We Hardly Knew Ye

Posted on by charliej373
Channel Islands Harbor - Oxnard
Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, California. It is where I left the shore of the ocean and began my journey inland in California.

By Charlie Johnston

Out in Los Angeles, I visited the grave of the late Monsignor William Stetson at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery. He was always Fr. Bill to me – and to countless others. He was my original spiritual director, the first person I ever told fully about my peculiar situation.

He was a premier Canon Lawyer of his day and a profound intellect, a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School before he became a Priest (and that was in the day

Fr. Bill and me at Windsor
Monsignor William Stetson and me a few years ago

when cum laude at Harvard really meant something). He was well-known to the Bishops in this country – and advised many of them. He loved the trappings of the Priesthood, was completely orthodox, and was a very shrewd political maneuverer. He passed on the third of January this year.

I chose him to be the first I fully disclosed to because of his great integrity. He was not comfortable with anything mystical, but I knew if it had merit he would not dismiss it out of hand. We developed a deeply affectionate and occasionally rocky relationship. The things I told him always made him profoundly uncomfortable, but if he sensed I was trying to spare him discomfort by not telling him some things, he would get very agitated and scold me.

He was a delight and great fun. He often gave me advice on political and policy matters I was working on – and he enjoyed getting advice on public relations from me, particularly on how to frame certain delicate matters. For a time, he was director of the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C. While there, he often appeared on Fox News to give the Orthodox Catholic perspective. He was a true and vitally important spiritual father to me.

The last time I visited with him, two years ago, we talked about how absolutely panicked I was when I first started speaking with him about my situation. No one else in the world, not even the other Priests who followed him (and who I deeply cherish) will ever know how scared I was. Fr. Bill chuckled over it and said that, yes, he could testify to it – and confessed that once he realized I was not trying to convince him, but counting on

Fr. Bill Grave
Gravesite of Fr. Bill at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery

him to show me the way out of its consequences, he took a little delight in poking me. I laughed and said I knew, but never begrudged him. As uncomfortable as I often made him, it only seemed fair he get to do the same to me.

I provisionally call on him as a patron, praying that if he is not in heaven yet, that my prayers for his intercession be accepted as prayers to deliver him from purgatory. I deeply miss Fr. Bill, but pray that he is now helping to guide me (and all of us) from heaven. His remains are at the pinnacle of the beautiful cemetery, overlooking the ocean to the west and a big chunk of city to the east. He would have loved that. I would say rest in peace, but I actually want him working overtime interceding for our poor, battered world. So I say, rest in joy, Fr. Bill.

*********

I don’t see how anyone can bear to live in Los Angeles. It is a beautiful town and I have a ton of friends here, people who keep the fires of faith burning brightly. But boy, when you get in your car, LA is just a few islands of mobility in a sea of traffic. Faithful residents of LA live penance every time they get in their cars.

*********

As I drove into California, I was once again mesmerized by its great natural beauty and resources. I had recently read Ronald Reagan’s autobiography and thought what a paradise it was when he came rolling through in the 1930’s. I contemplated that, a few days before I got here I had been paying, on average, $2.17 per gallon for gas – and now getting it for $4 was on the low end.

California WAS a paradise and would be again if it were not for the most incompetent governing authorities in the nation (and that’s saying something these days). The state is at or very near the top in the amount of its sales, property, income, and gas taxes in the nation – and in the gouging of administrative fees. Yet it is at or very near the bottom in services delivered. It has almost half the homeless in the country. Its roads are maintained well enough, but it has maybe half as many as it needs and refuses to build more. It suffers periodic severe droughts because it refuses to build enough reservoirs or de-salinization plants. It now has catastrophic fires because it will not adopt rational forestry or water rules. Almost all its disasters are literally man-made because of the refusal to plan for easily foreseeable problems. Income inequality in the nation is greatest in California. Its public schools are among the worst (in terms of objective achievement) in the country. It has been run by left-wing semi-socialists for decades (with the exception of a few years of Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor. Alas, though the Terminator always plays a tough guy on screen, he rolled over without much of a fight against the left-wing legislature). By every metric that leftists hold dear, California is an abysmal failure – and it has long been run by those same leftists. So where is all the money going? When you charge Beverly Hills prices and delver Dollar General quality, you’re not a state: you’re a money-laundering operation for elitists.

Californians are smart enough that if they paid $10,000 for a gem on Rodeo Drive and got a Dollar General trinket in exchange, they would raise Cain. It is a glittering state in the grips of a deadly and pretentious arrogance. It strains at plastic straws and swallows unnecessary and catastrophic fires. It obsesses over how to disarm victims while refusing to get serious about crime. It is destined for a hard and humbling fall. Stupidly bad policy can draw down, for a time, on the accumulated capital of previous solid policy. Persisted in, though, it ever leads to destruction. When Californians get smart enough to refuse to accept Dollar General government in exchange for Rodeo Drive taxes, the state will have a chance for a comeback.

*********

I participated in the Coast to Coast Rosary on the 102nd Anniversary of the penultimate

Oxnard Beach Park
Coast to Coast Rosary at Oxnard Beach Park on the Pacific Ocean, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019

apparition at Fatima on the Pacific Ocean last Sunday. It was at Oxnard Beach Park.

This was special to me for many reasons in addition to being a day that is important to me. Oxnard, California is a milestone city for me. It is where I left the Pacific coast on my pilgrimage and headed inland, up into the Los Padres National Forest and mountains. It was a special grace to go to this park. I had visited it during my pilgrimage, and it has been the setting for some dreams since, but I could not remember where it was. Those memorable places I visited that I can’t place, I usually mentally place in Louisiana – probably because I fell in love with Louisiana. But I knew that could not be the case here, because I was only on the ocean once there, and this was not it. I was delighted to find where this memorable spot was. Déjà vu is French for the phrase, “previously seen.” My sense of déjà vu here was easily explained: I had deja viewed it before. It made the day even more special for me.

It tickles me that I have such a great group in Oxnard, a town that has such profound

Anna and Tony Murphy
Tony and Anna Murphy

memories for me. Anna and Tony Murphy are my coordinators there. They are dedicated pro-life activists. During the volunteer dinner, we were entertained by Martin Benedict Davis, a gifted piano player and the man whose home I stayed at. He is the youngest looking and most active 75-year-old I have ever met. He spends time each week going to a retirement home and playing the piano for several hours for the residents. He is proud to bear the name of two great saints who, like him, are black.

The crowds on this western swing have been fabulous: small at only about 30 per visit, but amazingly serious and sober. They spend their time pondering how to live their duty to God fully and how to help their neighbors. I meet very few people any more who are obsessing on preparing for themselves, but more who are seriously contemplating how to help others, to be a sign of hope, and how to take that next right step with deliberation and justice.

If I were called, like the patriarch whose namesake I am, Abraham, to propose 10 righteous people to God in order to spare our native land, I sure would have a bountiful harvest to offer up to the Lord.

Oxnard 2019
Speaking to folks in Oxnard

*********

Several people have complained of some problems with WordPress in the last few days. I have noted some changes in how I have to process things on the site. I rather wish they would give some notice, but I suppose it would be hard to get used to regardless. The last two days, though, I have had all sorts of problems with the internet, generally. It seems to have smoothed out tonight. I’m wondering if this is happening to anyone else. Let me know.

143 thoughts on “We Hardly Knew Ye”

  1. Love the pics and stories, Charlie. Thanks for asking the dearly departed Msgr., Fr. Bill, to help us all in these days. Joining you in praying he rests in joy.

    Poor California – a real piece of work in governance ineptitude. Thank God for the faithful who remain, beaming Christ’s Light into the darkness there. May this be so in every town and city, small and large, all over this land. I have friends in Chicago – a city recently named the one with the highest rat numbers in America – who are asked why they remain. They are filled with hope, praying and working to claim the city for the Lord. Amen. Maranatha!

