The Assault on Reality

Posted on by charliej373
the_persistence_of_memory_1931_salvador_dali_7873
The Persistence of Memory – Salvador Dali

By Charlie Johnston

When I saw this horrifying story of Anchorage, Alaska going after a battered women’s shelter for actually trying to protect battered women, it crystallized something I have been thinking about for a long time: anti-God left assaults are not just mounted against evidence, reason and faith, but are actually tactics in a war against reality, itself. And the right is largely useful idiots in service of this war when not actually complicit.

The judicial system is primarily for issues where the answer is not immediately obvious – and to give a full hearing to criminals even when the issues seem superficially obvious. When we have to go to the courts to determine whether it is appropriate for battered women’s shelters to protect battered women, we have badly lost our way. But so it goes with a culture that no longer knows what the definition of either “woman” or “is” actually is.

Our destruction of the very concept of male and female has potentially opened the doors to requiring such shelters to welcome the men who are batterers if they claim to identify as women. The “transgender” movement threatens to destroy the very concept of women’s sports by forcing women’s teams to accept men who claim to identify as women. Whatever fantasies woke children wish to indulge, men ARE the physically stronger sex. Much of our politically correct claptrap is having the effect of destroying real and important protections for women and children on behalf of lofty, but utterly errant, abstractions.

In some jurisdictions, officials will take custody of children whose parents refuse to allow a child to mutilate himself for a “sex-change” operation. Abortion advocates are sometimes divided as to whether to admit that the process kills a living human being or to argue, contrary to science, that it is not human at all. The former argues abortion is a right that trumps any right to life. The latter argues a baby is not alive until leftists say it is (or until it votes Democratic, perhaps).

People who are taken seriously by the idiot media routinely advocate for self-defeating contradictory things. Open borders advocates usually claim to be anti-human trafficking advocates, as well. But open borders are the single most enabling tool in a trafficker’s arsenal. You can’t be for both. At least not seriously without dealing with the internal contradiction. The cry to end temporary child separation from illegal aliens caught at the border has created a cottage child kidnap industry in northern Mexico. Since Mexican traffickers know America is too soft or insane or whatever to consistently verify the relationships between people crossing with children, adding a child to those they are sneaking in reduces the chance of getting caught.

Then there is gun control. Every time there is a mass shooting, the cry goes up for tighter gun control as the obvious answer. Never mind that the tighter the gun controls in urban areas, the greater the occurrence of gun violence. The only thing gun control does is disarm victims. Turns out criminals who are willing to shoot innocents don’t give a hoot about gun laws. What, then, do Republicans do? Instead of advocating for policies that would actually help reduce all violence, they walk around red-faced as if their support of gun rights contributes to the problem. They act like they just got caught at a nudie bar and are trying to shield their faces instead of making a full-throated cry to get the problem under control. You know what is depressingly common in almost all major shootings? One of three things: either there were a bunch of major red flags about the shooter that authorities ignored (the Parkland school shooter had 36 that were ignored, including frank threats to shoot up a school), the shooter had a violent rap sheet as long as your arm yet was not confined to jail already, or the shooter was a radicalized Muslim Jihadist. Vigorous crime control, not more gun laws, is the obvious answer. Obvious. So why are the guys on our side such mealy mouths on the subject? Don’t just defend the second amendment (though don’t quit doing that) – start demanding that the left get serious about crime control. And let the right be always serious about it. Why isn’t the Justice Department suing jurisdictions like Portland and Berkeley which turn a blind eye to Antifa violence and riots? That is a denial of ordinary peoples’ civil rights. Crime control WILL reduce violence – and rob leftists of their favorite irrelevant distraction. Who speaks for ordinary law-abiding citizens?

All the Democratic candidates for president espouse socialism, a system that has failed everywhere it has been tried – and usually involved the mass murder of millions of innocents. Why is this taken seriously? The new socialists like to point to the Nordic countries as successful socialist societies. I asked one if that meant he advocated privatizing social security. He was shocked. I pointed out that Sweden did that 20 years ago to avoid financial catastrophe. All the Nordic countries have substantial welfare states, but fewer regulations on business than in America. They vigorously de-regulated a generation ago because they were headed for financial ruin otherwise. We are not all obligated to be political and social activists, but we are all obligated to find out some basic facts so we can deflate the con-men in our midst. But we have become a “Tinkerbell” culture – wish a happy thought and it shall be so…forget about the hard labor of making things actually work instead of just wishing they did.

We have bogged ourselves down in court cases to determine the equivalent of whether water is actually wet and then wonder why the flood is overtaking us. Meantime, bureaucrats and petty elected officials impose rules on us without our consent – acting as our masters instead of our servants. People just shrug and go along.

Do you think we are at least consistent about the sexual exploitation of children? Not if it involves Planned Parenthood, which has been caught frequently covering up the sexual abuse of minors – without any serious consequence. If Jeffrey Epstein had just been a bit more slippery, he would have immigrated to England and claimed to have converted to Islam. England has been blighted with Muslim “grooming gangs” which sexually exploit girls as young as 11 years old. The degenerate British police do little to nothing to stop this, but they DO crack down hard on anyone who criticizes Islam on social media.

Ambitious bossy people who lack competence to deal with any real problems in their jurisdiction frequently make up what the great Victor Davis Hanson calls “cosmic social justice” issues to mask their impotence. They passionately advocate for things that are beyond their control while ignoring the real problems that actually are their responsibility. It is a cheap scam to amass power. It does not trouble me that politicians make such efforts; demagogues have always been among us. What really shakes me is that so many normal Americans and other citizens in the western world are embracing the demagoguery. John Adams famously said that our Constitution would only serve a moral and religious people, that it was entirely unsuited to any other.

Our system of government – and western civilization generally – are not in need of a little tinkering around the edges. We need major, invasive surgery. It starts with embracing the Judeo-Christian principles that slowly built western civilization. It involves an absolute refusal to treat publicly espoused absurdities as anything but absurdity – and the public shaming and rejection of all who espouse them. We have a responsibility. We still have the capability of restoring society to health, but it shrinks every time we just shrug our shoulders at new offenses – or go merrily along advocating for things that have little relationship to a problem, much less the capacity to solve it.

I guess I am a little frustrated right now. If we have lost the capacity to vigorously reject even obvious nonsense, how can we even begin to deal with real complex problems? If we have become so stupid that we are easily seduced by charlatans who insist that a horse chestnut is actually a chestnut horse, how can we maintain the freest society ever devised? If you take all of human history and lay it out on a football field, the portion occupied by people who have lived in freedom and prosperity would occupy the equivalent of about half a postage stamp. Now a substantial portion of the electorate clamors violently to get off that postage stamp.

I always knew the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I never expected the road to be lined with spectators cheering their destructors on. Unless God breaks and rebuilds us, I don’t see how we get back to health. We have lost the capacity and will for self-government…and don’t even have the capacity to recognize what it ought to look like.

Okay. Rant finished. I needed to get that out of my system.

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I am disappointed, to say the least, that the appeals court in Victoria, Australia, did not overturn the conviction of Cardinal George Pell. This is not a case where there is reasonable doubt, but one in which the charges against him COULD NOT POSSIBLY have occurred. American courts have grown increasingly politicized in the last few decades with arrogant parodies of judges assuming executive and legislative authority they do not have to make political judgments that are contrary to the law. But it is hard for me to imagine an American court so brazenly ignoring the flat-out impossibility of charges in order to vent their anti-Catholic bigotry. At least we still require the fig leaf of basic plausibility.

I hope the Vatican is quietly doing a flurry of diplomatic maneuvering to right this flagrant injustice. Yet I fear that, in the Vatican, Pell is considered guilty of the crimes of being orthodox and of having been actually serious in his efforts to reform the Vatican financial system. So I fear the muted response from the Vatican is just that, a muted response on behalf of a man they know to be innocent but is hated because he is a genuine reformer who takes Scripture and the Magisterium seriously.

Many have compared this to the Dreyfuss Affair, which brought deep discredit to both the French justice system and the French military for a good chunk of the early 20th Century. Alfred Dreyfuss was falsely accused of passing secrets to the Germans. It was another case where there was no credible evidence. Dreyfuss was a Jew, though, and it allowed French elites to vent their raging anti-Semitism.

The truth is that it is the Australian system of justice that stands in the docket in this case, even though it is Cardinal Pell who is imprisoned because of it. I love Australia. Australians are the third largest national group among my readership and I have met several of my Australian readers who come to presentations while visiting America. One even scheduled her visit to America specifically to coincide with one of my presentations in southern California. I have looked forward to someday visiting Australia. Now, though, it has demonstrated that its official anti-Catholic bigotry is so virulent that it will railroad an obviously innocent man with “evidence” that is impossible just because he is a prominent Catholic. I reckon I better stay away – for the same reason that Jews of any prominence were well-advised to avoid France at the turn of 20th Century.

*********

I do wish that the hierarchy of the Church I so deeply love was not so reminiscent of a criminal enterprise these days. Oh yes, it is only a handful of Bishops who are actively waging war on the Magisterium and the faithful, while covering for each other’s depredations (though the numbers seem tilted dramatically in favor of the depraved at the Vatican, itself). It still incenses me that in 2002, when the sexual abuse crisis first crested in the United States, Bishop Theodore McCarrick postured as a full-throated “reformer” at the very same time that he was molesting young men and older boys. Even so, that could be dealt with were it not for the “code of omerta” – or silence – among Bishops who would never think of committing such depredations. To remain silent while knowing of such offenses is to become a co-conspirator with the offenders. Who speaks for the faithful?

Now we go headlong into the “Amazon Synod,” ostensibly to consider routinely ordaining married Priests and, perhaps, women – just for that region, don’t you know. Smarter men than me, such as Cardinals Burke and Mueller, seem to think it is just the opening shot in overturning settled Catholic doctrine. Now even a Missionary Bishop from the Amazon says that synod plans do not address the actual issues facing Catholics in the Amazon – reinforcing the suspicion that this is not about the Amazon at all, but just another stalking horse for an assault on the faith and the faithful.

I am a little weary. Of late, I have been spending a lot of time engaged in a sort of spiritual triage. I quietly counsel many lay people to hold to the faith – but with each new offense and the reality that the hierarchy seems unlikely to do anything of substance to turn the tide against the sexual abuse crisis, more people are leaving – with some leaving Christianity, altogether. It is not just confined to lay people. I have been in discussion with several Priests and one religious who are considering abandoning their vocations. So far, no one has jumped ship among those I have talked to, but none of them are seeing any light at the end of the tunnel, either.

I can understand the reluctance of many Bishops to speak and act with real vigor when much – or most – of the assault on faith and morals, Scripture and the Magisterium, is coming from the Vatican, itself. Would that institutional zeal were matched by zeal for the Magisterium and for the faithful in the pews! The Bishops’ authority is primarily on faith and morals, with the little actual temporal authority they have related to the mechanisms for exercising their primary authority. As many have said, the Bishops are not just middle managers who run branch offices of the Vatican. They are independent authorities in each of their Dioceses, in communion with Rome, but not ruled by Rome. Yet if they will not take the initiative to defend the faith and the faithful – and to hold offenders to account, who will? I am coming to have more sympathy for proposals such as this offered by Dr. Adam A.J. DeVille over at the Catholic Thing. I worry that the sort of local synods he suggests might quickly start trying to dictate on matters of faith and morals rather than staying within legitimate confines. But if the hierarchy won’t act to defend the faith and the faithful, someone must.

Fr. Regis Scanlon makes the pointed observation that the anniversary of the penultimate apparition at Fatima, October 13, comes smack dab in the heart of the Amazon Synod. I concur with his analysis of the situation.

I hate that some of the top authorities in the Vatican and in the hierarchy seem to be anti-Catholic bigots working from the inside. But the silence of the shepherds is killing us.

