(This may be the longest piece I have written here. Forgive me, but it is foundational to the themes that will be predominant going forward at this site. I don’t expect you to read all the multitude of links. I make them available to expand your knowledge of a particular point and to get an idea of where I was coming from in making that point. God bless you all, thank you for your many kindnesses, and may you all share in the joy of the risen Christ. We are an Easter people.-CJ)
By Charlie Johnston
“…just as you are, so also do others appear to you.”
-St. Augustine, Expositions on the Psalms
After a very difficult few weeks, I have got a handle (to my satisfaction, anyway) on what has happened in this crisis, what is likely to happen in the short term, and where we are headed – along with what potential weaknesses and strengths have been revealed in who we are.
A quick synopsis of my overall conclusions are:
- The virus was never as bad as “experts” predicted, though it is unusually virulent to people with pre-existing morbidities. It will end at the higher range of a normal flu season – which called for special precautions for those with pre-existing morbidities, but not a universal shutdown.
- The overall economy will be unleashed again and come roaring back somewhere during the late spring or early summer, as we morph into a model similar to the one Sweden adopted. A heavy long-term price will be paid, though, both because of the interruption and because the “solutions” we adopted to ameliorate the crisis severely aggravated already over-stressed danger spots in the global economy.
- This crisis has revealed the true fault line in society going forward. Manufactured panic made a significant problem into a devastating crisis. A consequential segment of the leadership class throughout the globe has opportunistically sought to exploit that crisis to augment its own power and influence. It is a fault line that must be confronted. A battle between materialism and faith, the Gospel and the anti-Gospel has begun.
It certainly has been difficult to get a sense of reality when there has been so much conflicting information, intentional disinformation, panicked honest confusion and deviously manufactured confusion. Some of this is understandable, as it is always like this in the early stages of every big social convulsion – what is referred to by soldiers as the “fog of war.” What has been unnerving is how many in positions of authority and influence sought to leverage the crisis for their own ends.
It is certain that the virus got its start in Wuhan, the capitol city of the Province of Hubei in China. There is a large biological laboratory there that specializes in the study of coronaviruses. Early on, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) sought to investigate to see if the virus, a subject of legitimate scientific research, had escaped that laboratory. Given the constant lies China has told about this from the start, that was both a reasonable and important subject of inquiry. The media, though, seeking along with the World Health Organization (WHO), to absolve China from all responsibility – for political and propaganda reasons – accused Cotton of being a “conspiracy theorist.” Now the same outlets that made that accusation have largely conceded that the beginning of the public phase of the virus might have been caused by an accident at the major bio-lab in Wuhan that specializes in coronaviruses and is very close to the open meat market where the virus made its public debut. A tempest in a teapot, perhaps, except this foreshadowed how both the American media and the prominent United Nations’ health organization would be more interested in establishing a partisan narrative from the start than getting good data and information to combat the outbreak.
Some people on the right have expressed fear that this was all a set-up by the left to pave the way for authoritarian government. Given the way things have played out, that is not an irrational fear, but it is not quite the case. If it were, prominent Democratic leaders and the media would have been hyping up the hysteria from the beginning. Instead, they were downplaying it, encouraging people to go out and enjoy the Chinese New Year celebrations in big cities, while simultaneously accusing Donald Trump of being racist and xenophobic for restricting travel from China until the crisis is past. However, they made up for lost time by relentlessly exploiting it once they saw the potential it had for justifying authoritarian rule. Now the media falsely accuse Trump of taking on the positions that they, themselves, were taking just a few weeks ago and bitterly attack him for it. Revisionism never had such a short attention span.
Once a pandemic of fear set in, it did not take long for the media and Democrats to opportunistically work frantically to leverage that fear to enact their agenda and prop up their failed narrative. Democratic House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina told colleagues early on that, “This is a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision.” To them, it was not so much a public health crisis as an opportunity to impose things they can’t win at the ballot box. When the $2.2 trillion emergency public relief bill was under consideration, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stalled it by almost a week, trying to load it up with a cornucopia of left-wing goodies. She even tried to make easy and massive enabling of vote fraud a national standard. It was stunning to see how, as they pumped up the volume of fear, they showed no concern about people who were losing their jobs, savings and livelihood en masse. The “people” were only a tool to be exploited and held hostage to enhance their power. I kept expecting some prominent Democrats to stand up and say to their leadership, “This is NOT who we are.” Didn’t happen. I guess it is who they are.
In every unfolding crisis, even the best, most earnest experts make frequent early errors. I don’t fault them for that. Again, it is just a manifestation of the fog of war that attends any novel crisis. Ideally, as they respond to new data and actual experience, those errors go down and a truer picture of what people face and how to approach it emerges. Contrary to the demands of alarmists, the response to a crisis is best NOT left in the hands of the “experts.” Those experts are indispensable advisors on how to address the crisis, but they cannot be effective final decision makers. Public officials have responsibility for the general welfare of their communities. Experts have deep knowledge of specific slices of data that impact that, but are narrowly focused on their own discipline, to the exclusion of all other concerns. Dr. Anthony Fauci said last week that we must not leave lockdown until there are no new cases. What an insane standard! If we used that as the standard for flu deaths, pneumonia deaths, or just about any other infectious disease, we could all just retreat to our caves and wait to die. What we have to do is to figure out how to live while prudently managing risk – risk that begins the day we are conceived and continues throughout our natural lives. It is appalling that so many seem to think risk can be eliminated. It can, I suppose – but only by death.
Complicating matters in this crisis are irresponsible fear-mongering on the part of what should be sober voices and intentional misreporting of actual data by what should be responsible authorities and experts. I am not just speaking of the massive lies and propaganda of China and the WHO. Almost two weeks ago, the chief science advisor to the Italian Ministry of Health said that a great majority of hospital deaths in his country were being wrongly attributed to coronavirus, that it had become sort of a catch-all. Upon review, he said that only 12% of the deaths attributed to the virus could actually be directly connected to it. That is not a rounding error; it is an order of magnitude. Astonishingly, Dr. Fauci said last week that reports that deaths attributed to the corona virus are being inflated are mere conspiracy theories. I call it astonishing because the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) own protocols direct doctors to automatically attribute uncertain deaths to corona virus. Right out there in the open. We have gotten to a dead parrot level of absurdity. I have often lamented that so many people consider expertise in a narrow subject the final word, completely unaware of how uncertain expertise, itself, actually is. I fear we may now adopt the equal and opposite error of complete contempt for expertise because of the very public and complete arrogant bungling by the “experts” throughout this crisis.
If you are getting the sense I have lost some confidence in Dr. Fauci, you are correct. I still largely trust his raw data, but not his prudence or judgment. He has been a naysayer on the potential benefits of hydroxychloroquine. Okay, no problem with that; different authorities can legitimately come to different judgments. But then he said that, if he were sick, he would take it, but only as part of a clinical trial. That infuriated me. It is a perfect example of bureaucratic imperialism. The average guy can’t force himself into a clinical trial. So what I gather is that Dr. Fauci means that if HE is sick, darn tootin’ he will try what a plurality of doctors say is the most effective treatment they have found – but if one of us peasants is sick, we can just pound sand and die until he says it’s okay for general use. In fairness, he said he would personally prescribe it if a patient of his was in dire straits – but is not prepared to give it general approval.
Every day, more doctors are endorsing the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine for this virus. Interestingly, they are reporting that it is most effective when combined with zinc. I have to give a shout-out to our team member, SteveBC. Well before this was publicly reported, Steve said hydroxychloroquine would need to be combined with zinc for maximum effectiveness (I’m not sure whether Steve said it on-site or in a team email, but by gum, he said it). Astonishingly, the American left (in both government and the media) has been infuriated by the effectiveness of the drug. They really seem to be rooting for the virus.
