Be Not Afraid

Posted on by charliej373

christ-in-the-storm

By Charlie Johnston

I had a fantastic presentation and a wonderful group of faithful patriots in Wadena, Iowa last Sunday. One fellow who is a small plane pilot flew down from Minnesota. He enthusiastically said it was worth the trip, after the talk. My next talk will be Sunday, June 9, at 4 p.m. at Finley’s Grill and Smokehouse, 1602 W. Michigan Ave. in Jackson, Michigan. For information, contact Mick at asoh.jackson@gmail.com. I appreciate all of you who are praying for my safety as I travel.

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A few years ago, I put up a piece on the old site that I think is worth a reminder right now. It seems particularly appropriate as the theme of my talks this year is, “Navigating the Storm: Stella Maris!” With light editing, here is that piece:

My goal since I began writing this has not been to tell you precisely what is going to happen and when, for those are the wrong questions, questions that can only give you a false sense of security.

If one is a captain charged with preparing his troops on the eve of a great battle, he does them a great disservice if he tries to choreograph the battle to come in precise detail for them. Once it commences in full, battle takes on a life of its own. It is filled with unexpected twists and turns. The soldier who thinks he knows every detail that will unfold will probably not survive the battle for he is basing his hope on his own expectations. Rather, the effective commander is honest with his troops, giving them a general overview of what to expect and, most importantly, how to act and react with honor whatever turns the battle takes…how to be effective in the moment as the battle unfolds. The soldier who seeks out sure knowledge rather than proper preparation deceives himself. His unease about the unknown ahead leads him to trade off hard knowledge of the habits of mind and heart to endure later for a false sense of security and superiority now. This foolish trade, however much it may soothe him, dramatically cuts his odds of enduring the battle.

My hope has always been that people will quit worrying so restlessly about precisely what and when various events will happen. I pray all will examine their own expectations and shift their focus to how to behave whatever happens. But vanity dies hard – and many would rather convince themselves that they have the inside scoop rather than merely trust in God by living each moment with extraordinary love and faith. God is raising up a people who trust in Him by loving their fellows and taking the next right step. Please put yourself radically into God’s hands that you might live. Say with me my constant prayer: “Lord, do not show me a single thing I don’t need to complete my work. Give me the strength to bear those things You must show me to do the work You have for me. Jesus, I trust in You.”

Some outlets have taken to calling me the prophet of the Storm. That is not unfair, but largely misses the point. Since I first began writing for my priests nearly 24 years ago, I described the Storm that is now unfolding around and engulfing us in no little detail. But if that was all I was shown or had to say, I would never have publicly said anything. You have plenty of people, secular and religious, who can and are accurately describing the Storm that gathers force around us. Anyone who has eyes to see can see where we are headed. If I had just been called to do color commentary for Armageddon, I would have declined the invitation and stayed home. The main reason I was called to describe the Storm with such accuracy decades ago, when it scared me, was to lend credibility to what my central prophetic message is: “Be not afraid. God calls all men to salvation.” I was sent to proclaim the Rescue, the ultimate Triumph of the Immaculate Heart – and to teach you how to participate with God in reclaiming His children, just as I have been taught to participate with Him in the same. That is a calling worth sacrificing much and even dying for. Even more, it is a calling worth living for.

I promised the Lord from childhood that if these things, this Storm I saw in such detail, should indeed come upon the world, I would speak in His behalf to assure people that He was calling them back to Him, not crafting their destruction. As the Storm slowly took shape, painting the cultural sky first with an eerie, then ghastly shade of sickly yellow, I tried to find a way out of my calling. And then the dreadful, ominous darkness. While I was in the process of conversion, I first heard the magnificent song, “Here I Am, Lord.” It was – and is – a reminder to me of the promise I made and have renewed over and over since childhood…that if the darkness I was shown should come, I would speak – not to describe the darkness, but to assure people of God’s light…to bring it to them. Every time I hear or sing it, I choke back tears. To me, it is a renewal of a promise I made long ago, to assure you that God’s plans for you are for a future and a hope…for your rescue, not your destruction.

Many continue to think that the Storm is God’s punishment of us. IT IS NOT. Get that out of your head. The Storm is what we have brought on ourselves. It is an evil that is entirely wrought by our hands. God has nothing to do with it. If you don’t firmly get that right, you will get almost everything else wrong. The great evil is that we have convinced ourselves that we are sufficient to ourselves, that we are masters of our destiny with no need for God, whatsoever. This hubris has caused souls to be lost to eternity at an unprecedented rate for the last century. For a time, God restrained some of the consequences of that hubris, to give us a chance to come back to Him of our own accord. That would have been best. But we would not. So God has lifted the hand of His restraint for a time, that we may see what WE have wrought without Him. Once again, God is using the evil we have wrought to bring about good – to let us see some of the consequences of our rebellion, that we will lose our confidence in our mastery of events without reference to Him. When our confidence in our own supremacy is dashed, we must either despair or turn to Him. Already, the rate of the loss of souls to eternity has slowed as people see what we have wrought.

Some pray for mitigation of the Storm. They think they do well, but what they are actually praying for is mitigation of the consequences of what we have wrought. Over the last century, that sort of mitigation has been given – and the result has been the continued loss of masses of souls to eternity because of our stubborn, stiff-necked rebellion. For the last century, every time God has shielded us from the consequences of our stupid vanity, we have simply doubled down, thinking the mitigation proof that we are in control and do not need God. Our preening arrogance has formed a deadly cancer on the Mystical Body of Christ. All we ever had to do to rid ourselves of the cancer was to embrace humility and our need for God. Every time the Lord has mitigated the symptoms, we have doubled down on our arrogance, making the cancer worse. God is not using the Storm we have wrought to destroy us, but as a form of Divine Chemotherapy guaranteed to rid us of the cancer and leave us healthier than ever. The Storm, used as God is now using it, IS an act of Divine Mercy. It is an act of supreme folly to pray for delivery from the cure rather than from the cancer.

Begin to contemplate prophecy from the perspective of rescue and Divine Mercy. Downplay or drop entirely interpretations grounded in disaster scenarios. Authentic visions often come from the perspective of eternity, rather than a crabbed earthly perspective, so they can look very apocalyptic. Because of this, someone might see true, but interpret badly. Authentic visions, though they rarely result in the temporal disaster scenarios we usually imagine, nonetheless reflect the eternal reality. From heaven’s standpoint, a soul lost to eternity is a catastrophe. From an earthly standpoint, if such a soul nearly dies, then lives past their final state of grace, we think they have been rescued, when they have actually perished. Look at all private revelation through the filter of how it relates to Rescue. Let me give you two examples of what I think are likely authentic prophecies that have been misunderstood because of our childish insistence on temporal special effects.

First, when I was on the West Coast of the U.S., many asked me what I thought of the “prophecy” some had heard of a great tidal wave swallowing up most of the West Coast, bringing water all the way up to the Colorado border. I usually told people I thought it might be authentic, but not as they thought. Water represents Baptism. Baptism washes away sin. The West Coast is terribly disordered. If this prophecy is authentic, I interpret it from the standpoint of Rescue – that God is going to send a tidal wave of repentance and mercy over the west coast, washing away the hideously disordered sin that mutilates our culture from there.

