With Charity for All…

Posted on by charliej373
azdesert-MP
Grace in the Desert – (Photo by our own MP)

By Charlie Johnston

Decades ago, when I was managing editor of a group of suburban weekly newspapers, I got into a ferocious argument with the advertising manager (who was also the owner’s son) in the production manager’s office just about an hour before deadline. It just kept getting more and more intense until, finally, the production manager said, “Boys, boys, there will be time enough for recriminations later. Right now, we have a paper to get out.” It was one of the funniest lines on the fly I ever heard – and it stopped us both in our tracks. After a hearty (and somewhat embarrassed) laugh, we got back to getting the paper out.

I have thought the fears over the Wuhan Virus have been vastly overblown. Three of the smartest commenters at this site; Steve BC, Desmond Birch, and Stormtracker Ed think it much more alarming and serious than I credit it. Regardless of who is closer to right, we have entered into a full-blown crisis that will have significant and lasting effects. People have lost their life savings, their jobs, their businesses…we will talk another time about the long-time consequences of that, which is serious and a beginning of some real trials for many people.

I am not a virologist, but I am a more than competent and experienced researcher and analyst. There are a couple of significant quirks to this virus, which I will get to in a moment. I would accept it as much more serious than I do if a few significant questions I have were answered calmly and compellingly. Thus far, I have seen a lot of things that are common to many viruses stated as if they are unprecedented – the rate of transmission being one. Without context, each of these things seems scary. But the thing I always ask myself is, “compared to what?” Thus far, most of the things being breathlessly reported are within normal ranges for other viruses – and not quite as scary as H1N1 or Ebola was. I would like to just believe the World Health Organization (WHO), but in the early stages of Ebola it averred that over a million people were likely to die in Africa alone. The actual number was 30,000.

It has been plausibly, but not certainly, asserted that this virus is unusually deadly to older folks and those with compromised immune systems. If that is the case, it is certainly worth encouraging older folks to stay at home and exercise social distancing – but seeing how normal flus usually kill 18-60,000 people each year and also disproportionately target the same vulnerable populations – that sounds like a practice we could have easily and should have adopted long ago to protect our more vulnerable populations. This is what utterly baffles me about how Italy is approaching all of this. In a population of 60 million people, it has 25,000 known cases at this writing along with 1,809 deaths. Italy has just under 200,000 hospital beds, so I can certainly see how a 12% sudden influx could swamp them. But the nation’s medical service says it is so swamped that it is doing a peculiar from of triage right now: neglecting older, more vulnerable patients and concentrating on younger, healthier ones. Normally in emergency triage, those who are most damaged and unlikely to recover go to the end of the line, followed by those who are most healthy and likely to recover on their own. Efforts are focused on that broad middle who are in serious trouble but most likely to respond favorably to treatment while being at serious risk of perishing without it. Unless I have badly misunderstood, Italy is focused on those most likely to recover on their own while ignoring people who aren’t but are likely to respond well to treatment. That makes no sense to me. Meantime, the WHO has traditionally called the Italian health system the second best in the world, behind only France. That does not instill much confidence in the reliability of the WHO’s pronouncements.

In the early stages of a pandemic, mortality rates are greatly inflated because officials do not have a handle on how many actual cases there are – and those rates will be significantly diluted as more data comes in. It is usually safe to assume that the early mortality rates will shrink to about a third of what was originally reported. Even knowing all that, this virus seems to have wild fluctuations in its mortality depending on which country is affected. This is even after correcting for significant differences in medical quality in a nation. Italy is off the charts with a near 7% mortality right now.

One thing I have read several times is that Wuhan is peculiar in that it picks up and carries other local viruses with it – kind of a virus gang leader. That would explain the wild fluctuation in its mortality rate, but if so, it should cause the American West Coast to take near draconian measures. In the huge, largely unattended homeless encampments in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle, typhus and some other medieval viruses have made an appearance. This could decimate the west coast in a giant wave of medieval infections delivered by Wuhan. But, if anything, the west coast seems to be acting more cavalierly than the heartland about the whole thing.

Newt Gingrich wrote an alarming piece about how serious Wuhan is, extrapolating numbers from Italy to suggest that if America is hit as hard, it could see between 5,000 – 15,000 deaths. I was prepared to be convinced by him until I got to the hard numbers. What it means is that if Wuhan hits the U.S. as hard as it has Italy, we could see as many as 1/12th to one-quarter as many deaths as are normal in a severe flu season. Say what?