The Great Divide
What this crisis has revealed is that there is a substantial segment of influential people in America who so hate America, Americanism, and Americans, that they are willing, even eager, to lay waste to ordinary people – our lives, hopes, dreams and livelihoods. They would rather lay waste to our society, and then rule over the rubble that remains than live as citizens of a free, prosperous and healthy nation. This is the left, predominately calling themselves Democrats. No, I seek no partisan histrionics, but neither will I pretend the commitment to God and liberty does not now have a clear partisan divide. My team is with Christ – and I play for MY team. It all baffles and grieves me deeply. From the 70’s through most of the 90’s I worked in close collaboration with many Democrats and liberals. Whatever our policy disagreements, we largely shared a belief in God, in marriage, in family. Somehow, that has changed in a little over two decades. The left hisses, like a vampire before a crucifix, at the very idea of God and morality. I think it the devil’s greatest triumph in my lifetime – to infect and pervert an entire ideological movement. This was the horrible disorder that infected revolutionary France, revolutionary Russia…and now it is resurrected in the once firmly Christian west. We will recover just fine from the latest pandemic. We must confront and conquer the Godless ideological pretensions of those who would rather rule the rubble than live fellowship as citizens. When you deny God entirely, all that is left is a desperate scrabble for power. Conquering the left’s Godless ideological pretensions is, ultimately, their only hope as well as ours.
I have been appalled at the explosion of fearful prophetic poppycock this crisis has sparked. I have watched with bemusement as some who joined in my public pummeling after my errors a few years back now eagerly assure all that they told you all along what was coming and now know in precise detail what God is going to do from here on out.
A quick review of some of what I have emphasized from the start:
First, I always emphasized that my message was NOT that God was close to me (though I profoundly hope and pray for that to be always true), but that He is close to you, right at hand and waiting for you to call on Him with confident hope. I maintained that even if I was right on everything, it would not do you the good you think it would, for my mission is not your mission – and God will hold you to account for the fidelity you live to the mission He has set aside for you. I told you that God does not disclose the fullness of His mind to anyone (and even if He did, we are not capable of absorbing it – it would be as futile as trying to pour the ocean into a 10-oz. tumbler) – that whatever we think we know, we will err in at least some important parts of it, either substantively or by faulty interpretation. I told you, repeatedly, that I would be wrong on some things. Why speak at all if such was to be the case? Because our expectations are all wrong. We think that if we know the details, we can form a plan of our own devising to solve everything. That is not what God intends. Our salvation does NOT depend on us being so clever that we figure everything out, as if it were some sort of puzzle box. We seek to solve it, and present the work of our hands to God in proof that we don’t really need Him – we just need a little info from Him so we can kick Him to the curb and make our own plan.
My purpose in those times (and in these) was to help you to see that it is all too big for any of us – and yet assure you that our hope is sure. Quit trying restlessly to figure out the mind of God. He does not need your smarts (which are like a teaspoon of water in the ocean even if you are the smartest person in the history of the world). He wants your trust and fidelity. That starts by acknowledging not just the much that you don’t know, but your incapacity to know much at all. God calls all men to salvation – and so is accessible to both the humblest and the most brilliant. In some ways, the humblest have a leg up because they do NOT have to disabuse themselves of vain notions of their own mighty prowess. My purpose was to get you to gird the dispositions of your interior life, for that guides your exterior actions. If you cannot know what will happen precisely, a well-formed interior life will guide you on how to respond to whatever happens. Our efforts will avail little. But our efforts, offered humbly as a crust of bread to Our Lord, will be magnified by Him to feed millions. What is our calling? To steadfastly acknowledge God, take the next right step, and be a sign of hope to those around us; to defend the faith, hearten the faithful, and defend the faithful.
I have never been big on signs and wonders. It is not that I do not believe in them, but that I assume from the start that the God who created the natural order is not bound by the laws He assigned to that natural order. He created that natural order as the proving ground for our fidelity to Him and to our fellows. Don’t you know that signs and wonders are not primarily a reward for belief? They are a palliative for those whose faith is shaky and to soften the hearts of those who do not believe. So if you crave signs and wonders, it is not because of your confident faith, but because of the lurking fear of your disbelief. If your faith was solid, supernatural signs of God’s presence would be no more startling to you than a beautiful sunrise. I am grateful – but not surprised – at both. I don’t care if the three days of darkness happens in the way most expect it to or if it happens in some different and more subtle way altogether. My way of TNRS encompasses all things and responds to whatever happens with serene faith. If you think you know exactly how something is going to happen, there is grave danger that when it does happen in a different way than what you expected, you will miss it altogether. Whether there is sudden war, sudden plague, fire in the sky or three days of darkness, my plan is exactly the same: acknowledge God, take the next right step and be a sign of hope; defend the faith, hearten the faithful, defend the faithful. That is enough.
God seeks to have us participate with Him in bringing in a bountiful harvest of souls to glory. He focuses on addition and multiplication, while knowing that some irredeemable impediments must occasionally be removed. So why, when He is so focused on addition and multiplication, do so many of us who call ourselves Christians dedicate ourselves to division and subtraction? Be rigorous with yourself and charitable with others. Know that prudence without action is cowardice, but action without prudence is recklessness. Seek the straight path, giving counsel to neither error.
I suspect that many who have given themselves over to fearful prophetic poppycock are just agitated by the strange events that are overtaking the world and will, with a little time, regain their balance. I well understand that. I have been agitated these last few weeks, not wondering what was happening so much as wondering how to exhort and encourage people in these striking circumstances. Even Moses, when the battle was on, did not engage in prophetic pronouncements, but focused on how to endure and win the battle. For a decade before he became prime minister, Winston Churchill warned the people of the terrible danger ahead – and was roundly mocked for it. When his time came, he changed his focus entirely to how to win the war, the great battle, that he had warned the people of for so long to so little avail. He did not indulge himself in “I told you so” moments – because he was too busy giving practical leadership that would inspire his fellows rather than shame them.
God created the natural order and established its laws, setting it as our proving ground in our audition for heaven. The series of crises that have just begun will play out in that sphere. We will find, soon enough, that it is all too big for us – and will have to rely on God to intervene on our behalf. Yet we have no control over that. All we control is the little we can do that is right in front of us – and the extent of God’s intervention is dependent, I am convinced, on how well we do that little. Thus, while it may be a pleasant distraction to contemplate signs and wonders, devote yourself to the little that is right in front of you as your serious (though unglamorous) work, for that is how we will participate with God in renewing the faith and the face of the earth. Here, then, are some of the challenges we will likely face, purely from sound temporal analysis.
Both the U.S. and world economy are deeply over-stressed – and were before the shutdown began. I am appalled at the utter economic illiteracy at the highest levels. Currency has no intrinsic value. Only goods and services – production – has real value. Currency is just a sort of encryption key to make the value of that production liquid, that is, easily and instantly usable. When there is nothing to encrypt, the encryption key has no value – as countless economically illiterate leaders throughout history discovered when they tried to print money to solve their economic problems. The bailouts we enacted, while perhaps numbing some current pain, will only make the fundamental problems worse. Typically, you do cash infusions when there is a liquidity crisis, That was not the problem here. We shut down a huge portion of the productive sector. The only thing that will help, long-term, is booming new production. In the meantime, we have not just mortgaged our children’s future with our profligate public spending; we have mortgaged the future of our descendants down to the tenth generation. Even in the best scenario, at some point – surely by the third generation – our posterity is going to decide they will NOT live in unending austerity and poverty to cover the debt of our generation’s promiscuous self-indulgence. The crash will come.
Part of the problem now is that most of the “experts” who lecture us are part of the parasite class. They don’t produce anything, just comment on it all. Oh, don’t get me wrong, many parasites are useful. Parasites help in digestion, can bolster the immune system and, within limits, provide many other useful functions for their host system. Shoot, I am a parasite – I don’t build or produce anything – and I pray that I am a useful one. But when the parasites decide that the fundamental task of the host is to provide for their well-being, the host begins to die and, ultimately, the parasites with it. Let me ask you this: if the people losing their jobs and life savings in this crisis were media personalities, government bureaucrats, and Silicon Valley honchos, do you think they would be lecturing us on keeping the economy shut down for a year or better, no matter what the cost? There is a lot of sacrifice going on here, but it is not being shared by the parasites who constitute the elite. They would make this a feudal society of lords who rule and peasants who serve them. News flash: We are not the lords in this kingdom.