244 thoughts on “The Assault on Reality”

  1. H.e.a.v.y., sobering realities, Charlie. I, too, see Fr. Regis’ interpretation as very plausible. It would drive home the truth that we can do n.o.t.h.i.n.g. without God. But even more than that, there are too, too many people whose hearts have hardened and they continue to harden the more, day by day. We know the ultimate aim of God’s Plans throughout salvation history has been to save souls. Without divine intervention – and one of worldwide magnitude – how else can people be persuaded to turn back to the Lord?

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    2. Thank you for sharing, Charlie. I am just very concerned that it has become totally acceptable among devout Catholics to condemn and criticize the Holy Father; who is truly the Vicar of Christ. I have even seen posts where “orthodox” Catholics refer to Pope Francis as “evil.” Do we really want to make that call? God forbid. If the Holy Spirit chose Francis, then Francis is part of God’s plan for the Church and the world. We know that chaos and division are the works of the enemy. Undoubtedly he is at work inside the Church at this time. But we must remain steadfast in prayer for God’s will to be done and never stop believing that “the gates of Hell will not prevail”, the battle IS the Lord’s, and that all things are working together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purposes!

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      1. Welcome to commenting, Gregory Paul. I’m with you on not condemning the Pope, or anyone for that matter and I’m thankful you wrote what you did.

        My further reply is not aimed at you, personally. I speak to the issues you’ve raised. For sure, the Holy Spirit is present at every conclave, yet, He, God, never forces, therefore, each Cardinal maintains his free will. While we may not rightly call any person evil – although we do have the right to judge righteous judgement when seeing/hearing evil deeds and words – each human person, from Pope to Cardinal and on down the line to the laity, is free to choose for or against God. And the reality is there has been, for too long, great evil being perpetrated in the hierarchy, both in countries worldwide and at the Vatican. I so agree with you that we have no right to condemn the person of anyone. God Alone knows all things in the heart of each one of us. Still, we must be able to discuss these things that are before us and Pope Francis, by commission, has chosen to surround himself with very troubled appointees who are not fully faithful to the Teachings of the Church. In ommission, Pope Francis has remained silent on matters which deserve his attention and response of clarity so needed by the Church today.

        Many a faithful Catholic writer and speaker, in addition to Charlie, has sounded the call for the laity to rise up and continue speaking, writing and doing to let the Bishops, Cardinals and Pope know we support Christ’s Teachings and His Church and want to see things set right with the Lord. Thanks God for His Promise that the gates of hell will not prevail, yet, this is not a promise calling us to let God take care of everything. He chooses to work through His people. We must be ready to do anything He asks of each one. Imagine if St. Catherine of Sienna had not answered the prompting of the Holy SPirit to tell Pope Gregory XVI to get himself back to Rome.

        God bless you, Gregory Paul, and all here.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Yes. Judge righteous judgment.

          Here’s my question. Who ever said that judging righteous judgment requires being vocal about it? Certainly not Holy Scripture.

          We aim to be sober and clear-eyed, B. From my perspective there are folks who can think and opine out loud on this issue so as to effectively serve the Kingdom. Let’s be honest. Behind them, there are 100 more who are sloppy at it. And behind them, 1000’s more who are reckless.

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            1. In a nutshell, we must not loose hope.
              We all must “fight the good fight, run the race, keep the faith”.
              The enemy is hell bound to get us to quit, give up, or to loose hope.
              The readings today we’re about not being a christian in name only but in our hearts.
              It’s about love isn’t it?
              “Love your enemies”.
              Is our own church our enemy now?!
              Is our pope and prelates?
              Who are we wrestling with?
              Scripture says it’s fallen angels not flesh and blood.
              They are pure intellect and will so these are the tools they use against our intellect and will…along with a pound of flesh for good measure! Why do we fight against the very source of our salvation established by Christ Himself? Charlie talked about planks, some of us are erecting board fences against the very institution He gave us for security.
              Evil will always be with us and history shows that none of us get out of here alive and unscathed.
              If we fight the good fight we always come away bruised and battered, its out lot you know.
              Hang in there, it is a sign of God working His winders. Jesus stood silently and allowed Himself to be tortured while no one else (accept Mary) knew why this was happening and how He was drawing all things to Himself in order to reclaim it.
              We again are awaiting our reclamation.

              Liked by 1 person

        2. Beckita,
          I totally agree with your statement for “the laity to rise up and continue speaking, writing and doing to let the Bishops, Cardinals and Pope know we support Christ’s Teachings and His Church and want to see things set right with the Lord.” I wasn’t suggesting that we sit by and watch as the Holy Roman Catholic Church implodes. My concern is that the evil one has succeeded in dividing us against each other. I have devout and very knowledgeable Catholic friends on both sides of the Francis issue. Many who believe that he is dangerous and others who believe that he is a victim of corruption in the Vatican. Has the Holy Father said some outrageous things? Heck yeah. Have the press tried to interpret his positions in a manner that seems to oppose Catholic doctrine? Absolutely. I just believe that we are called to pray for the will of God, the Church, and the Pope. God Bless us everyone!

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          1. Amen, Gregory Paul. Beautiful clarification. The divisions are there and, I think, they’ve been there for a long while… perhaps hardening in these recent years. Gratefully, we pray in solidarity with those who are in this community and the many others in Our Lady’s Army which she has called forth for these times. Please, hang out in the comments section with us more frequently, if you can. 🙂

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          2. That is an excellent clarification, GP. Yes, no one should be afraid to question and challenge, just aim to be prudent about how they go about it. I shouldn’t have left it at “reckless.” Should have said, “recklessly divisive.” It will be messy. Folks ought to also consider that being sloppy about it runs the risk of casting useless aspersions. There’s always consequences.

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      2. It is a balancing act, Gregory, neither to assent to error nor to get intemperate in these times; neither to be pollyannas who ignore the troubles around us nor to give way to despair at the magnitude of it. Some think that pretending there is no ugliness is the best way to hold people in. Others want to think that because there is some evil, that all is evil. I have always found that the best way to keep people on board is to acknowledge any elephant in the room, then recognize the fundamental good of the institution or cause for which we should champion. IN these extreme times, I reckon each of us will err sometimes and will account to God for it. We walk a knife’s edge now – and must be careful not to get too self-righteous over our own opinions.

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        1. I agree, Charlie. I wasn’t suggesting we bury our heads in the sand. These are the times that we need to rise up and be warriors for the Lord. I am merely disturbed at how successful the evil one has been in dividing us.

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      3. There are many things that I disagree with our Pope about…that he speaks about as a man. But, he is also a very devout man who I think struggles in a complex world he was not prepared to work in. I have decided to trust in God…just as you have suggested. And, to support our Pope in those areas where we agree and not malign him in those areas I disagree.

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  2. Thank you for your analysis, Charlie!
    I’d like to share a prayer request: I was just diagnosed with an immunodeficiency disorder and will need to take a drug containing antibodies, which is very expensive. Please pray with me that my insurance company will approve this medication for me and cover the cost. Thank you and God bless! J+M+J

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    1. Thanks Timothy. My natural cheery optimism will re-assert itself soon enough…but you look at things continuing to degenerate…the offensive keeps coming and we struggle with things that are perfectly obvious. Well, this was me crying out, “How long, O Lord?” But it is not the end of the story.

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      1. Really respect you and your words, Charlie! Your honestly in the midst of these times is a sign of hope. To not be angry when things aren’t right wouldn’t make sense at all. Yes and yet we know you find joy in the midst of the mess. Most definitely it is crazy stuff that is happening for sure!

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      2. Was sickened to read that one of McCarrick’s victims claims he told JPII about the abuse, and he did nothing. I had a bit of a rant last week and was blowing off some steam. I texted the following to my spiritual advisor:

        It is difficult to image JPII could have been that much in the dark…the corruption is so widespread. Maybe they could have kept things from him when he was Pope, but he must’ve known something before. I’m not going anywhere, but wow, it’s hard to hear more stuff and see bishops doing nothing. The report that few Catholics believe in the True Presence doesn’t surprise me a bit. The way people act shows that. How dumb do you have to be to not put together the fact that reverence engenders belief. Need to go back to pre-Vatican II behavior. If not Latin Mass, at least ad orientem. Kneel for Communion for heaven sakes. Communion rail. No laity distributing. Our bishop posted on Facebook that only the consecrated hands of the priest and consecrated vessels should touch Our Lord. Wonder if he has any plans to do something about that. And– they are starting up alpha again. I wonder if they think that program is going to make people believe in the True Presence. Yeah, right.

        I’m with you, Charlie. My patience is running out, but I’ll be ok. Just don’t respect the hierarchy at all– for the most part.

        Liked by 10 people

              1. Well, you know I was saying that Cdl. Pell is the free man and McCarrick the imprisoned one, if things are as they appear to be. And I didn’t think B’s comment was misplaced, since it grounded both of our valid observations in Charity.

                Was thinking of you in light of my ma this morning. The little woman is in her 45th year of catechizing little hearts and minds at her Parish, with no letting up. She has a real confident peace about that. Not so much over the years with her kids, grandkids and great grandkids, but she’s getting there by degrees. With the passing of my dad some time ago, I’ve noticed that she borrowed a page from his playbook, becoming quite the shrewd stealth evangelizer. Some might think she’s struggling along one-legged, but the fact is they’re still a great tag team.

                Personally, I’ve struggled over the years with the ‘toolbox.’ Heck, give me a good hammer and I’m happy, but there’s always the right tool for the right job to consider. More so, it’s become imperative to go to Jesus first, before even opening the toolbox. What’s the task at hand?

                More and more, I find Him saying, “Let me handle that.”

                “How ’bout this?, says I. “Nope.” This? This? How ’bout now? Nope. Nope. Nope.

                So he’ll hand me something like a punch and task me with notching a simple belt hole. A belt hole! That’s not easy for a guy used to being in charge, but I’m getting to that place where –– by golly –– I’m aiming for the best belt hole the world has ever seen.

                Don’t know if that has the slightest bit of value. Mere belt holes. But I have peace about it.

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        2. I am with you Charlie and kimsevier. The spirit of Vatican ll is alive and well. I sat back and watched the desecration of beautiful churches. Beautiful altars, statues, thrown out, Tabernacles moved from the center of the altar, replaced by the priest in the center. Now to my consternation, this was not what Vatican ll said at all. Churches built after Vatican ll,do not even appear to be Catholic. One church I attend has the look of a space ship on the outside and the inside is not much better. The old church was demolished and those in the parish were not happy with the finished product.
          One shining Light, the newly ordained priest, that I am seeing, are not happy with the Lay people and some deacons taking over the altar. They insist that they or the Deacon go to the Tabernacle and not the lay person serving as altar man or women. I am sure the older pastor is not happy with this.
          I do believe the Latin mass is more reverent, and ad orientem would make me happy.
          Only heavenly intervention is going to right all the wrongs and we the lay people must step up. Prayer fasting and also speaking out, even though it will be frowned upon by most people in the pews.

          Most precious blood of Jesus Christ save us and the whole world.. To be said 5oo times a day.

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        3. I often wondered about JPII. My sister is a tertiary Benedictine. She told me no pope after John 23 is a true pope. I guess she is a sedeventist?

          I am sick and tired if being sick a d tired.

          Tension is so high it is almost palpable

          Come Lord Jesus!

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          1. Sorry, I’m not buying that no Pope since St. John the XXIII (or in many claims) since St. Pius X is a real Pope. That is utter poppycock spread by conspiracy theorists. I consider such people an exotic form of Protestant – as they have completely abandoned the Barque of Peter for a false, but idealized, Church of their own imagining, directly contradicting Christ’s orders. And they aren’t even honest with themselves that that is what they have become.

            I also am not buying the smears (borne by legitimate frustration) against St. John Paul II or Pope Emeritus Benedict. Trading reflexive credulity for reflexive cynicism is not an answer: it is just like a drunk bouncing off alternating walls at each extreme because he can’t get his bearings. I will write more about this tomorrow.