Second, there is a prophecy that has gained some currency that the earth is going to shift on its axis. I started hearing about this a lot while I was in the Northeastern U.S. I told everyone that I couldn’t say about the disaster scenario most envisioned, but whether that happened or not, that prophecy had already been fulfilled. I pointed out that 1,600 years ago the Emperor Constantine had made Christianity an officially favored religion…and that ever since, the cultural axis around which western beliefs revolved were fundamentally Christian. Oh, we have lived it poorly many times…but if asked what the good was, serious educated people would always point to the Judeo-Christian values that were our heritage and gave the world a slow-motion blossoming of freedom, prosperity and meaning. That axis has been besieged the last few decades. The vote in Ireland to legalize and impose same-sex “marriage” ensured that it would soon be imposed in much of the rest of the Western World. We do not just sin any more, we call sin “the good” and Christian values “the bad.” For the first time in 1,600 years, our foundational cultural assumptions are fundamentally pagan rather than Christian. The axis of our cultural assumptions has shifted dramatically. God is not giving you inside info on the end, but calling you to participate in shifting the culture back to the foundation that gives life, rather than one that has always given death.

Don’t interpret things in a way that makes you a pitiful spectator in the stands, but as a recipient of God’s mercy who is called to participate in His Rescue. Big disasters may come. Sometimes they do. But prophecy is far more often missed because its fulfillment is subtler than expected rather than more dramatic. If something big comes, you cannot stop it. Do not let worry over it distract you from the little you can do – for it is in the little, ordinary things that you find God…the little whisper rather than the great thunderclap.

Worry less about outrageous external events. I frequently get asked about the possibility of the imposition of Martial Law in the U.S., the imposition of One World Government by U.N. and European Statists, and the evil designs of shadowy groups. Here’s the deal: they lose. None of them are stronger than God. All of them put together do not amount to a clipping from the Master’s fingernail. They lose. The only reason to contemplate these things at all is when it helps you to discern what God calls YOU to do. None of us can do great things: all any of us can do is the little right in front of us. When we offer that little to God, He transforms it and feeds multitudes. When we worry about it to the point it distracts us from what we can do, we toss away God’s promise in pursuit of delusions of grandeur and intrigue. God wins. There is no suspense or doubt about the outcome. Those who are with God are those who DO His will, not those who only talk about it. Each soul is the battleground. If you get caught up in things bigger than you, the satan has seduced you to the losing side by distracting you from what you are called to. If you relentlessly stick to the little things right in front of you, always acknowledging God, you hold fast to Christ and will share in His victory.

Think of a few things. At just the beginning of this decade, had you been told that by mid-2015, if you refused in conscience to actively participate in a homosexual “marriage” ceremony, you could (and some would) be stripped of your property, heavily fined, bankrupted, fired, and even jailed, would you have believed that? Yet that is the reality in this new world. If you had been told that the “reasonable accommodations” to the abortion provisions the president spoke of would turn out to be forcing the Little Sisters of the Poor to participate in abortion coverage, would you have believed it? Would you have believed that infanticide of a living, born baby was routine (if not common) among abortionists? Yet that is the new reality in this world. What has been the result of this arbitrary exercise of coercive power contrary to law and traditional American values? Even as their egos and malicious contempt for dissenters has inflated, actual power has collapsed around the offenders without them knowing it.

Twenty or 30 years ago, if a president had declared Martial Law in response to a grave crisis, I would have gone along with it, whether it was a Democrat or Republican and whether I objectively agreed or disagreed. At that time I had a base level of confidence in presidents that, particularly in crisis, they genuinely loved both their country and their countrymen – and would not do such a thing merely to cement their power. A year ago, many would probably have gone along with such a thing. What would happen now, though, if the federal government declared Martial Law? At a minimum, there would be large pockets of active resistance among groups and entire states. It would likely trigger actual revolution. By abusing their authority, officials have not enhanced their power, but have forfeited all but a pale shadow of its form.

The European Union was supposed to both unite Europeans and subject them to the iron rule of an unelected bureaucracy. We are watching it burst its seams as it comes apart before our eyes. The statist dreams of narcissistic elites who would subject free peoples are ever doomed to ultimate failure, though the unraveling can be violent and ugly.

Do not worry much over big things you cannot change. Rather, stick to the little things you can do for those right around you and God will take care of the big things. Know that when you take firm hold of Christ, no one on earth has any power over you whatsoever save that which God allows…and once you hold fast to Him nothing is allowed save that which will help bring more souls to Him. All the attacks and bile of the most powerful will fall harmlessly at your feet when you hold fast to Christ. If your trust in the Lord is deep enough, He may let you be taken for a bit by malefactors, not that they may destroy you, but that their power might be broken in the effort.

God has a plan to carry us to safety. Jesus Christ is, Himself, the safe harbor to which we are aimed. His Holy Church is the vessel which will carry us safely to Him through the violent ragings of the Storm. Our Lady, Holy Mary, is our Stella Maris – the Star of the Sea –  the sure navigational guide which will ever keep the ship of His Church pointed steadily towards the Harbor which is her Holy Son. Stay safely berthed in the Church with your eyes on Our Lady who will ever point you to her Son. Do not be distracted by the violence of the winds or the waves. The Lord is Master of the Storm.

Even in the midst of stormy tribulations, joy will rise. People will know that God has not abandoned them. They will know that life DOES have meaning – and that the Lord calls them to participate with Him by caring tenderly for their neighbors. People will watch as, even in the midst of the Storm, God knits together a people resolved to build each other up rather than tear each other down…and see a culture which was in tatters become strong, noble and true again. I saw the Storm truly from my earliest days. I saw the Rescue just as truly…and I have seen the sublime joy that rises even in the midst of the Storm. How I wish I could convey it to you now! But I guess it is better that God lets you see it later, when you need it, so you will know I have told you true. It will fill you with a joyful resolve to press on and endure for those you love. There is rejoicing in your future if you hold fast to God and just do the little things right in front of you.

Be not afraid. God calls all men to salvation.

200 thoughts on “Be Not Afraid”

  1. Perfect timing on this redux, Charlie. This was a great piece when you first published it and it has gained even deeper meaning as we continue to live it. May those in the Great Cloud of Witnesses who traversed Storms in the own era be ever closer to us, interceding for all we need to be faithful and true to Our Lord and Our Lady.

    Yes, a great many things are bigger than any one of us can impact directly and some of these things are so grotesquely wrong they readily evoke a gasp or a quickened beating of the heart as one appeals, “Kyrie eleison.” The only way out of the strong feelings, which accompany an event or revelation, is through them… choosing to dwell on trust and hope as we each do what the Spirit prompts us to do… all the while aware that God IS our Safe Refuge and Our Mother IS ever with us as She wraps us in Her Mantle. I just cannot fathom navigating the wild waters without Them, our Shelter in the Storm, our Sanctuary Sure.

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    1. and it has gained even deeper meaning as we continue to live it….. Amen Amen Beckita. .sometimes I think about the horrors of this age or the horrors of the consequences of my OWN failings, I have to hold on lest I faint…thank God for Charlie and his directions in these times…whew…People are so sad out there…Noone smiles anymore…so heartbreaking. …I’m so glad God is rescuing all His people🤗

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  2. Wow, such a simple yet powerful generalization about modern society: ” For the first time in 1,600 years, our foundational cultural assumptions are fundamentally pagan rather than Christian ”

    I much appreciated your message, as I had just this morning been wondering if I personally was doing enough as I thought about rampant evil, such as in reckless behavior producing millions of abortions to life that is owned by God, not by the pseudo-smart humanist progressives populating the Dim Party and their mass media allies. Reluctantly, I considered that I was too small to do anything except take care of my own family and be kind to friends and strangers. So, it was reassuring to read what you wrote about each of us doing our own part, however small it might seem against the backdrop of a deteriorating society. Thanks Charlie, your message carries great importance for us all.