A whole host of petty officials have gotten a taste of dictatorial power and – surprise! – they like it. Contrary to what even some conservative purists are saying, an emergency does NOT give public officials the right to suspend civil liberties.The powers they are granted to carry out their normal duties are sufficient for them to violate those liberties in an emergency, but it is still a violation. Afterwards, the public has the duty to determine whether the crisis was great enough to justify the violations and whether they were prudently exercised. If so, the sovereign people forgive the violations. If not, the public must punish and remove those officials. Otherwise, the abuses will grow until there is little sphere left for liberty and, once again, the parasites are running the show for their benefit rather than for the host that supports them. We are going to have some heavy decisions to make after this passes – and failure to make those decisions will guarantee growing instability and later crisis. Will we consent to be the ruled or will we exercise our sovereignty under God?
The balance of power in the world has been shuffled. For nearly 30 years, China has carefully and slowly worked to lay the groundwork for global hegemony. For all their efforts at propaganda and strong-arming, for all the elite parasites in the west they have made into their toadies, China’s dream of global hegemony is over. What a tragedy that land has suffered in the last century and a half! For fully a century before the Communists took over in 1949, the great Chinese civilization had been in steep decline. Since then, it has been held hostage by the barbarous thugs who constitute its modern ruling class. But do not think these thugs are no longer dangerous; thugs are often most dangerous when their nefarious schemes collapse. Look no further than the American election of 2016 – when the radical left thought they were sure to cement their drive to make America a socialist hellhole ruled by them. We will have many skirmishes (and probably a great battle) ahead. I pray that when we come out the other side of crisis, the once-great Chinese culture will emerge anew and free, that it, too, will be resurrected under God.
The fraud that is the European Union (EU) stands fully exposed for what it is. Even in a manufactured crisis, the nations of Europe closed back in on themselves. Turns out when serious trouble comes, both families and nations defend their own before all others. The EU – and globalism, for that matter – has just been a venue for drab, sniffling mediocrities to pretend they are living lives of high adventure and nobility by bossing around people who are too busy working and living to play at being parasites.
These are just a small sampling of how everything has been shuffled, even if we did not face other unexpected crises in the near future. The consequences of all these will play out in real time. Make no mistake, though; the world is already dramatically changed in ways that we cannot yet imagine, but that we will be called to shape in the years ahead.
The Ordinary Way
All too many people look to “prophecy” with itching ears, secretly hoping to find in it a way to avoid the Cross. I can’t help you with that here. From the first time I spoke publicly about our times, I said the storm cannot be avoided, that it is global in scope, and will be fought on cultural lines. A serious observer could see that coming just from the collapse of honest erudition and its replacement with disordered appetites. I also have insisted that this is not the end; that, in fact, this is the beginning of God renewing the faith of the world – and that He calls each of us to participate with Him in that great endeavor…not quite the greatest story ever told, but one of the greatest in salvation history. My way has always been the ordinary way – not a way that accurately foresees every eventuality, but one that develops and exercises the habits of mind and spirit that give you the means to confront whatever happens, when it happens.
Read the Lord of the Rings series. Everyone in that series had to go into the storm that beset it when institutional evil raised its head. There were shires and villages where people gathered to support each other, but there was no place of safety where the storm passed some by. Everyone had to take up their cross, as it were – and no person was left untouched by the great trial they confronted and passed through together. That is what we, too, must do. There is no place of refuge where God is going to protect you while everyone else gets smited. We don’t get heaven until we actually get…heaven. And a big part of whether we will get it or not is whether we truly act as God’s hands and feet with fidelity. We spend way too much time telling God what we want and not nearly enough seeking to learn what God wants – and then seeking to want the same things. People worry themselves sick about how to get enough. There are two ways to have enough: get more or want less. Nothing wrong with the former, but we would do well to concentrate a bit more on the latter.
Among the faithful, there is a great frustration at Churches being shut down across the world, particularly during Holy Week. It is unprecedented for such a step to be taken in free countries – and was completely unexpected by Church authorities until just days before it happened. It is particularly galling (and indicative of who we have become as a people) that shutting down abortion clinics during the pandemic is so controversial that only a handful of states have attempted it, but it is assumed by almost all that religious worship is so unessential and people of faith so timid that, of course, they will shut down without serious protest. I have never wavered in my conviction that the presence of the sacrifice to Pachamama on the altar at the Amazon synod was a despicable abomination. And now, altars throughout the world are made desolate. Yet the frustration and anger has led to accusations in some quarters that our Bishops are all cowards and knaves. That simply is not true. Oh, corruption and knavery has certainly infected a big chunk of the hierarchy, but I have spoken at length with many Priests and religious authorities from around the country these last few weeks who are struggling manfully with how to act so as not to endanger the Church now, how to provide emergency sustenance to the people of God now, and how to prepare, going forward, for directly confronting and challenging secular efforts to shut us down. When confronted with an entirely unexpected attack, it is prudent to retreat for a time, regroup, and prepare to meet similar challenges head on when you are well prepared for it (Luke 14:31). Our Bishops acted with prudence in this unforeseen crisis.
When any group decides to reject the authority of the Church altogether, I wonder to myself how they can call themselves Christian while rejecting the means that Christ, Himself, set up for our governance. This is why it is so important to understand what is lawful authority and what is not. A cleric has legitimate authority on matters of faith and morals, but none stemming from his office on political and secular matters. For his authority to be legitimate, it must not be contrary to the Gospels or the Magisterium. When I obey my Bishop’s legitimate authority, even if I don’t agree with it, I am obeying Christ – who told me to hear His Apostles. I am profoundly grateful to have a Bishop whose courage and orthodoxy I admire, but I could manage without sinning (at least not frequently) even if I were in a Diocese where the Bishop was an enemy of the Magisterium and utterly unworthy of his office. Fact is, in such a case, I would be a much bigger burr under his saddle than he would be under mine. Over the course of my life, there are several occasions where I have dealt with a Priest who was obstinate in proclaiming error that was contrary to the Gospel. When they were not moved by private and intense prayer, I would write a private letter of firm, clearly stated, rebuke. Within a week of any such episode (which, thankfully, have been very rare) I would go to Confession with that Priest. It was important to me to emphasize that I fully submitted to their legitimate authority over me – for this is how Christ set it up. A woman in St. Louis once sought my counsel on how to deal with a particularly arrogant Priest who thought he knew better than Christ how things should be. When I suggested this method, she recoiled and said she would NEVER go to Confession with him. “If you won’t acknowledge him in his legitimate authority, how can you demand that he acknowledge the legitimate authority of Scripture and the Magisterium over him?” She went away unsatisfied and angry with me. One of my favorite episodes involved a Priest who regularly, bitterly and publicly denounced Marian devotees as superstitious ninnies. I had lit candles for him, had said many prayers for him, and started offering constant prayers for him whenever he gave one of his ugly homilies. I was just warming up my pen and pad of yellow paper when, out of nowhere, he gave a homily extolling the virtues of Our Lady and what an eager and effective advocate she is for us. It was so startling I was not sure I heard him right. But he went further than this. Almost overnight he went from being the persecutor of the blue hat ladies in the Parish, often leaving them in tears, to being their tender advocate and enthusiastic help. (The blue hat ladies in this Parish were a society of Marian devotees). He eventually became an affectionate friend of mine. I never asked him about what precipitated the change. Do not succumb to the devil’s temptation to defy God by refusing the legitimate authority of the clerics over you, even as you honorably reject any illegitimate efforts. Always remember that your goal is not to prevail, but to more firmly knit together the people of God.
I am convinced that God has begun His plan to renew the faith and the face of the Earth. He has chosen you to live in these times. Now He offers you an invitation to participate with Him in that great renewal. The devil will seek to use your doubts, your anger, your fears, your vanity, even your natural affections to help pull you away from the work of renewal. I often said in politics that public glory and public shame were the same impostor wearing different clothes – that it is always the work that counts. If you focus on the work and treat glory and shame as merely different types of weather you must work in, you will always stay near the path God calls you to, even when you lose the way for a bit.