The hardest thing to deal with is the intentional misinformation being spread routinely. I am having a hard time getting numbers that are anywhere near reliable. I am accustomed to seeing economists all over the board based on their ideology, politics and training. But while you have a few outliers, top medical personnel usually come up with a rough consensus and can explain in a way so that a trained researcher can verify the rough trends. Not so, here. I have come to trust Dr. Anthony Fauci from the National Institute of Health (NIH). He seems steady, takes it seriously, and is not given to panic – and his stuff is internally coherent, no wild swings. The media has been shameless in trying to maximize fear in hope it will politically hurt Donald Trump. Democrats have tried to use the crisis as an excuse to vastly expand government funding for abortion. The Mayor of Champaign, Illinois, asserted that this crisis gave her the authority to confiscate people’s guns AND even their homes and real property. She asserted more authority than most medieval kings dared to assume. She did have to issue a clarification saying that she only meant she has that power, not that she is going to use it. Bizarrely, several high-ranking Democrats have asserted that this proves that America needs exclusively government-run health care. I say bizarrely because the nations hardest hit so far; China, Iran, and Italy all have exclusive government-run health care systems. Meantime, Joe Biden has adopted as his chief health care advisor the main architect of Obamacare, Ezekiel Emmanuel – who thinks people have a duty to die once they reach age 75. One would think this virus would be a godsend for him.

I suppose it is hard now for young people to believe it, but folks in this country used to rally round whoever was president during times of crisis while working with him to solve it regardless of party. Such unity in crisis used to be routine – and anyone who used such a crisis as a moment to make political “gotchas” would quickly be rebuked or retired. I guess we are long past that – at least for the time being.

If normalcy bias prevents people from seeing a serious threat that is out of the ordinary, many will suffer needlessly who need not have if decisive action had been taken earlier to meet the threat. The corollary is also true. If irrational panic is unswayed by actual evidence, far more people will suffer than is necessary. It is why judgment is so critical – and why, however we approach a situation, we should make allowance for the possibility our judgment might be errant. It is not a competition for a gold star, but an effort to keep people both safe and confident in how to get through whatever challenges we face.

Throughout salvation history, the Church has weathered its way through many crises and disruptions. When a crisis came, rarely did Church officials have a good response ready to deploy immediately and sedately. They gathered themselves, considered the challenge in front of them, and pressed on as they could after careful deliberation. It seemed ironic to me that while people were arguing whether they could rightly be denied Communion on the tongue in the midst of an emergency, Mass was suddenly cancelled entirely for at least several weeks. In times of crisis, we don’t have the right not to be inconvenienced or forced to accept things that would be unacceptable in normal times.

I have seen some just blasting the Bishops who have suspended religious celebrations for a few weeks. Step back a minute and into their shoes. Who saw this drastic measure coming even a week ago? Many of our Bishops were faced with orders by secular officials limiting public assemblies of all types. Even those who, like me, did not think the actual virus was near as dangerous as it was being presented, had to consider the very real possibility of serious liability if they were wrong and just continued with business as usual. I have been the right hand man to several prominent public officials – and I have a healthy awareness of the real responsibility that comes with their authority. I give a lot of early latitude to officials, particularly in an unexpected fast-moving crisis. I actually don’t warm up easily to those officials who don’t exercise their authority in crisis without giving due regard to all potential consequences. For a lot of these Bishops, to continue business as usual would have meant forcing a legal confrontation with secular authorities on short notice – and the potential to bankrupt their Dioceses with liability. I do think we are called to prudence and deliberation before jumping to decisions that can have deep and existential consequences. Give them some time to get their footing. I really don’t doubt that even those Bishops I don’t have much regard for are mostly busy coming up with plans and provisions for the feeding and nurturing of their flocks without making any unforced errors before a hostile secular world.

This is a time to bear with each other, to lift each other up in mutual charity. The last thing we need is to complain that things are not how we would prefer or not how we would do them when a leader of ours is trying to find his way. I made clear that I prefer the approach of, say, Poland, but in crisis, surely our leaders deserve some forbearance as they try to figure out how best to go forward. If some just surrender to secular forces without defending the faithful, well, as I noted at the beginning of this piece, there will be time enough for recriminations later. For now, let us just give it a few weeks to get a better idea of how things are shaking out. Everybody sometimes needs – and deserves – a little breathing room.

