiah, the consolation of Israel. In fact, “the Holy Spirit was upon him” and “it had been revealed to him … that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Lk 2:25-26). Simeon invites us to look at the merciful action of God who pours out the Spirit on his faithful to bring to fulfilment his mysterious project of love.

    Simeon, a man who is open to God’s action, “inspired by the Spirit” (Lk 2:27), goes to the temple where he meets Jesus, Joseph and Mary. Taking the Child in his arms, he blesses God and says, “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word” (Lk 2:29).

    Can you imagine the intensity of emotion for Simeon at that moment when he first encountered the Messiah, holding Him, His Lord and Redeemer, close to his own heart while praising His Father?!

    And we, Dear Friends, open our mouths, in an even greater intimacy, daily if we can, to receive this same Messiah, Our Redeemer and Best Friend, pressing Him to our hearts as He subsumes us into Himself. Via Fr. Spitzer, here is a profound Church Teaching on the Holy Eucharist.

    Dear Simeon, pray for us that we never take for granted each and every encounter with the Eucharistic Jesus in our lives!

    Liked by 8 people

    1. The reference to daily communion reminded me that we are permitted to receive Holy communion twice a day. Back in the days when I had a priest living at my house, I have an altar in my home chapel and we were able to have mass each morning, I also went to my parish morning mass. I was and still am practicing the Jesus King of all Nations communion novenas that enable you to sent one angel from each of the nine choirs of angels to a designated person. One day when I had occasion to attend an evening mass which would be a third communion in the day, I asked the priest if that would be okay. He answered he thought it would be. After I received the precious blood and was making my thanksgiving, my stomach was somewhat painfully upset. This was very noticeable since I never have stomach problems, When the next week I was able to attend another third mass of the day with another priest, I asked him if it was okay in order to get a second opinion. He too said it was okay and I experienced another upset stomach as before. I thought, okay Lord, what are you trying to tell me? I checked into it more thoroughly and found that Catholics may receive communion twice a day and the first communion may be received as part of a communion service but the second communion must be a part of mass. Praise be to God.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. If you receive a second time, you are supposed to be serving at the Mass in some capacity. In some earlier days, I got a bit over-enthusiastic and my Spiritual Director forbade me from receiving more than once a day. It was a good discipline. Live the prayer of doing. You receive that you may do God’s work. Just in the last few years, I got a dispensation for while I am traveling, because sometimes I am visiting multiple groups per day and attending Mass with them. It would be an insult if I did not receive. So my dispensation allows me, when I am a visiting dignitary, to receive however many times I may have previously received on the same day. But other than that, I still abide by the first directive I got on the matter.

        Liked by 5 people

        1. Charlie. Yes a spiritual director is free to place restrictions and guidance on you for your good based on your particular situation and some things are left to the direction of the bishop of each diocese. The rules I quoted are from our archbishop for the archdiocese of Seattle regarding the number of communions allowed each day. We do not have any requirement to have to act in some serving capacity at that second mass. Each may have to consult their own diocese to determine what the rule is for them,

          Liked by 1 person

            1. Charlie. In order to resolve our differing views, I finally looked it up and here is what I found (Apparently I was not totally correct because initially I was trying to account for our first differences from the top of my head. You are right, it is not up to the individual bishop, it is a matter of cannon law. So that finally “together we may come to the greater truth”): The Church allows the faithful to receive Communion up to twice each day. As Canon 917 of the Code of Canon Law notes, “A person who has already received the Most Holy Eucharist can receive it a second time on the same day only within the Eucharistic celebration in which the person participates…” The first reception can be under any circumstances, including (as discussed above) walking into a Mass that is already underway or attending an authorized Communion service; but the second must always be during a Mass in which you have participated.

              This requirement reminds us that the Eucharist is not simply food for our individual souls. It is consecrated and distributed at the Mass—in the context of our communal worship of God. We can receive Communion outside of Mass or without participating in a Mass, but if we wish to receive more than once in a day, we must connect ourselves to the broader community—the Body of Christ, the Church, that is formed and strengthened by our communal consumption of the Eucharistic Body of Christ.

              It’s important to note that canon law specifies that the second reception of Communion in a single day must always be in a Mass in which one participates. In other words, even if you have received Communion at Mass earlier in the day, you must participate in another Mass in order to receive Communion a second time. You cannot receive your second Communion in one day outside of a Mass or in a Mass in which you did not participate.
              I hope my interest in knowing the truth was in no way offensive. To me it is not about being right it is joy in the confidence of the truth. Sometimes it is easy to give offense when none is intended. I have great respect for you Charlie and fully support the important work you do.
              May God continue to bless this wonderful and very important community as we proceed on in this Rescue to the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart.