When power and malice fail, those who oppose God are miserable. Shoot, even when it works for a time, they are still miserable. We have the secret of the universe right at hand to us – the power of the risen Christ. It never fails. It brings joy and peace. It transforms even failure, in some hidden way, into ultimate triumph. When we work with Him, by simply doing the little we can that is right in front of us, we participate in the renewing of the world – and offer the promise of joy even to all but His most intractable enemies.
I say to you rise, take up your cross, and go forth to proclaim the Kingdom with power, conviction and clarity that sparks new hope and new resolve in all you encounter. Be prudent and cautious, but do not treat your life and health here as your only or main priority. That is just a subtle form of materialism. Do not seek suffering and do not fail to take prudent precautions against it, but when it does come, offer it up in union with the suffering Christ on behalf of those you love – and meet as many people as you can and try to love them all. I will try to help you navigate the challenges we must face from a very earthy, ordinary perspective. It is enough. When you don’t understand what is happening, when it seems the Lord is slow to respond to your prayers, I call you to contemplate Isaiah 55:10-11:
“For as the rain and snow come down from heaven,
And return not thither but water the earth,
Making it bring forth and sprout,
Giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth,
It shall not return to me empty,
But it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
And prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
The Lord is renewing the faith of the earth, calling us to join Him by living our ordinary way with extraordinary love.
We are an Easter people.
Be not afraid. The darkness shall not prevail.
A Sign of Hope 
From Charlie’s 3rd part The Ordinary Way: “Read the Lord of the Rings series. Everyone in that series had to go into the storm that beset it when institutional evil raised its head. There were shires and villages where people gathered to support each other, but there was no place of safety where the storm passed some by. Everyone had to take up their cross,…”
Here is what the future saint said about the cross.
DAILY REFLECTIONS WITH
ARCHBISHOP FULTON SHEEN
A Word For The Haters
Our Lord spoke from the cross to those who hated, for there are an abundance in the world who cannot endure his name. They hurled a challenge to him. They said, ‘If you are the Son of God, come down from that cross.’ Come down and we’ll believe. Sure, they will believe. They’ll believe anything: just no cross, no mortification, no self-denial. This is not weakness to hang on the cross. This is obedience to the law of sacrifice. If he came down, he never would have saved us. It is human to come down. It is divine to hang there. So there are many who say, ‘I’ll believe anything. I’ll believe that he is divine; I’ll believe in his Church; I’ll believe in his pontiff, only no cross, no sacrifice.’ That’s all. George Bernard Shaw said, ‘It’s that that bars the way.’ Sure, it bars the way. It bars the way to hell. And for them our Blessed Lord merely prayed for forgiveness. He said, ‘Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.’ It is not wisdom that saves, it is ignorance. If we knew what we were doing when we crucified the Lord, we would never be saved. It is only in the ignorance of what we do when we crucify him that we come within the pale of hearing the cry, forgive.
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Few probably remember one of the hobbit characters from early in The Fellowship of the Ring –– one Fredegar “Fatty” Bolger. A friend of Frodo and part of the early hobbit gang of Merry, Pippin and Sam Wise, he eventually got cold feet when it was time to trek through the Old Forest so retreated to the Shire to watch over Frodo’s house in relative safety. ‘Course that’s exactly where the Nazgul went looking for Frodo… Lesson here: while a sensitive and discriminating judgment is essential to help scent out that next right step, have a little courage.
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Jesus said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
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🙂
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Hey Charlie
Fantastic piece…as always, greatly appreciate your efforts on our behalf…Need to read again…
can’t remember if you touched on this… apparently Bill Gates is heavily invested in the vaccine business, and that most of the vaccines being developed by his and other companies use stem cells harvested from aborted babies
Any intel on the truth of the stem cell claim, and whether this is true of other vaccines, like traditional flu vaccines?
Steve BC…any comment?
Best
Paul
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I know that, a few years ago, all vaccines in the U.S. were using fetal stem cells as a media. There was no alternative for anyone here to use something that did not violate their conscience. It was not necessary, for even in England they offered alternatives that did not use fetal stem cells. I do not know if that is still true or not. On this one, I hope Steve might check it out.
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Vaccines made from the aborted? That’s horrifyingly evil… even demonic…
We’ll be sure to look into that before accepting any covid 19 vaccine made from murderring the most innocent.
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It is awful. My daughter will not vaccinate her kids until they are older. Also, she tells me she looked into it and if there is not alternative and there is life at risk, then an “exception” can be made. My daughter is a nurse in CA and they are required to be vaccinated unless there is a medical exemption. So she vaccinates. She is one of the most pro life persons I know.
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Just to be clear, the exception is if there is no other alternative vaccine.
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I think this was from all the way back to JP!!, which why Bush, the not Jr , okayed using existing cell lines. No additional babies were used. Well, when that was happened, the “science” stopped even looking for alternatives! And EVERY MMR and several others continue to use those cell lines. https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center/vaccine-ingredients/fetal-tissues
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My spirit goes yuck after reading the article. Sigh….. what have we become.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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your daughter is WISE Doug.
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Thanks San San! I am so proud of her living out her faith with her husband and kids. I think she is not too far from you in CA.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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I have researched this since 2008. Aborted fetal stem cells are still used.
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“If we stopped harvesting fresh tissues from aborted fetuses today, it will not stop one person from being treated or vaccinated today nor will it inhibit the development of new vaccines going forward.” -And-
“None of the 75 vaccines available in the US are produced using fresh fetal tissue.”
https://lozierinstitute.org/written-testimony-of-tara-sander-lee-ph-d-in-support-of-ethical-alternatives-to-aborted-fetal-tissue-research/
“
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The thought of getting a vaccine from an aborted little creation of God makes me physically ill!!! I’d rather die of the thing (virus) than accept that into my bloodstream! Eeeeh ghads!
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There is a JPII Research Center that is working to develop an ethical CoronaVirus vaccine.
From their latest newslettter:
The current COVID-19 pandemic underscores a problem that the John Paul II Medical Research Institute (JP2MRI) have been working on for years. Many are aware that JP2MRI has been developing ethical cell lines to replace those longstanding aborted fetal cell lines used in vaccines, cell therapy, biologics and gene therapy. Some of the investigational COVID-19 vaccines being developed use aborted fetal tissue cell lines. I cannot predict whether any of these vaccine candidates will work on COVID-19. Regardless of the outcome of this current outbreak, I can comfortably state that an effective vaccine against the COVID-19 strain will not provide immunity against future coronavirus outbreaks that will likely originate from China and the Middle East. The genetics of COVID-19 is very divergent than that of the SARS and MERS strain, which indicates that the next outbreak will result in a completely new strain with unknown morbidity and mortality. For example, the MERS outbreak carried a 35 percent mortality, while SARS carried a 10 percent mortality. We’re fortunate that the mortality rate from COVID-19 is much lower. While a great deal of the blame is attributed to China’s government, and to a lesser extent on the World Health Organization for not providing accurate information, we are discovering the failures in our own public health preparedness. The question is what new steps will our government, healthcare system and the private sector take to prepare for the next pandemic because it is inevitable.
More newsletters info:
.https://us4.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=d6226693e70242ea3fd0659c0&id=0affe20183
I have no personal connection with the research facility, I only became aware of it a few years ago when my daughter profiled it when working as a diocesan newspaper reporter.
Their homepage: https://www.jp2mri.org/
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Thnx Charlie and Maggie
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Click to access vaccineListOrigFormat.pdf
This is the latest list of ethical alternatives for vaccines. There are other very thought provoking articles on the home page of https://cogforlife.org/
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
hope this comes across: Bishop Strickland is a prolife warrior.
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Forwarded list to my nurse daughter Joyful. Thanks!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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I agree “I will not kill children to live”. But if the children are dead and good can be brought from that evil… Consider the aftermath of WWII, the Nazis had done horrific ‘experiments’ on Jews and other prisoners e.g. examining how long a person could survive immersed in ice water. In the 1950’s this ‘research’ was used to improve treatment of sailors and others suffering from hypothermia. Was this immoral? Was it the fruit of the ‘poisonous tree’? I clearly understand the complexities here of not wanting to create a market for such things, but the Catholic moral tradition is also clear on the permissiblity, in certain circumstances, of remote material cooperation in sin. That said I do agree that all other options for vaccines are to be sought first.
