In the Lord’s Winnowing Fan

Posted on by charliej373

Double Rainbow

By Charlie Johnston

Just a couple of hours after I published my venting complaint Thursday (The Assault on Reality), I saw a beautifully vivid double rainbow while I was out in a farmyard. I had been feeling more and more gloomy about the growing absurdity and fecklessness of modern life – in society, the culture, and in the hierarchy of the Church. I hate to write when I feel like that. I much prefer to offer solutions than merely curse the darkness. Sometimes, things get so clogged internally, you have to vent before you can get back on track. I see that a lot of you took the opportunity to vent, as well. Good for all of us.

Make no mistake, though; I am no revolutionary. My attitude is more akin to that of William Wallace in the movie, “Braveheart.” I want to press those who are charged with leadership to exercise it on behalf of the people they are called to serve – not just to feather their nests or cover their behinds. I want the king to be a king worthy of the name and the nobles to act with nobility. If they don’t, that doesn’t stop me from acting with vigor, fidelity and fortitude. Over time, those characteristics can inspire even a moribund leadership class. It was not Wallace who won Scotland’s freedom – but Robert the Bruce, the rightful king who had once betrayed Wallace. Yet he was so inspired by the great commoner that he ultimately chose to live fidelity to Scotland – and finally accomplished what Wallace started.

I don’t just want victory; I want a proper, honorable order resurrected. I want the elite to be worthy of the name rather than pathetic, arrogant shams; I want nobility, I want both courage and restraint, kindness and rigor, everybody living their lives with honor, dignity, and affection for their neighbors and tolerance for each other’s quirks. A few thoughts on that…

I was disappointed to see the venting lead some to take shots at St. John Paul and Pope Emeritus Benedict, suggesting they had to know about the scandals. To the contrary, before Pope Francis, those noxious clerics who want to subvert the faith took great pains to remain in hiding. Remember, Theodore McCarrick pretended to be a passionate reformer in 2002 even as he was about the business of molesting young men and older boys. St. John Paul, in his youth, literally risked summary execution to maintain fidelity to the faith in Nazi-occupied Poland. Benedict XVI wasn’t far behind navigating Nazi Germany as a youth. For men such as this, the idea that Priests and Bishops would eagerly and intentionally betray the faith to indulge their own sexual perversions was literally unthinkable. I can see them seeing discrete reports and thinking that these were just a few bad apples who had given in to human weakness. The idea that it was a large, co-ordinated conspiracy indulged in by a large cabal of depraved clerics was literally unimaginable. Shoot, it was unimaginable to me just a few years ago. I know that Benedict decided to resign within days of receiving a report he commissioned on just how bad the problem really was. When he saw how big and extensive the evil had become, it is entirely credible to me that he decided a younger, more vigorous man must tackle this. And then it became clear that God had another plan.

Some say anyone in such a position must have known. I know better. I have served as chief advisor for more than a few statewide candidates and officials. The pace is so frantic, even at that lower level, that the principal rarely knows more than his advisors and the media tell him. I took pains to have some different voices in the campaign and tried to never let my guy get sand-bagged by a public surprise. Many chief advisors do NOT do that. I knew and was close to one statewide official who had once been good, but had an office that had grown rife with corruption. Turns out he had developed an alcohol problem and his chief of staff was both protecting him AND badly taking advantage of the situation. That chief later went to jail. So with everyone trying to hide the corruption – and much of it being centered in the Vatican – AND the idea of such widespread filth being literally unimaginable to men like St. John Paul and Benedict, you bet I see how it could have been kept from them except at the margins.

To trade reflexive credulity for reflexive cynicism is a very bad bargain. One who is reflexively naieve lacks judgment, but is usually innocent. One who is reflexively cynical gets on a downward escalator; first believing everything is corrupt, then believing that the good is not even possible. Once you convince yourself there can be no good, you are not far from believing there is no God. Besides this, any sort of reflexive response makes you a slave to others. It is a lazy man’s way to play at being good or smart. If I know how you reflexively think, it is simple to manipulate you. Do what Jesus said and “Judge righteous judgment.” If you say all clerics are honest and true, that’s annoying and can allow a culture of corruption to fester. If you say all are corrupt, you are doing the devil’s work of smearing the righteous and just. Judge righteous judgment.

The virtue of obedience is both misunderstood and underrated in these times. In Christianity, obedience is not a matter of the lesser submitting to the greater. If it were, how would it have been possible that, after the temple, Jesus was obedient to His earthly parents? In Christianity, obedience is a means of cooperatively opening up channels of grace with each other.

A quarter of a century ago, my first spiritual director was concerned that I was, perhaps, too eager to obey. He was concerned I might think this relieved me of my personal responsibility. I explained the above to him and noted that if he gives me the best, most well-considered direction he can, even if he errs, his intention and my obedience sanctify it and cause even the error to bear fruit, opening up a channel of grace between us. Similarly, if I err or even rebel for a time, his careful prudence in advice sanctifies my error and, again, opens up a channel of grace between us. If we seek, then, under God, to live our duty to each other well, we keep the channels open and the grace flowing – and can always re-visit any matter that seems errant.

We worry way too much about dominance. We should rather worry about legitimacy and obedience. The person who commands in an area takes responsibility before God and man for living his duty. I have often been the leader of significant temporal movements. When I have that responsibility, I listen carefully to the ideas of those who work with me, but I expect their obedience once I have made the decision. Similarly, when I am a member of a group under another’s command, I endeavor to follow the lead of the head with fidelity. I reserve the right to speak in disagreement if necessary, but I rarely use it. It is stupid and mendacious to argue with the leader just because that is not the way you would do it. You disagree when you are concerned that a particular course would cause lasting damage. Few people make excellent leaders if they do not also have the capacity to be excellent followers.

Obedience never means you should submit to an unlawful order – nor do you have to obey an order that is outside the capacity of the one giving it. Far too often, though, we rebel against lawful authority out of pure mulishness. That is not from God.

I am obedient to my Archbishop – and glad to have him. Though our communications are not frequent, we do speak informally through his designees and, occasionally, formally but privately. While it occasionally stings, he has never ventured outside his legitimate authority over me – and it has helped me make this site better and live my duty better. In fact, though our audience here is about a quarter to a third of what it was a few years ago, we count an astonishing number of key decision-makers in both the Church and secular society among our readers. A key to that is not just that I write some pretty insightful material, but that I listen, obey lawful authority, and endeavor to tell you bluntly when I am wrong.

Ego is killing us. That is a key lesson God wants us to know and that the devil wants to hide from us. If you are more concerned with proving you are right than actually getting it right, if you are too focused on establishing your dominance to ever follow a leader faithfully, you are going to have a lot of problems ahead. I am more terrified of failing to acknowledge an error than I am of actually making one. Everyone makes errors…it’s just part of our pilgrim journey. But when our pride causes us to refuse to acknowledge or repent of them, it encases the error in cement around us. Encase yourself in enough cement and you soon won’t be able to move at all. Better to shake it off as quickly as you can.

The Rev. Michael Brown (not the Spirit Daily publisher) wrote a brilliant piece about what happens when a nation spirals into darkness. If social trends continue their current trajectory, we have some dark days and real strife in our future. We must be deliberate in everything we do; not giving in to despair, to indifference or to triumphalism. Don’t walk around with your hair on fire at every offense that comes. Rather, steadily acknowledge God, take the next right step and be a sign of hope to those around you. There will be times when you have to make quick decisions. The habits of deliberation, regularly and vigorously cultivated, will make even those rushed decisions into better decisions.

Along our way, we will all vent sometimes. But never let such venting take possession of you. Frankly, I don’t fight it too much. Rather, I wallow for a few days – and then get back to work. Of course, the call we have is a hard one. What grace, what merit would there be in it if it were otherwise? We are in God’s winnowing fan – and everything we do gives witness to Him of who we are.

If the storm on the horizon moves in in its full fury, the decisive element will not be found among the bankrupt class that calls itself elite. It will be found in the faith, fidelity and fortitude of millions of ordinary people all across America and around the globe. The most effective leadership will come locally and regionally…leadership that resolves that, whatever is happening around the world, it will take that next right step in cooperation with willing neighbors who share the same commitment, fortitude and fidelity. I am glad that most of my readership here have abandoned the false hopes of individual prepping. It is cooperative action between friends and neighbors that will hold things up when the elite classes are violently self-destructing around us. I have been working with some people to develop areas that people who are working together in every area should consider in order to help each other weather the storms. I will publish a piece on it just before I go back on the road in a few weeks.

When you are weary or worn out, go ahead and let loose a primal scream. Heaven knows, I do. But don’t let that be the last word. Judge righteous judgment, knowing that the criteria you use to judge others will be used to judge you. Resolutely take the next right step, even though sometimes you have to rest your weary soul. If we do this, when Christ comes to hold us to account, He will find faith on earth.

159 thoughts on “In the Lord’s Winnowing Fan”

  1. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Yup! Five of ‘em. We know our Master vented, shivered with anxiety and sweat blood, wept and felt e.v.e.r.y. emotion which is part of the makeup of our humanity. He was, after all, like us in all things but sin.