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            1. I listened yesterday to an interview from Life Site News on JPII Pontifical Institute being “dismantled” de-constructed and deposed by a very knowledgeable women who seemed to be on top of the situation, and it was to say the least “gut-wrenching!” It was entitled “Pope Francis and the attempt to destroy the crown jewel of Pope John Paul II’s legacy. ” “Diane Montagna provides a detailed summary of how Pope Francis is carrying out a “purge” of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family.” I mean we should have seen this coming, had we known how devious the entire crew was when they first arrived. Before the hand picked president of the Institute, (by St. JP II) was buried, in the ground, Pope Fr issued a Moto Propio, de-constructing the academy, and of course, replacing all with in with the merry gay band of friends. Who he brought in…one by one, setting up the stage, testing the waters, and going forth. So with that complete, tell me, what do you predict the Synod will have up their sleeves? No backlash from the Church surrounding the good, moral descent men who were “fired” from their works and endeavors in the Institute, then we have this coming, and right in the middle, the Oct 13th date…our Lady’s dates! I read Scanlon’s piece, watched Michael Matt’s take on Akita, and so must say, it is so far past what we can even realize. Good people, we are entering into a time, none like before, and while we may be very lost, confused, or alone, for awhile, or at some point, however, I am going to try and keep praying, loving my neighbor, and keep peace in my home. Ave Maria!

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              1. It’s a mess, Robill. I do like the analysis of Msgr. Charles Pope on the Amazon Synod. Part 1 is here and Part 2 here with three more parts yet to be published. How interesting that the Amazon forest is now on fire.

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                1. I also noticed that parallel, Beckita.
                  Sigh, Charlie, your words are so wise. Where are other wise people?! As someone said in a comment above, I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired! I know you said, Charlie, the evil one wanted to sow discouragement. Probably many of us flow in and out of it, depending on how much heavenly help we get to overcome it.
                  My own discouragement crept in the last week or so with a new priest and what he’s done to the Mass. I always value daily Mass as more quiet and peaceful, but not now. I come home disturbed after seeing disobedience to the rubrics and a priest making himself and not Jesus the center. Ok, I’ll stop now before I start crying. You’re right, Charlie, how long oh Lord?!

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      3. Charlie

        Some ammo for your belt.

        The Servants of the enemy are feeling the opposite disconnect. Their world is under fire from us via The Lord and they are freaking out. They cannot believe that they are having to fight for their precious sinfulness.

        Look at Rob Reiner or Tom Arnold’s twitter feeds. Or any “celebrity” as God works The Storm.

        There is a video online of a pastor confronting one of those drag quen story hour perverts. A woman openly tells the pastor to take his bible and shove it; her evil on full dispay to us all.

        Salvini kissing his Rosary while his opponent, looking very worried, with a hint of sweat, states that there is no place for Christ (religious symbols) in the secular state.

        Hillary freaking out that Hungary, Poland are choosing Christ and must be stopped.

        God is HEIGHTENING the divisions so that all must choose. There is no bridging the divide along civic lines. That we are in a religious war is dawning on …heck we are past dawning on..is increasingly apparent to both sides.

        Frankly, I am glad and relieved we are here. I much prefer the open fight to the slow boil subversion and degradation s Christendom has endured.

        I dont know when or if God will raise the battle standard and this goes hot. He may have something miraculous for the victory. It may be very difficult and trying , feeling like utter defeat, as when Christ was crucified and 11 frightened men thought all was lost (personally, I hope not. I am tired of the grind and want to beat this age to a bloody corpse)

        Maybe, Charlie, you are trying to heal something God does not want healed.

        God bless.

        Liked by 12 people

        2. Very interesting take on things. Personally, I think we are being given a small dose of what the three children at Fatima experienced. A glimpse of Hell. Call it Hell on earth.

          Violence. Crime. Chaos. Hate. Envy. Revenge. Division. Alienation. Picking and slashing and hurting one another. Especially our loved ones. War. Addictions. Addictions. Addictions. i.e., slavery.

          You get the drift. We are being exposed, if not drowned, in the culture of Hell. Right here on Earth.

          As Timothy points out we are witnessing the behavior of demons and hell dwellers in the form of our elites, politicians, “entertainers”, media news readers, academia. If not outright spiritual demons appearing as human then human minions of the devil executing his agenda either willingly and wittingly or unwittingly not even knowing what they are doing.

          To many of us it is a horrifying advance trailer of what awaits those poor lost souls heading for not just a transitory trip through hell but a permanent slavery to the madness and pain forever and ever.

          It all leads to contemplation of what exists in Heaven and what exists in Hell.

          Heaven is peace, calm, love and community. The experience of God’s love for us. Paradise. Not a whit of fear, anxiety, worry, anger, resentment, envy or hate. Nadda. Not a whiff. Not a whit. Not an iota.

          Hell. of course, is the exact opposite. Nothing but. Nothing but fear, anxiety, worry, anger, resentment, anger, envy, hope and at least one other thing ….. deep, dark, never ending despair. Not a whiff of peace, calm, love or community. Nadda. Not a whiff. Not a whit. Not an iota. Completely and utterly loveless. A mad scrabble as Charlie might call it.

          This link is a story about a man who had a direct experience of what awaits those on the way to Hell.
          Thinking about it, it seems God gave him this advance trailer before his judgement. A really, really hard way to discover he had to mend his ways or face a permanent never ending dose of the treatment he experienced ….. on steroids.

          Ironically, this guy’s name is Howard Storm. Something to note is the realization he experienced discussed at around the 13:00 min mark of the vid. The ripping and tearing and scratching and tearing he was subjected to in his partial journey to Hell was not from Demons but from people like him. “Those who had not GOT IT during their lives. Those who missed what life is all about.”

          We are surrounded and inundated by a whole culture now dominated by those who have not GOT IT.

          As minions of God and the culture of Heaven it seems that we as the eyes, ears, hands, feet and voice of Jesus here on Earth we have to show the world and the Howard Storms around us what Heaven looks, feels, sounds and acts like. Members of the City of God. A life worth living. An eternity worth living.

          Then its a question of choice.

          Liked by 6 people

  4. “Silence of the Shepherds”. My wife used that phrase several years back after that awful movie “The silence of the Lambs” came out and she noted the silence of priests in our parish at the time.

    Liked by 10 people

  5. Very sobering, yet our times are increasingly evil.
    Just yesterday, a well-respected Deacon, who posts on FB, wrote of Pope Francis, as not being trustworthy/my words. And this man said he is leaving FB.
    There are some strong faithful Catholics who keep foods, etc, stocked, in preparation for “end times,” etc. What do you think on this?
    T. Y. for your faithfulness to God, & to sharing what you hear… ❤

    Liked by 10 people

    1. I am not worried about the end…the end times have been with us since the resurrection – which is not to be confused with the actual end. I am worried about serious strife…and will address some things about that before I go back on the road in a few weeks.

      Liked by 18 people

      1. You mean this is just mundane, run-of-the-mill strife we’re experiencing now?! Or as the song goes, ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet’?! Oy vey!

        Liked by 3 people

        1. Oh, it could stabilize…but it would require people to start getting serious and sober, en masse…to abandon obvious foolishness…to quit using everything as an opportunity to bite and claw…and for officials in all institutions to live their actual responsibilities instead of making irrelevant things up to try to mask incompetence or lack of will while trying to mimic actual relevance.

          For those who are sports fans, we all know the guy who insists our team can turn things around by simply trading our second string catcher and a minor league relief pitcher for the reigning MVP. It’s a specious fantasy. That’s about how likely we are to turn things around without serious strife. Besides, I suspect God wants to let us see very clearly what bumbling malicious idiots we actually are without Him. That’s a good thing. It will help underline the lesson and give us a longer period of peace before we go bumbling off into malicious apostasy again.

          Liked by 9 people

          1. “Besides, I suspect God wants to let us see very clearly what bumbling malicious idiots we actually are without Him.” Absolutely! Pain can be a mighty kick in the arse, a motivator supreme.

            Liked by 6 people

    2. I have gone the route of prepping, it is a mere distraction. God has already given you what you need. We do still have a few things set-aside for storms, normal stuff, some food, but have given up ‘prepping’ as it’s a road to nowhere, there is no end to the possible scenarios that only cause worry, which is against God’s graces. Take the Next Right Step only, as it presents itself, that’s the best we can do.

      Liked by 14 people

  6. Well Charlie….sort of cool…I was listening to Patrick Madrid this morning after Mass on way to clean house for a friend and Patrick was talking about “just this” that you’ve outlined here and basically it is the Akita prophesy…all this is just horrible just horrible and yet we know somehow God has a plan. I often liken this life to a Movie called “The Matrix” starring Keneau Reeves…not real…but real…we all (including myself) need to wake up from our sleep and smell the coffee…It gets increasingly hard to make sense of anything the more that time goes forward. I feel that whatever I do do is so small it hardly makes a difference In God’s Divine Plan but that’s where you come in…Acknowledge God, take the next right step and try to be a sign of hope to those whom God puts in our path….I’d have been in a loony bin long ago without this message from you, my friend in Christ…As crew dog says…May God save all here….TNRS ASOH🤗😇😘

    Liked by 15 people

      1. Timothy that was so beautiful and it heartened me to read it…I’m going to post that on my fb page if ok with you. It’s truly something to ponder…the true, the good, the beautiful things in life today are so important to reflect on.

        Like

  7. without going into too much, I really feel like I am experiencing locally what the whole church is experiencing on a larger scale. It’s utter chaos and confusion. Like the scattering before the bomb lands. I hope those Priests you spoke to do not abandon their vocation, now is the time we need spiritual soldiers who do not leave us behind. But one thing I do know- we are losing control and God is will show us who is God. It’s always been about giving Him the control.

    Liked by 18 people

  8. Part of the Akita warning Patrick Madrid referenced this am on Relavant radio :

    “As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and priests.”

    “The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres…churches and altars sacked; the Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord.

    “The demon will be especially implacable against souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them.”

    Liked by 9 people

      1. Thanks Beckita. .yep..very scary confusing times…very…and yet I know I’ve contributed to the mess too and that’s reality…Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have M E R C Y on us poor sinners…Grace and mercy…please Oh Lord

        Liked by 9 people

    2. I’m hoping that years of prayers by many has reduced the worst case scenario as mentioned in the Medjugorje messages.

      Still, events are way beyond the ability of the Church to change the course we’re on, we desperately need God to intervene.

      Liked by 7 people

  9. Hey Charlie

    Good article…right on as usual

    I’ve assumed for some time that Cardinal Pell was turned over to his torturers BY the Vatican…and that his disgracement and imprisonment was a feature, not a bug…there’s NO WAY the Vatican is going to help him….this result was the objective all along….he’ll trouble them no further.

    Regarding those leaving the church, this also strikes me as a feature, not a bug, of those trying to bring the Church down. The weakest amongst us, believers but not yet properly catechized, not mature in the faith…The weaker sheep….get rid of them. Many fall under this category.

    This along with draining the Church of assets. The lawsuits have already resulted in the loss of billions worldwide, and it now appears we’ve only seen the beginning. The last month has revealed the litigation is about to explode. Again…Feature…not bug

    What better way to accomplish their evil objective than to clear the pews of parishioners and bankrupt the Church. I suspect the homosexuals who consider the church their playground have no idea they are actually pawns as well….that they are contributing heavily to the destruction of the host on which they feed…

    In retrospect, another great idea of the wreckers…freemasons, communists, etc. Infiltrating the church with homosexuals is finally paying off “bigly”

    Lastly, and I hate to say it, but I think the whole thing is being actively aided and abetted by Pope Francis. He surrounds himself with the most despicable characters, and rids himself of orthodox ones, sometimes viciously (Pell). The more I read about him by those who’ve done the digging, the more I believe he is not a good man. The “wreckers” finally got their man at the helm, and they’re going to take full advantage of it

    Ratzinger’s prediction years ago that the church would become very small (and poor) seems truer by the day.
    We’ve got some rough sledding ahead.