    Liked by 9 people

  2. Charlie, what a wonderful tribute to your Fr. Bill! He must have been a beautiful gift from
    God. His passing must have been very sad, yet you were given many great years with him. How fortunate you are. Thank you for sharing.
    Yeah, seems California lost it luster when greed arrogance and perversion moved in. How sad. God gave them a beautiful state, with many wonders and they used that all up, only to be replaced with sin. The people who live there and stay with in our Lord’s blessings and protection, must find their surroundings tragic, if not surreal. Truly an example of how evil ‘creeps’ in and we are left with an empty illusion. HMMMMM. Thank goodness our Blessed Mother is our interceptor and protector.
    Yes, everyone is experiencing computer probs lately. I presume it could be ‘space’ interference; or some other issue. Very frustrating. I maybe paranoid, but I suspect DS and their plan to control or take down. Seems they are moving at warp speed now. Listening to the Church issues and looks like we might be heading into some hareeeeee times ahead. That along with government issues; economic issues; and the NWO by- products of “world gone mad”…I expect we will see some upheavel very soon, and the internet is a serious tool for the victor. I remember Charlie stating sometime ago…that big “C” would be the big threat! I see this coming quickly. If I am hearing correctly, they are already here. And of all entities, to me, they are a most formidable foe. We must pray for our President, his safety, and those that serve our country with good hearts. This cannot be easy for them. Ave Maria.

    Liked by 6 people

  3. Poor California, indeed. We know some lovely faith-filled people who get to work through these brown-outs and all other manner of government. jeepers

    Liked by 3 people

  4. U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Honors Newman Society
    https://us11.campaign-archive.com/?e=13603aefc6&u=281a76bc44c779f33f84e1600&id=e6bbc71ca9

    https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Egyptian-Aliyah-celebrated-at-Feast-of-Tabernacles-604973

    https://www.crisismagazine.com/2019/cardinal-hummess-radical-bedfellows

    https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/cdl-walter-brandmueller-amazon-synod-represents-spectacular-break-with-catholic-faith

    Attendance figures don’t bother me much as I believe that there are plenty of True Believers Out-Here that have become disgusted with The Churches of Nice-n-PC and have retreated to Christian Radio/TV/Internet. I believe/trust that God will always provide a “Path” for those who seek Him!

    https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/10/18/Survey-Christianity-religious-attendance-on-the-decline-in-US/4411571413143/?sl=20

    https://christianlifedaily.com/ex-transgender-people-just-made-these-3-arguments-at-the-supreme-court/

    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/10/calling_all_rosa_parks_americans.html#ixzz62mvZtJ5c

    https://www.lifenews.com/2019/10/18/planned-parenthood-abortionist-admits-in-court-she-wanted-lamborghini-for-selling-aborted-baby-parts/

    https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/10/11/a-mom-fights-for-justice-after-her-daughter-claims-a-gender-fluid-child-assaulted-her-in-bathroom

    https://www.hongkongfp.com/2019/10/18/breaking-hong-kong-court-rules-sex-civil-partnerships/

    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/10/dr_strangeshiff_or_how_i_learned_to_stop_worrying_and_love_the_impeachment.html

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 7 people

    1. I’m piggy-backing off your post CD, if you don’t mind, cuz this is just my political commentary.

      Hillary Clinton’s BACK, being crafty and manipulative as usual. She never says or does anything unless it is politically expedient. Observations:

      😜 Hmmm…Hillary seems to know a lot about the Russians: who they favor in American elections, that they are trying to get a third party candidate through Tulsi. She knows her comment is ludicrous, particularly for a Secretary of State, so why is she playing this card?

      🤪 Hmmm….Hillary, who claimed ignorance about “wiping a server” seems to know plenty about Russian sites and bots. (Heck, I don’t even know what a bot is).

      🤯 Hmmm….Trump’s justice department should start handing out indictments soon. Hillary is certainly on the list. Most importantly, what Trump will invariably succeed in bringing to light is how Hillary hired a Russian spy through Fusion GPS (ahem! Mr Mueller, its in your report) to smear her opponent who is now our President.

      (Tulsi may be right that Hillary can’t control her, whatever that means, or because she doesn’t fit the Democrat mold, but I suspect it’s really because Tulsi is hot and Hillary is not.)

      This is going to be a long, ugly, painful, frustrating, and bizarre election year for the poor Leftists. But heck, you made your bed….you sleep in it.

      Liked by 8 people

  5. As a native Californian whose family lived through the Big One and its aftermath, I might suggest you read what Edgar Cayce (who read the Bible, cover to cover every year and taught Sunday school for many decades) had to say back in the 1930s. The country side which is still the old California will survive but the cities by the sea will be gone. To paraphrase the former Pope, it will survive but be much smaller with a lot less folks.

    ________________________________

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Edgar Cayce was a medium, also known today as person who practices channeling spirits, nothing more or less. Please stay clear of him. He may have been well meaning, but unfortunately, he was deceived by the demonic. For example, he was told by these spirits that Jesus had past lives. He also claimed that Atlantis would rise again in the 1960’s. He believed in reincarnation, etc.

      None of these claims are Christian beliefs.

      Liked by 5 people

      1. Thank you, Dr. Dave. I had intended to note this about Cayce – who was largely the founder of the New Age movement of false spirituality – but I got swept up in the course of events the last few days on the road and forgot to get back to it. I completely agree with Dr. Dave on this. (Now there’s some serious ecumenism on behalf of Christ, eh?)

        Liked by 6 people

        2. I recall Cayce used to be known as the “sleeping prophet” as he would go into trances in which he seemed to be asleep, and would prophecy these new age doctrines. I used to read several of his books when I was lost and stupid before God helped me find my way to His truth. Stay clear of this nonsense.

          Liked by 2 people

  6. Just for information, I haven’t had any problems with the site. Saw your last two posts via gmail and was able to post comment here (I hope!) Thank you for your update. Roll Tide! (Sorry, couldn’t help myself…)

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Ha! Are you related to me? I think 90% of my relatives are insane about Alabama. When the Cubs finally won the World Series in 2016, on the final play, my sister jumped up and jubilantly proclaimed, “Roll Tide!”

      Liked by 4 people

      1. No, but my Father retired in Alabama in 1977 and when I went to stay within him during his cancer treatment I liked to remind him that I followed the Tide (he was an Auburn fan) so we had some fun with that. We are brothers: Mary is our mother, Jesus is our brother. God bless!

        Liked by 4 people

  7. We have been having some problems with Verizon wifi the last few days.

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/verizon-outage-hits-customers-across-the-u-s-michigan-pennsylvania-montana/?

    Some short thoughts today:

    1. California is the canary in the coal mine. The price of corruption. The price of citizen neglect. Do we need to train both adults and children on what the obligations of citizenship entail? Simple participation. Is there a way to incentivize citizens to take part in the management of their own city, state, nation?

    2. The Ukrainian thing is going to blow up on the Democrats. Burisma may be only the tip of what is/was going on. Joseph Cofer Black is going to be a key witness IMO. 80% of Russian gas exports to the EU run through Ukrainian pipelines. The changeover from Russia backing politicians to U.S. backing politicians in the Ukraine is potentially problematical. Puts a chokehold on Russian supply of gas. Hunter Biden, Devon Archer, Chris Heinz. Solyndra on an international scale. Replacing Russian gas supplies with U.S. gas supplies via LNG big ships. Military sales ofequipment. All that needs “well connected advisors”.

    3. Note to Littleonein Pa: Please read Jeremiah 29: 4-14. Keep in mind there are all sorts of Exile. Your description of your situation is a form of Exile that is quite common in our society today. Drugs, Unemployment. Bankruptcy. Ill health. Loss of home. Broken relationships. Loneliness. Many, many forms of Exile. You are experiencing your own form of Exile which has you stunned at the moment.

    God is speaking to the stunned Jews carried off into Babylonian Exile through Jeremiah who remained in Jerusalem. 29: 4-14 is a contract offer from God to those Exiles in shock and pain far, far, far from what they knew as their normal life. A covenant. It comes in two parts. It is a contract in two parts. The first part details what you must promise you will do for God. Be warned it ain’t gonna be easy. The second part is what God PROMISES to do for you. God keeps His promises.

    First Part — What You Must Do For God: When you find yourself at the end of your rope tie a knot in it and hang on. Bloom where you are planted. God asks you to work for the city of grief where you are planted in Exile. Live and make your life there. Amazing. First reaction: You gotta be kidding! I gotta bloom in this …. muck! Walk a mile in my shoes before you require that! God does not promise us a Rose Garden.