    I have discovered when I simply validate the one who is having a moment of whatever difficult emotion s/he is having, that one is uplifted and more readily moves through the feeling. When I skip over allowing the person to be human and express the feelings and, instead, give advice for resolution too quickly, or give out a shout to pick yourself up by the bootstraps (Although there’s a certain time for these things), it can be perceived as negating the person and that moment of being real in the midst of some really tough stuff. In my experiences with myself and others, it’s a boon to mental health to have friends who can listen to you, with rapt attention, just where you are, validate it and allow you the dignity of working through the process. Good timing and expressions of care are invaluable in a good friend.

    Love this truth: “It will be found in the faith, fidelity and fortitude of millions of ordinary people all across America and around the globe. The most effective leadership will come locally and regionally…leadership that resolves that, whatever is happening around the world, it will take that next right step in cooperation with willing neighbors who share the same commitment, fortitude and fidelity.”

    And this hope!: “If we do this, when Christ comes to hold us to account, He will find faith on earth.”

    Liked by 24 people

    1. Thank you, Charlie & Beckita! 😊Great insights! “‘Resolutely’ take the next right step.” That is the hard part, the challenge, especially in these times. I guess in the little things, we can practice. I remember a teacher of mine would always say, practice makes perfect. ☺️ Betty

      Liked by 4 people

    2. I have been reading this site for a few years and never commented before. But I really liked this article, and I am grateful to Charlie for sharing his wisdom with us. This article had a nice balance of being honest about the state of things, but I appreciated the message of holding onto hope and not giving into despair. And I really liked what you said, Beckita, about validating the feelings of a friend. That has often been my experience, too. My two favorite examples of this in the Bible are that Jesus wept when He was told that Lazarus died and that Job’s friends wept with him. To me that shows a powerful example of being willing to enter into another person’s suffering, to show compassion and not gloss over the loss and immediately jump into problem-solving. Well, I’m rambling now. God Bless!

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  2. My son and I just watched Braveheart last night! It was the first time he saw it. It is definitely one of my favorite movies. As to the ranting, it does help me personally, but if it is prolonged, it is exhausting and depressing. In my own little life, there seem to be many teaching moments for me lately. The more I am connected to prayer, the more I am amazed. The ego has raged and now I feel I am being humbled and it doesn’t always feel so good (understatement), but thank God, I hope it continues to the point of which God desires and can truly use me as He intends.

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  3. Well once again, Charlie’s advice and instruction is timely. And Beckita’s response hit the nail on the head for me.

    I have an estranged Nephew (53 yrs old) who has come out of nowhere to dialogue with me. He’s from the “settled science” godless realm.
    Anyway, he’s freaking out about global warming (blue ocean events in the Arctic, overpopulation, extinction of animals and species). He spends hours listening to Ted talks and only listens to people with “degrees” in this field.

    He said that a sixth mass extinction is coming/the end is near if we don’t do something–well you get the picture.

    I told him that all of this has been foretold and the most important thing he could do is get right with God.

    He doesn’t know what to do with that and doesn’t see how that has anything to do with what is upon us.
    He has tentatively agreed to meet in person for discussions. I’m relying on the Holy Spirit to do the talking. Pray for me.

    I’m not going to go back and forth about whose right or wrong about global warming. His heals are dug in and he wants me to change my thinking about it.

    Any suggestions, gratefully received.

    Liked by 19 people

    2. Others will have better suggestions, but these are my thoughts.

      One of the saints (don’t remember who) kept an image of a decaying skeleton visible to him only, on his desk. This was to remind him of our humanity, that that our life on this earth is short, and ends abruptly. Life without God is meaningless .

      The beauty of science itself is beyond comprehension, and can lead back to God (studied honestly), this was my original 2nd foothold for returning to meaningfullness. Science is good! It is the study of God’s creation.

      Chestertons ‘Orthodoxy’ was another step, he has a way of turning everything upside-down for a better view. His road to ‘Discovery’ of the Catholic church is a classic.

      Liked by 13 people

    4. Well, ya know how Obama is a big pusher in the global warming nonsense? Then why are they buying a $15 million mansion on the Atlantic coast? Obviously, he doesn’t really believe. Al Gore has become rich off the topic.
      Science doesn’t seem to be settled on much of anything, really. Too many times it is just the opposite. When I was in high school, we were headed for an ice age, supposedly.

      Liked by 9 people

      1. “The science is settled.” is false. “The science is being funded by global organizations intent of corralling all humanity under their control” is true.

        Liked by 2 people

    5. Unstoppable Global Warming…
      Singer and Avery compile a staggering quantity of professional thesis, projects and studies involving multiple sources ( alittle under a thousand) to generate a book of scholarship, dopes like me can understand. They prove man made global warming is a LIE and it is generated naturally by the SUN.

      “Singer and Avery present―in popular language supported by in-depth scientific evidence―the compelling concept that global temperatures have been rising mostly or entirely because of a natural cycle.

      Using historic data from two millennia of recorded history combined with the natural physical records found in ice cores, seabed sediment, cave stalagmites, and tree rings, Unstoppable Global Warming argues that the 1,500 year solar-driven cycle that has always controlled the earth’s climate remains the driving force in the current warming trend. ” (book summary, amazon)

      Liked by 7 people

      1. I want to share your excellent review/book report. I need it. Perfect. I too, have many on the frantic dire side. May I share it privately? Or on facebook? Will wait for your reply.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Nance Shaw, if directed to me… you are free to cite whatever. This is a public, open site… do as you wish.

          {BREAK}

          Greenland, 11 minute video on “Climate Change”

          Late in the Tenth Century (900-1000), the Vikings settled in Greenland. They found fertile lands and plenty for their animals and families. Within a few hundred years, they were all gone… due to climate change.

          1100 AD the community was vibrant and thriving but In year 1350 a representative of the Bishop visited Greenland and sent a letter back stating, there is no one here. As the growing season got shorter, the less grass was available, the animals died and as such, the people died.

          Minute mark 6:42 The earth warms first by the Sun, plants grow and then Carbon Dioxide follows increasing. It is a natural, cyclical, NON-man made phenomenon. “…Temperature rises first, and then (several hundred to a thousand years) does the Carbon Dioxide curve responds…” (Dr. Soon , minute mark 6:46 )

          Great video corresponding with the book.

          Minute mark 8:50 Dr. Legates broaches the subject of political influence trying to change Scientists thesis conclusion to bolster the view of climate change. Soon thereafter, Dr. Soon is appalled at the Global Warming alarmists causing scare into humans.

          BTW, this is probably why President Donald Trump wishes to purchase Greenland… Always a forward thinker!

          *******

          Lastly, IF we contemplate and meditate on this message, IS it not pertinent to stop the momentum of Energy Star programs, water restrictive devices such as toilets and energy efficient cars?

          Most products consumed in the world have the mission of ‘saving the planet”. If we ceased this momentum, how much greater and less stress our lives would be. Less taxes, end of useless governmental programs and burdensome regulations.

          Liked by 3 people

    7. I wasn’t going to give you any advice, SanSan. Honest. Who better than the Holy Spirit to get it done. Just one thought: don’t sweat it and just breathe. Few things disarm an angry person like calm breathing.

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    8. Sometimes it’s enough to just explain our viewpoint well. It’s good to know facts and to be able to refute outright lies, but the heart of this matter is not about the ozone layer. It’s about who is ultimately in charge. Without acknowledging a creator, humanity becomes neurotic, fearful . . . we think that we are so smart that we can prevent and control catastrophe if we just do enough studies and control everything, gather all the tiny details and figure everything out by ourselves because we think the universe depends on us being in charge. We are not God, we can’t possibly know everything. But we all know what is at the heart of problems in the world. We can all agree that the heart the problem is human greed, ignorance and pride. The thing is, we Christians believe that the politically correct way of going about stewardship of the planet only puts humanity deeper into these very flaws. Since we acknowledge a creator, to double down on the idea that we are in charge is foolishness and we believe that it will likely result in our own destruction and misery. If what really needs to change is the human heart, then grand scientific manipulations won’t help us anyway. It is good to honestly study the world and all of creation. We are connected to it, because we are also God’s creation, but we will not lose our peace and become fearful and thus prone to break God’s laws in order to buy security against coming catastrophes, real or imagined. Imagine how children would act if they believed that there was no grown up around to protect them, no adult to turn to. They would act according to how they thought was best, but there would be so much fear and so little understanding that whatever they could come up with would be more likely to hurt them than the disasters they are afraid of. Monsters, robbers, natural disasters . . . global warming is the monster that many are afraid of, but are we to act like children without a father, or children of a Father who guides us and protects us, even if we are not able to always directly observe or understand His protection and guidance? I don’t think God cares whether we believe global warming is a thing or not, only if the fear of disaster and the pride of self-importance has taken His place. I am more afraid of men blinded by pride and fear acting on behalf of the whole human race than I am of Global Warming or a coming extinction event. Also, from a purely scientific standpoint, there were several mass extinction events in the past, and in each case life came back in greater diversity. As a Catholic, I personally believe that each extinction was a phase initiated by our Creator as part of the preparation of the planet in order to gain the complexity of life needed to sustain humanity and also bring us joy and beauty. So something that would seem very very bad, might be just the thing to bring about new life and hope in the end. I guess all I’m getting at here is that it’s OK to be concerned for the environment, sad at the extinction of species, want to take the plastic out of the ocean, wish for humanity to adopt a simpler way of life . . . it is not OK to take global worry onto your own shoulders as though there is no God. That way leads to coercion, manipulation, death and despair.

      Liked by 10 people

      1. Wow, Katherine, I love this! With your permission, I am going to put it up as a stand-alone post. (With a brief commentary, of course – always got to get my two cents in…but this is really fabulous and well-composed).