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    1. Jack hiller I always worry about that too…lol…but just think if a mighty army of us little wee people form together our prayers to heaven…I do think that is happening 🤗 For the people of the Kingdom and the people of heaven shall rise together shall rise forever and God shall rule 😃

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      1. Couldnt agree more Linda, i sometimes try to imagine how many Rosaries are being offered up in the world today, The satan always says not many which means a lot really. We will get there . Christus Vinci

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        1. Aacotin Does that mean Christs victory??? I could look it up, but trying to remember homeschooling Latin with my boys…lol..having fun…I didn’t know the satan says not many…all be…but I can tell by Facebook we are many many in number…I could friend devout catholics all day, but of course I dont, cuz I’d never get a thing done…lol

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      1. Finley’s is a great restaurant, Linda; for several years before my mom got really sick, she and my dad used to go to dinner there every Friday night. 🙂

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          1. Ha, Linda! Jackson may be a small town, but we have a few great restaurants; and we have the coolest ice cream parlour that has the best ice cream that I’ve ever tasted anywhere.

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            2. Mick..are there any hotels right around there if mike is too tired to drive home that night??? He’s supposedly molding next day…ugh…foundry work…trying to talk him into taking day off😬

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              1. Yes, Linda; there are several hotels right near where I-94 meets US 127 (which is maybe 5-7 minutes, give or take, from the restaurant). Several of them are nice, and some are nicer than others. Do not, I beg you, stay at either the Super 8 or the Travelodge; and avoid the America’s Best Value Inn like the plague.

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                1. Thanks Mick..yeah the last 3 sound troublesome…lol..we always look for hamptons..never had a bad one yet…love ya Mick…talk to u sunday🤗😇😘

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                  1. You’re in luck, Linda, because we do have a Hampton in Jackson. Hope you’re able to convince Mike to take Monday off. 🙂

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                    1. I could live in a Hampton…lol..oh my gosh..so clean & beds so soft..always meet the nicest people… funny story..we stopped at a hampton on way home from vacay last feb…I think it was somewhere in Georgia. .Michael will remember. ..I’ll ask him tonight..well anyhow, these two beautiful ladies (mom types) were working breakfast nook…they sang the whole time…so lovely…gospel type music…then she saw how much Michael eats and she said, Honey, you remind me of my son the way you like to eat…if I were to have you over to my house for a meal, I’d just make “plenty!” Michael got the biggest laugh out of that…yes…plenty will work… you’ll see what I mean Sunday!!!😆

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          1. Thank you, Linda. My mom actually passed away 10 years ago; but you’re right: it is super hard to watch. Speaking of: How are you and Mike doing since the passing of his mother?

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            1. God rest her soul, Mick…better…was rough at first as these things are…April 10…we keep getting lots of signs from her but the hardest part now is going through her home (eeeh ghads…she saved everything and she was 93…lol) so we hope she did at least 5 minuit in purgatory for doing that to us and never letting us do anything for past 56 years….!!! Hahaha…that was a joke…she was a living Saint…we miss her but strangely feel her intercessions😇

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              1. Thank you, Linda. I’m glad that the pain of Mary’s passing is easing somewhat. I’m giggling at your joke about her doing 5 minutes in purgatory because of the cleaning/sorting that you’re doing! Like Mary, my mom was a living saint; but she had a thing about pigs. (She collected all things pig: pictures, stuffed animals, figurines, pot holders… she grew up on a farm, so there you go. She even had a “Harley Biker Pig” complete with bandana and faux-leather jacket.). My dad didn’t go through my mother’s things until 4 years after she passed; amongst the items that we “inherited” were two stuffed pigs. 🙂

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                1. Mick..that was SOOOOO funny about your mom…lol…I envisioned “when pigs fly🐷🐖🐽…!!!” I think that generation that had gone through depression era just wanted to not waste a thing…😆

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                  1. Yep, Linda… my grandfather used to say that when they butchered the hogs, they “ate everything but the squeal.”

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  4. not to pick the fly feces out of the pepper but “It seems particularly appropriate as the them of my talks this year is, “Navigating the Storm: Stella Maris!” With light editing, here is that piece:”

    the phrase should be “It seems particularly appropriate as the themE of my talks”

    I really like your writings and the occasional mis-spelling or other grammatical errors is due I think to the speed at which you produce them.

    On a separate note I ran across this video on YouTube featuring Lila Rose of LiveAction. I thought it was remarkable how she was able to intertwine her Catholic faith, chastity, love, marriage and abortion in a non-judgmental way. If we had more people thinking like her the pre-born death culture could be a thing of the past.

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    1. The occasional typos are also due to my own oversight, El ingeniero. As managing editor here, one of the tasks for which I’m responsible is to read Charlie’s posts before hitting the “publish” button and oops! Thanks for the heads up. Edit completed. 🙂

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      1. Very diplomatic, reserved and humble reply Beckita (regarding the typos).

        I read at least 50 articles, in full, every day and portions of at least 50 more. These are on a variety of political and Catholic websites. In 100 articles, there are no less than 5 typos (or some sort of gross error of grammar, sentence structure, etc.) in 99 of the articles. There is often a terrible mistake in the title!!!

        I rarely see any kind of error in Charlie’s posts . . . AND THESE ARE USUALLY QUITE LENGTHY compared to the 100 mentioned above. Both of you do exceptionally well.

        As for myself, I am always filled with wonder by Charlie’s words. I am grateful for the edification and could not possibly find any purpose in criticism, constructive or otherwise.

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        2. Thanks for your kindness, Patrick. No worries on owning my oversight and simply correcting the oversight. Wouldn’t it be easy if all our errors, missteps and mistakes were so easy to correct?! 😉

          I, too, appreciate the impact of Charlie’s writing in all its dimensions, from heartening, to instructing, to spiritually nurturing, to drawing focus toward what’s essential, to sharing insights. We are blessed!

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    3. EL INGENIERO DE TEPEYAC one of our cool things here is if we accidentally misspell a word, it is assumed that by our error, anot her dear soul has been released from purgatory🤗😄😅😇😆 isn’t that WONDERPUL😂

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            1. Ha! My friend from college who led me to Christ still spells my name that way to this day. Back then, there was no such thing as a spell checker too. That was about 30 years ago.

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            2. Doug I just clicked on ur pic…you have a wored of info in there…I think Charlie visits you pretty soon??? I could be a Charlie groupie…hahaha…but duty calls…tnrs where I am with Michael and those we encounter…I hope you put some videos up again this year😎

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  5. Remarkable piece, Charlie! I have sent this to about 10 other people who I believe will benefit and pass on to others. “Be not Afraid” Well, I would be lying if I said I was not afraid. Do I have faith? That is a statement we all wish we could answer with certainty, however, we just won’t know until it happens. I believe there will be many who feel great confidence and will not falter, however, looking back on my track record, I just am not so sure. I am the guy who runs into the wall gets back up and runs into it again. A real ‘slap’ stitck piece. Two left feet. And my husband says I am the most literal person he has ever met. I think the worry I have is my pride Not too good at listening to our Lord’s directions. Now, none of this is to conjure sympathy or encouragement, but just to tell you, it will be tuff for many, and I keep telling myself, the BVM will be right beside us. Just don’t want to let our Lord down. Thank you for your words, they fill a deep whole at times. Be safe on your journey.

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    1. I’m really trying hard, harder and hardest Robill to listen to the inklings (is inklings even a word🤔) of the Holy Spirit….especially during this Pentecost Novena….HAPPY PENTECOST EVERYONE….Come oh creator Spirit blest, and in our hearts take up thy rest🤗See ya tonight, Charlie😄

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        1. Awww Thank you Timothy…you made me smile and feel good inside. God bless you always and sooooo much🤗😇😘 TNRS ASOH How I love our little group

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  6. Goodness, Charlie… just a GREAT GREAT GREAT re-edited piece and sooooo timely!!! I think I’ll need to print this one out too!!! hahaha Will also read many times over ….