              Liked by 2 people

              1. I was not offended at all, sojourner. I’m glad you looked it up. I had quite some time ago. I knew it was a matter of canon law – canon 917, I believe. I like forcing people to look things up because we are all entitled to our own opinions, but none of us are entitled to our own facts. Far too often in these times, that gets blurred. We did not have differing views. I knew the canon on the matter and you did not. I do not say that in any sort of arrogance; merely that we must not, as these perilous times proceed, pretend that knowing a counter-factual is just a matter of opinion…each person’s “truth,” as it were. When something really is a matter of opinion, I am almost always very respectful of honest differences, keeping in mind that I could be wrong. When it is a matter of fact that I know, I will still double-check if pressed to make sure I have got it right and nothing has changed. I very rarely state something as a matter of fact unless I know. There may be three times since I started these sites when a reader has kindly corrected me on a matter of fact – and as soon as I knew I had erred, I acknowledged it candidly with no hedging. This is important. People too often like to press that whatever they have heard must be right because they have long thought it so. In this year, that is going to be burned out of us. I would that everyone would get as serious about not stating something as a fact as I am, and to be as quick to double-check their facts from hard data when challenged as I am, and not to call a dispute over a fact differing views. Either you have a fact right or you do not. Getting that right is going to be more important than most anyone knows very soon.

                Liked by 2 people

                1. Now *that* is a very interesting final sentence, Charlie. I’ve noticed recently that I’m more reticent in expressing my opinions, because there is an internal note to self that is saying to be sure of my facts first. Partly that is from your example (thank you), partly because I’m 67 now and sometimes have to work harder to call up old research, and partly because it seems increasingly like a good idea in and of itself. Now I wonder if that latter “partly” is me picking up on some of the spirit of the times.

                  Liked by 3 people

                2. Beckita. I am sending you angels this week and will send them to key community members as my list allows. I always ask God’s help in who to send angels to next and He always inspires me.
                  Novena of nine Communions consists of offering nine consecutive Catholic Holy Communions (True Presence) in honor of Jesus King of All Nations.
                  To those who are not familiar with this devotion, I highly recommend it. The person who told me about this novena in 1994 sent me nine angels and about a month later my son came to mass at St. John’s where I was. I did not know they were there. His 3 year old daughter saw me and said, “Look grampa. I see angels, big angels.” Its not too unusual for very young children to see angels. I have been sending angels these 25 years from the beginning to all my family and friends and since I am retired and able to go to mass daily and often twice a day, I am able to complete one novena a week. We are allowed to receive communion twice a day as long as the second one is part of mass as opposed to a communion service. Many people who I have sent angels to, even non-Catholics, have noticed a definite effect in their lives as a result. The Lord seems to inspire me to an endless list of those needing angels. The prayer I use after communion is, “I offer this communion to You Lord Jesus King of all Nations, Lord of lords and King of kings, and for _____ that they may receive the angels from the courts of angels given according to Your promises and for this special intention…. You are supposed to go to confession within 8 days so I go to confession every other Saturday so that covers every day of the year for the gaining of many indulgences and that devotion as well as any others I do. As part of my morning prayers I say after the guardian angel prayer, “May the angels from the courts of angels guide me and protect me, lead me in God’s holy will and God’s holy love.”

                  The POWERFUL and unprecedented effects of this Novena were shown to Jesus’ “servant” in a vision. She saw Jesus gazing up to Heaven. Nine times He gave a command and an angel came to earth. Jesus explained: “My daughter, for those souls who will offer Me [this] devotion I will bid an angel of each of the Nine Choirs, one with each Holy Communion, to guard this soul for the rest of its life on this earth.” “I urge My faithful ones to offer Me this Novena again and again so that I may continue to send down My holy angels for the protection and assistance of other souls who cannot do this for themselves. In these end-times the power of the enemy has greatly increased. I see how greatly My children are in need of My protection.” In His great generosity, Jesus granted that, in addition to the angelic protection, one may have a separate, unrelated intention for this Novena. He promised: “What they ask for in this Novena, if it be according to My Most Holy Will, I will surely grant it. Let these souls ask from Me without reservation.” Jesus said, “I desire that the faithful souls who embrace this devotion to Me……make a Novena of Holy Communions. They therefore shall offer me nine (9) consecutive Holy Communions, and go to Confession during this Novena, if possible, in honor of Me as ‘Jesus King of All Nations’.” Jesus indicated that by “consecutive”, He meant nine Communions, uninterrupted, one after another, that the souls would receive. They need not be on nine calendar days in a row, just each Communion received, one after the other.

                  The nine courts of angels are: Archangels, Principalities, Virtues, Powers, Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, and Guardian Angels.

                  May God continue to bless and guide us, spare us all from controversy and all bad will, keep us united as we seek to do your will as we travel on in doing our part in this Rescue toward the Triumph of the Immaculate heart of our Blessed Mother.