PAX,
Matthew
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Matthew, I was raised by a college professor who taught in medical schools. He also did research in the area of neurophysiology. I remember him telling me of an instance when he turned in a paper for review that it was suggested that he use data from Nazi human experimentation/torture. He refused. I cannot remember his exact words (I wish I could) but his explanation left me no doubt that he considered his publishing it, albeit at a remote time, as a participation in the evil.
Personally, I agree with my father. I have a tendency to view “remote material cooperation” as the beginning of a slippery slope–maybe not yet in actions but in an attitude of acceptance.
I also trust that God will provide. When I started keeping track of vaccines in the above chart, there were a lot more N/As on the blue side than there is now. Why is that?–because more and more are requesting that ethical alternatives be available. Vaccine companies are perfectly able to do this.
If we settled for “remote cooperation,” how hard are they going to try to work for alternatives?
Another problem is the fact that doctors really don’t know about vaccines that are not from aborted fetal cell lines.
I will not get into a discussion about the Catholic moral tradition as I have serious issues with the Catholic bishops of a certain state with the exception of the bishop I quoted above. I stand with him!
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In England they allow people to choose vaccines that do NOT use embryonic stem cells as the media. This is entirely unnecessary. We have CHOSEN to use aborted fetuses for this purpose when we have always had options that do not use them. To me, that is murder and complicity in it.
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100% agree, Charlie. ❤
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“To me, that is murder and complicity in it.”
That reminds me of when Mother Angelica called abortion “blasphemous murder” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qN72meqXYo&t=2s (see 47:00 and following).
“…and life, especially human life, belongs only to God: for this reason whoever attacks human life, in some way attacks God himself.” (willful murder being one of the “sins that cry to God for justice”) see Evangelium Vitae #9 (Pope John Paul II)
It causes me to consider that abortion is also a grave sin against the First Commandment.
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Joyfulhope:
St. Alphonsus Liguori, a Doctor of the Church, in fact regarded as the Doctor of Moral Theology, teaches that “remote material cooperation” in evil is permissible.
PAX,
Matthew
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Joyful, I agree with you and your father. When I was in a law-school class 30 years ago, we discussed the morality (or lack thereof) of using Nazi-human-experiment data for later medical research. The general consensus was that such use would be immoral. This conclusion, although correct in my view, was surprising to me because I attended one of the most liberal universities in the country.
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Ok Matthew but umbilical cord stem cells work as well and can be freely collected. So why jump to baby body parts except for the money Planned Parenthood gains.
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Maggie, this article appears to confirm what the JPII Research Center’s newsletter says about a Covid-19 vaccine (that any vaccine for the current strain would most likely be ineffective for future outbreaks):
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/scientists-discover-alarming-coronavirus-mutation-could-render-vaccine-useless
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I saw that, Mick. However, such a ‘minor drawback’ won’t deter certain entities from touting vaccinations for all. Furthermore, enforcement would be aided by imposing restrictions such as: No flying, (even domestically), nor renewing drivers license unless you have papers verifying your inoculation. “Please queue up in an orderly manner.💉”
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Maggie, I hope that you’re wrong; but I suspect that you’re right.
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SteveBC has been a bit under the weather in the last few days, Paul. Before we know it, he’ll be catching up on comments again.
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Hi, Paul! I hope you’re doing well.
I have heard that comment about stem cells, but with the exception of its disgusting morality, it doesn’t matter to me. That’s because most vaccines are filled with toxins, viruses, and other nasty stuff. Vaccines are in most cases completely unnecessary for health, as the diseases can be treated relatively easily if you get the disease. Further, the entire model of vaccines and vaccinations is fatally flawed in a way that requires most or all vaccines to have all that dirty stuff in them or they fail to work. Finally, even if they work for a few years, the immunity they grant is nowhere near as good as the lifetime immunity you can get if you get the disease and treat it properly and recover with full immunity.
The key is not to fear the disease so that The Authorities and those who make tons of money off vaccines can’t scare you into taking them. And the key to not fearing a disease is to figure out how to get the disease safely so that you attain full natural immunity once you’ve recovered. You would be amazed at how effective a day of research online can be in turning up ways to heal diseases we have been trained for decades to fear.
And isn’t that what Charlie is discussing in this very long and comprehensive argument? Don’t allow yourself to be manipulated even by doctors who appear to know what they are doing (even as they often don’t but just think they do), let alone by The Authorities who will now try to capture and control us through exactly that kind of fear.
I have not had the need to travel overseas, so I have avoided all vaccinations for decades, and I’m pretty convinced that I am significantly healthier than I would have been if I had taken all the silly things.
I do want to say that I am not completely against certain vaccines that are currently available. I’d have a hard time going against the rabies vaccine if I got bitten. I’m also not against the idea of vaccination itself *IF* it were done right. I’m waiting for someone to figure that out. I don’t know how to do it. I just know we’re not doing it now.
Going beyond that is not appropriate for this website. If you are interested, there is a huge amount of good information on vaccines by solid people who agree that they are at best unneeded and at worst too damaging to justify their use.
Now as to stem cells in vaccines, I have seen some evidence that that use is less than it was, but how can you tell? And finally, do not trust any vaccine associated with Bill Gates. Period.
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Awesome counsel, Steve! Thank you.
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Amen! ❤
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There’s an article on Spiritdaily today, “RFK Jr. attacks Gates on vaccines”. It’s quite interesting with lots of data, but I don’t know the sources; they are not given. However, I agree with RFK Jr. about Gates; have for a long time known Gates is pro population control and has done evil with vaccines.
Oh, come, Lord Jesus!
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I did not know until just recently that his father headed Planned Parenthood. Wrong paths, imho.
Bill Gates My Father Headed Planned Parenthood https://youtu.be/3lKfTMIPMro
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Well, that explains a lot, doesn’t it, Jen?
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Sadly, it does.
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Sick feeling g in stomach….. lord have mercy. It will be abortion that brings this country down to its knees.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Kennedy is one of THE Kennedys? Is he conservative? How’d THAT happen?!
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Alas, he IS one of the Kennedys, but he is not a conservative. It is not the life angle that causes him to oppose vaccinations – but his belief that it causes autism.
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Aha! I was wondering. Couldn’t imagine one of them had converted to logical conservative thinking.
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Got it Steve…thank you…I think I’m done with flu shots
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Never got one never don’t want one ever michael neither his mommy neither she lived to 93!!!
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Steve: To be honest, I don’t know enough about the science of vaccines to intelligently comment on their purity or exactly how they function. My parents were of the generation who knew the annual fear of polio and were exceedingly grateful for the discovery of the vaccine. My eldest brother nearly died of meningitis complications when he was a child. You can bet I got that vaccine! I am sure all of us are grateful for the practical elimination of small pox due to vaccination. We like the sausage but don’t really want to know how it got made. We live in an age and nation that is remarkably free of the illnesses that brought widespread fear (like today) to many nations. I certainly do not want to go back.
PAX,
Matthew
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And all the polio vaccines in use did NOT use embryonic stem cells for their media.
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Is it really fair to compare Sweden with the rest of the world when taking into consideration its demographics? 40% of the households are 1-person households and an additional 24% are 2-person households. If I’m not mistaken, they lead the world in smallest household size. So perhaps they haven’t pushed for the lockdown strategy, but they have more of a built-in ability to isolate than other countries. It may still be the case that their strategy was the right one, but I wonder if other countries would see the same results.
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It is a fair point, goldensun, but not as dramatic as you might think, I don’t think. Sweden does have the smallest household size in the developed world at an average of just under two. It is in line with the other Nordic and Germanic countries of Norway, Denmark, Finland and Germany who also have small average household sizes (and all these but Germany are low on the rate of infection, as well. Germany is in the midrange). But if your hypothesis were to be satisfying, the countries with the largest household size should have unusually high rates of infection. That is not the case, as none of those with average household sizes over three (Mexico, Turkey, Costa Rica and Israel) have unusually large infection rates. Here is a chart for some raw data. It is a tricky business. The closest thing I have seen to a working theory that holds under attack is that those countries with the largest contingents of people coming in and out of China (Communist China, only) are having the toughest times – which would make sense, given that China is the origin and prime carrier. But I am not entirely satisfied with that hypothesis yet, either.