    Second Part — What God WILL do for you. It’s a set of promise delivered by Jeremiah. These promises apply to all in Exile of whatever sort who enter into this proposed Covenant right up until our present day:

    1. God has a Plan for YOU Littleone.
    2. God PLANS to give YOU a future full of HOPE.
    3. God WILL listen to you when you pray to Him.
    4. You WILL find God when YOU look for Him with all your heart.
    5. God WILL change your lousy, crummy, lot in Life as you presently see and experience it which is
    your form of Exile.
    6. God WILL call you Home. Home? Heaven. Only after 70 years … a full lifetime.

    Go into a private place and sit down and read this proposed covenant contract with God that God is offering you today right here. (All of you who feel you are in an intractable unresolvable kind of Exile you think nobody has ever had to endure and you are quite alone and there is no Hope. This is for YOU too.) Read it again. Read it three times just to make sure you understand the covenant offer.

    Here’s the key: When you understand what is being offered and what you must do as your part of the covenant which will be unappetizing and almost too much for you to contemplate then YOU MUST GIVE YOUR ASSENT. You must trust God and agree to pursue your end of the bargain faithfully and to the best of your ability. Call it bloom, baby, bloom. In my case …. after three readings to be sure I was seeing what I was seeing all I said was “I accept.” God will take it from there.

    How do I know you can rely on this set of promises? I was in Exile the form of which is irrelevant but in my case it was bad. I assented to this when it was presented to me in a most unusual way in December of 1989. I can testify that God has delivered on each of these promises save one. Can you guess which one of the promises is the only one God has yet to fulfill? I know God will fulfill that last promise one day.

    God bless you and your family. Hang on. Hang on. Hang on.

    Liked by 18 people

    4. 🐢The internet has been slow as mud the past week out here in SD too, Ed.

      I firmly, unshakable believe that when CHAOS hits, the internet will be completely and utterly down — out of order, dead as a doornail — for a protracted period of time, weeks or even months. I’m so certain of this for many reasons. But this astounding and universal tool, which is a frivolous toy for many if not most people who use it, MUST be taken away. Our LED-lit faces with pinpoint pupils will suddenly be forced to refocus and look at each other instead. We are largely addicted and so must be forcibly unplugged….for our collective spiritual survival.

      Do people not see that although individuals are communicating 100-fold more than ever — vastly greater numbers of things to vastly greater numbers of people — we are more distant, more divided, more segregated, more lonely and lost inwardly than ever?

      Liked by 4 people

  8. Charlie, it’s curious to hear that even holy people, like you and Father Bill, can have a rocky relationship at times. Our humanity surfaces even though we are brothers and sisters united in Christ working toward a common goal. It’s not unexpected, but it happens a lot.

    That was never more true for me than during the work I did with a very devout woman from Portugal, Fernanda, who wrote the “Holy Hour Devotion for the Dying” booklet with me. For 40 weeks, we labored together at her house before a computer. We would always pray beforehand for the Holy Spirit to guide us in our work and for the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima. While it was an amazing spiritual joy to create the book, it was also rocky for us personally many times too. Admittedly, I’m a stubborn and prideful man — particularly when faced with an equally stubborn woman. We always prayed and hugged after each meeting, but it would also hurt a little when there was any conflict between us at all. Fortunately, Catholics are a forgiving bunch.

    Thank God for this holy priest, your friend and confidant, Father Bill. May he (eventually) rest in peace! (That was a funny comment on your part about resting in “joy”!)

    PD

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Ah, well, by rocky I did not mean we ever did not like each other. Most of my dearest friends I argue with frequently – and learn some things from them as they learn some from me. We grow together. My peculiar situation added a little drama, but Fr. Bill and I really did love to poke at each other and took a lot of delight in it. I think one of the things that most delights an honest and serious provocateur is finding someone who can take it – AND give it right back. There is a cool sense of camaraderie in that.

      Shoot, once my son and I were having at it with each other when some of his friends were there – and one remarked that we didn’t seem to like each other much. We were both astonished and said we adored each other, how could he have ever gotten any other idea. I – and most of my serious friends – don’t subscribe to the “church of nice” – but we do have ourselves a time!

      Liked by 7 people

      1. And I love Fernanda so very much, too. I think we both could see that it was during those tense moments between us that yielded the most beautiful fruit. The Holy Spirit must have laughed at the circuitous path we took to finally get to what He wanted!

        Thanks, CJ. Safe travels!

        Liked by 3 people

        1. Obviously Patrick, we shouldn’t be “fair weather friends”.
          I have the uncanny knack of picking friends who have no friends but me! I’m the best friend of at least 5 individuals, probably more (the others haven’t realised this yet!)
          I made a mental commitment to not befriend someone in two ways:
          1. As a “user”.
          2. That I need to get something out of the relationship.
          Once I was asked by a friend of a friend how it was I could be a friend to him as he was such an a.. h…
          I told him that if someone is your friend, he is your friend through thick and thin if he is truly your friend and to be a friend is to accept the “whole person” and not just the only part of the relationship that benefits you.
          In marriage we are asked to make our “troth” (promise) for better or worse. Seems to me, family is family for better or worse and most people do not disown thier family members because of this. For me, my relationships are familial and, by God’s grace, permanent. I still think about and pray for kids I knew from primary school way back in the 60’s. I haven’t seen them since but I remember them by name so I believe God wants me to keep them on my prayer list and I think of them fondly when I do.
          Of course I believe all people will be best friends in heaven but for now it is important to remember those whom God gave us as friends in our prayers as they are truly loved by Him and through the gift of friendship….even a one-sided one, He is recalling them to us for their salvation.
          Mat God bless them all.

          Liked by 12 people

          2. Your 2 rules are simple and spot-on. A friendship is destined to fail if either or both conditions exist, and it is so wise to be mindful of it before going into a relationship.

            You hit a tough subject for me: Family. I was psychologically abused by a mentally ill mother while my loving Catholic father stood silently by. In fact, my counselor recently told me that the abuse I experienced as a young child was “profound.” Because of this upbringing, I still have much difficulty with relationships, with concupiscence, and with substance abuse. I say this without self-pity: it is fact.

            After years and years of counseling, contemplation, and consideration, I’ve had to incrementally distance myself from my mom. In 2012, I consulted 2 priests (one a canon lawyer) over the matter and they both gave similar advice. They shrugged their shoulders because the best path for me to take was obscure. One said it would not be a violation of the 5th commandment to never see or speak to her again; the other said, “Well, perhaps you can send her an email once a year wishing her a happy Mother’s Day, and then pray that she have a peaceful death.” This was clearly difficult and sobering advice for them to give. So finally, just last year, in light of my father’s passing, I’ve sadly had to close the door completely on my biological mother. Now, interestingly, I seem to be turning a corner toward mental well-being.

            I do honor the 5th commandment by praying daily for her. (Her name is Elaine if you wish to add your prayers. She’s 77 and is causing her own siblings great pain too, as we speak). I hope that she reaches Heaven because I know we will love each other perfectly and unconditionally there.

            My family is a high-functioning train wreck: I just learned my youngest brother (Valedictorian of his class) has deep psych issues that he’s struggling with. Unfortunately, I’ve had to disconnect from one verbally-abusive brother. My sister and the youngest are still welcome to contact me, but neither does so….I believe that I in particular remind them of the pain from our shared childhood. As oldest, I bore the brunt of my mother’s illness, but I see now that we all suffered considerably and carry deep scars.

            Mary Immaculate, Our Beautiful Blessed Mother, is the person who is helping heal these wounds. I’ve had this book in my possession for a while, but the Holy Spirit finally summoned me to read it on October 9th. I put it here for others who may have similar struggles with their mothers.

            During my recent visit to WNY, I reconnected with cousins I haven’t seen in 10 years. They treated me with such love, happiness, and most importantly, respect. It is so painful when family is broken — for that very reason: because they’re family. But that void was filled by my loving aunts, uncles, and cousins. (That’s why I got a FB account).

            Someone saw me in church once and asked, “I saw you with a big group of people. Is that your family?” I said, “No, they’re just…..” Then I stopped and said, “Actually, yes. Yes, that is my family you saw me with.”