    I just wanted to share a little something that I learned from Fr. Uri last Tuesday, June 4th, 2019. On the end of my VERY LONG list of sins (that I know of) for a month, was the sin of fear and anxiety. I’ve been absolutely plagued by them as of late, and I THOUGHT that these sins MUST be a lack of trust in God.

    However; Father Uri enlightened my mind, thus consoled me by reading to me the breviary readings of that day: Perfect love casts out all fear.

    I just thought that was profound!!! I am striving for perfect love now and I know I’m very very very far away from it but am going to give it a great big ole whirl!

    Just hoping this little bit from Fr. Uri might help someone else here too and that is my reason for sharing it… Perfect love cast out all fear!!!! wow.

    Charlie…I still can’t believe…God willing…we will see you in 3 days! Ha! Who would’ve thunk! God speed to you on your journey, Charlie… praying for you all the time!

    God bless all here at TNRS ASOH

    Here’s to squirrels… big and small

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    2. Fear and anxiety do not have to be our sins though, Linda. They can just be spirits of fear and anxiety that are tempting us to let them take hold. I have learned through Unbound prayer ministry to renounce them in the name of Jesus as soon as I recognize them. Sometimes I recognize them sooner, sometimes later than I’d like. I’ve also been able to recognize other temptations as things that are knocking but I’m not letting in, whereas in the past I likely thought it all came from me and WAS my sin. Perhaps this might help. In Christ’s peace.

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      3. Missy filliion first off..spell check keeps trying to changet ur name to missy filling…what nerve…lol..ugh…but thank you that was great great advice…I will start doing that though.. renounce them as soon as they reappear for surely they will…the spiritual battle around us is insane…it’s so hard…I should do more of the binding prayers from fr ripperger. .I guess sometimes it takes root and then is hard to even remember with stresses of everyay life..so thank you…I’ll do that if/when it returns which I’m sure it will..confession really helped a lot ..I should go more but I hate to bother our dear priests all the time..they work so tirerously for us…oh may they all be soooooo high in heaven on merit…

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        1. Thanks, Linda. Administering the sacraments is a priest’s most important work. Don’t look at it as bothering them. Imagine how much grace they get from being in persona Christi!! That’s the whole reason they became a priest – to bring Christ to us. If any priest makes you feel like confession is an imposition, please see when nearby churches offer it. I do find it frustrating that confession is pushed aside in parishes for other things. Nothing should be scheduled during that time as far as I am concerned. Ours gets cancelled often. Fortunately we are able to go to others close by when needed. I think healthy parishes are ones that have it often. Prayers for you from Ireland (where my anxiety got the better of me today over this weather! ☺)

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          2. Dearest Missy Fillian thank ypu for all your good advie…I’m sorry about your weather today. I was scared last week too..ohio tornadoes and lighting. .we are 1 hr away from Charlie en route to jackson mi..will pray for u. Monsignor said only 10% of Ohio crops are in due to bad weather this am at Mass. Happy Pentecost 🤗😇😘

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            1. Oh, Linda, I forgot how terrible the weather has been in the midwest. So sorry for you all. Mine was just wondering if we would get wet at an event. Not serious at all, but I obsess about the Irish weather after so many years of GA. and SC sunshine. No rhyme or reason with anxiety sometimes. Many prayers.

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  7. I wonder if Charlie ever imagined, in all those years anticipating a dreadful Storm, that many of the faithful would actually welcome the Storm when it arrived as an act of divine mercy?

    I know a woman who likens the culture of our time to the final days of a pregnancy. As in the last days of pregnancy, everyone knows the time for a new birth is near, and a tense anticipation hangs in the air until the actual moment arrives. When the time of birth finally comes, hard though the labor pains will be, that day is bravely, resolutely welcomed. It’s actually a kind of relief.

    Similarly, prayerful souls of many denominations can intuitively sense that this anti-God culture cannot last—that God wants his world back—and that the divine reclamation will be dreadfully tumultuous. Still, we welcome the tumultuous new beginning as a merciful release from the oppressive spirit of the times. I know I do. 🙂

    This video of a recent Kansas tornado struck me as a perfect metaphor for the Storm. Start watching at about 1:30. How quickly the storm changes from an event on the horizon to immediate darkness and chaos. How quickly any of our lives can be upended in these unpredictable days.

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    1. I will candidly admit, Victura, that I spent most of my life dreading the Storm. Every time I was visited I would pray for it to pass over us. In the early fall of 1997 I was told that we were so far gone the only way we could be reclaimed was through the Storm. I still prayed for it to pass over, until July of 2000. During a visitation with my angel, I started to pray for it to pass over. It was one of the rare moments when he was (or seemed angry at me). He became intimidatingly bright and revealed his ceremonial wings. That was when he told me quite tersely, “You must tell them true and they must choose or perish.” It intimidated me badly – and I didn’t even know what it meant exactly. But I never asked for the Storm to pass over again. Even so, up until six or seven years ago, even I did not think I would actually welcome the Storm as a corrective. Now I say thank God for the Storm – and He will have His people back.

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        2. Thank you for posting this amazing speech by Jim Caviezel. I have forwarded it to all my children. He truly has been blessed with his acting talent and is using it for good.

          Liked by 1 person

  8. I remember this piece as being the one where I finally stopped trying to peer around the corner to see what’s coming next.

    Well done and thanks again, Charlie. It was great seeing you in Wadena. Be assured of my (our) continued prayers.

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      1. It was a pleasure to be there but being there is about all I did. If the cast was rolled like movie credits I would be at the end as ‘Man leaning on barn’.

        Public hat tip to Gary & Pam who did the heavy lifting.

        Liked by 4 people

      2. Will there be a forthcoming video of any of your talks? (sorry, I missed your midwest stops, after a couple back surgeries, unable to sit for both a car drive and a presentation.)

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Love the repetition and ongoing refinement, Charlie. THIS is what’s soothing to me. The repetition… like the steady crunching of boots on the ground. The refinement… familiar ground, but the eyes, ears… the soul delights with awe and wonder –– everything, always fresh and new! In truth, I haven’t considered other marching orders since you suggested, “be heralds of the King.”

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      1. Sorry, DP, I don’t speak Russian. Don’t speak Cow either, but speak a bit of Horse. Here’s a little something for you and Lambzie (and all who wonder at God’s handiwork) as you make your way. I haven’t seen this pair since last winter, but ran into them yesterday. When I have a day out like this, I’m usually left speechless.

        Liked by 4 people

        3. Well, it looks like Beck’s figured out the Russian. It is good to get a re-post now and then to reinforce understanding.

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  10. Pingback: Be Not Afraid | This is my backyard

  11. Thank you Charlie. Your writing is so comforting and peace-filled for me. While I am now in the midst of only a month-old battle with cancer, I take much comfort in your words. My trust is in God and in doing what I can to be a Sign of Hope in this poor, sad, confused world. I am once again reminded of how blessed I am to have found this site all those years ago. Continue to hearten the troops Charlie….you do it so well. God Bless You and all here. My love to you all.

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    3. You make up for what is lacking in the cross of Christ, Diane. There is no greater way to salvation than by the same way of the cross of our Saviour. May our Holy Mother give you strength of body and of will as you enter upon the 14 stations with Him.

      Liked by 6 people

  12. So sorry to hear about your cancer Diane. I will pray for you and your family who I am sure are worried for you.
    The not knowing is the hardest thing …I can’t quite let go and let God. Indecision makes me crazy.