                  Liked by 2 people

                  1. Thank you so much, just a sojourner. I love the Angels and welcome them with gratitude. Let’s share this link So anyone interested may read more about the devotion to Jesus King of All Nations from whence this devotional practice to the Angels comes. May your goodness return to you a hundredfold, JAS.

                    Liked by 1 person

                    1. Beckita. I checked out “this link” and I found no reference to or connection to the novena of communions there.
                      It looks like it is going to take more than a week to finish your angels. I’ll let you know when I am able to finish your novena. So far only two communions on Sunday. We got two inches of snow on Sunday night that had started with rain that turned to snow in late night and resulted in ice under the snow on the road. We get little snow here just southeast of Seattle, WA and we are ill equipped to handle it since the infrequent and normally few inches, rarely gets to a foot or more, justifies the investment in the equipment necessary. When I lived in St. Louis and Germany, they were equipped to handle everything that came their way. Our family moved from North Dakota the summer of 1948 and sure enough we brought the snow with us. The “blizzard” of
                      ’49 brought us a record 4 feet of snow, a very rare occurrence for Western Washington due to the warming Japanese current off the coast. Being only 8 years old, I was thrilled to play in it. The 3 inches of snow we had by Monday morning brought the first snow day, schools closed, we’ve had this school year. I put my studded snow tires on this morning so we could creep to the supermarket two miles away to stock up on a failing supply of cat food, ever cautious of the few less careful drives sliding about. I saw evidence of where one car had slid into a small ditch. Too many here do not know how to drive in snow due to lack of experience. It is a different world we live in. This is a terrible place to live and I would like to warn all those people tempted to come endure our hardships. Please don’t move here. It’s getting too crowded already. (If anyone fell for that, you’re an easy sell.) It has been snowing a bit off and on and were over 4 inches already with more expected by morning. I don’t think we will be driving anywhere tomorrow. We are expecting two weeks of freezing weather, a rarety here. It is already down to 20 F and it is expected to dip into the teens by morning. We usually have about 10 degrees colder here than Seattle since we live in the Mt. Rainier foot hills. I get a beautiful and clear view of Mt. Ranier about 2 miles from here on our way home from the church where we rise above the fir tree line while going over a freeway overpass. Enough already!! Past time for bed, 4:30 comes early, the curse of being an early riser.
                      May God continue to bless and guide us all in this very special community and especially in thanksgiving to our gifted leader Charlie.

                      Liked by 1 person

                    2. The link, JAS, takes you to the page of Dan’s Apostolates which is dedicated to the King of All Nations. On the right side you can select various topics. One of them is entitled: The Prayers. When clicked, there is a description of the Novena of Holy Communions which includes this:
                      Jesus indicated that by “consecutive”, He meant nine Communions, uninterrupted, one after another, that the souls would receive. They need not be on nine calendar days in a row, just each Communion received, one after the other.

                      The powerful and unprecedented effects of this Novena were shown to Jesus’ “servant” in a vision. She saw Jesus gazing up to Heaven. Nine times He gave a command and an angel came to earth. Jesus explained: “My daughter, for those souls who will offer me [this] devotion I will bid an angel of each of the Nine Choirs, one with each Holy Communion, to guard this soul for the rest of its life on this earth.”

                      Perhaps you are offering your novena from another source of which I do not know. Either way, it is a great gift. Thank you. Stay warm and safe!

                      Liked by 1 person

  48. Hi, Beckita,
    For some reason I stopped getting the updates in my email as of Wednesday. I did nothing different. Didn’t change any setting. They just stopped. Is the something I need to do or is it on your end?

    Liked by 2 people

    2. HTTP. Same thing happened to me the other day. I thought Charlie and Beckita were trying to give me a subtle hint to get lost. But it was probably just a glitch in the Matrix. 🙂

      Liked by 4 people

  49. Beckita I am no techy so I cannot post the website link – sorry. Please check out the american conservative – rod dreher – “the blockbuster parish” column. It truly rings some alarm bells. It perfectly describes my parish here in scottsdale az – if I want spiritual support I have to attend a different parish. I would be interested to hear your and charlie’s thoughts – and others too. It may be that we will have to construct some sort of benedict option to sustain the faithful and save the young……….
    Anyhow I am not endorsing one idea or the other – just interested in others ideas. Blessings and prayer to all. CJ

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Go to a Parish that appeals to you and where you find community. My first Parish and my current one are not actually in the town where I live. They’ll be glad to have you. And it is good to be at a place where you can worship without getting distracted by anger and frustration.

      Liked by 6 people

      1. I passed 4 Catholic churches before I get to my Parish and it is only a 10 minute drive. Two are now shutdown. Shows how things have changed.