            Boy, PF, one post from you and I pour my heart out. Talk about putting a dime in a jukebox! 🙂 Hopefully this thread will help others. Thank you for your wisdom, Phillip.

            Liked by 16 people

            1. Thanks for the book link, Patrick. This is one with which I’m not familiar and I like recommending helpful literature when working and praying with others who seek help in healing.

              Praying for your mother and praying for you as you make your way along the road of forgiveness and healing. I love how God not only heals, but actually transforms wounds, turning them into gifts which bless us and others. “Behold! I make all things new!” says He.

              Liked by 9 people

            2. I recognise that “train wreck” situation in some of my friends families Patrick. One of them was raised by a father who was a criminal and a mother who’s father was part of an organized crime ring in Chicago. He lost hearing in his left ear when his father pulled a gun and shot someone right in front of him when he was a child! Needless to say, he carries a lot of baggage when it come to his view of the world!
              We can’t help but be effected by generational “curses”- we all are (just think Adam and Eve).
              Supernatural grace must come into play for any of us to make it through this life. After Jesus told the Apostles what was needed for salvation they asked how can anyone be saved?
              Jesus said for “man” it is impossible but with God, all things are possible.
              This is true in every aspect of our lives not just our salvation.
              My mom’s favorite saying was: “but for the grace of God there go I”. She made the accurate point that it was only because of God’s grace that she wasn’t in the same bad shape as so many others. If we ignore grace we continue along the path of unrighteousness with all it’s baggage. God promises us the grace to carry these “bags” but not their removal. His strength, not ours, helps us carry them. If we try to carry them alone we end up broken under the strain and then pass this pain on to those around us.
              Post traumatic stress comes in many forms, even an infant is traumatized by childbirth! Mental illness is in the brain, the most effective organ of the body and the resulting trauma and reactions are innumerable and long suffering for the victim and those around them. God knows because of there condition His judgment will be mitigated by this reality.
              If one was diabetic or had a heart condition, they would be given more consideration by family and friends but because it’s “mental” and largely misunderstood by everyone, including the medical community, in its effect on there behavior, this may lead them to be further victimised or ignored. The great heart ache is you cannot rationalise with an irrational person. The capacity to be rational is diminished and this manifests in multiple ways. The more stress the more PTSD and this snowballs. Drugs mostly mask or “handle” the condition but with terrible side-effects. As the drugs loose thier effectiveness, others are needed and the side-effect nightmare starts anew. Many victims turn to drugs and alcohol to help with the symptoms or to boost the effects of the medication. Of course, that ends up causing a whole slew of other problems.
              Interestingly, Our Lady told the children at Fatima and St Bernadett that they would suffer. Scripture says to “suffer for the right” so it is not waisted since in life we all will suffer in one way or another.
              In the end the suffering will all seems as nothing.
              And that is a pleasant thought.

              Liked by 9 people

            4. Thank you for your comment Patrick and your mention of the book. I have a good friend who is a priest and he and his siblings have anguished over their relationship with their mother for so many years. I may mention this book to him, in the hope it could be of some help. God Bless You Patrick!

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              1. Diane, I would recommend that you go ahead and let your friend know of this book, “Forgiving Mother.” It has nine chapters and a novena. I am reading it slowly, per my counselor’s request. I just read chapter 3 today, and will reread it later this week before moving to the next. It is divinely inspired and quite perfect, in my opinion…the right book at the right time. Marge Fenelon understands my suffering and struggles intimately, personally, and she knows what I and other need in order to reach genuine healing from what seems like an insurmountably painful wound. Yes, do pass this gem along. I believe it will please Our Lady very much.

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            5. Pat,
              Like me you are of the Irish (though I have the Scots, too). The problem you describe is very common amongst our ethnicity. I have witnessed this is so many South Buffalo Irish families. It has run for centuries, in fact and has reached brutal homicidal levels, such as the horrid internicene warfare between the red and black Douglases. It is in my family, and goes back to the old country. Backbiting, bitter, savage, tearing , clawing, scratching, ripping, backstabbing, resentment, envy, jealousy, anger, miscommunication, howling, shrieking, misunderstanding, = like the demonic banshees, they will infest places. The St.Michael stone has been a great help to me in this matter.

              We also need to acknowledge the wounds we have caused in others and forgive all. Michael Brown of Spirit Daily compiled a great little book “Life Missions, Family Healing.” Brown’s book is superb and an excellent starting point. Forgiveness dealers from the Byzantine rite is also a help.

              You are in my prayers, my friend. Bury yourself in the Sacred Heart and wrap yourself in our Lady’s mantle.

              Liked by 1 person

              1. I mean “forgiveness vespers.” Found on “Forgiveness Sunday,” the last Sunday before Lent.

                Like

              2. Ha, J.I.M.! The Irish in me is definitely an aggravating factor, and it’s complicated even further with a bit of German in the mix, too! That’s a common combo out east. You know how domineering those German women can be.

                I have definitely caused pain in my family, too, and after my divorce in 2004 I called each of my siblings and parents and apologized at length for my behavior over the years. I have worked hard since to not hurt them again, and have done a fine job at it, if I do say so myself. I’ve backed off, held my tongue, smiled and loved them like the successful adults that they are. Sadly, the words I have never, ever heard from any of them is, “I’m sorry.” But that’s OK, I’m not responsible for that. And I’m not holding my breath waiting for the apologies that will never come because to do so will only keep the wounds opened and festering.

                Out of the litany of conflict you listed, “resentment” was the word that jumped out at me….those in my family just won’t ever let things go, including me. That is one of the biggest struggles I’m addressing. I just returned from Mass, adoration, and more reading from “Forgiving Mother.” I hold Jesus’ and Mary’s Hearts close to mine as I continue to work through this. And in 30 minutes I’ll be sitting with my counselor (also a Jim). My optimism and hope about healing and ultimately realizing and actualizing God’s will for me has never been higher.

                Were your ears burning? I was thinking about you yesterday. You are in my prayers, Jim!

                (Man, being Irish AND German….what do you suppose happens when you put a beer in front of me? 🍺 I try to sip on white wine, but it just feels all wrong.☘️ Give me a lager!)

                Liked by 1 person

                1. Oh I have the Deutsches volk in me too! That is why I love Buffalo, all those sehr gut hot dogs that go great with a Genny beer. It is funny, but I was pestered by my Guardian Angel to respond to this specific comment of yours . Forgiveness is so powerful. Some family members will not speak to me and I respect that as the Lord has to do his healing in his own time. I think if I actually spoke to them it would make matters worse. So, I cooperate with prayer, forgiveness and confession. Let us keep praying for each other and when you get back this way look me up!

                  Liked by 2 people

                  1. I’m very glad you listened to your Guardian Angel.
                    Now, if he were able to eat, would you offer him a Sahlen’s or a Hofmann hot dog?

                    My dad was a Genny Cream Ale guy (… De gustibus non est disputandum!) That was the first beer I ever had….he gave me a sip in the garage one summer day when I was like 11. I remember the bitterness and the bubbles fizzing in my nose. Yuk! I said. But like father, like son, I soon learned to appreciate an ice cold Genny!

                    I’m really in a good place mentally about my family. I respect the fact that they don’t want to speak with me, and I don’t take it personally. I continue my devotion to the 7 Sorrows of Mary where she promises: “I will grant peace to their families.” I will continue to keep my heart open to opportunities for reconciliation, but it is in God’s hands for now. And the same for me as well with prayer, forgiveness, and confession.

                    I WILL be heading back to WNY and we will definitely connect.

                    Liked by 2 people

  9. PatrickDaniel and Charlie-
    Sounds like you guys are describing a healthy marriage!
    My husband and I have been happily married for 36 years. We have had some very healthy arguments. Our foundation is strong in the Lord.