    Best

    Paul

    Liked by 11 people

    1. Paul
      May I have links to the articles about Pope Francis? I feel the same way. I need to see it in writing. A visual confirmation if you will. I have a high normalcy bias but it is falling apart rapidly!

      I am so sick of the state of affairs. I read that B16 was even in support of Telhard de chardin which is anathema… such turmoil!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hey Little…order George Neumayr’s book “The Political Pope”

        Also catch his articles “The American Spectator”

        There are others writing and warning about Pope Francis but I consider him the best

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Littleone, what you mention about “B16” may have been in early years before he was even Pope. At VII he was a peritus, if I remember correctly, and had some very liberal views. As we know he became a staunch defender of Tradition and Truth and wrote eloquently defending the Faith.

        Liked by 2 people

    2. I suspect what Pope Francis is doing is sabotaging the Church by causing bishop to rise up against bishop & cardinal against cardinal. The Globalists probably figure if their proxy (Pope Francis) destroys the Church, then a Holy Pope will never arise to bring humanity back to Christ. (I believe another Pope chosen by Christ will come after Francis is gone.)

      At the rate things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if Rome fell…

      Liked by 3 people

  10. Charlie, Your “rant” so well crystalized the nature and extent of the derangement of American society these days, the social disease we are suffering, I wish it could be viewed by a greater readership, as might come from an Op Ed in the NYT, WP, and WSJ.

    Liked by 10 people

  11. I have just started Chaput’s Strangers In a Strange Land. He has more shrewd appreciation of the current state of play in the U.S. in the first ten pages than you will find anywhere. Part of what he analyzes relates to what Charlie points out in this post.

    We are re-defining what being human means. Complicated subject. Chaput points to 1960 as a critical inflection point in our understanding of what it means to be human. 1960 was the year of the birth control pill. That changed the relationship of men and women and began the rapid demolition of the family. It set off a cultural revolution that is still playing out. Roe v. Wade and the Feminist Movement pushed it along. Chaput points to Obergfell v. Hodges in 2015 as another inflection point legalizing same sex marriage.

    We are now well into gender fluidity. Self identifying gender.

    What is man? What is woman? What is child? What is family?

    All of it is going through warp speed change.

    Chaput zeroes in on America’s concept of the Individual. The sexual revolution was sold as an ultimate expression of one’s Individuality. It comes at the expense of destruction of the family as the foundation of society.

    Beyond that all of traditional norms or moral codes have come under attack. Even the idea of the Rule of Law. How many of us are becoming woke to the fact that there is one rule for well connected elites and another for the masses?

    This all comes as a shock to traditional Christians and a real existential threat to Judeo-Christian Western Civilization itself.

    It’s a rough ride. Clearly, we need to come to grips with and accept the fact that America is not the country it was a mere 50 years ago. And that America is gone and will never come back again.

    What does that mean for the Church? Chaput says that the greatest failure of the Boomer Generation is not that we have become foreigners in our own land. It is that our children ARE NOT!

    We are going to have to find a new way to make the Gospel relevant to a desensitized Generation(s). And pretty quick it seems.

    Any ideas?

    Liked by 16 people

    1. I see this as a sign of hope: https://actsxxix.org/
      It starts with individual parishes and the faithful priests that lead them. Pope St. John Paul II talked about a new evangelization and this looks like one.
      God Wants His World Back

      Liked by 9 people

    3. Ed, Bishop Sheen has a suggestion:
      “The Lord brought a sword. It’s not the sword that’s thrust outward against the enemy. It’s a sword that’s thrust against ourselves, cutting out the seven pallbearers of the soul: pride and covetousness and lust and anger, envy, gluttony and sloth. And we’ve given up the sword — someone else has taken it up, and we have to restore it! Then we’ll get peace! And peace is never corporate — it’s never social — until it’s first individual.”
      “Social peace, world peace, is the extension of individual peace in our hearts. When we are right with God, then we will be right with our fellow man. When are not right with God, then we will be wrong with everyone else. ”
      “And, therefore, live your lives in the full consciousness of this hour of testing, and rally close to the heart of Christ.” Be the “minority.”
      (or who Pope Benedict XVI called “THE REMNANT”).

      Liked by 5 people

      2. Right on P.F.. Bishop Sheen spoke this in 1974 and said we were at the end of Christendom. He did give hope saying the Church would rise again. And so it will. Keep the torches lit and shine your light. Hope is all we have right now.

        Liked by 1 person

    4. “…America is not the country it was a mere 50 years ago. And that America is gone and will never come back again.” Absolutely, ST Ed. I have seen it for some time and thank God and pray we never go there again. Reminds me of the story of Lot’s wife – Don’t look back! Pray forward.

      To keep myself on an even keel [sort of], I keep reminding myself that God has this, He is in control.
      Oh, Wait, I have to choose His Will and do my part! Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, for we are all sinners. We need You, God! I pray we WANT You, God!
      [just went through a life altering cardiac procedure. A BIG lesson in surrender to the Divine will! I am so not where I need to be,]

      Liked by 3 people

  12. Storm Tracker, I have long thought that the birth pill provided the catalyst for the disintegration of our society that had been built on Judeo-Christian morality, so Chaput’s observation about that makes him immediately credible to me. Having been born before the Boomer’s, I guess I’ve been more sensitive to this corruption. The harmful role of the media, principally Hollywood movies, has also been important for rationalizing selfish conduct as justified. The Army’s adoption of the good motto, “Be all you can be,” was followed by the abomination of, “An army of one,” to appeal to self-centered attitudes– narcissism authenticated and justified by the government in its mass advertising campaign for recruiting from the Millennials, their having been warped. British statesman Disraeli may have realized the solution, and it comes the hard way during life, ” A man who is not a Liberal at sixteen has no heart; a man who is not a Conservative at sixty has no head. “

    Liked by 10 people

  13. Thank you for this post, Charlie. I think most of us that follow you feel the same way but can’t express it as eloquently. One thing I am noticing of late is that several good, young priests are starting to assert their beliefs and highlight the traditions of the Church. Definitely “A Sign of Hope.”

    Liked by 13 people

  15. Thanks Charlie. Seems like you have a lot of fight in you. Honestly I’ve somewhat accepted defeat in a sort of way like there is nothing I can do to control others and I see them heading straight for the metaphorical cliff to jump to their death and they fight me if I tell them it’s a bad idea.

    That’s how I feel sometimes anyway. I hope things don’t need to get really messy for people to learn but suspect they may. Although I’ve been wrong plently lol.

    I understand why people would leave the faith. It is really tough to be a practicing Catholic. Hardly anybody seems to represent us on a public level in my opinion and the lifestyle itself is extraordinarily hard. Then there’s those involved in the abuse scandals or crooked in other ways. I have considered it but what keeps me is that I know a soul deep level that the faith is real.

    I have had a type of spiritual experiwnce that has convinced me on that level where it is beyond logic. When I’m in adoration I know that that is God there. I feel it. When I go to confession I feel God has forgiven my soul. Not because of the priest. He’s just a tool. Plus I’ve gone the way of sinning and doing whatever I want and know the misery that leads to which helps me keep on the path.

    Anyway if I relied on the people in the church as perfect role models or for my reason for staying I would’ve left. And to be completely honest if I were a leader in the church and my soul was laid bare most everyone would want to leave too. I’m staying because I know there’s the real deal here. I’m thankful I have that grace.

    Have a good one everyone and hang in there.

    Liked by 14 people

    2. AR90: I have recently found a source for a hope-filled project of doing that might strike you as constructive, too. I also have been feeling defeated by the fact, as you said, that “there is nothing I can do to control others” or the mis-use of their gift of Free Will as they head willy-nilly over a cliff. The hope-filled project I discovered involves praying for the dying as recognized, fleshed out, and promoted by Ven. Mother Mary Potter. I view the work of the order that she founded, The Little Company of Mary, in light of the miracle of conversion of Bl Augustine Marie’s mother right at the moment of her death. You see, Our Lady intervened because of Bl Augustine Marie’s faithful prayers DESPITE his mother’s desire to “jump off a cliff” through her strident and well-known aversion to Our Lord and His Church.

      What Ven. Mother Potter taught is in line with Our Lady of Fatima’s request that we pray and sacrifice for poor sinners but especially those “at the hour of [their] death”. I find that Mother Potter’s instructions and insights of devotion to the Maternal Heart of Mary include a fullness in practice of de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary as well as St Faustina’s Divine Mercy and even, I find, Luisa Piccaretta’s Divine Will.

      This link below has a short biography of Mother Potter and TAN books has published one of her many treatises as Devotion for the Dying: Mary’s Call to Her Loving Children. https://www.ecatholic2000.com/cts/untitled-300.shtml

      Phillip Frank suggested that I pray and this devotion previously unknown to me was brought to my attention. I am heartened to know that, when in the state of grace, my pittance of prayers for a dying soul who is running head long into Hell effect much when combined with the Precious Blood of Jesus through the Maternal Heart of Mary.

      Liked by 1 person

  16. Charlie,

    I liked your rant. It should be noted how the rampant stupidity was preceded by preposterous and ridiculous ideas, such as:

    Low flow toilets to save water – a great idea for the southwest, but horribly impractical in the northeast. There now is a whole industry in smuggling older toilets and installing them because they have the bigger tanks that actually flush the waste instead of the problem that all to many public works officials have privately told me off – clogged sewer lines due to inadequate water flow (and, the demand for thicker toilet paper has compounded the problem!).

    Limiting road ditching to reduce storm water runoff, and since 2015 you need a permit. This is causing a breakdown in culverts and roads. People I know have taken to ditching their own ditches. A silent generation woman spoke to me of it today, stating, “i am paying taxes and they no longer provide the service they are supposed to. You complain, and you get a visit from the police.” So, as the storm water ponds, it undermines the roads, floods the roads and the ditch fills in, clogged with debris.

    The break down in the civil service is the breakdown of empire.
    ————————
    The other thing i have noticed for me personally, as well as others is an uptick in the storm. One facet seems to be increased indecisiveness and confusion amongst people.Godless people see to be getting nastier.

    Here in the Diocese of Buffalo, Bishop Malone has not lost his head, but he is like a deer in the headlights, or the leader of a defeated and routed, but not destroyed army. As you noted, Charlie, each Diocese is independent. Some Dioceses are more deteriorated than others, and Buffalo needs the intervention of the Holy Spirit. I and others have privately given Bishop Malone advice. But, he failed to take it, and thus the problems escalated. Malone has reached the point that he is frozen, confused, overwhelmed and doing nothing, At a human level, i cannot blame him. but prayer and sacrifice is all I can do now to help. have no doubts some of what is happening to the Diocese of Buffalo is the part of the purification.

    Liked by 8 people

  17. I will keep harkening back, “These-Days” to St Faustina and The Message:

    “Cardinal Pell is innocent. Those who persecute him are not”
    https://www.crisismagazine.com/2019/the-priest-hunters-claim-cardinal-pell

    …. but NO BIBLES ALLOWED!! …………The Usual Suspects have been after Our Kids for 50 years …… those that they didn’t Terminate ;-( .
    ……
    “Thomas More Law Center Uncovers Taxpayer-funded Islamic Propaganda Forced on Teachers”
    https://mailchi.mp/thomasmore/tmlc-uncovers-taxpayer-funded-islamic-propaganda-forced-on-teachers?e=3b7c597bb1

    We Must Say No to the 1619 Project in Schools–Lloyd Marcus https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/08/we_must_say_no_to_the_1619_project_in_schools.html

    Teacher Removed From Classroom After Defending Pledge of Allegiance https://www.toddstarnes.com/campus/teacher-removed-from-classroom-after-defending-pledge-of-allegiance/?