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It’s very possible that I’m naive on this, but from my vantage point (which includes the intersection of pharma and government)…I just don’t see the plausibility of drug companies being quite so sinister. They have more accountability than most realize and a ton of checks and balances. I’m seeing a lot of pharma ppl working around the clock to repurpose drugs to treat Covid. There may be a lot of money in vaccines, but not so much (beyond a little positive press for once) in off label drugs. Now shadowy non-profits that want digital vaccines…can’t so much vouch for them. 😉
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More “spin” on how the media is trying to make POTUS and America look bad compared to the rest of the world.
“The top six countries by confirmed cases of Covid19 per million people (based on population numbers from the CIA World Fact Book) in descending order:
Spain (3319.33)
Italy (2440.14)
France (1926.80)
USA (1593.34)
Germany (1565.03)
United Kingdom (1214.78)
See?
When looking at the number of confirmed cases compared to the population, the United States is not number one.”
https://pjmedia.com/trending/no-the-united-states-does-not-lead-the-world-in-coronavirus-cases-or-deaths/
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Happy Easter! the facility I work in is now very filled with Covid, and thank GOD that the practitioner taking care of them is prescribing Hydroxychloroquine/Zpack/Zinc and high doses of Vit C on diagnosis and the losses have slowed. It’s still a very rough go though, and please keep the elderly population in your prayers. And the workers there. Our kitchen staff mostly quit and the care workers are on a skeleton crew pulling double shifts and the work is hard. No one has been taken out and put on a ventilator, though.
I can’t wait to go back to church. I am not a fan of live streamed masses. But the main reason is because they soften the blow of not having mass. When I softened Josh’s consequences for his drug use, he never learned the lesson, and I enabled his behavior. When you soften the absence the heart can’t grow fonder. There is no replacement for the Eucharist, and I am bereft without it. I haven’t been watching the masses, I tried but it’s not the same. And I don’t understand the spiritual communion… shouldn’t we do that out of our abundance of love, every day? Isn’t that what living for Christ is?
Prayers for all, and I can’t wait for the joy when we all get to go back to mass.
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I have the privilege of assisting at mass and find most of the spiritual communion prayer relevant even as I have just received His most precious Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity.
Jesus, let me never be parted from you.
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Amen, Victor. So many saints remained tethered to Eucharistic Jesus by making spiritual communions throughout the day… in all simplicity and beauty, living in the Presence of God.
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Praying for the patients and employees at your facility, Briana.
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Praying for you, Brianna, all your staff and residents as well as all the families affected.
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I, too, find the “spiritual communion” a bit sad. WHY did Jesus institute the real thing if a “virtual” will work. Sounds Protestant to me. Like Victor, I feel so blessed to still receive the real Jesus.
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Now you know why, Nance. Spiritual communion is NOT an excuse for avoiding the real thing when it is available – but a means by which we are not left bereft when we don’t have access to the normal, physical thing.
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I think now it gives me a much greater appreciation for the real thing. Makes me longing yet grateful.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Shouldn’t we be living with that intent every day of our lives, though? It seems so foreign to me, forgive me, but I can’t wrap my head around it, that this isn’t a daily thing, to ask Christ to come into your heart, to embrace him as if he were there, and to unite ourselves to him?
“My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.”
Everything is grace, as St. Therese said, but if we live with our hearts wanting him above all things, and live as such, then the Eucharist is the greatest loss?
Can you explain it more?
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There are two fundamental components here, Briana; God’s grace, which is always reaching out to us and our response to that grace – which is a little more uncertain. All too often, we think of it in the two-dimensional terms of the inflexible rules of a board game. But that is not how it is. The spirit is the living water that brings life. It seeks us out at every level, no matter how low. It takes whatever shape that is needed to fill us – if we let it. Your opening line speaks of our response to God – which is, of course, what we should do every day. But no matter what our circumstances, His grace is not impeded. If we are hiking and come to a lake, we should go around it. But if we are newly released Israel with the hostile Egyptian army at our backs, He parts the waters. He doesn’t do that under normal circumstances. But He does when the need is desperate. Normally, we should hunt and cultivate the ground for food – but if we are in the desert, He may well create manna to provide for us. If we want water, we should dig a well – unless we are in the desert – and then He may draw water from a rock. The point is that God is not contained by circumstances that contain us – and your fears are that He is constrained by those circumstances. In normal times, we should go to Mass and receive Him in the ordinary form. But the same God who parted the waters, sent manna into the desert, and drew water from the rock promises not to leave us orphans. So when we legitimately can’t receive Him in the ordinary form, like the Living Water He is, He stretches out to meet us where we are. Because He does that does not mean that we should become presumptuous in ordinary times – but neither should we doubt how He extends Himself in extraordinary circumstances. Nothing is lost in God’s economy because He is NOT under the constraints we are. To even think that He might be is a failure of faith…that He won’t come to us when circumstances beyond our control prevent us from receiving Him in the normal way. So I say, quit worrying about what you are getting and focus on doing His will and He is ever present to you, right at hand. Live the normal way when you can, but do not lose faith in His fidelity when you can’t.
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WOW! Charlie, you defend the faith and hearten the faithful in the most elegant ways.
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Amen!
Charlie, Your response to Brianna was what I needed to read and hear. Wish I could somehow sear what you wrote into both my heart and head.
God Bless,
Becky-TN
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That’s what I like about Charlie too and his “school of instruction” he’s been in since very young! God surely picked a good one!!! Actually, Charlie and President Trump are kind of interwoven!
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Just beautifully put Charlie!!!!🤗🙏❤️😇⛄️
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To SteveBC: nice going, Oh Erudite One. 🙂
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The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy Novena
Fifth Day: Tues
Today bring to Me THE SOULS OF THOSE WHO HAVE SEPARATED THEMSELVES FROM MY CHURCH,* and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. During My bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart, that is, My Church. As they return to unity with the Church, My wounds heal and in this way they alleviate My Passion.
Most Merciful Jesus, Goodness Itself, You do not refuse light to those who seek it of You. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Church. Draw them by Your light into the unity of the Church, and do not let them escape from the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart; but bring it about that they, too, come to glorify the generosity of Your mercy.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Son’s Church, who have squandered Your blessings and misused Your graces by obstinately persisting in their errors. Do not look upon their errors, but upon the love of Your own Son and upon His bitter Passion, which He underwent for their sake, since they, too, are enclosed in His Most Compassionate Heart. Bring it about that they also may glorify Your great mercy for endless ages. Amen.
*Our Lord’s original words here were “heretics and schismatics,” since He spoke to Saint Faustina within the context of her times. As of the Second Vatican Council, Church authorities have seen fit not to use those designations in accordance with the explanation given in the Council’s Decree on Ecumenism (n.3). Every pope since the Council has reaffirmed that usage. Saint Faustina herself, her heart always in harmony with the mind of the Church, most certainly would have agreed. When at one time, because of the decisions of her superiors and Father confessor, she was not able to execute Our Lord’s inspirations and orders, she declared: “I will follow Your will insofar as You will permit me to do so through Your representative. O my Jesus, I give priority to the voice of the Church over the voice with which You speak to me” (Diary, 497). The Lord confirmed her action and praised her for it.
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I want to share with you a virtual Catholic conference that will be held this coming Saturday, April 18, 2020, just in time for Divine Mercy Sunday!! And it’s FREE!!!
I have helped coordinate the Ignited By Truth Catholic Conference in Raleigh, NC for 17 years. It’s one of the largest (not counting Eucharistic Congress) Catholic conferences on the East Coast. Our mission statement is, “Bringing to light the truths of the teachings of the Catholic Church and igniting in all hearts a love for our faith.” We want to save souls!
When we realized we were going to have to cancel because of Covid19, we quickly began planning on how to get it online. It’s been a wild ride these past weeks, but God willing, we have made it happen! And through the generosity of donors, we are able to offer it for free!! Please pray for God’s protection for the conference because every year the evil one creates chaos for us, often with technology.