Some have said that we cannot be harmed by the Body and Blood of Christ. I actually happen to agree with that in my personal approach. Shoot, I’m the guy who spent over a year drinking from streams and rivers and never used a filtering device. Yet I know that the Divine True Presence is contained in the equally real form of bread and wine. It has long been my practice to receive on the tongue from a Priest, Deacon, or consecrated religious, while receiving in the hand from laymen acting as Extraordinary Ministers. Even so, when I am under the weather, I receive in the hand from Priests and refrain from the cup so that, if it makes them nervous, they may be soothed. I simultaneously believe that I will not be hurt by the Body of Christ and that others may have a legitimate concern that the forms could carry unwanted physical contaminants. So, I act as charitably as I can. I certainly have the right to receive as I wish, but it does me no harm to receive in a way that comforts others during a period of emergency. If I can do something that is more charitable to others without compromising my duty, I will choose the more charitable route every time (unless I am having a particularly crabby day – which, alas, I get from time to time.)

When my son was a teenager, we had a cool deal. Everyone has a day when they are just crabby and ill-tempered. Being asked what’s wrong just aggravates it. We decided that we were each entitled, every once in a while, that we were to give each other breathing room on a day when that one was just irritable. We agreed not to abuse it – and that the crabby one had to specifically invoke it. But then the normal one would just leave the crabby one alone to stew in his discontent for the day…and get back to it the next day. I gotta tell you, if I’m being a jerk, and know I’m being a jerk, and just can’t help it that day, it is like a spring of cool water to be left to my own devices and given the breathing room to regroup for the next day.

Bear with one another, lift each other up, give each a little breathing room. If necessary, there will be time enough for recriminations later. But for now, let us avoid “who is the most holy of them all” competitions.

My dear friend who comments as John McFarm here, sent me a fabulous note on something he did. He is in a Diocese that has not yet suspended Mass. Let me quote his note verbatim: “Well, we are charging into the storm my friend…I have been heading your advice…take the next right step, defend the faith and the faithful and bring hope. This morning I brought 120 two ounce bottles of my own “hillbilly sanitizer” to Church and spread them out in each pew. When Father mentioned it to the congregation (half of normal ) he asked me to explain. So in haughty voice and smile I explained that there is no rubbing alcohol left to be found, no Aloe Vera gel or coconut oil. This sanitizer is two thirds Everclear 190 proof and one third baby oil. The parishioners all smiled and that was my intent. Give them confidence we each can figure things out, have compassion to share with others, and enjoy the moment. I feel I succeeded. Don’t mean to brag but I know you will enjoy hearing that. Wednesday I intend on rallying my fellow knights into truly becoming just that…not a club for old men. I hope to set up a team to sanitize the pews at least once a week. Another team to call Parishioners isolated, especially if they are ill, and bring Jesus’ joy and grace to those poor souls.”

I spoke with a dear friend in Alabama who told me that a Priest he knew chose to compensate for the empty Holy Water fonts by sprinkling the congregation with hyssop. My friend told me it was deeply meaningful to many in the Parish.

My brother got a group of fellow public safety officials to publicly offer to come out and help the elderly with shopping and small tasks that they can’t get out for.

Ah, doing small things with great love for those around you. Sounds like the next right step to me -and your Bishop deserves a little breathing room, too, as we figure this out together.

A few weeks ago each of us chose a little cross to carry through the desert of Lent. Surprise! Our Lord has decided we will carry a different cross than we planned on. Let us live solidarity with each other, building each other up, giving little signs of hope and, if we’re feeling crabby about something, keeping it to ourselves for a while. We will find grace in this desert greater than what we could ever have expected. The Lord is at hand. Give Him thanks and praise.

312 thoughts on “With Charity for All…”

  1. JESUS = GOOD NEWS 😉

    https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-03-19

    https://stream.org/6-year-old-girl-teaches-autistic-little-brother-bible-verse-to-calm-his-fears-about-coronavirus/

    http://blog.adw.org/2020/03/a-lament-from-scripture-well-suited-to-the-current-crisis/

    https://www.ncregister.com/blog/fatherlandry/4-virtues-you-need-in-this-time-of-crisis

    https://www.ncregister.com/blog/armstrong/no-mass

    https://stream.org/6-year-old-girl-teaches-autistic-little-brother-bible-verse-to-calm-his-fears-about-coronavirus/

    https://stream.org/in-connecticuts-legislature-the-pro-death-forces-cheat/

    https://townhall.com/columnists/larryoconnor/2020/03/18/liberal-media-parrots-chinas-staterun-communist-propaganda-n2565197

    http://www.floppingaces.net/2020/03/18/partisan-dnc-attack-media-continues-shrieking-that-one-must-not-call-a-chinese-flu-a-chinese-flu-twitter-censors-words-chinese-and-wuhan/

    http://www.floppingaces.net/2020/03/17/impose-a-permanent-travel-ban-on-china/

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE & HAPPY SAINT JOSEPH’S DAY 😉