        Liked by 3 people

      2. We attend “TLM Mass” 35 mins or sometimes an hour away. At our local parish we help out with St. Vincent de Paul and attend 1st Friday and Saturday early Mass. It’s important to go where you are fed.

        Liked by 3 people

    2. I think the things which Rod Dreher is missing are the prophetic voices which tell us, in the end, our Mother’s Immaculate Heart will triumph completely and Rescue is underway, even now. If only he could realize that God has been very actively revealing evil, which was hidden for so long, so as to awaken His people with opportunities, at every turn, to be illuminated concerning the errors and sins of our day and time so as to reject the culture of death, repent of any participation in it and begin working for the renewal and rebuilding which are sorely needed.

      Without this prophetic knowledge, I would be tempted to become overwhelmed with fear and anxiety. Dreher, unfortunately, does not seem to know that God has a Plan for these times. I’ve never read the Benedict Option but, along with the many here, I am – and will be eternally – grateful for delving more deeply into living and promoting the TNRS Option.

      I’ve been thinking for some time that each parish would do well to take on the practices of St. John Vianney when he arrived in Ars and found a village not so different from the St. Blockbuster’s Parishes of which Dreher and Fr. Matt Fish write. How St. John Mary prayed, fasted and sacrificed to develop his own holiness! He also offered these practices for the growth of faith in those all around him. And it worked! It produced great fruit. Imagine if every parish had a group of laity who would pray, fast and sacrifice for the life of the parish. Of course, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament would be a high priority devotion. In parishes able to support perpetual adoration, vocations to the priesthood and religious life are heard and answered, marriages are strengthened, healing occurs, spiritual growth is nourished and all manner of human problems are resolved via the graces flowing from the lanced side of Christ Crucified as He is adored and glorified in a monstrance.

      It’s a dreary and sobering phase of the Storm as it seems, more and more, that evil has won. At the same time, it is an inspirational, hopeful phase as we realize Christ is calling us to mission for the need is great and the harvest shall be bountiful.

      Liked by 5 people

      1. You are so right in all that you say in this comment Beckita. I would just add a couple of others. At the beginning of the comments to this post of Charlie’s I put a link to Fr Joseph Ratzinger’s radio interview about the inevitability of a future smaller but purified Church. It’s worth a read – this was 50 years ago and either it was his own good insight or he was inspired. Second, Mother gave us, I believe, an example of how a parish should operate when she took the Parish of St James, Medjugorje, into her own precious hands. Now that every one of us is no doubt feeling stunned about being a ‘stalwart’ member of our own impoverished parishes, I see we are at the perfect place and in the perfect time for the rebirth Fr Matt Fish tweeted about. He didn’t give any way forward but we who have been schooled by Blessed Mother over the last ‘40 years’ are primed and ready to go. In spite of being stunned I couldn’t be more excited!!! The best outcome would no doubt result from a well co-ordinated approach. That, for me, leads to the real question. Is it a bottom up or top down approach?

        Liked by 5 people

      3. Hi Becks,I have not read Rod Dreher’s book too, but one of our storm dinner members gave a presentation on it as one of our storm topics.  The theme is we are currently living in a more or less post Christian era and the emphasis is strengthing the remnant and preserving what we have.  It talks about building strong local community groups.  In a large sense, the storm dinners fullfill what Rod is advocating.  I am currently reading a book about putting the Benedict Option into action by a different author even though I have not read Rod’s book.  Lots of good practical stuff.  As we progress through the storm, we will need a formation of strong local groups which I understand to be the heart.

        Blessings!

        Liked by 3 people

      4. thanks for your thoughts Beckita. Sometimes it is hard to remember things will get better. Please say a prayer or two for me my grandson (23) is currently living with me and while he isn’t bad he has no idea of being christian. I don’t know where to start…….CJ

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        1. Praying for you and your grandson, CJ. Have you ever checked out Fr. Spitzer’s Magis Center? His initial audience was late teen kids because he had discovered that this was the age when many tuned out and turned off any Church association. Here is the online site and the team there is wonderful. They take calls so you might consider giving them a jingle to seek counsel about where to begin.

          Liked by 2 people

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Published by charliej373

Charlie Johnston is a former newspaper editor, radio talk show host and political consultant. From Feb. 11, 2011 to Aug. 21, 2012, he walked 3,200 miles across the country, sleeping in the woods, meeting people and praying as he went. He writes on cultural, global and political issues from an orthodox Catholic perspective. He emphasizes that we find God most surely through the ordinary, doing the little things we should with faith and fidelity. His constant refrain is that, to live real joy, we must acknowledge God, take the next right step, and be a sign of hope to those around us. He lives in the Archdiocese of Denver in the United States.