        Liked by 5 people

      4. Amazing, Katherine! I particularly appreciate your analogy regarding children with no parents around. It would rapidly descend into a Lord of the Flies scenario–which is pretty much what we having going on in the world today, it seems to me. Anyhow, thanks for once again sharing your insights so eloquently.

        Liked by 1 person

    9. SanSan, when encountering a relative, friend or acquaintance who appears to have convinced, entrenched opinions with a confirmed secular worldview, it’s usually important to avoid solely arguing the “facts”. That is, unless, you’ve learned enough about the subject to have stocked away at least a few unanswerable counter arguments in your brain banks. Regardless of the above, there are quite definitely a few brief prayers that I rely on 100% of the time. Ideally, I’d have prayed before starting to talk to your nephew – I always pray them silently to myself. .

      Prayer #1: “Heavenly Father, please completely fill me with your Holy Spirit, from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet, so that I might speak Your words to my nephew, instead of my own. Heavenly Father, please let everything that I say and do, find favour in the eyes of my nephew. I ask for this all in the precious name of Jesus.”

      I pray the above each time that God puts a person in my path. For me, that’s usually on average at least once a day. For instance, I prayed it before I began to write this comment. The prayer may be changed, but I’d recommend mostly sticking with it as it is unless there’s something that makes you uncomfortable.

      I was going to add a prayer for your nephew too, only it’s very late this a.m., and I’m sure a,
      “Jesus, help him!” would suffice!

      I pray that the Holy Spirit guides you, SanSan, and protects you, in the name of Jesus.

      sincerely ….Dave

      Liked by 6 people

  4. Thanks, Charlie—when I saw that article from the Vortex that was interviewing one of McCarrick’s victims who said that he told JPII about it and nothing was done, it upset me, as I have always dearly loved JPII and B16. But it makes sense that the evildoers were staying way under the radar back then. Looking at the life of someone in toto helps to determine veracity of info, for sure. A local priest who spoke very inappropriately to my son has a history of terrible and inappropriate behavior. On the other hand, Cardinal Pell apparently has a history of exemplary behavior.

    Liked by 12 people

      1. SanSan,

        Your nephew who believes that “science is settled” should read “ New Proofs for the Existence of God “ based on contributions from contemporary physics and philosophy by Fr. Robert Spitzer. He expands on this book in some of his many talks available at his Magis Center.

        Liked by 10 people

  5. Excellent!!! I was letting out a primal scream for a couple of days last week. It’s very difficult to navigate the world in a world full of feckless church leaders. But God spoke to me of obedience too. It is so essential. This statement you made Charlie is so key, “I am more terrified of failing to acknowledge an error than I am of actually making one. Everyone makes errors…it’s just part of our pilgrim journey. But when our pride causes us to refuse to acknowledge or repent of them, it encases the error in cement around us. Encase yourself in enough cement and you soon won’t be able to move at all.” We are pouring cement right now…it’s a spirit of control letting loose demons upon us from our pride. I tend to rebuke it everyday in Jesus’ name. Humility counteracts it. I am back to praying the Litany of Humility. I had to take a break after my fight with my school/Diocese. I think God understood why. Now in prayer I always I see Mary standing at the foot of the cross. The humility of understanding God is in control in the darkest of hours makes you be able to stand up when the storm rages.

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  6. A brilliant recentering, Charlie. Thank you.

    I have a couple comments.

    First, I don’t know if the following story is true, but it has some useful support for what you have said here. I once heard that during the Apollo program, the various teams would say something like, we hear that such and such other team is in trouble, but we’re sure our team is doing well and will be on time. I gather that reversed during the Shuttle program, with teams saying, we’re glad to hear that other team has its act together, because we know we don’t. Compare the outcomes of the two programs and you see in large letters the value of taking care of what is in front of you honestly and with all your effort and focus, and not worrying overmuch about how other teams are doing. If we all do what we are responsible for, the overall Work is far more likely to play out properly.

    Second, as some are aware here, I think “Q” is real, although difficult to understand. What I want to bring up here is that recently I have become even more aware that much of what we see happening “out there” is indeed a script, as “Q” has succinctly stated a number of times. The purpose of the script is to wake people up so that (1) we take back our *civil* responsibilities and (2) enable legitimate authorities to bring the bad and evil people to Justice without the rest of us being so freaked out that we all go out onto the streets in a hot civil war. In this script we all choose a role to play that helps or harms. However, this is a Human-level script primarily designed to clean up and reset the civil sphere of human activity. I’ve begun to become more aware not only that God has His own script that is playing out but that somehow that script will meld with and expand the Human script into a much larger play. Each script obviously affects the other script. However, the Human script is designed more to save people’s lives while God’s script is more designed to save people’s souls. My pondering these days is increasingly on how what we see now happening “out there” moves into God’s script as the Human script reaches its (or a) crescendo over the next year or two. What roles do and will we each play in that larger Script? How do our choices within the Human script get subsumed into our Choice in God’s script? When this current-day Human script is mostly complete, where will God’s script then take us?

    For most of us, proper preparation for the Human script is to have a few weeks of supplies to ride out a hurricane or other kind of disaster, and that kind of preparation is wholly appropriate. Each of us should be providing for that as a matter of course, because it is a legitimate part of our responsibilities to care for our family and neighbors, not just now but always. What is proper preparation for God’s script?

    Liked by 12 people

    1. to pray for the leaders and movers of the human script, that they may have the protection and endurance to fulfill God’s script. To pray for guidance and protection for our families. To support, uphold and heal those within our reach today.

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    2. Your comments often cause me to pause and reflect, Steve. This time, your specific probing questions bring to mind a lot of what I’ve been contemplating recently.

      One pressing thought is that God is the source of every iota of goodness that we experience, no matter to which classification people attribute it. The good that Donald Trump and his team(s) have accomplished is evident to me and God is the source of that goodness. If “Q” is true, the very good which you describe that has been accomplished also has God as its source.

      While God surely does want us to be with Him in Eternity, Jesus died that we would be open to seeking union with Him not only in Heaven, but also here on earth. He came that we would have life in abundance. He came that we would better know our Father and that we would live, move and have our very being in God as our core identity. And when I think of all these things in answer to your questions, Luke 17:20-21 comes to mind:
      And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them, and said: The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say: Behold here, or behold there. For lo, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:20-21)

      When we respond to His call – God is the initiator of our relationship with Him – and invite Him into our hearts and souls and keep the Covenant He made with us, we carry His Kingdom within us. There are no human plans which bring goodness that are ever devoid of God, for inspiration is the genius of the Holy Spirit and He also gives oomph power to stay the course in working via our best efforts. God is working in every detail, in all sectors of life and we – every human with His Law carved on our hearts – are rejecting Him or choosing Him in our myriad choices embedded in each day. All this is to say, when we honor God’s Laws and do our best to hear His never-ending whispers, there is constant integration between His Plans and ours. He LOVES us to co-create with Him and provides ample opportunities for all to do so. When we do not honor His Laws, written within, and set out on a path filled with choices that oppose goodness, then there is an abyss between human plans and God’s Plans.

      In my view, proper preparation for whatever God is doing NOW (because He IS currently and always at work, so often beyond our capabilities to clearly see) is exactly what we’ve been doing these last years at TNRS-ASOH. We’ve gotta’ be mentally tough – and Charlie has prepared us from many and varied angles. We just must trust in God, surrendering to His whisperings and acting promptly on whatever we discern He’s telling us to do… while the bulk of what He will ask in the most difficult days ahead is simply not on most people’s radar yet. No worries. If we’re willing and ready to risk by giving our best effort, He’ll provide the grace to see us through.

      Liked by 8 people

      1. Beckita, I agree with everything you say here. You (and I) play at this level pretty much all the time. My point was more mundane-world. God is always working in the world, as you say. For many people, though, what Trump and crew do to take down the Evil Network appears to be done by humans, and many will read this as *only* by humans. From what I’ve read here (among other sources), God is going to do something(s) that will be unmistakably *not* by “only humans.” I know God doesn’t do stuff just ’cause I say He should, but my comments were designed to distinguish between actions and events people can attribute to “only humans” (which is virtually every action/event so far) and actions and events that even the most unplugged human will know come from God directly.

        Your comments are directed at reality, with what is really going on. My remarks were about perceptions people have and whether they attribute an action or event to human agency or God’s agency. Without something unmistakably attributable to God, most people not named Beckita will continue to attribute apparently human acts and events to humans only. The qualitative difference between events that can be attributed only to humans and an event that cannot be attributed to any human by any stretch of the imagination is, even *has* to be, so wide that every single human on the planet cannot possibly believe it came from anyone but God. We all know perception is not necessarily reality. Many will be wholly shocked when their perceptions are completely overset. I am contemplating what such an action or event might be, not so I can be a prepper, but so that I have my own perceptions as open as I can and am prepared to take TNRS to move through it as best I can.

        Liked by 7 people

        1. Oh, I getcha’, Steve. Thanks for this clarification and I so agree that The qualitative difference between events that can be attributed only to humans and an event that cannot be attributed to any human by any stretch of the imagination is, even *has* to be, so wide that every single human on the planet cannot possibly believe it came from anyone but God.