    Liked by 5 people

    1. @Crew Dog: Thank you for introducing me to the Conservative Tree House website. I probably wouldn’t know it exists without your headline aggregation. Blessed Feast of St Joseph to you, too.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. With great respect for you, Bob, and for Charlie, those are the kinds of questions we don’t ask as Charlie has made it clear that our focus must be on acknowledging God, taking our next right steps and being a sign of hope to others as we lift each other up and build each other up while forming and cementing habits of the mind which will carry us through these tough days and those yet to come. God bless you.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Bob,
          Practically speaking, take Beckita advice above to take the next right step and be a sign of Hope to others around you. With regards to “why”, as the past has shown us, Charlie’s visions and interpretations thereof do not appear to be accurate, most especially since he claimed the rescue came in September of 2017 with an apparent sign in the sky, mirroring Revelation 12. Asking him now to provide what an alleged Archangel says to him would be akin to asking a psychic reader about the future. He can provide us with some practical advice on life and polotics, however as far as being a “seer” he has proven himself to be false.

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          1. Joe, sometimes you are nice – and at others you have nastily charged that I intentionally and cynically sensationalized things for cheap attention. You misstate in a very pejorative way what I have actually said. I HAVE said that all that needed to be said about those things has been said – and what we have to concentrate on is doing; how to take the next right step and be a sign of hope. And that is where I stand.

            Yet if I have candidly accepted my errors, you seem almost desperate to convince yourself and others there is nothing at all to see here. This is NOT what is important, but I think you need to do a self-assessment and ask yourself why it is so important to you to prove there is nothing at all here. Ha! I surely didn’t color inside the lines, but it would be more “accurate” to say I was not “precise” than to say I was not “accurate.” What was said was said – and there were some striking virtues along with some striking warts. I accept it for what it is. Perhaps at some time you will be able to, as well.

            Beckita is right on with what she says. You, on the other hand, protest too much.

            Liked by 6 people

            1. Wow! I obviously struck a nerve there, Charlie. Please show me in my above post where I charged that you “intentionally and cynically sensationalized things for cheap attention.” My comparison to a psychic reader had to do with origins of alleged visions; we dont know where they come from in both cases, assuming they are real. Your personal implications about me in your response wreak of projection and just shows once more your insatiable desire to always be right.
              Also, I post here maybe once every 6 months, so your insertion that I protest too much is laughable. Seriously, the guy asked about what an angel said; a reminder why not to do that, by calling a spade a spade shouldnt be that big of a deal. Again, I obviously struck a nerve.

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              1. Joe It would appear you are harboring some kind of grudge, a grudge that poisons the bearer and has prevented you from absorbing the growth of understanding that has come after the initial statement that the Rescue would come in September of 2017. A more proper interpretation was found that the Rescue is a process and not a single event. Perhaps the biggest challenge in prophesy is proper interpretation, a fact born out by my own very limited experience in that realm. Among the gifts of the Holy Spirit in early Christian times, the gift of interpretation was separate from the gift of tongues, somethings never change. It has become clear that the Rescue has indeed begun and continues to unfold including an amazing unveiling of the forces of evil at work in the day to day. It has become amazing how the left has become so bold in their openness with their machinations. They seem so confident that they have already won(shades of the satan.) None are so blind as those who refuse to see. Peace be with you Joe and may you be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit that has blessed all here. jas

                Liked by 7 people

              2. Perhaps it was this false, unwarranted and snide remark, “…however as far as being a “seer” he has proven himself to be false” that is being referenced. Please clarify from your perspective, if you will.

                Liked by 2 people

              3. Nah, Joe. I have access to all your comments. I did not say you charged it in this comment, but that you have gone back and forth. Let me quote you from last May:

                “Charlie, thanks for your response. I’m not quite sure if I got an affirmative or denial in your response, but given you have been in the political scene your whole life I guess that is expected 😉
                It seems like you are trying to stir up headlines for clicks, by resorting to maybe or maybe not “visions”. Things seem to be getting better politically, but you had to come back after 4 months off, because they fit some arbitrary definition you set to come back after your failed predictions.
                I’m game to hear your political commentary, but let’s not evoke them under the same thought process at your previous “visions” of “The Storm”.
                Fair enough?”