    This article was written 6+ years ago but the Urban Horror Show it speaks to … Like Old Man River … Keeps Rollin’ Along ;-(
    https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2013/02/7873/

    PP is in the BABY KILLER business… PERIOD. Any other “services” are BS Window Dressing!
    “Planned Parenthood sees swift fallout from quitting program”
    https://www.apnews.com/2103f9c8f46044aeaf1693d641188218

    https://stream.org/notorious-late-term-abortionist-loses-court-case/

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 12 people

  19. I have not commented for awhile but I never miss your posts.. I have said to many “I feel like I fell asleep and woke up in the twilight zone” it is beyond what I could have ever imagined .. As a hairstylist I come in contact with numerous people from all walks of life and unfortunately the majority are completely uninformed..I recently read when God isthe center of your life you see clearly the battle..totally spiritual not political..I trust God completely yet there are times in my prayers especially theRosary I cry Father forgive me I trust you yet sometimes I am afraid. Never doubt he is with us we are his hands and feet and we are to speak his truth constantly. I am very tired and going to sleep butI will leave you with this..On August the 6 at St Simeon church in Windsor Canada an icon of “The Inexhaustible Cup” began not weeping but pouring oil.. Thousands are coming to venerate Our Lady and Christ.. On August 17th 11 days later Canadaheld their first black mass in Ottawa.. We must not despair GOD is with us and we must do his work..pray from our deepest hearts and bring others to our Lord and God..He placed us in this specific time not to fear but to serve him and as Joshua said “ Be strong and Courageous..GOD bless all of you and if you have not please sign up to Father Heilman GraceForce..🙏🏻

    Liked by 14 people

  20. Hi Charlie

    The Storm has arrived at our doorsteps

    1. Same Sex Marriage
    2. Cardinal Pell
    3. Israel Falao
    4 In a hurry to Decriminalisation of Abortion
    5 They are going for the jobs of critiques like Alan Jones following Israel.

    Im so sick of what they did to Cardinal Pell i prayed so much even prayed to Our Lady of Perpetual Succor :(. The media here needs a good shaking as all they can do is gang up. We dont have anyone like you or Foxnews in Australia.

    All we have is people collecting properties so as to not pay taxes. They have destroyed this beautiful country and what it stands for. So many beared men here now and with the liberal non believers aborting babies and them (mostly Lebanese and the refugees) having many kids and surviving on handouts I think if the warning doesn’t arrive Australia will be lost to them and the left. One thing is giving refugee status but then there is no time frame or incentive to work just carry everyone and cant support our parents or get tax offsets for our kids who will be future tax payers. We cant have that outdoor meal or have that coffee outside because we live within our means but they are busy laughing! and we could be such a beautiful country.

    Liked by 9 people

      1. Thanks for the reply. I’ve begun reading that page and I should continue. Seems like there could be something there for me. It could end up being a life changer for me.

        Liked by 2 people

  21. Finally tonight, my 21 yr granddaughter called me to try to straighten out text mgs that had gone astray. My goodness to finally speak to my granddaughter in person (on the phone). We went round and round. But I felt for the first time in ages that we truly had dialogue. It was not pretty and nothing was resolved but the voice to voice connection was real. My husband thought we were fighting. But when we hung up I felt that I finally got to talk to my granddaughter without the interference of my daughter. I thanked God and was joyful.

    Liked by 6 people

    1. FYI, I had requested a meeting of my two granddaughters ages 21 and 18. I wanted to give them my testimony. I felt that it was important. They did not respond to my request. Their mother has kept them from me since they were in middle school. My influence is harmful bc I am of God. My 21 yr old felt that the encounter would only be preaching to them Therefore they did not reply.
      I was a young uninformed alone mother of their mother. I tried but failed. She has a lot of baggage against us, but we have tried to make amends over the years to no avail. I have put a stop to all of this and will not be put aside. God help me. I’m going in. Let the chips fall where they may.

      Liked by 6 people

      1. I need to clarify that my response above was misplaced under MP’s reply… With respect, San San, another thought to add to your love and concern for your precious granddaughters. In all the Church-approved messages from Our Lord and Our Lady, Their words – as the Church teaches – ever echos the Gospel when it comes to conversion. It is a theme of “Children, I invite you.” God forces no one to follow Him. We each, young and old, must freely choose. Praying for you all.

        Liked by 4 people

  22. No worries, CJ, I’ve had an internal rant going on for the past couple weeks. My go-to for grounding lately, besides prayer, is deep contemplation of Exodus. Sometimes not so deep, as all I can muster is imagery from “The Ten Commandments” with Charlton Heston… specifically the scene where he comes off the mountain and shortly thereafter the ground opens up to swallow the reprobates in a fiery conflagration.

    Just a quick glance at the world is enough to know it’s seriously crunch time. If the average American was honest, they’d have to admit they’re doing little more than making a few bricks for pharaoh at best, and teetering on the edge of fire lake at worst.

    History repeats, but man have we taken it to a whole new level. I’m beginning to think that the Plagues of our time are plagues that assault the head… the mind. Stuff that makes red rivers, locusts and boils look like play time.

    Not to worry. God prevails. And here’s a sign: more and more folks around me are confiding that they don’t know what’s wrong. That usually leads to, “I don’t know what’s the matter with me.” Good. That’s the kind of opening we can exploit for the Kingdom… and we ought to be taking advantage of all the openings we get. Later, we’ll be swinging at locked doors with what’s left of our wood-chopping axes!

    As for Salvador Dali, he really was a well-trained and gifted artist. Not sure why he chose to waste it on flaccid clocks draped on dreary tree branches. Silly stuff. Time is of the essence, and I swear it’s moving faster than ever.

    Liked by 7 people

      2. Hi Charlie and Josh
        Thank you for your insights into Australia.
        As a fellow Aussie, I can see the Storm is here too. But I took courage that the Silent Aussies are awake to what is going on and rejected Labor’s pitch in the recent elections.
        I can confirm that the attitudes of priests, bishops and archbishops is the same here too. Many are afraid to stand up for the truth.

        Charlie, I think you were referring to me as the woman who “specifically planned her trip to coincide with my presentation in Southern California”. It was great to meet you twice, and I am watching for your visits to see if they will coincide with my trips back to the US.

        Thank you and wishing God’s blessings to all here and their families.

        Liked by 2 people

  23. I thought I had breast cancer. I had asked for “anything” that would save my daughter and granddaughters. I was prepared to offer it all up for their conversion. I got the ‘happy’ news that I don’t have breast cancer. I was no relieved. It is Gods will not mine.

    Liked by 10 people

  24. Thank you Charlie for this, you certainly hit the nail right on the head. Some of the comments I read are full of hope some seem to be verging into despair. I believe the real work will begin soon with the world wide warning, people will realise what a mess we have all made of this world and the time will have finally arrived to get back in step. Its not going to be easy IMHO . Mass, Adoration, Confession Communion as my son keeps reminding me is the only way.

    Christus Vinci

    Liked by 10 people

  25. You nailed it Charlie! I suspect we’re living time where the mountain falling from sky will hit the Babylonian statue of different metals…

    Our Lady of Akita said it would be Bishop against bishop, and we a pope at the centre of it all…

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  26. SQUIRRELS!!!!!!! suck it up!!!!!!! We were born for this!!!! It is our time!!!! Quit looking in the wrong direction!!!!! Yes things are atrocious – so what?!!!! Multiple prophecies told us so. God needs us right now and Jesus hasn’t left the building!!!!!!! He lives and is victorious – why would He send Fulton Sheen (see article on his 1974 prophecy at NCR) – why would He send JP2 – why would he send Mother Teresa but to brace and encourage us and assure us our struggle is under His eye!!!!!! Remember He has sent His very Mother at Fatima and at Medjugorie to guide us!!!! Quit looking at the problems and live in the solution!! We are His soldiers and we have every spiritual weapon available to us – pick them up and use them!!!!!! Fight like the devil – no – like Michael the great archangel who drove the devil out of Heaven on God’s orders. We are here now because God chose us to be here!!!!! Do what is in front of you…….do what you can to BE a Christian – an honest-to-God Catholic Christian – no holding back – in whatever way you can. Do you think Jesus would desert you in that????? Heroics are not necessary (though some may be heroes) but steadfastness is!!! End of my rant. Sorry if I hurt anyone’s feelings. CJ

    Liked by 18 people

    1. Love it, CJ! Truth be told, as I see it, it’s another time of BOTH/AND. Gotta rant and let off the steam. It’s a necessity for good mental health to own and express our feelings about the disorders and disarray around us. Jesus, as man, had his ranting moments. Oh yes He did. AND, like the Master before us, I think we’re dang good here at sucking it up and picking up the cross… sometimes surging forward and sometimes slogging onward. This is the home of TNRS-ASOH! We will NOT be overcome, for our eyes are on the Lord from Whom all Goodness comes.

      Ha! Ladies who have given birth, remember the phase named “transition” with that intense desire to just be DONE WITH IT already?! We are here. And we CAN do all things in Him Who strengthens us.

      Liked by 12 people

    2. Yes… there is something we’re missing though…

      There is the “false Church” running interference to stop any who would get too enthusiastic. While we have this time, we should avail ourselves of all the information on faith and spiritually grow as much as possible. Everyday has it’s opportunities and we should keep our eyes open for those small opportunities, a time may come when the false Church will fall away and we should try to be ready for that time…

      Liked by 7 people

      1. I guess I have a certain way of looking at spiritual growth, Al, that doesn’t get overly concerned over the machinations of evil. Some have no doubt pegged me as part of the head-in-the-sand crowd, but I couldn’t disagree more. That would only be true if I didn’t have eyes to see and wasn’t engaged in the tasks at hand. As for those tasks, I see none greater than loving God with my whole heart, mind and soul, and loving my neighbor as myself.

        The Ten Commandments are seen as a set of do’s and don’t’s to too many… something to be approached with great trepidation and trembling. The first bunch: Love God. The rest: Love neighbor. Oh, such an invitation to hope and joy! And so doable if we simply trust Him!!!!

        The fact is, God could eradicate evil with a mere glance. So, the opponent is not a real challenge to Him, but I agree that he is the adversary that we must overcome. Again, why not with love, hope and joy… in whatever we undertake?

        I think of sport, because I happen to love sport. We were those kids, growing up in Indiana, who played hoops 365 days a year. Even if we had to chop away at 4″ of ice to get at our court in the dead of winter. Heck, we even had to run in the house every 15 minutes to warm up the ball under hot water because it wouldn’t bounce at a certain point. Oh, we loved hoops and were pretty good at it.

        I think of running that first 100 yard dash on an old cinder track in the 5th grade. Oh, I came in dead last by a wide margin, but it only inspired me to become a serious runner. I ran all over northern Indiana after that, ultimately for the sheer joy of it. Heck, simply loved it and still do. By senior year of H.S. the 440 yd. (yards then, not meters) team of Ryan, Hogan, M.P. and Big Tony set the school record at the regionals held at Notre Dame. Oh, we placed third, but I couldn’t have been more happy because we ran like the wind in spite of ourselves. Not bragging here, just sharing some of that joy which seems as fresh today as it was nearly 40 years ago. BtW – that record still stands to this day.

        Baseball? Heck, is there any sport that sets a batter up for so much failure? Just consider the typical (even great) batting average. Most of us were average, which means mostly strikes, pop-ups and ground outs. But get your bat on one, send it sailing over the center field fence, and the next at bat becomes pure joy with the possibility of another hit.

        Football? We had those kind of coaches that didn’t ignore the opponent, but they didn’t spend a ton of time prepping for all the possible contingencies they might throw at us on offense and defense. What they did do is work us physically from preseason to the final game. Seems their strategy was more proactive and less reactionary… and I happen to agree with it. Heck, we were so physically prepared, even if we were outsized and outgunned on strategy, we often prevailed by outlasting the other team. Physically and mentally. Is it fair to say we loved the grind? Hm. In that case I think we came to love the discipline. It was the discipline that made the wins possible. And sweet!

        I’m on in years now, so the sport isn’t what it used to be in my life. But the mentality is, because I apply it to darn near everything I do. Oh, God will forgive my flawed way of looking at things. I’m sure of it, because love, hope and joy tells me so.