          I, too, wish to remain open in what you describe here: I am contemplating what such an action or event might be, not so I can be a prepper, but so that I have my own perceptions as open as I can and am prepared to take TNRS to move through it as best I can. And I’m counting on nudges and whisperings from God which will direct me, in a personal way, when this event (these events) occur… the better to be there for those whom you mention as wholly shocked. But I also believe God’s Grace will be sufficient for them to face whatever He’s sending for the sake of reclaiming them. I have experienced, in crowds of people where the Lord is moving with the same point being made or lesson being taught, that He shapes the interaction with each individual in the group, simultaneously, to impact each one in a way shaped to honor the personality and needs of each and every person. And it is amazing.

          Liked by 7 people

          1. Amen to your thoughts and insights, SteveBC and Beckita. Somehow my WP was unsubscribed and I am getting my bearings about me in catching up on the posts/comments that I usually get sent to my emails.
            Personally, having just finished my long-term medical rehab, I find trusting God in our steps for His Grace my primary focus. After last Sunday’s Mass and the urgent call in the announcements following the liturgy, I walked right over to the schools office and volunteered to be a two-year Catechist/Mentor for our Confirmation program. A group of students will be assigned to me and a co-mentor, which I have not yet met. I was told that he is a young man named Kyle who is 23 years old and will be able to relate more closely with the junior H.S. crowd!
            I am grateful for having found TNRS-ASOH. I can think of no better place to be grounded in this chapter of my life during an intense time in our salvation history. After a long period of down-time (due to injuries) that seems to have served as a spiritual boot-camp, if you will, I have submitted an application to serve in a chain of Healing/Holistic Ranches that are a concept at the moment, pending further unfolding of national and world events. The promise is to provide care to veterans, victims of human and child sexual trafficking, and families broken by corrupt family courts and CPS systems. I understand that at the disposal of the collaborators are medical technologies that are so far advanced that we will be astounded and be able to do so very much to heal, body, mind, soul and spirit. God, and our Heavenly advocates are definitely guiding the paths of benevolent vessels here on earth.
            It is surreal as I feel I have applied for a job in the New Era already, in a sense. A real quantum leap of faith. I focus on my steps and pray over almost every decision I make, and every action I take lately. Trust, love and do! As I know so well, I may travel down many paths before, during and/or after these opportunities occur, or I may be detoured altogether. I pray, pray, pray. I am at peace in it all despite the financial and material insufficiencies and other setbacks. I am in awe of the people and circumstances set before me, yet again, despite myself.
            While unemployed, my online advocacy has been a life line. I find myself taking a firm approach to defending the faith. Researchers and new media types that I have come to regard in the last few years, I respectfully challenge. Their claim to *new* fame seems to be overwhelming them in the same manner the old guard MSM was most likely easily corrupted. I hold their feet to the fire as virtually nothing POTUS does can be wrong and automatically most everything the RCC does is suspect. As a result I have been blocked by those who close off the “channels of grace.” But I digress. What an incredible time to be alive!

            Liked by 8 people

        2. SteveBC and Beckita, I appreciate your discussion. Some thoughts:

          1) “Render unto Caesar . . . .” Even though the Caesar at the time wasn’t so hot, Jesus validated the role of Caesar. Leaders in the civic realm are necessary; it’s great when they’re also good or even holy, like the formally canonized Saint Louis. Saint Margaret of Scotland, wife of King Malcolm, also had a civic role, which she exercised with great holiness. It seems that God honors the prayer, “. . . Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven,” and leads the Church to recognize formally those civic leaders who cooperate exceptionally with His grace.

          2) Today (as we learn from Q and other sources) in America and in the world, many people are waking up to the horrid reality that many of our civic leaders, for a long time, have been doing evil. Not only that, the evil of some Catholic Church leaders and leaders of other denominations is being revealed. By “evil,” I don’t mean just financial and other types of corruption, which makes us mad but is not horrifying. I mean evil deeds of darkness that many good people are not even aware are done. Here’s one area in which the civic realm and the spiritual realm intermingle in ways that cannot really be separated. In such a situation, we need both civic leaders and church people (not just Catholic) to cooperate with God’s grace in ways proper to their intersecting but distinct realms.

          It’s noteworthy that American coins and paper bills still bear the words, “IN GOD WE TRUST.”

          Liked by 12 people

          3. Very interesting conversation. Pondered it all the way to dropping my daughter off at school.

            The thing that always grabs me from that referenced Gospel passage is this: “Whose is this image and superscription.” (Matthew 22:20). Had no one in that group ever seen a coin such as that? Not likely. I simply see it as God’s invitation to really and truly look at a thing for what it is. And what did Jesus see there? As God, I think the entire range of humanity’s take on it, for starters, from the grossest wretched attachment to the proper uses and Saintly detachment –– throughout all time.

            Don’t know the least thing about Q, other than what I piece together from the nuggets SBC and others share. Couldn’t even tell you if Q is a person, a group or a network of sorts. Sounds like it’s something with good intent. In all things, I think endeavoring to see as God sees things is a good thing. No doubt we all struggle to see, because we’re not always looking up.

            But that’s not to say that we actually have to look ‘up.’ As I dropped my daughter off there was a group of wee tots passing by the car. All smiles and hand holding, Other than seeing a little slice of Heaven, I also saw our shared resolve to ensure that these little ones don’t have to live under the yoke of today’s weak caesar’s and the blind ones who seek to entrap them.

            Liked by 10 people

      2. LIN, be aware that Q is a combination oof pointers for research (very fruitful), disinformation and misdirection to the Deep State, and operational codes. 8Chan, where Q has been posting, is down until sometime in September, due to attacks on it that are not justified, and you should stay away from 8Chan anyway. Look to the Praying Medic thread LOinPA mentions above. and pursue links you find there like qmap.pub which collect Q posts for you. If you’re on Twitter, you can find people who cover Q’s posts in their Twitter threads and provide thoughts, speculations and information about them. That’s how I follow Q, through others on Twitter.

        Liked by 2 people

        1. SteveBC and LittleOne: Thank you for these leads. Not sure I have the time/energy to follow Q, but it does sound intriguing! I hope ASOH folks will continue to share nuggets about what’s happening in the world of Q! 😉

          Liked by 1 person

    5. I absolutely agree with you on Q, Steve. I tend to that way of thinking because his discourse is inherently moral. There are values and leanings that are Judeo Christian in their origins and he makes sure that we know it is ultimately good vs evil. I am convinced there is high level input whether or not it is retired Pentagon or current high officials in the government. The important aspect for me is the care for the country and the citizens which can be felt in every drop. When I read your words about scripts it reminded me of my favorite atheist musician, John Lennon, who said,”Life is what happens when we are busy making other plans.” Sometimes I get a kick out of God’s humor. Sometimes He just kicks me!!! LOL

      Liked by 4 people

      1. The degree of hateful, disparaging remarks against Q makes me believe he (or they) is one of the good guys. When our side disagrees with someone, we can do so without spewing evil, demonic hatred. The other side — not so much. Also, Q has said, “God wins.” Who among us would disagree with that?

        Liked by 2 people

    7. BTW, Steve, I love a good NASA analogy. What do you reckon the X-37B teams are saying about one another? Yeah, it’s a deep mystery to me too…

      Like

      1. Yeah, MP, when I was in the rocket biz in the early 1980s, I heard a few good stories. I surely don’t know what the X-37B teams say about each other these days. What always struck me as the key was that even a government program can be effective if the group has a clear and simple goal and a commitment from the President on down that their work is important and had long-term backing. That’s why the Apollo program worked and why the Shuttle program had such difficulties and ended up with such a kludge of a vehicle. I think of all that could have been accomplished if NASA had just continued to use the Saturn 1B and the Saturn V instead of spending so much time and money on the Shuttle, it makes me weep. We’ve wasted 40 years and are only now getting going again. I don’t know anything really about the X-37B program, but I’ll admit I’m not sanguine. I truly hope they prove me wrong.

        Liked by 1 person

    8. Steve:
      I usually read posts here but not all the comments. What / who is “Q”? I am only familiar with this as the imagined source behind the commonalities in the Synoptic Gospels but I presume you don’t mean that. Thanks.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Ha, yes, Matthew, you are not alone in linking Q and the Q group to the “Q” documents. LittleOneinPA has a link to a website that explains Q better than I ever could. Look up a number of comments from here to find her post, dated 8/27 and at 9:20am.

        Liked by 1 person

  7. I finished sending angels for Linda. This week I am sending angels for Putin leader of Russia in hopes that they can help steer him in God’s will for us all. May God continue to bless and guide us all as the storm continues to grow. Jas

    Liked by 16 people

  8. I have had to learn to back up and widen my perspective. Though I am nowhere close to our Lord, I reflect on His view of the world – both from the macro and micro. It is still a beautiful world and no matter all the tribes or their causes, Christ keeps His little flock in plain sight. Here’s an example…

    Today is the feast of Our Lady of Częstochowa, the Patroness and Protector of Poland. There were huge and massive pilgrimages from all over the country to the Basilica and the Mass there was concelebrated by bishops and priests and attended by the faithful from all over the world. HUGE CROWDS! How our Lord must smile to see a whole country that honors and loves His Holy Mother! And that thought makes me smile.

    And sometimes, my focus is extrememly local. I stopped and watch a woodpecker in the dogwood tree outside my bedroom. He hopped up the bark until he found a nice spot and then started pecking away. I found so much joy watching that little bird. And I believe that my moments of child-like joy make Jesus smile.