                That is not the only example of when you have done it. Now, as I said, sometimes you are naughty, sometimes you are nice. AS I have told you before, I have NOT repudiated what I have said before. That was preparatory to dealing with events. Now we deal with the events that are unfolding before us. Only once, in all your comments, have you made a comment that did not take a hard poke at me. What I am saying is, for crying out loud, give it a rest. Oh, and by the way, my “arbitrary definition” before I left was if there was a coup attempt – which had never happened in this country before, but obviously was happening. So, yeah, if guessing a coup attempt that had never happened here before was arbitrary and then we actually sat through a bureaucratic coup attempt, I am Mr. Arbitrary.

                WE discuss issues and our faith here. I don’t speak prophetically publicly any more and Beckita calms it when such a questions arises. But we are not going to continue to litigate whether I am a cynical fraud, delusional or sensationalist either. So give it a rest.

                Liked by 8 people

          2. Joe,
            We are supposed to “test all things and keep what is good”.( 1 these 5:21).
            If you do not find anything good to keep here, move along. Others here find goodness here, so we remain.
            Simple.
            It is mature not to over react to anything. Jesus’ first words to his Apostles was Shalome, or peace be with you but it is a peace the world cannot give and surpasses all understanding. I have to admit, when Jesus walked in on the Apostles in the Upper Room after they saw Him die and be buried, it had to be a moment that surpassed all understanding!
            Most prophets/visionaries are given the mandate to tell what they are shown. Doesn’t mean they have the power to “interpret it right”. That belongs the the Church. All prophesies contain some error. Not because the prophecy entered with it but because the person it enters has a fallen nature and a limited ability to absorb the fullness it contains. Same goes for the person who reads such prophecy.
            A camera has similar flaws. No camera made can capture a true image in its detail or color as the human eye and when viewed on a view finder or a computer screen, this also has it’s limitations. People who have had NDE (near death experience) say there are different and greater colors in heaven. It is possible these colors exist here on earth but our fallen nature cannot process them accurately right now.
            Just remember we are all in this together…
            Some scared, some brave.
            Some angry, some calm.
            Some over cautious, some stupidly careless.
            Some foolish, some brilliant.
            We all have a bit of each type within us so let us build each other up in this valley of tears, ok?

            Liked by 10 people

  2. When I look at the word “pandemic” I can’t help but notice that the letters “dem” are right smack dab in the middle of it. If you take those letters out and shove the rest of the letters together you get the word “panic.” Just sayin’

    Liked by 13 people

    2. AQP, that is really interesting. The Powers could have used the term epidemic, but when you take ‘dem’ out of that word, you get epi-ic, which won’t cut the mustard in terms of subliminal messages. 😀

      Liked by 5 people

    2. the above video has been returned to youtube after some minor editing (sound glitches, etc.)
      I propose that it is a good way to spend an hour in prayer.
      Jesus, Mary and Joseph, save souls.

      Liked by 4 people

    1. The Luminous Mystery Rosary yesterday in union with the Pope and Bishops and lay faithful around the world was just beautiful. On St. Joseph’s Day, my patron. I followed it from the Cathedral in Los Angeles led by Archbishop Gomez and 4 others (sitting at least 6 feet apart). (1 pm CA Time) The Cathedral looked so empty. On EWTN they had the Rosary being led from a Church in Italy. At least it felt like being connected with our brothers and sisters around the world.

      I have seen from several sources different types of Spiritual Communions, which we can say multiple times a day. I strongly recommend this practice. Who would have thought we would be at a time when the public daily Masses have been halted? I pray for the grace of the “Kiss of Jesus” to return for all of us very soon. Also, Confession (by other than the US Post Office style) and Anointing of the Sick.

      God bless and keep all of you here and your families.

      Liked by 6 people

  7. The double rainbow reminded me of a double rainbow at Jenny lake campground in the Tetons as I got up in the morning; there were the fir trees, Jenny lake with steam over the lake, and the Tetons behind. I had to warm my camera so when I was able to get the picture, one rainbow wasn’t as visible. I have a few other really beautiful scenery pictures taken in our country. I need to get them out to show.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Gessner, welcome to commenting. Charlie has often noted he’s working on several major projects as well as writing for us here and it’s no secret that his counsel is valued by those with whom he works. He’s actually about to publish another article. If you’re wondering about anything specific or if you’re simply in a state of feeling unease, please, feel free to share your concerns with us, the community who has gathered here, so we can be there for you. This community has been formed for a time such as this. In the meantime, I’m praying a PMT for you and sending St. Joseph who navigated so many uncertainties in his own life. God bless.