Speakers include Fr. Michael Gaitley MIC, Fr. Chis Alar MIC, Fr. Donald Calloway MIC, Jesse Romero, and Matthew Leonard (Next Level Catholic Academy)!! It will end with The Divine Mercy Chaplet and live stream Mass at the Shrine of Divine Mercy with the Marians.
It begins at 10:00 AM Eastern. Mass is at 4:00 PM.
The link to watch can be found at http://www.ignitedbytruth.org
The direct YouTube link is https://www.youtube.com/IgnitedByTruthCatholicConference
Please share this with your family and friends! We want everyone all over the world to be able to watch it! If we get enough demand, we may be able to show it again so that other time zones can view it.
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Thanks so much, YKC!
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❤ ❤ ❤
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Whoa… this looks incredible. Thanks, YKC!
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JESUS = GOOD NEWS! 😉
As is the usual, my old achy bones &/or bladder awakened me in the night and my mind wanders in the wee hours. I thought about Divine Mercy Sunday and wondered when Orthodox Easter is this year? It turns out they coincide this year on 19 April. Does this mean anything but happenstance? Probably not …. but These-Days of 2020 ….??????
The Orthodox consider The Divine Mercy Celebration a Roman Catholic “thing”.
The adding of $$$ Trillions to our already immense and unpayable public/private debt will not end well …. it never does. A Jubilee Year of Old may well be a better option than the usual “fixes” that end in disaster.
https://www.crisismagazine.com/2020/its-time-for-a-jubilee
…. and somehow the below, to me anyway, seems to fit in with the above.
https://www.crisismagazine.com/2020/the-world-turns-the-cross-remains
https://www.ncregister.com/blog/lauradittus/these-5-maxims-from-padre-pio-will-help-you-get-through-coronavirus
https://www.cardinalburke.com/presentations/easter-2020
https://stream.org/drought-locusts-plagues-and-the-always-relevant-bible/
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/04/13/Poll-Almost-half-of-Americans-say-Bible-should-influence-US-laws/5751586800659/?sl=19
Jesus, I Trust in You! 😉
https://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/vortex-a-lack-of-trust?mc_cid=af6cfc779b&mc_eid=2a0b6c7ef6
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/04/14/phase-five-supply-chain-with-a-message-from-a-dairy-farmer/
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/breaking-john-brennan-main-focus-durham-investigation-intel-officers-already-testified/
GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
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James McAuley, where are you?
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Oh my goodness, Beckita; that was hysterical!
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A friend sent me a link to a Mass by Fr. Richard Heilman. My old brain, she ain’t what she used to be. Have I heard of him here?
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Fr. Heilman is a friend. Great guy…he is a pastor in Madison, Wisconsin, and is the author of the Roman Catholic Man website.
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I heard an incredible homily by him. I think it was his Easter Mass.❤
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I love listening to Fr heilmans grace force podcasts!!! His last one was with Fr Bill Peckman!!! Great stuff and they are funny too!!!
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I have read several of his articles I get up dates from Roman Catholic Man
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I love Father Heilman and his work. If you watch father’s podcasts, I have the pleasure to meet Doug Barry decades ago. He used to head a Catholic Men’s group called RADIX that made appearances at many Chicago Marian Conferences. At one conference, Doug did a magnificent solo performance of *The Passion* which had me in tears from beginning to end. ❤
Life on the Rock – RADIX – Fr. Mark and Fr. Anthony with Doug Barry – 04… https://youtu.be/LSFx5G4nzkg
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Too funny ! Loved it Beckita!
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From the babylon bee. Hope this satire doesn’t turn into reality!
Hee hee. This site is so funny
Kentucky Orders All Churchgoers To Wear Yellow Cross | The Babylon Bee
https://babylonbee.com/news/kentucky-orders-all-churchgoers-to-wear-yellow-cross
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Short version of my analogy on the Holy Trinity and Creation
Trinity
God = Father, Son & Holy Spirit
Creation
World = longitude, latitude & altitude
Time = past, present & future
Mater = height, width & depth
Atom = neutron, proton & electron
Elements= gas, solid & liquid
Sun = fire, heat & light
Flame = fire, heat & light
Family = mother, father & child
Conception = God, woman & man
Human = body, mind (intelligence) & soul
Church = Church militant, church suffering & church triumphant
So it is with God = Father, Son and Holy Spirit
And we pray: IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN
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Again, Charles, you submitted several very long comments that were just verbatim long prophecies of various seers. I had no problem with them, BUT we use links to such things here, soi as not to destroy the flow of the conversation. This is a discussion board – and occasionally there is an exception for a very long third-party meditation, but we just do not do it routinely. On average I get a good 20 massive pieces a day that people want me to read and comment on. Can’t do it. Much of it may be good, but I have my own (rather large) reading discipline and if I attempted to go through it all, I would have to take down this website because I would have time for nothing else. Links are so great becaue, if you bive a brief description, the reader can decide for himself if it is something that interests him enough to read through in its entirety – and does not overwhelm the flow of the conversation. Best of both worlds. A quote of a couple of lines is fine…but something that long is a post in itself – and that isn’t what the boards are for. You are very welcome to summarize and to link…but massive third-party pieces because you find meaning in them is something for another spot. It destroys the flow of the commentary. Read through the comments and you will get the hang of it.
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Hi Charlie I respect your respond. But I feel I don’t understand as what I have post are not as long or longer than what has been post such as the post Divine Will Prayer & Steve post. That is my problem. But you are the moderator. And I respect that and I am sorry that I have trouble you. I guess I just don’t understand this blog. All I wanted to do is share some religious articles that thought was important for these days of darkness. May God bless you and keep you safe and grant you peace.
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Fair enough, Charles. Some of the pieces are sent by regular commenters who have participated deeply in the conversation here. I DO give them more latitude, so long as they only do it on occasion. Even the shortest things you have submitted are at the outer edge of what they do (I am aware though, that when someone prints these things they often are much longer than they seem to them). The people on the board want to get to know who YOU are before they decide whether what you like to read is of interest to them. Putting large posts of what others have said is always on the edge here…but until we get to know you, it is just not of interest. Let us know what YOU think – and then a few occasional such entries will be more welcome. As far as Steve goes, he is one of the earliest commenters here. He does not just let us know what he thinks, but has actually solved the technical problems of myriads of people here (he is an actual rocket scientist). He is a good neighbor to all here. He is one of the few people here who can post whatever he wants – because he has earned it.
Please share those religious articles via links to the original rather than by raw text. Again, until we have a sense of who you are by your direct participation in the community, few are interested in what you think are important third party articles. Everyone here does a lot of reading of faith-based material. Show us who YOU are and then people may want to take the time for it. But we are neighbors here. Until you have taken the time to be neighborly with the folks here, they will stick with what they already read and what their neighbors here recommend to them. Even then, as a matter of politeness, we still almost always use links rather than long raw text of third party articles – so that our neighbors can decide for themselves what interests them. You are revealing nothing of yourself, of who you are, what you think, how you feel…and come off seeming to direct us on what we should be interested in reading. I suspect you just feel you are sharing, but until we have a sense of who you are, it falls flat. If everyone did what you are doing, this would just be a random compendium of various religious readings and no neighbors. If that were the case, I would shut the comment section down altogether. So, to paraphrase Mr. Rogers…won’t you be our neighbor?
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This is a very good explanation, Charlie.
BTW, today I had a long phone conversation with a friend from other circles. I recommended that he check out this blog, and particularly this piece ~ which is neo-foundational. This quarantine affords time and focus for people to get things done that they’ve been putting off.
God is good. TNRS.
Sister Bear
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DIVINE WILL PRAYER TO COMBAT COVID-19
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother and Queen of the Divine Will, I entreat you, by the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and by the graces God has granted to you since your Immaculate Conception, the grace of never going astray.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I am a poor and unworthy sinner, and I beg of you the grace to allow our Mother and Luisa to form in me the divine acts you purchased for me and for everyone. These acts are the most precious of all, for they carry the Eternal Power of your Fiat and they await my “Yes, your Will be done” (Fiat Voluntas Tua).