    Liked by 6 people

  10. Shiela from Lake Charles. My son lives in Studio City & would agree with everything you say. Pray his ex will agree to move. He won’t leave because of his daughter. We did the “Rosary Around the Lake” in Lake Charles along w/ rest of nation & had over 800 families there praying. Lucky us, a lady we happen to meet will be bringing 200 relics to Lake Charles for people to come & pray before or lay items on them. 2 churches opened to her & she will display them at my house also. Too bad, you don’t live closer. Hope all is well. Expecting grandchild #14. LOL. Miss you, but love reading your posts, Shiela Pizzolatto

    Liked by 8 people

    2. Oh, I love to hear from you, Shiela. Hope your son gets back to Louisiana. I just passed through Studio City yesterday. Lake Charles is a very special place for me for several reasons, one of which it is where I was when the Revelation 12 sign appeared in the sky on Sept. 23, 2017. And I had the best roast I have ever had that night.

      Liked by 7 people

  11. I’m surprised you were able to get gas as cheep as $4/gallon! Schwarzenegger was no more republican than Hillary. His chief of staff was Susan Kennedy (yes those Kennedy’s) who engineered a smear campaign to stop Bruce Hershchensohn’s senate campaign – he was a great conservative thinker and would have been an awesome senator. Instead we got Barbara Boxer, who arguably was one of the master minds of California’s current demise and certainly one bad senator for the whole country.

    Liked by 6 people

  12. Charlie, thank you for sharing your speaking tour journey with us! It is nice to see you looking so debonair.

    I have had some oddities with WordPress and the internet too in the time frame you mentioned.

    ❤

    Liked by 3 people

  13. As we try to parse whatever comes out of the Amazon synod we might want to reflect on this talk from Steve Ray at Steubenville concerning a true understanding of what Islam is.

    This was from Dec 2018. It is well worth noting in the middle he references what a little boy growing up in Ohio believes and what a little boy growing up in the Amazon believes. And no, they are not the same. We have to be mindful of the dangers of Syncretism to our treasury of true faith.

    This also applies in spades with respect to Islam. We can’t just squat down in a circle of mutual admiration for all religions of whatever stripe including atheism and eco-worship and claim we are all serving and praising the same God. In the name of harmony. In the name of reconciliation. In the name even of attempted evangelization.

    Most illustrative: Steve Ray quoting St. Thomas Aquinas on Islam. Worth the viewing just for that.

    Whether Steve Ray realizes it or not in this talk he is raising the issue of who is Syncretizing whom?

    Liked by 8 people

  15. Well, I for one am one of those poor saps living on the edge of California (probably the part that will fall into the ocean first!). Coming from Montana, I’m not sure how I ended up here of all the places in the world (most people move from CA to MT, mind you). And yes, I must agree, it is agonizing walking around a wasteland, the forefront of the pestilence that threatens humanity’s downfall.

    You feel like an automatic loser going to the voting polls because you know the Democrats haven already won (heck, many times there’s not even a Republican choice on the ballot). I actually have a doctor friend who moved his family to Florida so his vote would count. And the liberal nonsense is enough to make you just want to load everything up in a UHaul TODAY and drive straight to Wyoming. For instance, did you know that our Cal State University High-Up Administrative Moral Authority has designated certain states like Texas and Iowa as forbidden travel destinations under academic pretenses because—yes, they had the audacity to forego adopting the transgender bathroom policies? This land has embraced saving the earth right along with the murder of pre-born children. And I can tell you just walking around downtown, the 1.5% homosexual population seems vastly underestimated, and I live in a “less liberal” part of the state.

    We exist in a perpetual drought with a constant threat of a brushstorm burning everything to the ground and the ever-present stench of moral decay. God help us! Jesus is a dirty word here. And being a conservative is highly repugnant in most circles. The other day, an “enlightened” university faculty member made fun of people who watch Fox news—get this—during a Diversity and Inclusion Training session, and the whole room found it jolly good fun, despite the few who did not. Everywhere I look in society is the dripping irony of hypocrisy. I work hard to send my daughter to a Catholic high school where very expensive vehicles drive up with Hillary bumper stickers. I’m sorry to rant on like this, but Charlie got me started with this post.

    But there is some comfort; there are a lot of good souls in this land. And there is an amazing history of the Faith here. Along the coast is the physical and spiritual trail of the missions, blazed by brave souls. Maybe the devils honed in on this area for a particular revenge and planted a crop of evil where there was a holy ground. I kind of think and hope and pray that St. Junipero and his counterparts are still working from heaven to evangelize and help save souls in this not yet forsaken land. The signs of the faith and hope and love are to be found, even in the names and places we pass every day. I do not think their hard work was for nothing. Who knows, God willing, maybe these parts will be on the forefront of a mass conversion! Who are those most deserving of the mercy of the Lord but the worst of the sinners? We may all perish in a massive fire (or a mass riot) or be flooded with the ocean and/or we may be flooded with the ocean of God’s mercy. When I am confronted with the hopeless case of a person in power who seems least likely to carry out a divine plan of goodness, I know the only way for it to come about is for that person’s conversion of heart and there’s only One Who can do that. So next time you think of the hopeless case of California, pray for us PLEASE!

    I take heart in thinking of the early Christians living in pagan Rome and the holy family who had to live in Egypt, a land with strange gods. Bloom where you’re planted. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Faith….

    I am open to any advice from all you wise ones out there. What are folks like us strangers in a strange land supposed to do? We can’t vote our way out of it, for sure. We have to pray and sacrifice and still we’re not going to make it out alive, per se. In a dream, I see a vast billowing fire in the sky, so strange and unlike a real fire. It’s the consuming destruction of our sins (mine and everyone else’s), for we all added fuel to this fire somehow. But in the dream I don’t seem too dismayed. Perhaps living here is punishment for my own sins but also a call to pray for my neighbors near and far. Sometimes in order to fight the battle, you actually have to be on the front lines.

    Liked by 20 people

    1. I have no words of wisdom for you, Contemplativejoy; but I do have words of empathy. We lived in California from 1997 to 2001. Couldn’t get out fast enough, and wouldn’t move back if somebody gave me a billion dollars. God bless you and all Californians of good will, and God forgive all the rest and lead them to repentance.

      Liked by 11 people

    2. Yes, thank you for this comment…I was born and raised here. Family is all here, for the most part, including both sets of (grand)parents. While a lot of me wants to high tail it out of here, we feel our NRS at the time is to stay and support those we love. It’s complicated! But there are certainly a lot of faithful Californians…God willing, enough to rebuild one day. As for us, we are in a large and strong Catholic homeschooling network that spans the Bay Area. I pray for our homeland, which as you say is so rich in beauty and resources. Thank you for praying for us here and glad to have you on the turf, Charlie!

      Liked by 11 people

    4. I think you’re onto something in your final paragraph.. Do what you can right where you are. The little things like saying a quiet grace when eating out in public with a sign of the cross before and after. Finding a group of like-minded people and from a community and indeed praying for the conversion of non-believers. We all will be little blobs of mercury that come together to make larger blobs and maybe start to help the Virgin to triumph. I live in NY, the other great liberal bastion of the US, whose self-professed Catholic governor began the flood liberalized abortion up to moment of birth laws in the country. By November I’ll be a citizen of SC. Do what is possible! God bless.

      Liked by 9 people

        1. That, of course, is good news. I pray that the governor’s desire to honor an Italian -American religious in the city where she did such great work will lead to his conversion of heart.

          Liked by 1 person

    5. Couple of thoughts come to mind Contemplativejoy.

      This quote attributable to Gen. Phil Sheridan: “If I owned Texas and Hell, I’d rent out Texas and live in Hell.” Wonder what he would think about Texas and California today? Seems he got his States mixed up.

      I have only been to California once in my life. I got to see San Francisco and the wine country and all the way up to Mt. Shasta. I would say about 20 years ago. As a child of the sixties I had always heard of this Mecca of youth called Haight-Ashbury where all the cool chicks and hip guys migrated to in order to “be free”. Well, I had to go see didn’t I? Sorely disappointed even back then. Totally commercialized. More of a capitalist make a buck Mecca back then. A Mecca for Tie DyeTee Shirt shopping. I did a bit of wandering around. I wanted to see the old original Mission of San Francisco of Assisi. I wandered through the Castro District with its iconic Castro Theatre and the “queerest four corners on Earth” intersection and finally found my way to the Mission. By that time I was pretty stunned by what I had drifted through as a tourist from Back East. I wandered into the old Mission and found that it was closed. I was about to turn away when a priest opened the door and invited me in. We had a pleasant conversation. As I was leaving I made what turned out to be a faux pas. I said “Well, Father, you have a real problem to deal with here in San Francisco in this den of iniquity.” He replied ” You’re from Washington D.C. and you think I have a problem?” Touche.