    I remember this story when it was first posted, but somehow reading it on the 75th anniversary of D-Day it really touched home. This evening my roommate talked about her father and uncle who were both on that flotilla and landed in Normandy. They came home with purple hearts and silver stars. My uncle was a bomber pilot and was flying home from England on leave and watched the flotilla from the air, my other uncle was a paratrooper, but wasn’t active until a few months after D-day,

    The part about the General not telling the troops everything made more sense this time. I think if the GI’s really knew what was in store for them they would have bolted. But they didn’t, not only that they were so brave and courageous against the evil of Hitler and his band of demons (I dont blame the german people or the soldiers, heaven knows they were duped for the most part by a clever despot)
    our generation has to “man up” in the face of evil – maybe even a greater evil. I hope we’re up to the task.

    Liked by 9 people

  13. Hi, everyone. Just touching base. I’ve been in major manual-labor mode for more than a week, with a few other things limiting my computer time.

    Charlie, it’s pleasant to think of you being on the road again, visiting with groups of us ~ including new people ~ around the country. Safe and happy trails.

    Also, I’m aware of various personal storms affecting people in my circles. These storms may or may not be self-induced. I appreciate your reprised article here because, for one thing, it reminds me that God can do big things when I can only do little things.

    Blessings, friends ~
    Sister Bear

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    2. Sister Bear;
      Charlie mentioned you by name in Wadena. He was talking about how people very often look nothing like he imagines before seeing them in person. He said ‘Sister Bear’ is something of a misnomer (my word) because of your petite build and how much physical work you do – chopping wood etc. I was privately shaming myself wondering ‘What’s my excuse?’. [embarrassed emoji]

      I’ve always loved your posts here but I must say I have a new kind of respect for you and your clan.

      Kind Regards & God Bless

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Thank you, ChristopherJ. I’m happy that you-all had such a good turn-out in Wadena.

        As for manual labor ~ I find it refreshing for the mind and waaaay cheaper than a health club. One can pray, wrestle with ideas or problems, or simply have a rather blank mind focusing on the current windrow of pine needles. I call it the Pine Needle Fitness Club. Then there’s the Fuels Reduction Hand Piling Fitness Club, which is a whole nother project and the source of most of my winter stove wood supply, with plenty for others who live around here.

        God bless and keep you.

        Liked by 3 people

          1. Thank you for asking, Beckita. Happily, my right wrist (the main fracture) held up fine with all of this spring’s manual labor. I have just a little stiffness in my right hand, which affects my handwriting a bit but not my typing. 😉 I was even able to handle the school monkey bars recently, which means right hand strength is returning. I haven’t tried the overhead axe swing yet. Gratitude, gratitude for God’s gift of healing, often with well-trained medical people acting as His instruments.

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  14. Just a friendly reminder, that June would be a good time to enthrone one’s home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
    https://catholicherald.co.uk/magazine/how-to-enthrone-the-sacred-heart-in-your-home/
    An excerpt:

    On May 31, 1985, one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in North American history swept through parts of Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Ontario, Canada. Eighty-nine people died, and more than 1,000 were injured; the damage was estimated at over $600 million. “A bombed-out battlefield” was how one local weather service described the borough of Wheatland, PA
    An hour north of Wheatland, the tiny community of Albion was among the hardest hit, with 12 residents killed, 80 injured and a corridor of devastation two blocks wide.

    St Lawrence’s Catholic Church was ripped in half, and the parish priest, Fr Robert Reilly, escaped being sucked out of the rectory window only by bracing himself against the window frame. The rectory was totally destroyed.
    Against all odds, a number of homes directly in the path cut by the tornado remained standing, untouched amid the debris. There was something unusual about these homes, and it wasn’t storm-proof windows or heavy-duty framing. What set these houses apart was that in each one the family had formally enthroned the Sacred Heart and consecrated their homes and family members to Him.

    The Albion incident was investigated by Mgr John T Carter for Soul magazine. He telephoned Fr Reilly. “Yes, Ted, it’s true,”
    Fr Reilly confirmed, adding, perhaps a little ruefully: “I guess I should have had the rectory enthroned too!”

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  15. This re-post could not have come at a better time for me. We’re going through a bit of a storm of our own (one of those storm cells that breaks off) that have left me really tired and weak. All I need is God. All these other things are of no consequence. Your column reminded me to just do the little right before me. I will. God bless.

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    1. A PMT for you this morning, Michaela. Sending St. Michael the Archangel to remain with you, tending to whatever the Lord deems is needed. (Perhaps it’s a good time to remind us all of the promised efficacy of praying a PMT – Prayer of Miraculous Trust. It’s always available in the MENU section of the site.)

      Liked by 2 people

  16. Dear friends, prayers needed for a woman, her daughter, her unborn baby boy and the “daddy” of the boy. All are in a homeless shelter, working on changing their lives. By the grace of God and the help of the Holy spirit, I will be “mentoring” them back into the Catholic Church, Sacramental Marriage and Baptism for the new baby and 3yo toddler. Help me to find the “right” and willing Priest for this great endeavor. God have mercy.

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    1. Praying a PMT for all of you, San San. Sending the Holy Family to nurture and support each and every one of you as you walk alongside these folks as they put their lives together.

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    5. Thank you all for prayers, keep them coming!! I knew satan would not want to let go of this tortured soul and her family–and I warned her of such before I last saw her. I continue daily to stay in contact via text, but she is not responding. Today, Pentecost, I pray that the Holy Spirit fills her with the longing to continue to the journey that He set out for her. Come Holy Spirit Come!

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      2. SanSan, like you, I have been working with someone who has been having a lot of trouble. Also as in your situation, he has recently stopped texting with me. I’ve concluded that there has to be a desire on his part to reach out to me for help. I continue to pray for him but will not do anything unless and until he reaches out. I think there has to be some desire there, or I am spending my energy uselessly. Unfortunate, but prayer is always possible. 🙂

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        3. SteveBC, you and SanSan are in a tough place. It’s always so hard to wait! I will say a prayer to St. Augustine that this person will have the desire to reach out.

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      3. SanSan, a dear friend and mentor made a suggestion to me one time when I was worried about someone that needed help. She said to ask my guardian angel to ask the other person’s guardian angel to pray for her to open her heart. Since I started doing this with many others, I don’t always know the results, but I trust that our holy angels know what to do. Some of those prayers have been answered not always right away, but in God’s time.

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  17. In your post, Charlie, you mention that we have brought this Storm upon ourselves which I take to mean society as a whole – those who actually enacted the evil and those who stood by and did nothing while it happened. Just like with the flood, there were likely innocents, corrupted by the society in which they were living, who were swept away with guilty. My concern is that the task of awakening those who were born to this corrupt society is becoming nearly impossible. They have no frame of reference to what a just, God-fearing society looks like.
    The youth I teach perk up and listen closely when I talk about other youth like them who had great experiences of God or when I share about my own experiences (which I try to cloak following St. Theresa of Avila’s example.)
    I’m wondering if it wouldn’t be better to prepare these less-culpable for the collapse itself by sharing enough for them to know to whom they can turn when the violence peaks..Since we know it’s coming, we feel it, should our focus be to become as holy as we can personally? This is my instinct right now. If God raises us above the flood, we can attract others who are trying to make it to the shore. How much of our extraordinary experiences of God should we share?

    I’m asking because my “boss priests” have often requested that I stick strictly to catechesis while my director encourages me to let my light shine bright. Two different instances of obedience that leave me confused and, more often than not, silent about the extraordinary graces. I want to be obedient but am left wondering at this tepidity of spirit that I have noticed in our priests and Bishops. Why are they afraid? I have a guess but want to hear from you/others here who have experienced this, too.

    As we approach Pentecost, I am praying for a clean heart, open to the Holy Spirit to purify the light He has given and not only for myself but for you, Beckita, Steve and all here. .