        I had an old granddad that shared this way of looking at things with me by living it. He lived it until his 100th year. Right up until the end (maybe better to say beginning), that fella was singing to the nurses. Singing! Not sure what the song was, but I guarantee it was something about love, joy and hope. Maybe the Angels were there, a Heavenly chorus backing him up with something about WINNING!

        Liked by 4 people

    3. Your comment made me think of this:
      “Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
      Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil.”

      Liked by 7 people

      1. YESSSSSSS!!!!! we are not ostriches with our heads in the sand……….just looking at the glass half-full!!!! Come everybody – we need everybody (soul). Stand up – be counted!!!!!! cj

        Liked by 3 people

        1. I read your “YESSSSSS!,” Calamity, but it sounded like “YEEEEHAAAAA!” in my head. I’d say your glass is full to overflowing. Thanks for snapping me out of my two-week-old internal rant recently. That was your doing.

          I deeply respect CJ’s keen analysis and truly believe it’s part of his commission, but something is amiss here through no fault of his own. Maybe just a bit out of balance. Makes we wonder how many old friends and other quiet readers don’t jump in because of the trending gloom. And, yes, I recognize that some folks can look shrewdly at these topics with the professional, antiseptic vision of a skilled surgeon without losing stride, but it also derails an awful lot of folks in my experience.

          Like

          1. MP, do you mean there is an air of pessimism? I’m not pessimistic, actually, always been very opposite of that. But also very realistic. Our church and political system are both mired in, I believe, unprecedented amounts of evil. But I’m glad I’m alive right now, and have not an inkling of fear that Our Lord is not taking care of everything. He has already won. Just gotta keep the prayer and fasting in high gear in hopes of saving many souls!

            Liked by 4 people

            2. No, not “pessimism,” Kim. I just said, “amiss,” and maybe out of balance, since we’re focused on “reality” in the flow of the thread here. So when you commented on being “very realistic,” you’re right on topic. Gotta admit that I usually wrinkle my right brow and grin when folks say, “I’m a realist,” because that needs a whole lot of qualifying coming from any individual. Of course our view of reality is subject to our perceptions, strengths, limitations, etc. But, yeah, we can both look at a pencil and say without hesitation, “that’s a pencil.” And of course we can both say, “the world is an obvious mess with hell running amok…”, probably with a great deal of keen observation. Obviously that’s not always the case with the range of topics/comments here.

              There’s a whole lotta reality out there. Where to focus?

              Liked by 4 people

              1. Interesting MP.
                I think a realist qualifies you as a NRSer. If being firmly planted in reality, which usually equates to the “here and now”, not the past or future possibilities, but the now, then you are truly a one-step-at-a-time-guy.
                Seems life is so full of curves that most can only see right in front of them anyway, but only if they care to look.
                I’m always amazed at how every hour on the busy freeways of the world so many millions of cars traverse the land at incredible speeds and yet manage to make it home unscathed? Driving 80+ miles an hour with two-ton blocks of steel on every side of me makes me wonder at how well I’m being protected by laws governing the way we drive but more so by how God, the real Person in control, helps me make it home safely in one piece! Placing myself with trust in His hands during the most statistically probable way of being killed in the land is a real act of faith.
                As another “realist”, I am not caught up too deeply in the normalcy bias so recklessly adopted these days so I appreciate the protection the Lord hedges me in with. I also look just a step ahead of me with hope and trust because those are the only two things I can realistically do about the future anyway! This is the way I have been my whole life. Is this Good or bad? I don’t know, but it works for me. I keep a sharp eye out for the talents I’m supposed to increase too. Seems they are heaped around me in surplus from time to time- from what I have no idea? I must be doing something right though because, well…there they are!
                I guess I don’t have my head in the sand either- definitely not my talents anyway. How else could they have multiplied so? When I occasionally look up I can’t help but laugh at what the Lord has accomplished around me despite myself being busy watching my feet kicking up sand while taking the next right step.

                Liked by 3 people

                1. Driving is something of art form too, something we take for granted. ‘Round here it often amounts to little more than an abstract. How the birds could teach us something about that. I always marvel at the flock in flight… 1000’s of individual birds flowing like one organism, without a single one getting knocked off course.

                  I don’t think so much about being realistic as I do about being practical. And part of my wiring often has me envisioning what can be in the best terms, whilst placing that foot so as to not fall on my face. Got a pretty big imagination, but I’m consoled that God’s always surpasses my wildest expectations.

                  Someone left the tube on this morning, so I caught a glimpse of “Cinderalla Man,” right at the part where Jimmy Braddock got a shot at Corn Griffin and knocked him out. Probably have seen that movie a couple dozen times. The whole scenario was against all odds.

                  On the way out of the arena after the bout, Braddock paused to look at Max Baer in the title match. What an arrogant buffoon Baer was. Had we wonder what was going through Braddock’s mind. Later, and against all odds, he’d work his way through a series of fights to get a shot at Baer in the title match.

                  Makes sense. The man was battered by the times (the Depression), hardened by tough manual labor on the docks, etc., but he never let it get him down. Why? Because he took his role as head of his family seriously. And why else would God give him that set of meat hooks and a surprisingly wicked left.

                  I like to think that Jimmy Braddock prevailed because he asked himself one simple question. What can I do to fulfill my role to the best of my ability? I think he had steely-eyed focus, without the least glance at things beyond him. Not sure what he was thinking when Baer hit the mat, by I’m not gonna lie… gave me a little grin.

                  Liked by 1 person

                  1. Well, driving is a muscle memory event for humans while flocking in birds is an instinct. No effect from the Fall there MP, just pure design genius. Makes me wonder how excellent we would have been if Adam and Eve had made the right choice?
                    Well, we get a better though tougher reward now I guess. “Oh necessary sin of Adam”( Exsultet).
                    They say healing process makes the area stronger. I suppose there is the spiritual equivalent of this in the passage that “when we are weak He is strong.”
                    There are so many references to this: “I must decrease and He must increase”;
                    “Cast off the old self”; “Put on the armor of God”
                    “Your faith can move mountains”, etc.
                    It will be a most amazing time in the next life when we are in our perfected bodies and we “flit like sparks through stubble” (Wis 3:7). It’s interesting how God uses His creation to parable that which “no eye has seen nore ear has heard”(Cor 2:9). But we get the “idea” as
                    God also gave us an imagination to help us discern these things since we can only imagine them based on what we actually know from this side of the viel. But God gives us “light” to accurize this imagining. The Holy Spirit gives us a look into the *Mind of God*- who alone “knows all and comprehends all; who weighs and measures, without ever being measured or comprehended (Wis. 9:13).

                    Liked by 1 person

                    1. I saw an article pop-up once on Max Baer, Jr., and thought there couldn’t possibly be two guys named Max Baer that weren’t related. “Jethro” was a big fella. Googled it then, and sure enough…

                      Liked by 1 person

                    2. Oops… sorry, Charlie! I am a couple days behind in reading comments, so I didn’t see your prior “Jethro” comment before I made my Jethro comment. I gotta do a better job of keeping up with the comments. 🙂

                      Liked by 1 person

                    3. You can never say enough about Jethro! I always loved Granny, because she reminded me of my great-grandmother…who had six husbands and lived longer than Ruth Bader Ginsburg (she outlived each of her husbands except the one she married for money – and shortly divorced. She was honorable, in her way…sending back the money that one kept sending her. He finally got the idea and quit after she quit sending it back). She was born a Smith…and progressively became a Rider, Cocher, Tevedore, Box, Herring and Jones. Her last husband was two years younger than her oldest son. Granny, indeed!

                      Liked by 2 people

                  3. MP, I also like that movie a lot. I did a bit of research on Braddock after I saw the movie years ago. I get the impression that he was a good man, a man of faith, a good husband and father and friend. He was the real deal.

                    I also did some research on Baer. From what I could gather, he wasn’t quite the monster that the movie portrayed (but is certainly did make for a good film). I learned that the guy who played Jethro in the Beverly HIllbillies was Baer’s son. He said that his father often cried when he remembered thought of how the one guy died during their boxing match. Also, his father helped to financially support the man’s widow.

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                    1. Yeah, I was thinking about that too. Baer certainly had more dimension to him than the movie portrayed, but he must have had to put some arrogance and buffoonery on display or they would have played it differently.

                      At the end of that bout (in the movie), you can see Russell Crowe give a hug to an older, white-haired fella. That’s actually Jimmy Braddock’s son in real life, and I believe he did some consulting on the movie. I know if I was Jimmy’s son, I’d sure want my dad portrayed in the best light. Same goes for Max, Jr., and who can blame either.

                      Like

                    2. Wow, MP; I didn’t know that Braddock’s real-life son made an appearance in the movie.

                      I just found a documentary about James Braddock on Amazon Prime. I’ve watched a few minutes of it, and I hope to be able to watch the rest in the next few days.

                      Like

              2. One of my favorite artists is the late Mexican master, Leonardo Niermann. I have used images of his paintings in several articles here. Once an interviewer asked how he comes up with his marvelous “abstract” pieces. Niermann reacted with angry irritation and said, “I am a realist.”

                Liked by 1 person

                1. Sounds like a practical fella (ah, you’re probably the only one that picked up on my angry, irritated jab at semantics earlier). No worries. I didn’t pick up on Christopher’s tongue-in-cheek on football either. High-five anyway!

                  Liked by 2 people

          2. Dear MP – always love to read about your hikes in the desert. My guess is that the “dog days” heat got you down – very much missing the monsoon rain breaks that haven’t happened. I too am not as young as I once was……but still, as young as I ever will be……. I am your neighbor – I attend St Maria Goretti here in Scottsdale. Many thanks for your contributions at this space. cj

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Oh, the heat never gets me down, since it’s completely out of my hands. It’s enough that God sends the sun and the rain as He sees fit. All I can really affect is how I think about it. St. Maria Goretti was my grandparent’s Parish when they were here. Always think about them when I get down that way.

              Liked by 2 people

      1. Dear Mick – thanks for your notice. I enjoy your thoughts too on a regular basis, even if I do not always weigh in. God save us one and all as we keep on keepin’ on. cj

        Liked by 2 people

        1. Amen to your prayer, Calamity.

          Also, I just read that you’re in Scottsdale. I visited your fair city once, almost 30 years ago. It was my first trip “out West,” and it was beautiful.

          Like

  27. Charlie, I have been having this rant internally for some time. When I let the rant out all I get are looks of ‘poor man has lost his mind’. Perhaps I have but I have given it to Jesus and Mary so I know it’s safe.

    As one who has keenly followed the apparitions of Mary from Fatima to the present, Mary has told us that things will get worse and just when it seems that humanity is on the way to destruction, the Father will come with a warning, simultaneously experienced m every human being on the face of the earth. In that warning each one of us will see our sins: those we have confessed (to show us the harm our sins have done to God and each other) and those not confessed or repented. It is a purification, an act of His Mercy that gives us our final chance to turn back to Him or face our destruction.

    I am no longer surprised by anything that is happening now, either in society or at the Vatican. A priest that I have great trust in gave me a good piece of advice which sounds very much like what you’ve been saying for years: stay faithful to Christ by staying within the Catechism and Scripture. Take care of your family, yourself and the souls around you. Even if the priest is a scoundrel, he can still confect the Eucharist, and you can still receive it to your everlasting health if you are in a state of Grace. Even in the midst of such outrages as the injustice to Cardinal Pell, the disgrace of the IL of the Amazon synod, the abuses, neglects and all of it, that little bit of advice has brought me a peace that I don’t remember from before.

    God bless you Charlie. God bless all of us here. God have Mercy on the world.