      Liked by 7 people

  9. JESUS = GOOD NEWS 😉

    https://respectliferadio.podbean.com/e/fr-gallagher/

    https://stream.org/the-coronavirus-faith-fear-and-wisdom/

    https://stream.org/this-week-at-war-courage-will-crush-coronavirus/

    Let US Pray!!
    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/huge-development-now-3-international-studies-find-chloroquine-with-azithromycin-shows-100-success-rate-in-treating-coronavirus-in-6-days-video/

    https://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/vortex-borders-are-important?mc_cid=93d70230b9&mc_eid=2a0b6c7ef6

    https://www.lifenews.com/2020/03/19/planned-parenthood-refuses-to-close-because-it-considers-killing-babies-in-abortions-essential-services/

    https://dailycaller.com/2020/03/19/massachusetts-abortions-nonessential-procedures/

    https://dailycaller.com/2020/03/19/abortion-drugs-coronavirus-fda/

    The Impeachment Mob — Jon McNaughton

    It won’t take long for the crazies-n-criminals to come out of the woodwork ….. even in small towns & rural areas. It’s what happens in Times Like These!
    Don’t park near vans or cars with dark tint windows. It’s more than China Bugs that we must be aware of. Keep your head on a swivel whilst at the gas pump, ATM or WallyWorld/$$ General parking lots!! …… and your hand around the grip of the piece in your pocket … if Ya got one?
    White Haired Old People, like me, and ladies are Prime Targets!
    It’s where we are then ;-(
    https://www.citizenfreepress.com/breaking/san-fran-quarantine-doesnt-stop-these-shoplifters/

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 7 people

  11. Wow having such a hard time getting into WordPress in order to comment etc.

    Steve BC or Mick, what is the name of that website for botanicals, etc. Also, what is the name of the website where you can buy heirloom seeds. Thank you.

    Like

    1. SanSan, St Clare Seeds is the name of the website where you can buy heirloom seeds:

      https://www.stclareseeds.com

      Unfortunately, and sadly, I just went there and found a message that they are closed for an unknown period of time because a member of their family just suffered a miscarriage. You will need to keep checking their website until they reopen.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Thanks SteveBC. Where did you get coconut oils, etc. You gave out a website, and I can’t find it.

        Like

      2. SteveBC and SanSan, I got an e-mail from St. Clair seeds this afternoon, saying that they will be reopening on Monday. Also, SanSan, which botanicals are you looking for? Herbs for teas and tinctures, or herb seeds?

        Liked by 2 people

  13. Went to the basillica to pray. It is still locked, but i stood outside and prayed a decade and waved to a priest who was outside too.

    Hit Fresh Market and Wallmart on the drive back . People are generally nicer to one another during this time. The cashiers are working their butts off and I try to say kind words and thank them. They appreciate it abd are kind back. come to think of it, its been a while since I have seen rudeness.

    Its interesting watching what people are stocking up on. Saw a beer and toilet paper guy vs the oatmeal and canned chicken guy loading up their carts. The beer guy was fit, the oatmeal guy fat. Go figure.

    People are amazed at how everything changed in a day or two. They seem more ‘centered’ now.

    We are turned back in the direction to Mayberry.

    Liked by 9 people

    1. I love that you are especially thinking of cheering those who still work – at registers and other service. Good stuff…how wonderful it would be if we just lived a little friendly solidarity with each other again.

      Liked by 10 people

    2. You’re right, Timothy. In my town (so far, at least), everybody is being nicer to everybody. I mean, Midwestern small-town and rural people tend to be pretty nice anyway; but everybody seems to be going the extra mile to be more friendly and polite. I like it.

      Liked by 7 people

    3. So true, Timothy. We drove past a nursery and produce farming center which had a reference to God on its advertising marquee. The last time I saw that was in the aftermath of 911. ❤

      Liked by 5 people

    4. In No CA I was just starting to enjoy seeing neighbors and their children out for walks. Now we have total stay at home shut down.
      We tried to go in a couple of markets, but long lines and no parking deterred us.
      Trying to buy online, but that’s not going too well either. Thank goodness we have family close by. In fact our granddaughters, home from college are running errands for us and our homebound elderly friends. It was so special that they offered. Hopefully we will see more “good”, than evil during the upcoming weeks.