    Our good and holy Saviour is so in love with His creation that His gaze must see all these micro and macro events all at once. The Shepherd is watching His flock,(fleas and all) and keeping us calm, while, at the same time, watching the manuevers of the wolves. Sometimes, I need to ignore all the bleating sheep around me so that I can hear the Master’s voice and I anticipate that sometimes He may have to break my little legs so I don’t run away after the wolves in disguise. I take joy in the faith that He will pick me up and carry me on His shoulders until I submit myself to Him and am healed.
    With the Lord as our Shepherd, we should not fear.

    Liked by 20 people

  9. Sometimes, I feel so helpless – the news, you know – and then I remember that Prayer is the very best thing you can do! We, my husband and I, encourage each other with “take the next right step.”
    I continue to pray for ALL who are reading, whether you comment or not. So many of us are “older” and find our opportunities for action to be few, but we can still: acknowledge God, be a sign of Hope and take the next right step.
    I find myself praying for the president…my goodness! he is a mystery to me! I pray for his safety and for his family and all his supporters. The free-floating malice never ceases to amaze me!
    My husband and I pray the prayer of Deliverance nightly. I mentioned this to my spiritual advisor (Benedictine priest) and he said, “Very Good!.”
    I know many of you pray for us all and some of you are praying for me and mine (Thank-you! I am healing!) and I want to thank you all! We had the best vacation ever in Colorado (and Utah!) this past 2 weeks…so Thank-you!
    Ongoing prayers for all here~Thank-you, Charlie (and Beckita for your insights) and God bless you.
    And God bless us, everyone!
    katey in Oregon

    Liked by 17 people

    1. What a lovely testimony to you and your husband encouraging each other, Katey! Thank you so much for your prayers. Thanks be to God for your healing. May Jesus bring that healing to completion!

      Liked by 8 people

      1. Brothers & Sisters – as we say ‘Out West’ – on occasions calling for Jubilation: YEEEEHAAAA!

        Steve – after much moaning and gnashing of teeth on my part – was finally able to get my account active again. AND, in the bargain – explained to me what my next post here should be about.

        Don’t have time to do it today – and tomorrow is the first Staff Meeting for teachers at the seminary. So, probably on Wednesday I will have the great pleasure of being able to post to you folks again.

        All my love in Christ

        Desmond

        Liked by 14 people

          1. Thank you very much. On orders from my Physicians, I am having to cut way back from the load in teaching and tutoring I was carrying last year. Perhaps next semester I’ll be able to increase it some. Also, there are many people in various countries who have asked me to help out on their projects. I will be able to do some of them – but nowhere near as many as I had hoped.

            But I am joyful that I will once again be able to post a bit here at ‘379’.

            All my love in Christ

            Desmond

            Liked by 10 people

  10. ” In 2015, writing in the New York Times, Justin McBrayer — a philosophy professor — noted an odd trend in public schools. Current standards in his local school district required students to know the difference between FACTS and OPINIONS. But in checking his second-grade son’s homework, he realized that every moral or ethical premise his child encountered was treated as an OPINION as opposed to a FACT. “All men are created equal.” “Copying homework assignments is wrong.” “Cursing in school is inappropriate behavior.”

    All these things were being taught as OPINIONS, not FACTS.

    In his essay, McBrayer argued that such a curriculum “sets up our children for doublethink.” Students learn standards of conduct and mutual respect [ moral and cultural values ] in school as part of growing up. That’s always been the case. But today they’re also taught that these same standards are, in essence, elegant-sounding OPINIONS.

    In practice, students learn that the only concepts worthy of the term “TRUTH” are those that can be empirically proven. Moral truths accessible to human reason, such as those in the Ten Commandments don’t qualify as TRUE. “Our public schools,” McBayer wrote, “teach students that … there are no moral FACTS. IF THERE ARE NO MORAL FACTS, THEN THERE ARE NO MORAL TRUTHS.”

    In effect, TRUTH BECOMES A SOCIAL CONVENTION THAT HUMANS THEMSELVES INVENT. Thus it can change from culture to culture.”
    Archbishop Charles Chaput … Strangers in a Strange Land

    The relationship of Truth to Facts and/or Opinions.

    Democracy and Truth. If a majority of the people believe there is more than one gender and that becomes CONVENTIONAL OPINION then it becomes TRUTH. If a majority in a Democracy believes abortion is a sacred right of a woman then it becomes Conventional Opinion which becomes TRUTH.

    The power of opinion manipulation. The power of advertising. The power of public relations. The power of technology. The power of social media. The power of politics. The power of Hollywood.
    The power of The Big Lie.

    If enough people embrace the popular opinion it is The Truth.

    What could possibly go wrong?

    This morning I watched my 9 year old granddaughter playing with her I-pad. She was working with some App which involved her writing a story. I could hear her being queried by this App and her responding to the machine. Turned out the machine was not recognizing certain words that she was trying to include in her story. She was trying to include the word “Festival” in her story. The App wouldn’t accept it. The App suggested the word “Ceremony”. I asked her “Why don’t you just type out the word “Festival” instead of letting the App make you use the word “Ceremony”? She responded “I use auto-voice instead of typing it myself. ” I responded “Why do you do that?”.

    “Because it is easier and I don’t have to work so hard.”

    It is pretty scary how easily and persuasively our minds are being manipulated by the world these days. Even to the words that convey meaning for us to others. Words that we are “allowed” to use and those that aren’t even recognized as being a valid word.

    We live in a world where TRUTH is no longer a function of objective fact. Truth is conventional opinion widely held. Conventional opinion suggested to a receptive malleable minded audience that just wants to be different just like everybody else.

    Opinion that changes with the wind masquerading as TRUTH?. Flip flopping politicians? Same sex marriage was bad 4 years ago. Same sex marriage is good today. Gender itself is a matter of Opinion. That’s the Truth.

    There are only two genders. Is that True? It’s a matter of opinion not of fact? My, my, my.

    “I’m talking about when a nation collapses—morally and spiritually. When a culture spirals out of control. When restraint is all but gone. When good becomes evil and evil becomes good. When shameful things are celebrated and holy things are denigrated.

    This is what we are witnessing in America today. Our country is spiraling out of control. Our culture is unraveling. Darkness is being heralded as light.

    We are reaping the fruit of the sexual revolution of the 1960s, which began with an explosion of promiscuity, and then led to the loss of the sacredness of marriage, then no-fault divorce, then the epidemic rise of pornography, then the redefining of marriage, then the redefining of gender. What’s next?

    We’ve moved from homosexual activism to transgender activism, to the point that girls who complain about biological boys sharing their locker rooms are called transphobic and bigoted.

    Just a few years ago no one would have believed we would have descended into such cultural madness.

    It used to be taboo to engage in a public, homosexual relationship. Today it is taboo to voice any disapproval of such relationships. To do so could cost you your job.

    And this unraveling has occurred with startling speed, to the point that in 2008, Sen. Barack Obama had to lie about his views on same-sex “marriage” in order to get elected president. By 2012, he could fully support it, and by 2015, it was the law of the land. What a dramatic, extreme and sudden cultural shift.

    But this was just the tip of a very large iceberg.

    One minute, it was shameful for a man to present himself as a woman. The next minute, Bruce “Caitlyn” Jenner was named Woman of the Year. The minute after that, you could be fined on your job for “misgendering” someone.

    Yet this too was part of a larger social decline.

    Radical feminism, another aspect of the sexual revolution, has come into full bloom. Masculinity itself is now toxic. The patriarchy must be overthrown. Men themselves are evil. And the ultimate women’s “right” is abortion.

    No longer is it enough for abortion to be “safe, legal and rare” (as once formulated by President Bill Clinton). Women need to shout their abortion, and Heaven help the man—like Justice Brett Kavanaugh—who might be perceived as a threat to that sacred “right.”
    Michael Brown — What happens when a Nation Spirals into Darkness

    How could it happen so fast? OPINION changes on a dime. And when Opinion is Truth then your Nation is in a death spiral.

    How do we pull our Nation out of it?

    Apostles Creed
    I believe in God, the Father almighty,
    Creator of heaven and earth,
    and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
    who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
    suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried;
    he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead;
    he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
    from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
    I believe in the Holy Spirit,
    the holy catholic Church,
    the communion of saints,
    the forgiveness of sins,
    the resurrection of the body,
    and life everlasting.

    Amen.

    That’s just a FACT, Jack. Empirically proven? Or just my opinion? Its what I believe and millions upon millions like me. Whether or not its your opinion or the world’s opinion. Have it your way.

    Either way, its the TRUTH.

    I guess we are going to have a problem with that.

    Liked by 14 people

    2. Ed, thats a good summary of where we are. It’s been growing for a long time. Back in ’72 I was in an alternative high-school (run and taught by hippies more or less). One class we had to take was called ‘Conciousness Raising’. I remember my disbelief when I tried to correct another student on something he had said, and was warned ‘that is his truth, it is true for him!’ Turns out any answer you gave was your own personal truth. Additionally, you could not bring up anything from earlier philosophers / thinkers / religions, it had to be your ‘own’ new conclusion, what YOU decide is the truth for you. That was the last time I spoke in that class, and I remember thinking ‘how can such absurdity be?’ but as we can see now, it was an accelerant to the breakdown of society.

      Liked by 5 people

    4. A related phenomenon that I’ve seen: Facts voiced by other people are mere opinions, but MY opinions should be treated as facts!!!