    Liked by 8 people

    1. United with you in prayer to the Holy Spirit for each of us, Marisa, and thank you so much for your prayers. Your pondering, via the questions you present, is important and I am certain Holy Spirit will bring you – and all who earnestly engage in contemplation concerning the best ways to do what Christ is asking each one to do – discernment while directing us as an answer to such prayers. I think, too, there is not one pat answer to your question about how much to share concerning your personal experiences. Discernment is the key. What matters to God is the intent in our hearts when we share. When we do so to praise God and build up others, He knows. He knows. So, in each situation, a quiet instantaneous checkin with Holy Spirit will guide our decisions of when, how and how much to share in order to encourage and enlighten others, inspiring and igniting their faith.

      While we have lifelong job security in the work that is before us in rebuilding the Church and culture, we could never do it without God’s Grace. To that end, I see that personal holiness is the bedrock of TNRS and actually embedded in the first part of the core message: “Acknowledge God.” But to stop there would leave our mission incomplete. We receive the Eucharist and are commissioned to BECOME the Body of Christ to others. And how holy we become when *acting* in tandem with prayer. God is already moving among His people, both in the area of equipping us, via many an apostolate, to evangelize well and in the realm of inspiring us, via the lay evangelists who are sounding the call to gird our loins and go out to all the world (that is our little corner of the world where we have influence). I think our very ordinary witness – in both words and deeds – is already preparing us all for the more intense collapse, even as we experience this l-o-n-g, g-r-i-n-d-i-n-g c-r-u-m-b-l-i-n-g all around us.

      Finally, I think often of Charlie’s reference to the times when all will have a visitation from the Lord. What will it exactly look like for each one? God knows. For those who respond to His Grace in that visitation, I think, they will have a clear idea of Who it is, rather than what it is, they have been hungering for. And that will be an awakening supreme. I envision you, Marisa, teaching with joyful abandon in those days. 🙂

      Liked by 8 people

      1. God bless you, Becks, for this thoughtful response. Very often, nearly everyday, I feel like people just don’t “get me” and then sometimes I translate that into a paralysis of analysis instead of trust. Your response, especially at the end, reminds me that when I let the Holy Spirit just lead, without stopping to worry about the consequences, a teenager will approach and confide his/her personal struggles or ask what to do to go deeper. I need to get this step RIGHT because, when fear of others gets added to the equation, I will probably be tempted to wthdraw completely. I will submit all to meditation until the day the Lord may grant me the longed-for gift of pure contemplation. May His holy will be done.

        All here are included in my Pentecost novena, those who comment and those who don’t. I’m praying we receive answers to our deepest questions because, more than anyone else, the Holy Spirit “gets us.”

        Liked by 9 people

        1. Oh Maris, I can only imagine how blessed are the children/youth who have been under your care… as are we with your comments and prayers. May we all continue to pray in union of heart and mind for one another and our families, calling down the Holy Spirit anew!

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    3. MARISA SIGUE STELLA MARIS I so get what you wrote…. I’m finding as of late to just accept this “alone” time for working on myself to become more of what God is asking of me to become and praying, praying, praying for all family, friends and those I encounter. It seems a time of waiting…like in the upper room…Ha🤗 how appra po on this Pentecost Sunday

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  18. Beckita, what does Father Wang think of consecrating China to the Blessed Mother? I watched a show in which Steven Mosher said that, in his opinion and considering the increase in persecution in China, a consecration of China, like that of the Fatima request, was the only solution. A supernatural solution is the only one.
    The world, including the Church, is being duped by the satan. The spiritual battle increases and the victims are many. We have prayed the Rosary coast to coast for the US, consecrated cities, states and countries to the Immaculate Heart, etc. Is it possible to consecrate China to the Immaculate Heart (and to the Sacred Heart, as well)? Can the US (indeed, the world) join together as her children to strike the head of the serpent?
    This is a battle worth fighting. Our Chinese brothers and sisters are in desperate need. Our religious freedom should be the weapon of intercession to gain them their freedom.

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Oh Joyful, like every good priest, Fr. Wang is in favor of every person, family, parish, every locale and country as well as the whole Church and world being consecrated to Jesus through Mary. You might be interested in this history of a Marian devotion based on an apparition which occurred (no official judgement from the Church) in Dong Lu during the Boxer Revolution. This particular image has been named Our Lady of China or Our Lady Queen of China.

      However, our own National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception which has side altars dedicated to various images of Our Lady and includes a mosaic of Our Lady of China at Dong Lu which was fashioned like this:

      Marian devotion has been part of evangelizing for the Catholic Church in China from its beginnings. Shanghai long-served served as the missionaries’ port of entry into China throughout the years. Shanghai has the most dense population of Catholics in the country. During the Taiping Rebellion, the Superior of the Jesuit community in Shanghai promised to build Our Lady a basilica if she would offer protection. A magnificent cathedral was built and enshrined in it was an image of Our Lady of Dong Lu which was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. In 2000, a new statue, Our Lady of Sheshan, was created and done so in a way that the shape looked like the Chinese character for “good fortune.” Our Lady continues to be venerated to this day via this statue.

      When we made our last evangelization pilgrimage to China, I carried 5,000 holy cards with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on which I had printed, on the back, the words of Our Lady to Juan Diego: Am I not here, I who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am 1 not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need something more? Let nothing else worry you or disturb you. Everywhere I spoke of Our Lady, while also sharing Her Love Song left on the Tilma, the Chinese people were visibly overjoyed to receive a simple, wee holy card to take home and enshrine. At the diocesan retreat for priests where Fr. Wang taught his brother priests and Bishop, we were given the prompting from the Lord to request the consecration of the priests and the whole diocese, over which the Bishop had jurisdiction, to the Blessed Mother. When this request was presented to the Bishop, he asked for a particular prayer to accomplish this and after we found one in English Father translated it to Chinese. The entire body of gathered clergy, with the Bishop leading, consecrated themselves and their diocese to Our Lady. The priests did this on a parish level in succeeding weeks.

      Sharing all of this to say even while a Church-wide consecration to Our Lady would be powerful, I have no doubt that Our Lady’s intercession is constantly being invoked in China even as the hard line communists are used as tools of the evil one who is at work in frenzied ways in that country. One of the catechetical booklets which Fr. Wang authored is entitled, Ave Maria, and this volume has had wide distribution. There is a prayer which was composed by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and is prayed, especially on the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China. While not an official consecration, it is a prayer that all Chinese Catholics were raising to our Mother last month… and beyond. It’s a beauty in which Pope Benedict mentions the image of Our Lady of Sheshan:
      Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother,
      venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title “Help of Christians”,
      the entire Church in China looks to you with devout affection.
      We come before you today to implore your protection.
      Look upon the People of God and, with a mother’s care, guide them
      along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be
      a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens.

      When you obediently said “yes” in the house of Nazareth,
      you allowed God’s eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb
      and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption.
      You willingly and generously cooperated in that work,
      allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul,
      until the supreme hour of the Cross, when you kept watch on Calvary,
      standing beside your Son, who died that we might live.

      From that moment, you became, in a new way,
      the Mother of all those who receive your Son Jesus in faith
      and choose to follow in his footsteps by taking up his Cross.
      Mother of hope, in the darkness of Holy Saturday you journeyed
      with unfailing trust towards the dawn of Easter.
      Grant that your children may discern at all times,
      even those that are darkest, the signs of God’s loving presence.

      Our Lady of Sheshan, sustain all those in China,
      who, amid their daily trials, continue to believe, to hope, to love.
      May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world,
      and of the world to Jesus.
      In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high,
      offering him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love.
      Help Catholics always to be credible witnesses to this love,
      ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built.
      Mother of China and all Asia, pray for us, now and for ever. Amen!