    Liked by 10 people

  28. Charlie, you always bring clarity to issues whether it is religion, politics and everything in between. Your ending sentence, “But the silence of the shepherds is killing us.” really hit me. It reminded me that August 21st was the feast day of Our Lady of Knock. There was silence there as well, but Mary’s message was loud and clear! So many things happening now…Bishops against Bishops, many people turning away from the faith, increase in earthquakes and floods, civil wars brewing in the US and other nations, legalization of full term abortion and euthanasia on the rise, etc. It’s so hard to feel hopeful when so much evil is going on around us. Thank you for your insight and encouragement!

    Liked by 6 people

  29. Day 1 of the novena of surrender:
    Why do you confuse yourselves by worrying? Leave the care of your affairs to Me and everything will be peaceful. I say to you in truth that every act of true, blind, complete surrender to Me produces the effect that you desire and resolves all difficult situations.
    O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything! Mother, I am yours, through you and with you I always want to belong completely to Jesus. Buck up fellow soldiers!
    https://piccollage.com/_3dLugqck

    Liked by 7 people

  30. Charlie, Do you have a list of good references on socialism in the Scandinavian countries? I know young adults that are keen on how it looks to them from the outside.. I’d like to have some trusted statistics of what it’s like to actually live under this type of governance. I agree wholeheartedly with your “rant.” Thanks for always pointing to the “Sign of Hope.”

    Liked by 6 people

  32. So I’m back to “reality” after having spent a month or so in the mountains completely out of contact with the world and Charlie writes this new piece titled “The Assault on Reality” reminding me of all the stuff going on that prompted my short exodus in the first place. Hmmm, I guess there’s no easy way to escape this nightmare we’re living in is there? 😦

    Liked by 8 people

  33. These verses from the third Chapter of Malachi are worth remembering:
    14 And you have said: What have we spoken against thee? You have said: He laboureth in vain that serveth God, and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinances, and that we have walked sorrowful before the Lord of hosts?
    15 Wherefore now we call the proud people happy, for they that work wickedness are built up, and they have tempted God and are preserved.
    16 Then they that feared the Lord spoke every one with his neighbour: and the Lord gave ear, and heard it: and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that fear the Lord, and think on his name.
    17 And they shall be my special possession, saith the Lord of hosts, in the day that I do judgment: and I will spare them, as a man spareth his son that serveth him.
    18 And you shall return, and shall see the difference between the just and the wicked: and between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not.
    Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

    Liked by 5 people

  34. When CJ was in Iowa last fall, folks were talking about the lack of preaching on abortion and contraception. Fr. Andrew Brinkman, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Paul, preaches on those topics with love and Truth. Podcasts of his sermons are at http://elcanalguadalupano.podomatic.com. Dates of the pro-life sermons are July 22, 2018; Jan. 20, July 21 and 28, 2019. You can choose either English or Spanish.

    Liked by 4 people

  35. Hi Charlie, I am one of your long time Australian readers. I dont usually make comment as you have such a good collection of regulars they usually say what I am thinking and experienceing. Cardinal Pell is most certainly a scapegoat. Liberal Catholics here in Australia hate him as much as the loony left and i believe they were prepared to do anything tk get him. If he had been cleared this week they would have manufactured new charges. It is depressing and very sad for him and he most certainly needs prayers to sustain him. He is 23 hour per day isolation and not allowed to say Mass. I hope he is allowed his Breviary but I cannot say what other prayer materials he is allowed.
    On another depressing note, Australia Bishops have been preparing for a cenacle in 2020. I am guessing it is similar to a synod. The international Catholic media do not seem to know about it but the discussion paper is appallingly liberal with a list of iems up for discussion that are not dissimilar to the Amazon Synod. The document is supposedly a summary of talking points from all parishes. Clearly there are more modernists in Australia than I ever thought and I now fear we are being taken down the wrong path. We have some Conservative bishops but the President of the Bishop Council is well known for espousing and condoning modern . I have posted a link which asks people to protest before too many aberrations are foisted on us. Maybe some of your readers could voice their opinion through that link. Thanks for all you do and write. Your site is one of the few places I can feel assured that there are others who love the Lord and his mother as I do. God bless you Charlie and beckita, and all your readers.

    http://bernardgaynor.com.au/2019/08/02/an-open-letter-to-australias-catholic-bishops/

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Welcome to commenting, Mary; hope to hear more from you in the future. I am praying for dear Cardinal Pell, and I will pray for the Church in Australia.

      Liked by 6 people

    5. Mary– thank you for commenting. Is there any way for us to send encouragement to Cardinal Pell? Would love to let him know people around the world care and are praying for him.

      Liked by 3 people

  36. As always, a very good piece of writing, Charlie. It is good to remember that God has a plan, He always wins the battle, and things will all turn around one day. In the meantime, we put one foot in front of the other and take the next right step. There is much to dismay us in this world, but as children of a truly loving God, we have a lot to keep up smiling, too. He will never abandon any of His faithful, and will even continue to love and nudge the unfaithful. Awesome and beautiful. Love beyond all human understanding.

    Liked by 6 people

  37. It’s hard to say that the following linked article is surprising, since it’s but one more step in a long and predicted trail that we were warned of 2,000 years ago. First, here’s the news piece, dated 8/22/2019;

    https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/multi-faith-committee-set-up-to-spread-pope-francis-claim-that-god-wills-diversity-of-religions

    The beginning paragraph restates what we’ve been hearing for quite some time from Pope Francis and the major Islamic leadership;

    “A multi-faith “higher committee” was announced this week to implement the “Human Fraternity” document signed by Pope Francis and a Grand Imam in February that stated, among other things, that a “pluralism and diversity” of religions is “willed by God.””

    Followed later on by this;

    “The Grand Imam urged the committee members to spread the principles of the “Human Fraternity” document across the world so as to achieve security, coexistence, and peace for everyone, stressing that spreading the principles of the document would contribute to security and stability around the world.”

    Even though concerns were expressed by Bishop Athanasius Schneider and others, the development of this seeming united religious framework is steaming ahead full-speed, as stated later in the piece;

    “Despite this, in mid-March 2019, only a few weeks after Pope Francis’ private conversation with Bishop Schneider, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue sent out a letter dated February 21, 2019, to Catholic university professors in Rome, asking them to give the Declaration the “widest possible dissemination.”

    The letter’s signatory, Bishop Miguel Ayuso Guixot, secretary of the Pontifical Council, asked professors as well as priests and religious active in universities “to facilitate the distribution, the study, and the reception” of the Document.”

    Personally, I stand firmly with those who oppose the implementation planned by this “higher committee”. It’s hard not to notice the prominently mentioned benefits that we will supposedly reap from this worldwide move towards religious unity. Those benefits? “Peace and Security”. “Peace” is mentioned five times, and “Security” twice, by those promoting across-the-board implementation of the “Human Fraternity” agreement.

    Now where have I heard those words linked together before? Oh, yes, now it comes to mind – I Thess. 5;

    “Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”

    https://biblehub.com/esv/1_thessalonians/5.htm

    Those left wing supporters of global governance haven’t been sleeping, nor have their allies on the right.

    Dave

    Liked by 9 people

    1. I remember this video, Dave. I take great hope that the petition was formulated so that “sincere dialogue may produce the fruits of peace and justice.” Anyone who prayed for this, keeping in mind the need to seek and speak Christ’s Truth, prayed well. I don’t trust the agenda of the current leadership in the Vatican because of the constant dichotomy between what is said and what is done. Praying against any evil agenda in the “multi-faith higher committee.”

      Liked by 5 people

    2. A satire on The Pope Video: (Perhaps too much, Bekita?) (Edit from Beckita: Video link deleted, III.

      Like

      1. I do understand the frustration and anger portrayed in the subtitle rewrite, III. Of course, I would rather focus on living fidelity to the faith which calls for an abundance of prayer, sacrifice and fasting for the Pope and hierarchy. To his credit, Pope Francis has also made connections with others faiths in an honest attempt, I believe, to move us to unity in the Body of Christ.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Cardinal Burke said he’s aware of the various claims, yet adds the charges of illegal pre-conclave campaigning would be very difficult to factually demonstrate as true.

      Imagine the absolute messier crisis that would ensue if Pope Francis’ election was declared invalid. With the Curia as well as appointed Cardinals and advisors with which the Pope has surrounded himself, I see nothing other than total chaos and abuse of ecclesiastical power – not that it hasn’t been abused already – but I believe we would be crushed by such a development.

      What can we do? “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life?” And we know His Words are everlasting, from age to age. If we but hang tough and continue to acknowledge Him, He’s got a solution of action so far above our own thinking so that our next right steps will be pleasing to Him and the fulfillment of His Plan.

      Liked by 5 people

        1. Right, Kim?! I’m sure our brothers and sisters who lived through crisis times before us had similar emotions. That said, I can never forget Pope St. John Paul II and his words in ’76 when he was still a Cardinal: the greatest historical confrontation mankind has gone through… and it’s a battle in the heavens in which we must rise up and tend to our share of it here below… the Church against the anti-Church, the Gospel against the anti-gospel.

          No wonder we cycle through weariness as we live it!

          Liked by 2 people

  39. Finding Good News is gettin’ difficult “These-Days”.

    A Federal Court Strikes a Powerful Blow for Free Speech and Religious Freedom
    https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/08/federal-appeals-court-strikes-powerful-blow-for-free-speech-religious-freedom/

    Law and Justice Party leader praises Polish archbishop for LGBT opposition
    https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/law-and-justice-party-leader-praises-polish-archbishop-for-lgbt-opposition-33349

    I remember sending the below out to MILINET and, possibly, TNRS Old Site years ago. The Situation has gotten, almost unbelievably, worse since I first penned it.
    Sadly, this could quickly & easily be rewritten to reflect The Situation in the Catholic Church today …. Worldwide! With many of the same cast of Evil Characters ……. that include Powerful Prelates and their “trusted” minions ;-(
    Take out the USA and Mother Church and, I deeply believe, that Earth becomes a much darker place! Evil this Way Comes commanded by Powers & Principalities …. Earthly & Otherwise.

    Imagine this: “A foreign power/group, with a deep visceral hatred of the USA, sets out to plan and implement a 50-year program to destroy the USA. With the assistance of “front groups”, fifth columnists in the bureaucracy/judiciary/unions and “useful idiots” in the media, they attack our moral fiber, long held religious beliefs, social traditions, military, currency, local police and business large and small. They then attempt to re-make US into the image of their most radical constituent elements.”
    Now tell me how my above scenario is any different from the actions of the Democrat Party these past five decades? …. Eh!!???

    Assault on Reality?

    NBC News: “Heterosexuality Is Just Not Working’
    https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2019/08/23/nbc-news-heterosexuality-is-just-not-working/

    What the Devil Did the Jesuit Superior General Just Say?
    http://www.ncregister.com/blog/patcross/what-the-devil-did-the-jesuit-general-say

    Jesuit Chief: No Country Has the Right to Turn Away Migrants
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/08/24/jesuit-chief-no-country-has-the-right-to-turn-away-migrants/

    U.N. COMMEMORATES RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION
    https://www.catholicleague.org/u-n-commemorates-religious-persecution/

    ANTI-WHITE PRIVILEGE
    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/274696/anti-white-privilege-bosch-fawstin

    GOD SAVE THE REPUBLIC & ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 8 people

    1. PS:
      Yep’er! SanFran Nanny loves children so much that she and her Radical Democrat Pals endorse the slaughter of millions in the womb, turn a blind eye to the horrors that children face in Democrat Party Controlled Urban Cesspools every day…… plus turn a blind eye to the drugs, people and child sex traffickers that overwhelm our borders …. then demonize Border Patrol, Cops and Military who we depend upon to keep US safe.
      It is and never has been about “The Children” …. it’s all Power, $$$$, Votes & Smokescreens!.
      Yeah! … I know … The term “Radical Democrat” is redundant now.