      What you describe is a kind of battlefield. You are a participant in a great battle …. for souls … which is being fought out right here on the human plane of existence. It is not only being fought on the human plane but on the spiritual plane as well. Simultaneously. We are at the same time victims, casualties and combatants . The veil between the human plane and the spiritual plane is wispy thin. City of God and City of Man. We have one foot in each. You can just about almost see the angels on both sides battling it out on the spiritual plane. Both fighting for our souls. A tremendous battle on going since the Fall of the Angels over …. us. California is a a great battlefield of that conflict and you are in the middle of it.

      It can be discouraging. Never ending. We seem to be losing with no Hope of victory. Relentlessly oppressed and seemingly on the verge of defeat against overwhelming forces.

      Ephesians 6
      10 Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
      11 Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.
      12 For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the
      world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.
      13 Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having
      done everything, to hold your ground.
      14 So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,
      15 and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace.
      16 In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one.
      17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

      With God at your side how can you lose?

      Perhaps its coincidental but this was sent to me this morning.

      https://churchpop.com/2016/03/22/incredible-story-behind-montanas-90-ft-statue-mary/

      “It was in their lowliness that they triumphed

      Throughout the centuries, in the life of nearly every saint and the story of almost every culture, the sense of the divine is highest when the individual or group is at their lowest point. The moment when all seems lost, when the world has dealt us its death blow, God’s grace is able to flow through in its freest form.

      “Everything we asked of Mary up there, we got,”

      Liked by 9 people

      1. The story of fashioning, constructing and placing that mighty huge statue on the mountaintop is a great one, Ed. Having made pilgrimage to this statue and driven by her hundreds of times, I have discovered she is especially gorgeous when gazing upon her with a full moon. May our Mother intercede for us.

        Liked by 7 people

        1. Bekita, I found the simple faith-filled notes and rosaries and mementos from pilgrims that fill the statue’s base most striking and heartening.

          Liked by 2 people

    6. Great comment ContemplativeJoy…
      It’s funny….as I’m reading Charlie’s writing and all the comments…it seemed like I was discovering California for the first time. And then, I thought…oh wait…I used to live there!!!
      I lived in Mill Valley almost 50 years ago while pregnant with my daughter. I enjoyed living on the water and the wonderful climate. I guess my world was kind of small back then!!!
      Interesting though, even though so many of us here have lived in different places and even countries (Canada, US, Germany, back to US and now in Canada…and no…I was not in the military!!), it continues to amaze me how God has brought all of us together in His truth and plan! In a way…the world is still “small”!

      Looking at Charlie’s photo of Rosary Coast to Coast brings that thought home even more. My friend and I organized Rosary Coast to Coast for our second year (Chapelet d’un Océan à l’Autre)….here in our Parish. Our pastor mentioned how touching it was to think that so many people from all over the world were praying at the very same time. This was the first he had heard of this….and very openly joined us and the 40 or so present. The Friday before, over 30 of us, including our Pastor and Deacon, walked around our church, praying the rosary…in Eucharistic procession. We then had an hour of Adoration inside. Two very grace-filled events for which I am deeply thankful!

      Awaiting the results of our own elections here in Canada, I have to remind myself often that, “No matter how deep the pit, God is deeper still” (Corrie ten Boom).

      Liked by 12 people

    7. Matthew, chapter 13
      29
      He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.
      30
      Let them grow together until harvest;* then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”g

      Luke, chapter 3
      17His winnowing fan* is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”m 18

      Matthew, chapter 3

      10Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11g I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.* 12* h His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
      http://usccb.org/bible/books-of-the-bible/index.cfm#Matthew

      Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love.

      V. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
      R. And you shall renew the face of the earth.

      Let us pray. O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

      Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, send now Your Spirit over the earth.
      Let the Holy Spirit live in the hearts of all nations that they may be preserved from degeneration, disaster and war.
      May The Lady of All Nations, who once was Mary, be our advocate. Amen.

      Liked by 6 people

  16. “Stupidly bad policy can draw down, for a time, on the accumulated capital of previous solid policy”

    Yes, Charlie, well said. And that pretty much describes how things are here on t’other side of the Pond, in the soi-disant European “Union”. In our case, we’ve now reached the red line (no, plunged well below it) of the centuries-old Judeo-Christian capital of our forefathers and are well into overdraught territory. And very few are sounding the alarm. If they do, they’re “haters”, or some other sophomoric soundbite du jour.

    I was in London last week, and happened, purely by accident, upon the Extinction Rebellion crowd in Trafalgar Square. Dear Lord, it reminded me of the sheer brute power of collective stupidity, combined with a perceptible current of barely concealed malice. These are not nice people – in a group, whatever about individually. Middle-class wasters, a lot of them, looking for some purpose in otherwise fairly purposeless lives, it seemed to me. 70 years of free higher education, and this is what we have. The irony of having such a quasi-totalitarian protest in Trafalgar Square, presided over by Lord Nelson whose fleet helped save their country from anti-democratic tyranny, not to mention the Cenotaph barely 200 yards away, is just too rich. No, they really don’t get it. And if a bare inkling should descend upon them – oh well, somebody else will pick up the pieces. Shrug. Because, in their spoiled, thoughtless lives, somebody else always has.

    Except, the somebody elses are getting fewer and fewer.

    Liked by 9 people

  18. I sent angels this week to William Orrick judge of the David Daleiden trial and will send angels to Cardinal Sarah next week. The Amazon synod is such a concern. May God continue to guide and bless all here. jas

    Liked by 11 people

  19. Contempletivejoy-greetings from the great state of Montana. Unfortunately there are a lot of Californians fleeing and bring the crazy with them. I don’t understand why they do that. Bozeman is now nicknamed Boz-angles.

    A dear Catholic friend of mine is a Hillary all the way supporter. Lord have mercy.

    Liked by 6 people

    1. HttP, my husband grew up in Seattle. Californians started flooding to Washington State maybe 30 years ago, maybe a bit earlier. My husband said that they ruined the state, and Seattle in particular. Apparently some Washingtonians sported the following bumper sticker on their cars: “Don’t Californicate Washington.”

      Liked by 3 people

        2. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. And my penance shall be… having to watch the Nationals and the Astros in the World Series (why, WHY did the MLB move the ‘Stros to the AL?). My only consolation is the hope that Nolan Ryan will be in the stands somewhere, and that the camera will rest upon his visage for a few moments. Man, that guy could pitch! 🙂

          Liked by 1 person

        1. I lived in California in Fountain Valley of Orange county just a few miles inland from the coast and its breezes that drove the smog inland and within commuting distance South of LA and worked in LA from June 1975 through September 1978 when I moved back to Seattle South Metropolitan area in time to witness Seattle’s decline along with that of Washington state. I had to take a respite to work in Germany from February 1981 to August 1984. From 1978 through 1981 and 1984 on I had occasion to often do personal business in Seattle declining over the years to today where I rarely go into Seattle unless I absolutely have to. When I lived in California, LA area, I could sense the evil looseness of the place. The beautiful weather seemed to encourage the moral slackness. Our family split apart there and we all eventually moved back to Washington (I grew up in Washington from age 7 3/4 in an area about 80 miles South of Seattle) with some ending up in Idaho. I ended up buying 30 acres of far North Idaho forest land as an investment in the early 90’s and I have a son and his family living on that land now. I witnessed the Californication of both Idaho and Washington over the last 40 years. (interesting that Spell Check would not accept “Californicating” but did accept “Californication.”) I had occasion to do a four day business contracting analysis job in LA and the North mountain area in 1988. The pleasant weather tended to draw me back at first but after fighting the much worse traffic congestion than when I had worked in that area from 75 thru 78, I resolved never to move back there again. It occurs to me that California is just the worst example of the moral degradation that has occurred throughout our country in varying degrees in different areas.
          To any who waded through all this, you now know more about me than you ever wanted to.
          May God continue to guide and bless all here. It is no longer deniable that it is actually getting worse. I long for the completion of the Rescue in the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of our Mother. jas

          Liked by 1 person

          2. Echoing the longing for our Mother’s Heart to Triumph, JAS. May this yearning fuel us with resolve to stay strong in trusting the Lord as He leads us through this transition.