      Like

      1. So true, goldensun. I’ve noticed too that for that reason the word *opinion* is being treated like a dirty word and I find myself saying, “My thoughts on the matter are, …” vs. “My opinion…” when conversing lately. ❤

        Liked by 1 person

  11. Yes, God has created everything in nature for us all to enjoy and help care for; just getting away helps. I always wanted to see things in nature that are difficult to get to thus backpacking started for me in my forties; I never cared about going to New York or the cities. Southern Utah, Colorado, and Alaska have so many beautiful wonders God put there for us.

    I have just met an 89 year old woman who once was a Catholic and for the last 20 years she says she is an atheist so my effort and focus will be to bring God back into her life; I see her at the gym and she looks forward to our visits so my next right step is so easy to see!

    Liked by 12 people

    2. When I was walking on my pilgrimage, I was talking to a Sheriff’s Deputy way up near Yosemite. He had formerly been with the Los Angeles Police Department. Said both the money and the excitement was much less, but the landscape was so beautiful he had never regretted his decision. I agreed with him about the beauty, but added that, “when you are walking, the price of beauty is brutally hard.” He chuckled.

      Liked by 11 people

  12. Good stuff, Charlie. If you had your druther, would you prefer a bunch of squishy marshmallows, or this pack of mules? I rarely met a teacher worth their salt if they didn’t consistently challenge their students, nor a student worth teaching if they didn’t sometimes challenge their teachers…. flying Trig books and James Brown action figures notwithstanding.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I like mules. This is likely to offend some, but my grandfather (Papa) had a mule he used to plow fields at his Alabama farm back in the 40’s. That mule would get so stubborn sometimes that Papa would chain it to a tree and start beating on it. Sounds terribly cruel – but that mule adored Papa and would have nothing to do with anyone but him. (This made Papa mad, too, for he had to do all the plowing himself – but he would share plenty of treats with the mule when he was good). There is something a little mulish – and a little Papa-ish in most of us, I think.

      Liked by 7 people

      1. Your Papa would have gotten along with my Grannie. I’ve got a picture on my desk that she left me.
        She’s there, at about age 10, lined up in front of an old wagon with all her siblings. They’re all smiling, but she’s clearly mad. I asked her about it once, and she said her mule had just stepped on her foot. “That ole’ mule was a stubborn one,” she said, but I could see see the grin at the corners of her mouth, and she was all misty-eyed at the memory. My granddad added that it was her mule.

        Liked by 4 people

  13. Hehehehe Charlie, I just read this wonderful piece to Michael! He smiles broadly and said, “Charlie Johnston with a “t” can write! And He likes ice cream. When his soul is weary, I wonder if he eats Haggen Daz!?”🤗

    Anyways..truly a beautiful and heartening piece, Charlie. Your back yard farmland and double rainbow is soooooo beautiful.

    I don’t fight much with anybody anymore, thanks to you…well…maybe Michael thinks I have a bit of grumpiness on certain days but I never argue faith with anyone anymore. It’s too stressful and it just doesn’t work.

    Dear Charlie and Beckita and everone here, thank you for all you do for us to help us acknowledge God, take the next right step and be that sign of hope in a very sad world. Ave Maria Stella maris 🤗😇😘

    Liked by 9 people

  14. We all know how the definition & perception of “love” is distorted from God’s definition. Evil has no doubt distorted the definition & perception of “obedience”.

    How much evil was justified in the name of blind obedience & following orders over recent history.

    Thanks for bringing this up Charlies, I’ve spent the past while pondering, struggling to understand, & resolve the conflicting concept of obedience in the Church right now.

    Liked by 4 people

  15. I had my Good News Radar turnin’ 360 …. but nary a Blip ;-(
    Anybody who enables & defends mass murder in the womb will justify mass murder anywhere else and claim it’s “For the Children” ….See!!!??!
    Can anyone here disabuse me of that statement? …. Eh? …. Please!!

    Professor: “I Affirm That I am Antifa”
    Says Christians fill him with rage
    https://www.newswars.com/professor-i-affirm-that-i-am-antifa/

    Shocking Report: ‘Persecution of Christians Worldwide Close to Genocide’
    https://pjmedia.com/faith/shocking-report-persecution-of-christians-worldwide-close-to-genocide

    Rumblings before the eruption
    https://www.crisismagazine.com/2019/rumblings-before-the-eruption

    Christian deputy’s request to follow ‘Billy Graham Rule’ got him fired, he claims in lawsuit
    https://www.foxnews.com/us/christian-deputys-request-to-follow-billy-graham-rule-got-him-fired-he-claims-in-lawsuit

    A Certain Disease of the Law–Dr Douglas Farrow
    https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2019/08/23/a-certain-disease-of-the-law/

    NYC Panel Snubs Top Vote Recipient, a Catholic Saint, for One of ‘She Built NYC’ Statue Honors
    https://www.cnsnews.com/blog/craig-bannister/nyc-panel-snubs-top-vote-recipient-catholic-saint-one-she-built-nyc-statute

    Arlington Diocese, Catholic League Denounce Gov. Northam’s Appt of Anti-Catholic
    https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/catholic-league-denounces-gov-northams-appointment-anti-catholic

    Nolte: MSNBC Thought Police Say It’s ‘Incendiary’ to Believe in Two Genders
    https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2019/08/24/nolte-msnbc-thought-police-say-its-incendiary-to-believe-in-two-genders/

    Millennials care less about patriotism, religion and family than previous generations, study says
    https://www.foxnews.com/us/young-americans-care-less-about-patriotism-religion-and-family-than-previous-generations-study-says

    Are There Enough Morally Sound Liberals Left to Keep Pedophilia Illegal?–Christopher Skeet
    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/08/are_there_enough_morally_sound_liberals_left_to_keep_pedophilia_illegal.html

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 10 people

    1. Crew dog you simply amaze me how you can put all those links up ..those links are so cool and I often repost them on my fb page but I haven’t the clue how to link up even a photo here….lol..

      Liked by 5 people

    2. Hey, Crew Dog. You might consider looking at Epoch Times and American Thought Leaders as sources for articles for your Millinet. I don’t know that they will be able to increase glimpses of good news for us, but they do report facts with charity. Like this latest interview, the elitist echo chamber bubble that is described helps to explain the cultural civil war in which we live. (Sorry, III. I just don’t have time to vet the video so I’ll share the search words for You Tube if anyone wants to have a listen: The Epoch Times’ Stephen Gregory Responds to NBC & MSNBC’s Gross Misrepresentations of Our Media)

      Liked by 2 people

  16. Under the last blog post, San San mentioned a drama that will be coming out, “Claws of the Red Dragon”. Here is a link to a trailer. Steve Bannon says that one of the striking components in the movie is that every-day, plain-old people make next-right-step-like choices amid extreme circumstances. A testimony to what is still good and true and beautiful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KFvW0I24Fs

    Liked by 6 people

  17. More Steve Bannon a fascinating interview with Kyle Bass .

    Predicts shooting war with China in two years. Outlines the looting of America by ‘our elites’ at our expense.

    Liked by 8 people

  18. Well I must admit, Charlie…I hoarded a whole bunch of white rice, green canned pees, and gluten free soy sauce a long time ago. I figured rice never goes bad. I had also saved a bunch of jugs of water but most of them sprung a leak or two😂😂😂 I don’t collect prepping things anymore. I just now try to become a better person daily…more selfless than selfish…not an easy task. Mostly, I try to engage others when I feel The Holy Spirit is nudging. I ask you all…plz pray for a man named Jim. He is a sheer delight. I said in his head he doesn’t believe in God, but in his heart he does. Plz pray ya’ll. .he would be a big fish for heaven🤗😇😘

    Liked by 7 people

  20. Charlie and Beckita, Sorry this goes back to a earlier comment about the Mass in Latin by I think Fr. (?) Victura. I am in Japan and belong to a group that helps to organize an annual Solemn Pontifical Mass in Latin with Gregorian chant celebrated by the Archbishop of Tokyo and concelebrated by the Apostolic Nuncio to Japan with many other priests and over 1,000 faithful in attendance. I liked the comment so much that I had it translated into Japanese and am sending it to the members of the group. Hope Victura sees this as I think it would be nice for him to know and of course I hope he doesn’t mind! God bless you and all the readers here.

    Liked by 7 people

    1. I hope Victura (Yes he’s a priest.) sees your comment too, Hans. What a great idea to share his thoughts with the Archbishop. God bless you and all the great things you’re doing!

      Liked by 4 people

  21. YUP!! I’m guessing that in the next life we are going to find out that Our Faith was intended to be a much Simpler Affair than we have been lead to believe. and … considering The Never Ending Church Scandal ….. Our Faith was often complicated in order to produce smoke, chaff and cover for Evil Doers …. ;-( ….. and so …. I will continue to “beat de drum” for The Divine Mercy Message of:……..
    “Jesus, I Trust in You”

    HeartLight Daily Verse – 28 August

    John 6:29
    Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: To believe in the one he has sent.”

    Thoughts on today’s verse:
    Do you believe in Jesus? Do you really believe? Shortly after Max Lucado came back from his mission work in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he shared with a group of his closest friends that his theology was pretty simple. He didn’t have a handle on a lot of the big difficult theological problems that divide folks. But Max said he came to the firm and deep conviction that God loves us and he showed that love by sending Jesus to live among us, to die for us, and to be raised from the dead so we could, too. This is the work of God — amazingly simple and awesomely powerful.