      Liked by 11 people

      2. I figured it out Beck’s. Fr. Wang is pronounced Wong because he learned Spanish before English. In Spanish, the pronunciation would sound like Wong, but spelled like Wang. I bet if he learned English first, he would have translated it to Wong. I am always tempted to pronounce it Wang. Please give my well wishes to the dear Padre with a “¡Dios te bendiga!”

        Liked by 3 people

        1. That’s a great theory, Doug. Actually, “Wang” is pronounced “Wong” in Mandarin. (Translates to “king” and don’t you forget it. 😇) In southern China where the Cantonese language is dominant, it’s spelled “Wong” and pronounced “Wong.” Most common name in all the world.

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          1. Beckita, it’s nice to know the proper pronunciation of “Wang”. I only have to remember from now on so I will pronounce it wight. LOL

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      3. That is FASCINATING Beckita…wow..printing it out🤗 I hope someone is putting a book together with all of these pieces and comments…so cool

        Liked by 2 people

  19. I have never read St Augustine’s “On Pagans and the City of God”. I am generally aware that St. Augustine describes two worlds … The City of Man and the City of God. The City of Man is what we know as the culture around us. It is a worldly place. The City of God exists on the spiritual plane.

    Mankind exists, and each of us spend out our days, in both the City of Man and the City of God.

    So what is this “massive tome” all about and how does it relate to modern Christian Life today?

    “A classic treatment of the relationship between Christians and the world is Augustine’s massive tome, The City of God, written against the backdrop of the fall of the Roman Empire at the hand of the barbarians. Augustine distinguished between the eternal City of God and the temporal City of Man—two rival cities shaped by opposing loves and working toward different ends. Nevertheless, the dual divine command to love God and to love neighbor requires that we work for the common good of the City of Man, even as we are citizens of the City of God who proclaim the gospel to our neighbors that they might become our brothers.”

    Hmmmmm.

    The eternal vs the temporal. And we are all in it.

    Did St Augustine have us in mind when he wrote this?

    So, there was a Forum in Rome just a couple of weeks ago:

    Rome Life Forum

    City of Man vs City of God
    Global One World Order vs Christendom

    https://www.catholicfamilynews.org/blog/2019/5/14/2019-rome-life-forum-to-explore-city-of-man-vs-city-of-god-interview-with-forum-speaker

    “Since the primordial rebellion of Lucifer and subsequent fall of Adam and Eve, the creatures endowed by Almighty God with intelligence and free will (angels and men) have been divided into two opposing camps: those who choose to love and serve God and those who do not. This reality has dominated the whole of human history, with tension and conflict between “the children of God…and the children of the devil” (1 John 3:10) taking countless forms. Each successive generation, each individual soul, must grapple with this intense state of affairs and choose sides, as Sister Lucia of Fatima once stated: “Either we are for God or we are for the devil. There is no other possibility.”

    The theme of this year’s Forum, “City of Man vs. City of God: Global One World Order vs. Christendom,” is based on St. Augustine of Hippo’s famous work, The City of God, in which the renowned Bishop and Doctor of the Church treats at length of the “two cities” which “have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self” (City of God, Book XIV, Ch. 28).

    St. Augustine’s response to the sack of Rome in 410 was to emphasize the profound difference between the hope of the Church and the love which animates those merely human societies which are under the dominion of the evil one. There can be no compromise between the ‘Two Cities’ identified by St Augustine: the one created by the love of self, reaching even to contempt of God; the other by the love of God, reaching to contempt of self. We can never build a common civilization with those whose hope is in this world because the city for which we strive is above.

    On the City of God Against the Pagans is intended to demonstrate that the true homeland of the protagonists of human history is beyond this world and that the lives of individuals and societies cannot be understood from within temporal history but only as a struggle between two cities whose rulers, destiny, and principle citizens are invisible to us.

    The work is made up of twenty-two books. The first ten are a refutation of paganism. Books 1-5 show that the pagan gods (in fact, demons in rebellion against their Creator and determined to ruin mankind) cannot bring temporal happiness and 6-10 that they cannot bring eternal happiness. The last twelve books explain the origin (11-14), progress (15-18), and destiny (19-22) of the City of God and its enemy, the City of the World. After the Bible, The City of God formed the central text for medieval man in his understanding of history and society. It was a sort of ‘Charter of Christendom’.”

    I am no expert on St Augustine. But it seems these ideas mesh into the theme of: It Is A Time To Choose.

    Does anybody know the who, what, why of this Rome Life Forum and what transpired on May 16 and 17 in Rome?

    Liked by 5 people

  20. Beckita, Thank you for this response. I am so disheartened about the suppression of not only Christians but other religions as well. From what Steven Mosher said, I expect that history could repeat itself (Mao in the sixties, I remember).
    I have printed off this response and will make China one of my constant pleas to Our Lady.
    I feel that, in the future, there will be a need for a concerted prayer campaign. I am going to get a head start. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Amen, Joyful. Your wonderful head start will be in solidarity with the Chinese people, all who have ministered to them over so many years and the many on distant shores whose hearts have been moved as has yours. When we returned from China after the 2015 trip, I read about a Christian prayer center which was started in 2009 in the northeast province of Harbin and is open 24/7 for intercessory prayer that all of China be converted… AND they pray for the world. Here’s one account of the movement. Some time ago, I read about the expansion of the prayer rooms all over China. The.communists.are.scared. Think of the image on Charlie’s piece, Cornered Animals Bite. That’d be the hard line communists, for they know the fire of desire for conversion has been ignited all over the land of China and is now an inferno.

      Liked by 5 people

      1. Reminds me of the Polish Pentecost when Pope St. John Paul II came to visit: “We want God” –this after he called down the Holy Spirit. Later the Berlin wall came down.
        I pray it happens in China. May the Holy Spirit descend upon them and make them “witnesses before the world to the Gospel Of Our Lord Jesus Christ.” (from the vigil Mass for Pentecost).

        Liked by 8 people

    1. My friend Char and I were conversing after Mass a few weeks ago, and she was lamenting how grieved Our Lady of Lasalette in the 18th century just for folks not honoring Sunday, the Lord’s day and how offended God was. She could barely hold back His hand. Now think of today😲😲😲 Whoa…this is serious stuff

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      1. Hey, I met Linda this afternoon in Jackson. She is a sweet, bubbly gal, who looks about 20 years younger than I imagined. Her and her husband came up from Ohio.

        I will have a post up tomorrow afternoon. I have the whole day free of events – so I am going to catch up on all the stuff I have gotten behind on. Some great news coming on the pro-life front.

        Liked by 6 people

        2. Hey, I met Charlie this afternoon in Jackson, Michigan😄 Charlie, Mick, Beckita what a wonderful 4 hr visit we all had….Mick is 51 & looks 21…lol…Charlie, you too were younger looking than n ur pics and taller too as I mentioned. Michael enjoyed you and the food very much. There was one sad event of this night though…it was that it had to end😢 The Spirit of the Living God surrounds you, Charlie. It is palpable and contagious. This is why you are our rock star of the New era times🤗 God bless you so much and may He protect you always. What a great sign of hope you are to all of us😇Xoxo TNRS ASOH

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          1. Linda, it was so great to meet you and Michael, Marguerite, Elizabeth, Theresa, Mary, and Father B. All of you drove a hefty distance to get to little ol’ Jackson, and I’m glad you believe it to be time and effort well spent. 🙂

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            1. Oh Mick…I’m so so glad you’re naming all our tnrs team there tonight, for my poor memory is sooooo bad…sue & her Charlie too…such beautiful Beautiful people of God…what a night..loved your son too😇Charlie, Michael wants some hagen daz tomorrow 😂

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              1. So happy for you to have had the joy of attending the visit, Linda. A wonderful dimension of TNRS-ASOH networking is that local teams exist in many places throughout this country, ready to spring into action when the going gets uber tough and it sounds like Mick introduced her local team at the visit in Jackson.