      Liked by 5 people

  14. Hi all,
    Wow, what a week. On Sunday afternoon our governor closed all schools in Montana. Let me tell you it has NOT be a vacation. My fellow teachers and I have been having an intensive mad scramble to get lessons ready to go online. All the while making sure to keep kids safe online when we aren’t able to physically monitor their work. Oh my goodness! Late night texting and emailing to get it ready. Please pray that all children are safe online. It makes me want to weep that there are evil people taking advantage of this crisis. Some teachers are having a vertical learning curve to figure out how to use some of the platforms. We are all completely stressed and exhausted. Please please pray for all teachers and children.

    On a side note-if you have school age children check out your local library. Tumblebooks has opened up their databases for free books on line it is a wonderful source for reading for children.

    I haven’t seen anything on this. Did anyone notice Mirjana received her final vision. She was receiving them on the 2nd of every month. Somewhere in my cobwebs I read there is supposed to be some significance to this but I don’t remember. Anyone out there remember?
    thank you for your comments.
    Peace be with all of you. You are in my prayers-What a cross we are asked to carry. Through Christ we can do it.

    Liked by 8 people

    1. Yes, we were suppose to travel to Medjugorje on Mar 25th. Needless to say, all is cancelled. I got a message that Mirjana would not longer be receiving messages. She supposedly has the “secret” that she will give to a priest 10 days before some sort of event. She has not done that as far as I know from my Medjugorje sources. I do know that Medjugorje is empty. Borders closed until further notice.

      Liked by 6 people

      2. Actually, it’s the visits to Mirijana on the 2nd of the month that Our Lady Queen of Peace has said are ending. Mirijana was the first of the six visionaries to cease receiving the daily apparitions. Thus far, she is still on for the annual apparition on her birthday, March 18th, and she has been given not just one, but 10 secrets. Fr. Petar Ljubicic is the priest chosen by her to reveal each of those secrets. In Mirijana’s own words, before each secret comes to pass: “… seven days we are suppose to spend in prayer and fasting, and three days ahead of time he is suppose to reveal it to the world.” And that process will be repeated nine more times.

        Liked by 7 people

            1. Thanks Beckita in lieu of world events, makes one wonder if they will begin soon . I feel like God is allowing this evil from man currently so that when the real chastisements come, we will all have been a little less cocky and perhaps a little more reliant or at least “open” to the fact that their “just might” be a God and that maybe “we” ain’t Him!!!

              Liked by 1 person

      3. I read on a Medjugorje website that the Blessed Mother will no longer give Mirjana the 2nd of the month messages, but will give her a message every March 18th from now on.

        Liked by 4 people

      4. sanSan, that image of Medj being empty struck me. If there have been excrescences attached like barnacles to an underlying truth there, it seems those may have now been stripped away. If so, that seems both interesting and important to me.

        Liked by 1 person

    3. HTTP, joining in the prayer for you and all teachers and kids.

      The significance to the ending of the apparitions on the 2nd of the month is open to interpretation. I see it as a sign that the time of prolific apparitions is coming to an end and prophecy will now be ( edit: revealed) fulfilled as God deems it should be.

      Liked by 9 people

  15. My husband and I are watching the beginning of “The Hobbit” tonight. There are so many things that made us think of what is happening in the world right now.

    We both agreed that the chant of the dwarves in Bilbo Baggins hobbit hole before they leave on their adventure captures the essence of what we see in the news and feel in the air.

    If you have a chance to watch “The Hobbit”, the chanting of the dwarves is magical and frightening at the same time…the sparks drift up from the chimney fire to disappear into a night sky studded with stars.

    “The bells were ringing in the dale
    And men looked up with faces pale;
    The dragon’s ire more fierce than fire
    Laid low their towers and houses frail……

    …..Far over the misty mountains grim
    To dungeons deep and caverns dim
    We must away, ere break of day,
    To win our harps and gold from him!”
    ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

    I know all of us are frightened right now.
    But this is the great adventure of our lives…
    and Charlie has prepared us well…
    to acknowledge God, take the next right step, and
    be a sign of hope to those around us.

    We have invited our 80 year old neighbor over for supper….
    and I believe this is just the beginning

    There will be starry nights and magic
    There will be fierce battles and unspeakable grief
    and in the end (as Tolkien has told us)
    we will win back our harps and gold!

    Liked by 5 people

  17. March 19, 2020 to Anne the lay apostle

    Jesus

    The world groans quietly in her suffering. What will help relieve the suffering of the people who do not know God? Knowledge of God will relieve the suffering. When people can look to a leader who has all of the power that could ever exist, with all of the wisdom that could ever be, and know for certain that their needs and interests are safe with this loving authority, they do not worry or fret.