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    1. 😡 SATANISM ALERT: U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY!

      The United States Naval Academy is under pressure to allow Satanic services on its premises.

      https://www.france24.com/en/20191016-satanic-temple-has-right-to-gather-us-naval-academy-says

      https://www.foxnews.com/us/satanic-temple-us-naval-academy-should-host-satanic-services

      A petition: http://www.returntoorder.org/petition/tell-u-s-naval-academy-keep-satan-out/

      🇺🇸 It’s difficult to fathom how deep our country has sunk….watching and praying!

      👊 St. Joseph, Terror of Demons, pray for us! 🙏

      Liked by 1 person

        1. Jen, perhaps you can help me find this story:

          I heard that there once was a man on a train, maybe 100 years ago. And an unsavory character entered this man’s cabin with a knife and was going to rob the fellow. There was a struggle and, as the story goes, the man being assaulted invoked the name of Saint Joseph.

          Suddenly, from outside the moving train, the stern face of a bearded man appeared in the window. Then, the closed fist of the bearded man passed through the window — without breaking it — and knocked the assailant out cold.

          Does this ring a bell?

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Patirck, this does sound interesting, yet it does not ring a bell. I did look to see if I might be able to find the story, and not luck. Perhaps someone else here is familiar with it and can share it. ❤

            Liked by 2 people

              1. Yes and I found it. 😉

                Have you heard ‘MORNING w/ MOTHER ANGELICA – Saint Joseph’ by EWTN Catholic Radio on #SoundCloud

                Mother Angelica, pray for us
                St. Joseph, Terror of demons, pray for us

                ❤

                Liked by 2 people

                  1. And Mother’s blessed humor: “There went the lily, real fast!”🌸 I can’t wait to her that wonderful laugh of hers again, in person! 🙂

                    👊 Thank you, Saint Joseph, Protector of the Holy Family!

                    Liked by 3 people

          3. Whoa… never heard that story before, Patrick. I hope Jen or another member of the ASOH family can come up with a link or something.

            Liked by 1 person

  21. “I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.” Ps 27:13

    Thank you all for kind responses and reflections. Forgive the negative soundoff. Perhaps I over-exaggerated my battle stance; at best I am the assistant to the water carrier of those doing the battling. Alas, the illogics here and elsewhere–it is a temporary insanity–it can not sustain itself. However, for millenia, we have been walking around diseased from the infection of sin; only a few these days are actually seeking the Remedy for it. And I am ever so poor at making referrals.

    What I did not iterate is what a breathtaking land this truly is and that no matter where we are, God has a way of wooing us with His most subtle courtship. But here it is pretty obvious. In the morning, He sings us a lovesong with the most gifted birds, and plays us a lullaby of crickets every night. He sends a pleasant breeze like a sip of cool water to stir the heat of afternoon, and He paints a most unique sunset in the evening, many of which you just have to sit and drink in like a glass of wine. Even in this valley of tears, how the Lord spares no expense of creativity in delighting us from the bold blooming flowers to the elegance of the fleeting fox–just savoring that single moment in a day, you can know it. How I wish more would take notice. But what I need to be reminded of every day—is His most precious masterpieces, walking around on the streets, concentrating in their cars, distracted by devices, mostly unaware of the magnificent love they are called to. You can see it in their faces, however, the imprint of His handiwork, in everyone single one of them, from the new baby staring into your eyes, to the vacant teenager avoiding them, to the robotically operating guy at the counter, to the mom herding kids, to the elderly man struggling to stand up, the indelible mark of genius, the image of God in their eyes, infinitely more than the sunset. If we can but look each one in the eye and take a little time, like they were the only person in the world, maybe we would all begin to radiate just a little of that infinite love. I think it does start with that, just a soft look and a genuine smile. I can only imagine how Jesus met each soul and I can only dare will for Him to be seen like that now if only just a fraction through me.

    “The earth is the Lord’s and all it holds, the world and those who live there.” Ps 24:1

    Liked by 9 people

  22. If, like Rip van Winkle, I just awoke from a 20 year nap and was handed an account of what had transpired whilst I was napping I would exclaim …. Humbug!! …. What’s this?? … a script for a new “Twilight Zone” remake?
    I keep thinking it can’t possibly get worse …. but it do ….daily … State & Church ;-( …. and most of BoobLand USA is “At the Mall”.
    Would someone here, please, convince me that we are NOT living in thhe days of Issiah
    Isaiah 5 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+5&version=DRA)
    Keep Your Powder Dry.

    https://www.crisismagazine.com/2019/the-church-is-not-a-democracy

    http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/ford-foundation

    https://stream.org/christians-prepare-hostility/

    https://churchpop.com/2019/10/18/vandals-destroy-pro-life-memorial-crosses-at-catholic-church-in-pennsylvania/

    https://townhall.com/columnists/timwildmon/2019/10/20/five-truths-most-americans-are-afraid-to-say-n2554863

    https://stream.org/the-totalitarian-american-left/

    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/10/atheists_call_for_establishing_atheism_as_the_national_religion.html#ixzz62sk5rleI

    https://amgreatness.com/2019/10/20/why-do-they-hate-him-so/

    https://pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/trumps-labeling-of-fake-news-was-an-understatement/

    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/10/for_peggy_noonan_and_her_elitist_palsheres_a_little_plainspeak_for_you.html

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 5 people

    1. III, I saw this on Father Z this morning and cracked up; the final splash in the water is epic! This is a really spiffy version with music, wow! As others said, it was not stealing; it was remove the demons from God’s holy ground. Way to go!

      Liked by 3 people

        1. @JLynnByrd: And the Catholic News Services are calling this theft. THEFT!? Oh, the hypocrisy.

          The bad guys have stolen our Patrimony, our Apostolic Faith. My prime motivation, that which drives my “frostiness”, is the betrayal inherent in a hundred or more years of half-truths and ambiguity. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

          As Charlie teaches me, I myself will stand before my Jesus, only me and He will ask, “Who do you say that I am? Who do you say My Church is?”

          One of the best things my mother ever said (and she says a lot of great things), was, “The number one blessing of V-II Council is that no longer can we trust whatever comes out of the mouth of any priest. We are responsible to know our Faith as adults and practice it with childlike trust and fidelity.” My Mom. Gosh, I am so blessed by her.

          Liked by 1 person

  26. Charlie, Beckita, Mick, Patrick,MP, Veil of Veronica, CrewDogand everybody.

    Very busy. However, I have a few things I wanted to pass on.

    Beckita, please review: https://catholicismpure.wordpress.com/2019/10/21/how-an-amazon-pagan-rite-brought-48-years-of-demonic-torment-until-christ-freed-me/

    This is a very good article.

    I saw the various articles on the pagan idols being dumped into the Tiber. LOL! Sounds like something I would have done back in my college days. I would probably do it now, with the same vigor and enthusiasm as some of my Covenanter ancestors throwing out Catholic “idols” back in the day.

    For Mick especially are the following:
    http://www.sunlituplands.org/2019/09/englands-return-to-walsingham.html
    http://dowrytour.org.uk/exhbitbooklet/DowryTourBooklet.html#page=5

    Click to access Dowry_of_Mary_Exhibition.pdf

    The last one is especially good as it bring you on a tour of all of Merry old England’s Marian Shrines
    Every statue associated with every Marian shrine is shown. Amazing! Mick, there is our dear Lady of Glastonbury for 1154, when the Plantagenets under Henry II began their rule. And there is Our Lady of Walsingham from 1061. I went there in 1989 – everyone was going to Medjugorie, but I went to Walsingham. The Montfort Fathers through their old Magazine, Queen, introduced me to Walsingham. There is also the statue to our Lady of Lewes, where Simon de Montfort won his great victory.

    We all know of great books on our Lady – a rather recent and colorful book is Queen of Heaven by St. Benedict Press. IT has a 4 DVD set you can get, but the book is beautiful and certainly worth getting.
    There is an incredible book I came upon recently called the book of Mary by retired professor and Deacon Michael Closs. It is a scholarly examination of the Protoevangelium of James. It does vindicate my position that the Protoevangelium should be understood a Jewish-Christian work of the 2nd century by somebody who knew the traditions of temple Judiaism.