                There is also a team which developed around supporting Charlie here at the website and it’s comprised of folks from all over the country. Oh the wonders of technology.

                We’ve previously kicked around an idea for all whose lives have been touched by Charlie and his mission and message of TNRS to gather one day – after Our Lady’s Triumph is complete – at Mt Meeker. That would be one mega party!

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                1. Oh dearest Beckita…it was just surreal to get to meet Charlie and Mick and Sue and Charlie and Mary and Therese and Margarite and a Father and a few more I couldn’t memorize all their names in such a short time. I didn’t want to miss a word he said, which many of them wrang true and familiar. Someday…oh wouldn’t that be amazing to meet on Mt Meeker…I also think there will be an ASOH TNRS abode in heaven someday (should it please the Lord someday I can be perfect…ugh) Lol Then we can all gather together with Charlie…all of us, Our Lord. The Angels and Saints and that wonderful little clumsy puppy Charlie told us about with the little stick last night🤗 For me personally last night was a great wish come true…I’m so thankful for all of Charlies’s talks and advice in navigating through these great but terrible times. TNRS ASOH xoxoxoxoxoxo as crew dog says, may God save all here

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              2. Ha, Linda! I did neglect to name the members of our “Storm lunch” group (unlike Doug’s “Storm dinner” group, our group meets at lunchtime). 🙂

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          2. Charlie I just came out of Mass and it dawned on me I didnt yet say thank you for that great compliment that I look younger in person .you made me feel so good that day🤗😇😘

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        3. It sounds like a good time was had by all in Jackson. It is exciting! For your next stop in Manchester, we have a tent out doors with seats for up to 80. You might say it will be a good ole fashion tent revival. Pray the weather stays dry.

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        4. Charlie, thanks for making a stop in Jackson. I know we were a tiny group, but I hope that what we lacked in size, we made up for in enthusiasm. 🙂

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      2. Oh my goodness. I’m a “Saturday Vigil Mass” person. Do you suppose I am offending Our Lady and GOD himself by doing this? Any advice would be welcome. Beckita???

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        1. Mellen, attending a Vigil Mass to fulfill the Sunday obligation is sanctioned. (Although, I see it as joyfully worshiping and receiving the gift of Jesus in His Eucharistic Presence rather than simply fulfilling a duty. 🙂 ) Here’s a link which discusses the Saturday Vigil Mass in the greater context of the history of vigils in the Church. Too, honoring the Lord’s Day involves the time outside of Mass as well as during the Mass.

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            1. Linda, Lambzie and I were planning to adopt a Russian boy a long time ago. So we took Russian lessons. We ultimately did not adopt for various reasons.

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  26. Oh Come Radiant Grace! Descend upon us too. We NEED You!

    O God, who by the mystery of today’s great feast
    sanctify your whole Church in every people and nation,
    pour out, we pray, the gifts of the Holy Spirit
    across the face of the earth
    and, with the divine grace that was at work
    when the Gospel was first proclaimed,
    fill now once more the hearts of believers.
    Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,
    who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
    one God, for ever and ever.
    – Amen.

    From the treatise Against Heresies by Saint Irenaeus, bishop

    When the Lord told his disciples to go and teach all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, he conferred on them the power of giving men new life in God.

    He had promised through the prophets that in these last days he would pour out his Spirit on his servants and handmaids, and that they would prophesy. So when the Son of God became the Son of Man, the Spirit also descended upon him, becoming accustomed in this way to dwelling with the human race, to living in men and to inhabiting God’s creation. The Spirit accomplished the Father’s will in men who had grown old in sin, and gave them new life in Christ. Luke says that the Spirit came down on the disciples at Pentecost, after the Lord’s ascension, with power to open the gates of life to all nations and to make known to them the new covenant. So it was that men of every language joined in singing one song of praise to God, and scattered tribes, restored to unity by the Spirit, were offered to the Father as the first-fruits of all the nations.

    This was why the Lord had promised to send the Advocate: he was to prepare us as an offering to God. Like dry flour, which cannot become one lump of dough, one loaf of bread, without moisture, we who are many could not become one in Christ Jesus without the water that comes down from heaven. And like parched ground, which yields no harvest unless it receives moisture, we who were once like a waterless tree could never have lived and borne fruit without this abundant rainfall from above. Through the baptism that liberates us from change and decay we have become one in body; through the Spirit we have become one in soul.

    The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of God came down upon the Lord, and the Lord in turn gave this Spirit to his Church, sending the Advocate from heaven into all the world into which, according to his own words, the devil too had been cast down like lightning.

    If we are not to be scorched and made unfruitful, we need the dew of God. Since we have our accuser, we need an advocate as well. And so the Lord in his pity for man, who had fallen into the hands of brigands, having himself bound up his wounds and left for his care two coins bearing the royal image, entrusted him to the Holy Spirit. Now, through the Spirit, the image and inscription of the Father and the Son have been given to us, and it is our duty to use the coin committed to our charge and make it yield a rich profit for the Lord.

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      1. Yes, Bob. Straight from the Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours this passage from St. Irenaeus comes. It’s a blessing to pray the Hours, knowing that brothers and sisters from every corner of the earth are praying the very same words in all manner of languages each day and night!

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  27. “Lord, send out Your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.” Psalm 104
    (in case we have millennial readers who might have been texting during religion class… or for any of us, like myself, that can use a refresher.)

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  31. Nice read… I always thought of God as allowing us to fall by withdrawing his protection & help when people get proud & rebel against him.

    Events will be events, even the mightiest & most powerful person can’t stop disaster(s).

    Matt 11:
    29“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30“For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

    Walking the path seems to be the only sane we can do these days…

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      1. Sorry, I meant John Ryan and all those who are on the front lines at that clinic. I prayed for them and you 🙂

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  33. I’m not so sure about there being no big disasters in the future, Noah’s flood & the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah did happen, and only those who trusted in God survived. Natural disasters are becoming more frequent & severe, will there be a BIG one to come? We are nothing even on the scale of minor disasters, so placing trust in God and following the “meek & humble” way are the best things we can do. I suppose living like we’re ready to die and face God today is a better mindset to have, as we don’t know when the thief will come on any night.

    Everything considered, whatever happens – happens, no point in worrying about the details, it’s like Charlie said about soldiers should not expect predictable outcomes, as knowing how to act is better than gambling everything on a prediction.

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    1. Very possible concerning God allowing or causing natural disaster(s) as a means of discipline, Al. You’ve anchored this thought in a pattern of how God has previously acted in extremis in Salvation History. And isn’t being ready for death so wise, with or without a Storm? We are exiles, doing all we can to bring God’s Kingdom more fully to earth.

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      1. Charlie & others here on this blog give me “food for thought”, I try to summarize the ideas into the simplest & shortest form, and try look for the next level of thought(s) or at least related topics for expanding understanding.

        Take “pride” for example, it is the rejection & rebellion against God, and yet “pride parades” are being done everywhere mocking the Lord trying to anger God. Pride parades are “Satan Parades” that bring both physical (disasters) and spiritual harm (Hell) to populations, as participants show no respect for God’s “image” (the body) and his holy words & commands.

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  34. Beckita, as with most people, I have struggled with my faith even after periods of time when I felt “ready for death” and would never distance myself (even the slightest bit) from God again. I’ve endured this struggle as recently as a few months ago.
    My friend Sheryl told me about Charlie in the summer of 2016. His words here (along with yours and many others’ comments) have been instrumental in helping me focus and prepare my soul.
    Thank you, the others and Charlie!!!

    Liked by 6 people

    1. God bless you, Patrick. Thank you for your presence here. It is a consolation that we, in this community, accompany one another on this leg of the journey.

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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.