    Prayer:
    Holy God, I do believe that Jesus came to earth, died, and was raised from the dead. Please help me show and share that message with those around me looking to find hope and help. Holy Spirit, open my eyes to those around me who are searching,. Father, I want so much to share in your work, please help me as I rededicate myself to it today. Through Jesus my Savior I pray. Amen.

    Jesus’ Qualities as Preacher and Teacher
    http://blog.adw.org/2019/08/jesus-qualities-preacher-teacher/

    HullyGee!! …. I found some Good News …. Besides the Good News of Jesus who is with us ALWAYS!:

    Trump admin allows veterans’ hospitals to have Bibles, Christmas trees again
    https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/trump-admin-allows-veterans-hospitals-to-have-bibles-christmas-trees-again

    Catholic teens inspire one another to ‘not grow tired’ of abortion fight
    https://thecatholicspirit.com/news/nation-and-world/catholic-teens-inspire-one-another-to-not-grow-tired-of-abortion-fight/

    Judge orders fake vets to hand write names of 6756 fallen soldiers
    https://noqreport.com/2019/08/28/judge-orders-fake-vets-hand-write-names-6756-fallen-soldiers/

    I’ll save the other **** for next time.

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 6 people

  24. “Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention.
    If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it.”

    Thus begins Abraham Lincoln’s famous “A House Divided” speech delivered on June 16, 1858. What Lincoln did in that speech is an example of what a later politician would call an “historio-political analysis.” That guy was a Communist. His name was Antonio Gramsci (1891 – 1937 ).

    Gramsci was a deep thinker. He invented the idea of the Marxist Cultural Revolution. He was a great admirer of the Catholic Church. What he admired in the Catholic Church was the way it transmitted its dogma and ideology and its hegemonic control over Italian society from generation to generation to generation. He studied it from a forensic point of view kind of like a Marxist Epidemiologist. What he wanted to know was how the Catholic Church did it. Why? Because he wanted to emulate it in spreading Marxist Communist dogma from generation to generation to generation.

    Gramsci was a Communist who was deeply skeptical of the Russian Revolution. He gave up on the chances of a violent Active Revolution in Europe to be executed at the end of a gun barrel. The Workers of The World were not going to unite. Wold War I convinced him of that. So he looked for another way to get the job done. He turned to the Catholic Church for a model of how to do it.

    He looked to the Public Education system in Italy around the First World War and it was a Catholic education. The school system passed on what he called “folklorist traditional beliefs” ie, Catholic dogma. It worked. It produced generation after generation of Catholics. He wanted to keep the technique and replace the Catholic dogma with Marxist dogma. Thereby creating generation after generation of Marxist dogma complete with the Leadership and the cadres to maintain power and hegemony over the State and the masses.

    Gramsci’s genius was he learned how culture, values, norms, societal standards and morality — Cultural Values — were learned, acquired, imbedded and transmitted from one generation to the next.

    He proposed to replace the Active Revolution of guns with something he called Passive Revolution through the replacement of [Catholic] Judeo-Christian Western Civilization values which permeated society with godless Marxist values. He realized that would be a looong term proposition. A lot harder than a quick violent overthrow. He called it the Long March through the Culture of the West. And he zeroed in on how Catholics were raised from momma’s knee on up through the educational process to make it happen.

    Gramsci invented the concept of Common Core education dedicated to the needs of and in service to the Marxist dominated secular State. This is his legacy to his acolytes hand written in prison and smuggled out to the scattered Communist elements remaining at large in Mussolini’s regime. Note his reference to the “classical school” ie, Catholic schooling.

    From the Prison Notebooks
    ‘One may object that such a [Marxist Common Core Education] course is too exhausting because too rapid, if the aim is to attain in effect the results which the present organization of the classical school [Catholic Public School] aims at but does not attain. Yet the new organization as a whole will have to contain within itself the general elements which in fact make the [Catholic] course too slow today, at least for a part of the pupils. Which are these elements? In a whole series of families, especially in the intellectual strata, the children find in their FAMILY LIFE [Momma] a preparation, a prolongation and a completion of school life; they ‘breathe in” , as the expression goes, a whole quantity of notions and attitudes [Catholic Dogma and Cultural norms and standards of morality] which facilitate the educational process properly speaking. They already know and develop their knowledge of the literary language, i.e. the means of expression and of knowledge, which is technically superior to the means possessed by the average member of the school population between the ages of six and twelve. Thus city children, by the very fact of living in a city, have already absorbed BY THE AGE OF SIX a quantity of notions and attitudes [Catholic culture] which make their school careers easier, more profitable and more rapid. In the basic organization of the [Marxist] common [core] school, at least the essentials of these conditions must be created—not to speak of the fact, which goes without saying, that parallel to the common school a network of kindergartens and other institutions would develop, in which EVEN BEFORE THE SCHOOL AGE, children would be habituated to a certain [Marxist] collective discipline and acquire pre-scholastic [Marxist] notions and attitudes [cultural standards of morality]. In fact, the common school should be organized like a college, with a collective life by day and by night, freed from the present forms of hypocritical and mechanical discipline; studies should be carried on collectively, with the assistance of teachers and the best pupils, even during periods of so-called individual study, etc.

    The fundamental problem is posed by that phase of the existing school career which is today represented by the liceo 1/, and which today does not differ at all, as far as the kind of education is concerned, from the preceding grades—except by the abstract presumption of a greater intellectual and moral maturity [Catholic teaching] of the pupil, matching his greater age and the experience he has already accumulated.

    In fact, between the liceo and university, i.e. between the school properly speaking and life, there is now a jump , a real break in continuity , and not a rational passage from quantity (age) to quality (intellectual and moral maturity). From an almost purely dogmatic education, in which learning by heart plays a great part, [Think nuns and flash cards ] the pupil passes to the creative phase, the phase of autonomous, independent work. From the school, where his studies are subjected to a discipline that is imposed and controlled by authority [ Nuns ], the pupil passes on to a phase of study or of professional work in which intellectual self discipline and moral independence are theoretically unlimited. [Well trained Nun taught kiddos are prepared to think like Christians on an independent self starting autonomous basis] And this happens immediately after the crisis of puberty, when the ardour of the instinctive and elementary passions has not yet resolved its struggle with the fetters of the character of the [Catholic] moral conscience which are in the process of being formed. “

    1/ Perhaps the nearest English-language equivalents of ginnasio and liceo are the American junior high and high school, though in the Italian system they are selective schools (like English grammar schools) leading to a university education.
    Antonio Gramsci ___ Prison Notebooks ___ Notes on Education

    Christianity is “breathed in” to children by the age of six. Before they go to Catholic school where it is perfected in “classical education of folklorist notions and superstition.” Breathed in on momma’s knee. “Now I lay me down to sleep ……” It can never be uprooted from those children.

    Gramsci had found his Rosetta Stone. He proposed to revolutionize the culture by following the Catholic Church model. He advocated substituting the State for momma. This meant turning the budget of the Nation upside down. Creating colleges for pre-school age children. To be staffed by smiling, sympathetic, empathetic and kindly Marxist trained teachers, guides, friends and substitute mothers. To be supplemented by all day Kindergartens. Where BY THE AGE OF SIX generation after generation after generation would “breathe in” Marxist dogma that could never be knocked out of them. “Now I lay me down to sleep… I pray the Communist Party my security in this world to keep…..”

    100 years later and we are there. It was a long march indeed. Guy was a genius. This is going to be a tough nut to crack. How can we possibly recover from the success of Gramsci’s Long March through our culture in America? We have to get back to this. And this depends on the adult in the picture. And that would be momma.

    https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/SK-A-3081

    Liked by 6 people

    1. “100 years later and we are there.” That says it all S.T.Ed. I remember hearing Father Mitch Pacwa speak about Gramsci many years ago. It’s such a common theme, such as is spelled out in “The Naked Communist”, and elsewhere. We have been the “frog in the cold water” for so long, so oblivious to it all. As Mother Angelica used to say, we’re way past human intervention, only God can do this! But we do our part too in some small way.

      Liked by 9 people

      1. Yes, Annie. A priest friend started Divine Mercy Oblates years ago with the idea that we need to storm heaven praying to save as many souls as possible.

        Liked by 6 people

  25. Talk about a winnowing fan, hurricane Dorian looks to be near my backyard by this weekend (ish).
    Lord have mercy!
    Prayers appreciated!

    Liked by 8 people

  26. Hi Charlie,

    What is your take on the so called expert assessment of Pell by Ron Conte Jr. He has written enormously about the subject (Just edited out the link to Ron Conte’s thoughts, Josh. Mr Comte is a self-proclaimed theologian who gives no credentials to back up this claim and who has been predicting “the Warning will occur this year” since, at least, 2010. In the years of our presence at days, his work has been banned from the site.) I just stumbled upon on and He is 100% sure Pell is guilty and the Australian legal system has got it right which doesn’t Gel.

    Anyway I dont follow him except except He seems to suggest everyone is a false prophet except somehow he is a great Theologian and has divine reasoning. According to him everyone who criticizes the Pope is in grave error.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Sorry Charlie!

        Thanks for replying and I didn’t know. No more on the lunatic.

        BTW When I was in the US I had so many relationships destroyed by one book called “I kissed Dating Goodbye”. I knew it wasnt for everyone because he was teaching there was one only one way to a perfect marriage and everyone blindly followed it.