    There is always someone who raises the so called Gelasian Decree and say the book, amongst others. is condemned. The work is not by Pope Gelasius and the gist of the work is this: the Protoevangelium of James is not scripture and not to be used as scripture. It is a lousy list as it lists not only spurious works of scripture, but also works that are not scripture, such as everything by Tertullian, Lactantius, Clement of Alexandria, Arnobius, Tyconius, [John] Cassian, Victorinus of Pettau and so on. The last two are saints, and Cassian’s works are beloved of the Benedictines and recommended by St. Benedict. Augustine made a great deal of use of Tyconius’s works and wrote favorably of his works.

    Again the Protoevangelium is not scripture, but likely the oral traditions written down in the Jewish Christian Community. Closs’s book goes through the work in a wonderful fashion and is argument that this is the first post scriptural work devoted to Mary is well made. The work is evidence of Mary being ever Virgin. The work is referenced by Origen in his Commentary on Matthew (around 250). If you are willing to read Venerable Mary of Agreda or Anne Katherine Emmerich, then you should be willing to read the Protoevangelium

    An aside, Origen in his Commentary on Matthew talks how Mary went into that section of the temple reserved for Virgins after the presentation involving Anna and Simeon. Zachariah defended this by stating Mary was still a virgin and that, according to the tradition recorded by Origen, is what lead to Zachariah’s murder.

    Liked by 3 people

    2. I can’t tell from the video footage but it looks like the final idol was unceremoniously back-handed into the drink –– staining the water with its… stain, as it hit the surface. Let’s hope that’s the end of it, but should those things be fished out of the river and resurface, I recommend the business end of a baseball bat next time, with splintering wood scattering to the winds.

      “The Vatican’s communications czar, Paolo Ruffini, termed it a “stunt” that violated the idea of dialogue.” AP

      Whoever came up with that line has their spirits confused. (1) No bandying about words with satan. And (2), they simply weren’t listening if they missed what the Faithful had to say. Now that’s dialog.

      And as an aside, what’s the Vatican need with a communications “czar!?”

      Liked by 5 people

    3. Thanks for the links, James! Now I need to figure out how to print them. I’ll ask my oldest kid; he’s pretty good at computer stuff.

      Thank you also for the Chesterton volumes that you sent my way. Sorry I didn’t thank you earlier… I took the books out of the box, and they promptly got buried in some of my many piles of “things to get to ASAP” (some of which have been waiting weeks for me to get to them). Anyhow, I’m really jazzed about the Chesterton volumes, and I’m looking forward to figuring how to work them into my homeschooling curriculum in a few years when the current 6th-grader will be old enough for them (he’s the oldest student that I have right now, so that buys me some time) 🙂

      Still praying for you and your family when I look up at my lovely statue of Our Lady of Glastonbury.

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Mick, glad you received the books. They will be a blessing as Chesterton is so jolly. The Club of Queer Trades is fun, while The Man who was Thursday is wonderfully thought provoking. And, after the storm is over, their will be a need for Chesterton.

        I knew you would like that “magical mystery tour” of Our Lady. A lot of the shrines have really neat uplifting stories associated with them.

        Like

  28. Take heart CrewDog, some brave souls just chucked the Amazonian synod idols into the Tiber River in Rome (Lifesite news reported and Taylor Marshall licked it up as well). Looks like the God “of surprises” is on the move…

    Liked by 5 people

  29. Great piece, Charlie! Globetrotting Tom & Liz are living in their Rv French Park near Sacramento. ..it is a great comfort to me you are near them. I’m very concerned for Tommy. He is away from the church, (prob my fault) and last I saw him he is anorexic like nazi camp people. I don’t know what’s wrong but he claims he’s fine & fit. Plz pray for him while ur near him they work at a hospital er near there. Don’t visit them there dear friend. ..stay well🤗😇😘 Maybe Fr Bill will help too…listening to Relevant Radio now..they are talking about David Daleiden. . Whoa..God save all here TNRS ASOH

    Liked by 2 people

  30. A certain American priest mentioned on his blog that a priest said the St Michael prayer of exorcism at the site in the Vatican where the obviously pagan ceremony had been held. He also mentioned that the name of the bridge over the Tiber from which the idols were tossed is Angel Bridge. 🙏👍😇

    Liked by 8 people

  31. HahH hahahahaha sort of cool story: Michael is watching “red zone” on poor cleveland browns…I’m on here catching up…so MICHAEL being the protective hubby he is, says..”so what are you doing on ur phone???” My response, which is truth is…”well I’m catching up on Charlie’s site.. ” his response was…lol…”Charlie…he understands me…” lol..thought it cute and hearty enough to mention🤗😇😘

    Liked by 3 people

  33. Liked by 5 people

    1. Thieves, indeed. Jeepers! Mr. Raho would label Jesus what for removing the money changers? Fr. Mark Goring helps us to differentiate as do Dr. Marshall and Tim Gordon.

      Liked by 1 person

  34. Right on! We need to pray for these guys—It takes guts—but there may be a reckoning unlike the actual burning of Notre Dame. I wonder now if Pope Francis is reconsidering the death penalty…
    …..Oh, it’s days like this when I wish we still had the spitfire of Mother Angelica

    Liked by 8 people

    1. I do believe that *we* are called to be the spitfire of Mother Angelica… each in his/her own personality and locale in the very mission God entrusts to each one of us, for this is the time which will ever be remembered as the Ballad of the Ordinary Man.

      Liked by 8 people

  35. St. John Paul II feast day: “I plead with you–never, ever give up hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid”

    “The Young should be taught the value of Eucharistic Adoration.”

    Liked by 7 people

  36. At least there is some positive news @ OneNewsNow site.

    https://onenewsnow.com/pro-life/2019/10/22/pa-lawmakers-introduce-heartbeat-bills

    https://onenewsnow.com/church/2019/10/21/apologist-christianity-like-gravity-it-benefits-everyone

    https://onenewsnow.com/culture/2019/10/21/us-most-generous-nation-red-states-most-charitable

    https://www.catholicleague.org/atheist-haters-know-where-to-advertise/

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/10/21/the-nuclear-option-ag-barr-religious-freedom-vs-secular-zealots/

    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/10/2020_the_left_goes_to_war.html

    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/10/pew_pushes_polling_propaganda.html

    http://www.floppingaces.net/2019/10/21/barr-and-durham-strike-gold/

    Time to dig-up and paraphrase poor Ol, Sir John again ;-(
    “Perversion doth not prosper. What is the reason? For if it doth, none dare call it perversion.”

    https://qoshe.com/western-journalism/c-douglas-golden/horrifying-report-says-girls-hold-in-urine-dont-drink-skip-school-to-avoid-boys-in-gender-neutral-restrooms/52931346

    https://www.foxnews.com/sports/transgender-cyclist-rachel-mckinnon

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/10/teen-vogue-we-need-to-think-beyond-the-incorrect-idea-that-periods-are-just-for-women-wants-tampons-provided-in-mens-bathrooms/

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/san-francisco-puts-22-states-on-blacklist-for-restrictive-abortion-laws

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. @CD: My husband was telling me about Breitbart’s article covering “Period Day”. I opined that that seemed an act of discrimination against all other punctuation marks. When will there be an Exclamation Point Day or a Colon Day (American Cancer Association not included) or a Question Mark Day? Semi Colon is already slighted for only being ‘Semi’, for goodness sakes. Such inherent perhaps even SYSTEMIC discrimination among punctuation-ists. LOL!

      Liked by 2 people

    1. I am so excited….I clicked on my reply too soon. Anyway…I’m so thankful to be back in. Thank God! I am scheduled for serious surgery on Monday, Oct. 28th. I’m praying I can finally get it done, however my husband came home with a cold two days ago, so now I’m waiting to see if I catch it or not…which would undoubtedly postpone my surgery. I guess, even though it’s going to be scary, I’d just as soon get it over with. Please pray with me for God’s will to be done. So glad to be back here, reading your great posts Charlie, enjoying the comments and able to like and comment too!

      Liked by 3 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.