    Instead, they proceed in their professions, in their studies and in their pursuits of wellbeing for themselves and for the people around them. My friends, I ask that you do this now. I am intently interested in those things that intently interest you. If you feel you have lost something or that you will lose something in the future, give it to me, so that I can save what you need to have saved and lose that which you do not require.

    If everything in this world is temporary, then what is permanent? Human connections of love and affection and care are permanent. Those connections create permanent light which lives on in the next world. Connections of love and affection, you see, include me. I am in those moments and I am working for people in those communications, even if my name is never mentioned and even if I remain unknown to the people involved. Create many, many connections of love and affection because those will live forever. When there is laughter that reflects delight and joy? I am there. When there is forgiveness and acceptance? I am there. If there is sacrifice from one person for the good of another? I am there and I am rewarding the person who makes the sacrifice in a way that will be visible in the future. One might say, ‘I am blessed that this event occurred for me. This is my heart’s desire.’ Be assured that I am there. Why? Do you think that your kindest offerings from the past are ignored by me? Can it be that your contribution to the wellbeing of others is unseen by me? It simply is not and cannot be the case when I am the one who inspires your thoughtful and positive contributions to others.

    I love you, dear people of God. I am with you. All will be well for you because I remain close by in every one of your moments. Be at peace that where you are uncertain, I am certain. I possess full information and will work steadily through many to give the world the information required for peace and safety.

    Liked by 7 people

    1. Thanks for sharing this word of comfort, Linda. What I appreciate about these words given to Anne is that she remains under obedience to her own Bishop Leo O’Reilly of Kilmore, Ireland who requested an investigation into Anne’s mystical experiences and, subsequently, the messages, and Anne’s own writing based on them, have been granted the Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat by her local Bishop. Further, Bishop O’Reilly assigned a spiritual director as the Apostolate Direction for Our Times has proceeded to develop in the last 15 years. The current Church status is summed up in a document on the site: We have received from Bishop O’Reilly a Decree, below, which grants the Apostolate of the Returning King the canonical status of a Private Association of the Faithful with Juridical Personality. And I have observed really good fruit coming from their works. If anyone needs heartening due to feeling overwhelmed, the Volumes of messages from Our Lord, Our Lady and many Saints and some Angels are posted in a free online library at the site.

      Liked by 7 people

      1. You can just tell by reading Jesus’ words to Anne that they are Jesus’ words!!! I can’t tell you how many times I’m in a quandary and I go to one of her volumes by nudging of what I assume is the Holy Spirit and I open one of her volumes randomly and get a very appra po reading from Our Lord, His Mother (and ours) or one of the Saints.. I feel the same with Charlie. No man has the wisdom that comes from his insights and sound writings. You can just read his pieces and know …”Ahhhhh..,, that came from God!”

        Liked by 4 people

      2. Also, I sent Anne’s messages to many yesterday and so many of them sent a “Thanks, I needed that comforting message!” People are beginning to open up about God! 🤗

        Liked by 5 people

  18. It’s exciting to see so many comments. It’s been a while! After reading an article today that abortions persist in spite of the crisis, I wept. Then the thought occurred to me that babies and toddlers are probably the happiest people in America today. They don’t know what the coronavirus is and won’t remember it. But they do know that their moms and dads are home, and so are their brothers and sisters. My husband took a walk with my boys this morning and my little daughter said, “boys go home” sadly at the front door because she missed them. She’s gotten used to everyone being home. It was cute to think of all of this through her eyes.

    Liked by 2 people

  20. Well, all of the preparation we did 4 years ago has really paid of in another way. We have the right kind of masks for this virus on had. I’m feeling like a real Boy Scout right now as a 60 year old white woman. Hahahaha
    ________________________________

    Loved Cardinal Burke’s letter. Thank you for the link.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Nah, Linda. Nothing to do with Q. Charlie has mentioned to us all that he’s involved in some major projects which, at times, demand his full attention. Just as we value his counsel, knowledge, wisdom and insight so, too, his gifts are exerted to bless others outside of our community.

      Liked by 2 people

  22. Message, 25. March 2020

    “Dear children! I am with you all these years to lead you to the way of salvation. Return to my Son; return to prayer and fasting. Little children, permit for God to speak to your heart, because Satan is reigning and wants to destroy your lives and the earth on which you walk. Be courageous and decide for holiness. You will see conversion in your hearts and families; prayer will be heard; God will hear your cries and give you peace. I am with you and am blessing you all with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call.

    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.