        Now I see he has retracted his book left his marriage and is championing the cause of the left.

        Like

        2. Wait a minute, I searched for the book.
          It was written by Joshua Harris
          quote from Amazon:
          “More than 800,000 copies later, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, with its inspiring call to sincere love, real purity, and purposeful singleness, remains the benchmark for books on Christian dating. Now, for the first time since its release, the national #1 bestseller has been expanded with new content and updated for new readers. Honest and practical, it challenges cultural assumptions about relationships and provides solid, biblical alternatives to society’s norm.”

          Like

  27. Praying for those in the path of Dorian!

    So, don’t know why, and I think a lot of you can relate to this, but I woke up feisty this morning…. so I went fishing… fishing? Yup, for triggering some of my connections on social media. I reposted a cartoon from Dr. Scott Hahn where he posted an image from Pat Cross where the supposed two aborted babies that Ms. Milano brags about aborting are sitting on clouds (in Heaven) and one baby is reading a paper about how she’d lack joy if she hadn’t aborted them… the other simply says we need to just keep praying for her.

    Well, got a response from a fairly progressive and liberal high school classmate. Her argument was that most abort because they won’t have any support or means to care for the child. Of course I pointed out pregnancy crisis centers, adoption, faith community, etc… her response was that I was attacking the “joy of motherhood”… hmmmm, didn’t understand how I did that…. so I explained to her how mothers are AWESOME! We all have them and all need them! (Thanks mom’s on this blog and everywhere!!!). Then her rebuttal was that if the government had cut funding to the “institutions” I am referring to, then there would be more available care. Obviously she was referring to PP’s recent decision to stop taking funding from the Gov’t… nope, wasn’t letting her go there either… I referred her to Mr. Daleiden’s videos…. I just pray for any who I can spread the word to about God’s mercy, grace, and gift of life… that they’ll eventually listen?? Praying daily for our unborn!

    God bless everyone, and you and everyone in the path of Dorian PF…

    Bill

    Liked by 7 people

    1. Good for you, Bill, for speaking up and for deciding to re-establish your equilibrium by going fishing. Sounds like a wise next right step to me! In union of prayer with you for your closing intention.

      Liked by 3 people

    2. Thanks BD.
      Fishing hmm…..
      I remember that pastime.
      Been awhile since I last went on a serious fishing trip.
      I’m referring to”serious ” in the vein MP alluded too a few posts back about how grown men act while trapped together at sea fishing. Not for the faint of heart or those who carry thier feelings on thier sleeves.
      There is something about the freedom of open water and the relief of fishing where men can be men (or boys will be boys in big bodies). I think it brings forth the warring primal instinct in the competition of man against beast (fish) but if that isn’t going too well (no fish), mono-e-mono.
      No escape. It’s like two Indians knife fighting with one hand tied to the others, or a type of cage fighting, accept the binding and boundary is a boat.
      It’s all in good fun though (unless you’re one of those sissies described above-just kidding).
      But no really, it’s fun.
      Fishing anyone?

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Just got back from mass and boy oh boy do I now stand corrected…. remember how I intentionally went out of my way this morning to post the cartoon just so I could trigger some of my progressive friends into the discussion about some who take pride in abortion? Well, in Fr. Dave’s homily today (love Fr. Dave!), he talked about how St. John was martyred for simply speaking the truth on marriage. He was not provocative about it at all, just was straight about the truth… yup, so I was provocative this morning in my feistiness with the social media post… so think I’ll stop the “fishing for a debate” and I’ll start to focus more on the next right step that is by way of relating simple truth that I can share…. wow, God’s correction of my actions took all of 4 hours… 😉 Yikes…

        God bless all!
        Bill

        Liked by 4 people

    4. Yep we have good friends with a lake stocked with nice bass, not too big, most 1-2 pounds but my wife and I enjoy catching them. Fishing is a good way to trust that God can truly take care of things for a short time. Even Peter several times went fishing after stressful periods in his life. And my wife and I have even learned to catch fish with plastic worms. I am wondering when I will open a fishe’s mouth and find a coin in it, like Jesus once predicted. Oh, I guess that was a specific prophecy Jesus gave his disciples and not for general consumption!!. Shucks!

      Liked by 6 people

    5. A bit of good news…the Billings, MT PP clinic where surgical abortions are done is now only open one day a week,

      Praying for all those in the path of Dorian.

      Liked by 2 people

    6. Good for you Bill. A friend of mine recently posted something like: “As long as my heart is beating keep your GD hands off my body” I thought – sure, as long as the baby’s heart is beating keep your GD hands off it too. But I didn’t want to pick a fight by responding to her. Cowardly, I know but I don’t like to fight on other people’s facebook page.

      Liked by 1 person

  28. … internal rant resumed… veritably spilling forth into external rant… thus, I ask, IS COMEY OFF THE HOOK?!

    My take on the last remaining threads holding this country together… if these threads, stretched taut and almost to breaking point, don’t get some relief soon (i.e.- one of the Washington elite actually gets prosecuted and –– dare we hope –– convicted for law breaking), then I predict THE SNAP HEARD ROUND THE WORLD! And right soon.

    How long do we have to hear about things coming to light before the mass of Americans say that’s it, drop what they’re doing, demand it, and make a stand?

    Brief rant concluded.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I’m totally down with your rant, MP. I can’t believe that Comey might skate.

      I may be mistaken in praying, “Bring it, already!”; but there it is.

      Liked by 1 person

            1. My poor mother was only 15 when I was born – and she had the mumps at the time. She went into labor with me on a Friday, but the doctor gave her some sort of injection to forestall my delivery. He did not want to deliver me while she had the mumps. So she remained in fruitless labor from that Friday until Sunday morning, when despite the injections I would wait no longer. After over 48 hours of labor, it was a wonder Mom ever consented to have a child again – but she did it five more times. (Mom once told me I was the most trying coming out, but the easiest after I got here).

              Liked by 2 people

              1. I’ll bet you were the easiest, Charlie. I’m the oldest of 7 and I think I was the easiest, but don’t ask my siblings if they think so! Most moms would probably agree that the pain and suffering of childbirth is sooo worth it!

                Liked by 2 people

      2. On the upside, College Football is here. A useless distraction? Nah, I’m gonna enjoy a good wallow this weekend for all it’s worth. Your boys kick-off Saturday at 7:30 EST against Middle Tennessee State (yep, might as well be a H.S. team). Fighting Irish close out the weekend on Monday night against Louisville (silent “s”). Bring it (just not during the game)!

        Liked by 1 person

        1. You are KILLING me, MP! “Bring it (just not during the game)”? Hahahahaha!

          P.S. My niece is an alumna of Louisville. To here her tell it, the word has not only a silent “S” but also two silent “I’s,” to wit: “LOU-vlle.”

          Liked by 2 people

          1. I can attest to that pronunciation, Mick. Also, we around here pronounce Mississippi “Misipi”. (Accent on the second syllable).

            Liked by 2 people

            1. Kim, I’ve got roots in “Misipi” (My grandfather’s parents were born there). My grandfather was born in Arkansas, but he spoke “deep South” all his life. 🙂

              Liked by 1 person

              1. I don’t think I have a thick southern drawl at all, Mick, but I was in Minnesota this summer and the folks there thought so!

                Like

    2. MP, you are right that if something doesn’t happen, people will go out onto the streets. We don’t have much more time, a few months if that. Fortunately, the Comey report is very likely a lead-in to reports that are far more serious, and this report has begun to get knowledge about the wrongs done in the FBI out even to the liberal communities. I don’t think we have long to wait. I think a lot has to happen before the one-year mark before the 2020 election, which means a lot has to happen between now and November 3 of this year. I’m hopeful and mostly patient, but I understand your growing concern.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. You are most welcome, Jen! Hopefully a lot of graces will shower the earth with people spreading this devotion and it’s message. 🙏

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Maggie I heartily thank you for this link. I love the work of the Vincentians and this promotion of the Miraculous Medal. I’ve ordered 1500 medals to use as gift when evangelizing. Gearing up to hit the streets soon. Can’t think of a better way to connect someone with her Son than through His Mother. I was actually born on the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul and I’m always happy to receive him in a special visit when the director of a retreat house in our diocese shares the first class relic of St. Vinny which is kept and venerated at the retreat place.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Wow, Beckita, that’s quite the ambitious project; but you’re the gal for the job of evangelizing there in your neck of the woods and here in your virtual corner of the cyber world. 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

        1. Well I am a squirrel and, with this opportunity, I thought it would be good to also store some medals for the time when the demand busts wide open. I don’t think that time is far away. 😉

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Good thinking, Beckita.
            I didn’t grasp that more than one could be ordered when I read about this on a different site. I love that they are blessed there.

            Liked by 2 people

  31. I’ve been praying for days for the people of the U.S., especially Florida and the Bahamas. I’m sure thousands, maybe millions have also been praying. When I woke up this morning I was excited to see that the track is now well off the Florida coast. Please keep praying for our brothers and sisters in the path of this storm.

    Prayer against storms from little blue Pieta Prayer Book:
    https://www.catholiccompany.com/getfed/prayer-blessing-against-storms-pieta-prayer-book-5902

    Prayer from Spirit Daily – Our Lady of Prompt Succor:
    https://spiritdailyblog.com/commentary/remembering-two-storms

    Amusing experts scratching their heads as the storm does not do what they expect:

    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.