      Pelosi to Dems: ‘You Have to Be Ready to Throw a Punch … For the Children’
      https://freebeacon.com/politics/pelosi-to-dems-you-have-to-be-ready-to-throw-a-punch-for-the-children/

      GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

      Liked by 8 people

    1. Chilling, Sean. Makes me glad I joined the NRA right after I graduated from college.

      I can’t see most normal Americans agreeing to hand over their firearms, even if they do get banned. What do you think? (I’m also asking this question of MP, CrewDog, Patrick Daniel, BD, and all the other gun owners in the family.)

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Mick, no matter what anti-gun laws or bans the left come up with we must remember they don’t have that authority, so says our constitution. I used to think we would see an uprising should they ban guns. I now believe the vast majority would readily hand them over.

        Gun control advocates/idiots used to be satisfied slowly eroding our gun ownership rights. Now the full court press is on. If an outright ban becomes law they shall not find any guns where I reside. 😉

        Liked by 3 people

        1. BD, don’t bother me with all this Natural Law “rights” stuff. I mean really, football season is almost upon us and soon I’ll be sitting with my equally-emasculated friends pounding alcohol and other garbage down our throats while we adoringly watch other males play a game. Oh yeah! Then we all high five each other telling ourselves how good *we* looked in the first half. Good times indeed. 😀 Defending rights is hard. 😦

          Liked by 3 people

          2. Funny, Christopher. I was partaking last night (sans the booze, food and buddies) with the college season opener (Florida-Miami). My mobile phone was exploding in my pocket with the family group text, though they were talking about anything but football.

            I texted, “hey, get focused, there’s college football on!,” to which one of my brothers quipped, “no time for that now, we’re talking about cats and needle point.” So happens my ma and one of my older sisters were dominating the text conversation.

            Turns out that game exhausted me. Oh, there was plenty of scoring back and forth, but I wasn’t impressed by either offense in the least. Chalk the scoring up to a ton of missed tackles. The defenses on both sides were ill-prepared.

            I will join you in a high five. [HIGH FIVE!]

            Liked by 2 people

            1. MP, you strike me as the kind of guy who can exercise temperance in your football interests, My tongue-in-cheek comment was aimed at what goes on in millions of American living rooms several times a week for what amounts to 4 months every year. I’ve slowly lost interest in sports over time and now I see the addictive component of sports FAN-aticism. In the context of gun bans BD wrote “I now believe the vast majority would readily hand them over.” I’m afraid the sports-addicted American males, many of which fancy themselves as being uber masculine, would fold like lawn chairs if such laws were passed. It’s those ‘men’ that were the target of my dig.

              Liked by 2 people

              1. You may be on to something there, Christopher. It was my experience in politics that most of the toughest-talking outsiders were the quickest to fold when they found themselves under the gun. So much so that it actually cheered me when I found that someone who talked tough turned out to actually be tough.

                Liked by 2 people

            2. MP, after Mass on Sunday, several of us Michigan fans hung out in the narthex and talked football. None of us knows whom we’re playing in the opening game; but we figured that it’ll probably be the high school from the next town over, and we will find a way to lose. But hey… M Go Blue!

              Liked by 1 person

              1. Well, this is a real pickle, Mick.

                On the one hand, we’re sharing our fondness for the sport. On the other, you and I have yet another contentious date with destiny on 10/28/19. Of course I’m referring to this season’s match-up between my Fighting Irish and your beloved Wolverines. No doubt some on your crew still feels the sting of last year’s match-up, so I ain’t looking forward to that road trip to the Big House. Heck, it’s been a back and forth tussle for 132 years!

                Funny thing, but I know so many Blue fans who apparently hate N.D. with a passion. Heck, I thought they’d finally get some peace when we knocked ’em off our schedule for a bit. Nope. Michigan fans got even madder!

                Ah well. What would either program be without the other? It’s a match made in Heaven.

                Count me in the green section though.

                Liked by 1 person

                1. Pickle indeed, MP.

                  I don’t get to the Big House often. It’s a fantastic place to watch a game, but it’s so much easier (and cheaper!) to watch it on TV.

                  Unlike a lot of Wolverines, I don’t hate ND. I used to rather like the Fighting Irish, but I’ve been having trouble pulling for them since pro-abort Obama got feted and rosary-praying Catholics got arrested there.

                  But, back to football…. May the best team win. I think we’ll lose, though. (I’m a natural optimist in all things except U of M football and Detroit Tigers baseball.)

                  Like

        2. Guns? What guns? (looks towards the sky and whistles a tuneless tune)

          You may well be right, BD. But I can guarantee you that few of the gun owners in my neck of the woods would turn theirs in; too many God-and-country, former military, love-to-hunt, and don’t-tread-on-me types.

          Liked by 2 people

      3. Hi Mick & Gang 😉

        Nations Rise & Fall …. it’s Human History.
        We are not England but large swaths of the USA are like England. Left & BosWash NE and Liberal upper Midwest.. Even in Red States the Left owns the urban areas which are the hubs for transportation & commerce. 60 years of PC Public “Education” removal of God and attack on the entirety of Our Founders Moral & Civic beliefs ….. everything negative that we have discussed over the years …. while struggling to find the positive. The Global Left is pulling every nasty trick that the Bad Guys of History have used to force submission of fellow citizens.
        Our Founders were students of History and Humanity. They forged our Constitution/Bill of Rights knowing full well that a dark day would come when Patriots would be called upon to defend The Republic they forged in the fire of Revolution.
        Back to your Question? …….. will there be enough Patriots left willing to fight the Take-Over as Capt Parker & The Minutemen of 1775 on Lexington Green when the Bad Guys came for their guns…….???
        I’m guessing it will be “A Close Run Thing”.
        “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”
        I don’t have an aluminum steed to fight with anymore … soooo … I’ll dismount and fight on foot.
        GOD SAVE THE REPUBLIC & ALL HERE!!

        Liked by 8 people

      5. Nobody I know would hand them over.
        I’m a meek guy, but what is the point? Everyone knows criminals will have guns no matter what the law allows.
        Mexico is a prime example. Guns are banned there but look at all the cartels and other criminals loaded with firearms. When I was there once, we went to a bank in a rather small town and there was a soldier in front with a machine gun! If the populase is disarmed why do you need a military guard with a machine gun? Obviously because not ALL those who would rob that bank are unarmed and those that are are armed with weapons large enough to warrant a machine gun toating soldier to ward off!

        Liked by 3 people

      6. Mick, I’m with Phil and BD. Hand our guns in? Might as well ban my hammer, and my dog too, so I had two more idiotic directives to completely ignore.

        Liked by 2 people

  42. Like it or no …. we have been entangled in the Far East since 7 Dec 1941.
    China has been “Eating Our Lunch” since Tricky Dick’s Lame Duck overtures in 1974 and …. Say!!!!! …is it not Past Time for the FBI and USA Intel Agencies to spend less time looking for Russians under Trump/Deplorables beds and start investigating China Collusion. Am I the only guy here who thinks that China collusion did not end when it was exposed during Billary & AlGore’s eight year reign? Does anyone Not believe that China/PLA $$$$ has not been used to influence USA Politics, Chamber of Commerce & Industry these past 30 years ? …. and that said China $$$ has gone to mainly to Democrats, RINOs and their Wipers!!?? I’d Bet de Farm that China has been spreadin’ the Walking Around $$$$ and it’s been goin’ to the aforementioned… Why you might ask? ….. ’cause if it was goin’ to Trump & Deplorables … ABCNNBCBS-NPR/PBS/BBC/NYT ….. would be howling 24/7 in anguish …. and demanding INVESTIGATION ….. but we still hear Crickets on China ……. and it’s still Russians for …………. Ya know.
    Does anyone NOT believe, after the past three years, that The Usual Suspects are so engulfed in Trump?Deplorables Hatred that they would collude with China to depose him …. and to Hell with the best interests of the USA?? …… and why is the Vatican, seemingly, Selling-Out China’s Christians … and for what … exactly?

    “Beijing Pledges Fight “To the End” Against U.S. Economic Confrontation – Let It Be So…”
    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2019/08/24/beijing-pledges-fight-to-the-end-against-u-s-economic-confrontation-let-it-be-so/

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Good questions, Crew Dog. Thank you for the article from The Conservative Tree House. I think that The Epoch Times has also has shown good investigative journalism on similar topics of late.

      Liked by 2 people

  43. Steve Bannon: New Film On Huawei—“Claws of the Red Dragon”, Hong Kong Protest & US China Trade War
    America Thought Leaders — The Epoch Times
    The movie will release in Sept. — based on a true story.

    Liked by 2 people

  44. On youtube is American Thought Leaders who are affiliated with The Epoch Times. Steve Bannon talks about a powerful film coming out this Sept. “Claws of the Red Dragon”. Very interesting.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I saw that interview, San San. Over and over Mr. Bannon said that the striking take-away in the “Claws of the Red Dragon” is that plain-old, every-day people had to make decisions to take the next right step amid great personal threat. It reminds me of the latest Google whistleblower, Zach Vorhies. He said that even though the money was very good, his conscience would not let him keep silent any longer.

      Liked by 3 people

  46. I’m one of those people that don’t comment very often, but I do read Charlie’s articles and a lot of comments. I have to tell you something amazing. My brother and his two sons are hiking at Rocky Mountain National Park . He sent me a picture earlier today of St. Catherine’s on Mt. Meeker. It’s on a text message he sent me. I’ve never talked to him about Mr. Meeker. I don’t know how to retrieve it, or I would send it to you. The thought that came to me was the song, and the people of the kingdom and the people of heaven shall live forever and God shall rule. I can’t find the song right now. Amazing…

    Liked by 7 people

            1. I, too, love Kitty’s version, Charlie… but I’m an echo of St.Thérèse of Lisieux when she looked into the basket offerings and said, “I want it all.” I also love the version the high school kids did with you. I love ’em both.

              Liked by 1 person

  47. This is remarkable and a step or 2 in a good direction. I cannot worry any longer that these the people are so blinded by their greed and idiology however; this is music to our ears, for there will be babies saved. Yes, I know…there will be another ‘plan’, but for now, we thank our Lord for hearing our prayers, and those who kept pushing when it must at times seemed very dark and without Hope. “Planned Parenthood gives up federal funding by leaving Title X program.”

    Liked by 3 people

  48. Correct me if I am wrong. Didn’t Charlie warn that when wrestling power from the Left we have to. E careful the Right doesn’t use that power corruptly?

    Sidebar: reading “ The Reason they had to kill Lincoln” by Don Thomas

    Sounds so familiar to today. Perhaps the foundation was set for what we are experiencing today. It wasn’t a Southern conspiracy but the machinations of the Radical Republicans of his own party that put the hit on Lincoln using John Wilks Booth. Power and money.

    Poor Mary Sarrat ( a Catholic) was murdered by hanging because of the radical republican plot.

    The book makes such sense. The books of the future will be quite interesting regarding our time period!

    Liked by 1 person

  49. Charlie, this is not a criticism ~ just an observation. The feeling I picked up when reading your post reminded me of the feeling I had before August 14 (Saint Maximillian Kolbe), 2015, when I first heard reference to “this guy, who . . . .” That would be you. 🙂 I’m not referring to my own feeling but to the sense that you are feeling a bit discouraged at the moment. I am not.

    Here’s one example of why not:

    https://stream.org/unplanned-film-dvd-abby-johnson/

    Yes, The Storm rages. At the same time, remarkably good things are happening that only God could arrange, with our cooperation. Many of the icky things have been going on for a long time in the darkness but are only recently being revealed. Think September 23, 2017. God often seems to desire our awareness, understanding, and conversion so that He doesn’t HAVE to take precipitous action ~ all with our salvation in mind.

    I know that you know all of this. I am not a Pollyanna, not at all. It’s just that I have reason for my hope.

    Blessings, friend.
    Sister Bear

    Liked by 4 people

  50. Charlie and Beckita, thanks so much for sending me the link to the Sng of Thanksgiving. I’m still amazed about the picture that my brother sent me yesterday of St. Catherine’s. That song came immediately to my head. I just couldn’t remember all the words. God bless you both for all that you do.

    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.