So I implore you, Jesus, Mary and Luisa to accompany me as I now pray:
I am nothing and God is all, come Divine Will. Come heavenly Father to beat in my heart and move in my Will; come beloved Son to flow in my blood and think in my intellect; come Holy Spirit to recall in my memory and breathe in my lungs.
I fuse myself in your Divine breath O Holy Spirit, giver of life; may your breath extend its healing balm to those afflicted by the corona virus; may your divine breathe enter them now and heal them; may they grow in the love and knowledge of your Divine Will. I now offer You, on their behalf, the joys and the sorrows they experience – may none of their sufferings be lost, but welcomed by You as a fragrant offering for the healing and salvation of souls. Teach every afflicted soul to offer their sufferings to You.
Grant them and those who assist them, the Spirit of piety, so that their spirit may augment in virtue. May their thoughts become Your Thoughts, may their words become Your words, may their acts become Your Acts which are all pure and divine.
Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of life, teach me to reach perfection. Root out from my heart all vice; utterly subdue my evil passions and all my unruly desires. Perfect in me in charity and patience, humility and obedience, and in all other virtues. Be my sure defense against the snares laid for me by my enemies, both visible and invisible. Restrain and quiet all my evil impulses, and make me ever cleave to Thee the one true God.
Holy Spirit, Starlight of my soul, infuse in me the piety of your saints and the divine virtues of your angels, so that I may devoutly keep Your Laws. Graciously show Yourself to my lowly soul, draw me near Your Triune Presence Most Powerful and tender God.
Amen.
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Beautiful, SanSan!Thank you!
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Thank you for your response. I think I understand better, although I am a slow leaner and I do not comprehend very well. Also all though I was a electronic supervisor and a part time electrical teacher, I can’t spell or write very good sentences and have lost a lot of comprehension. I have read a lot of the post on you’re blog and find them very interesting and some helpful. I have many of you’re articles and articles about you. Ps also since I am bad it writing, I copy & paste a lot. May God bless you and keep you safe and grant you peace.
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You’re not alone. We have more than a few here who have overcome similar difficulties. Slow and steady will get you there – next right step, just like we always say here. And don’t worry…if you make a mistake, our little hopeful tradition here is that that just means another soul has just been released from purgatory!
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Yes. Nothing like a good bing to get a soul out of purgatory Charlie.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Cofears– glad you’re here!
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Charles, like Charlie said, you’re not alone. I read more slowly than a turtle, and I often have to read stuff over and over again until I get it. I’m good at some things, but really REALLY bad at a lot of things. Like anything electronic… to put it bluntly, I am a tech idiot; I can’t even get the voice mail off of my cell phone, I can’t text, and I can never remember how to use the phone’s camera. Also, I make lots of errors when I type. No worries, though: every typo springs a Holy Soul, so it’s all good!
I’m glad you’re here among us, and I look forward to reading your comments in the future. 🙂
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Troglodytes Unite!
I still have my original 2008 cell phone. Works for me ~ when I drive out to the highway to pick up a signal.
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Yay, Sister Bear! (PS: I so badly want my “dumb phone” back.)
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You often have to read a couple times Mick? Oh. I don’t feel so alone now.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Often more than a couple times, Doug; otherwise, both my comprehension and retention would be close to zero. I also have to highlight or take notes like a madman. And my favorite highlighter color is… you guessed it: pink! Orange is a close second. I own pretty much a lifetime supply of them 🙂
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Well, I use pink highlighter and I find you very erudite.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Cofears!!! I like “YOU” already!!!🤗🙏❤️😇🌹📿✝️🌺💝🌸🌷🐣
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Cofears-
I have dyslexia and reading/comprehending is a challenge and a gift. Please keep plugging along. The folks here are so good and helpful.
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Amen. ❤
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Charlie, the theme of your post here is terrific. I love it. We are about to see the demon of fear try to roll out over the world, and we need to step aside as much as possible from that fear even as we deal with the many issues and crises now heading our way.
I do take issue with one part of your post. You said that if the Dems had known how to use Covid-19 as a fear-creating mechanism, they would have hyped from the start. I don’t think that’s what happened.
I think that they got an early heads up (as I think did Trump) and used the early days to minimize its potential for causing death. Only once we all began dealing with it and it was fully publicly known did they go all out to make us afraid and shut down the world (and not coincidentally to do whatever they could to discredit Trump).
This is *exactly* what a group of people in power would do if they wanted to maximize damage. They started by minimizing the risk. They publicly went to parades and large urban celebrations and advocated that those celebrations go ahead (very much against even basic prudence). They publicly advocated for small efforts and excoriated Trump when he began to move in large ways, hoping to discredit those moves he wanted.
If Trump had followed their recommendations, we would have hundreds of thousands of deaths by now, overwhelmed hospitals, and be looking at devastating consequences until Election Day and for years to come. A flattening of the curve would be nowhere in sight as of today.
To me, and I’m no expert, it really appears that the Dems did this entire series of steps deliberately, consciously, and with malice so profound that I am left stunned and breathless. Trump is an absolute Godsend to the people of this country. Again, I’m no expert on the models, but I have a sinking feeling that the original models were not wrong. Without him, those models would have become all too correct. He literally broke the models to save us.
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I’ve been thinking along the same lines, Steve. Chilling…. 😦
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“Assume malice” clarifies much of what many refer to as “madness”.
The malicious are very good at what they do. We, the trusting, are largely just awakening enmasse .
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It wouldn’t surprise me if your analysis is correct.
The governors of 9 states in the southern NE and mid Atlantic region have formed their own coalition of power on how to re-open. I don’t understand how this is not violating some tenet of our constitution. It seems as if they are setting up a new system of government to further complicate and further muddy the waters. Cuomo is their spokesman and unofficially elected leader. It’s difficult to not be terrified.
I read about patience from St. Jude’s League. A while ago I read that God is so Patient, we often falsely accuse Him of not acting. But Patience wins all for God, some Saint has told us. I need this Patience. I pray that we may all have this grace. I also pray that we are not afraid to act when action is warranted, but that it may be prudent and in line with God’s will. .
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On the bright side of life (a’ la Monty Python, I can hear the song) we are not hearing even a whisper about Lyme or other tick borne diseases or Zika….it’s almost comical, aaargh.
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Glory to God!
❤
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Sixth Day:
Today bring to Me THE MEEK AND HUMBLE SOULS AND THE SOULS OF LITTLE CHILDREN, and immerse them in My mercy. These souls most closely resemble My Heart. They strengthened Me during My bitter agony. I saw them as earthly Angels, who will keep vigil at My altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. Only the humble soul is capable of receiving My grace. I favor humble souls with My confidence.
Most Merciful Jesus, You yourself have said, “Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart.” Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy and they are the heavenly Father’s favorites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God Himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon meek souls, upon humble souls, and upon little children who are enfolded in the abode which is the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by the love You bear these souls and by the delight You take in them: Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.
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JESUS = GOOD NEWS! …. & His Church will survive!! 😉
https://www.crisismagazine.com/2020/comfort-in-stone
https://stream.org/how-to-seize-this-once-in-a-generation-moment/
I’m not ready to Give-Up on EWTN over this Good Friday decision. Voris seems to “Go Off at Half Cock” all too frequently. I have No Doubt that The Usual Lavender/Marxist Suspects who infest Our Church would like to control EWTN and The Message ;-(
https://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/vortex-ewtn-madness
https://www.crisismagazine.com/2020/we-need-a-catholic-anti-defamation-league
YUP! ……… 4 to 1 all the significant Perps Walk ;-(
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/04/15/a-common-misconception-about-the-origin-of-spygate-political-surveillance-in-the-era-of-president-obama/
Let US Pray that the extreme overreach of Radical Democrat Governors backfires in November!
It seems that the Democrats are placing most of their evil energy & Soros/Ilk $$$ into State/Local Ops rather then Prez Campaign.
The Masters of Voter Fraud, Intimidation, Harvesting and Buying will outdo themselves this year with FULL Media Compliance.
https://pjmedia.com/trending/northam-sneaks-in-raft-of-lefty-bills-on-voting-guns-abortion-climate-lgbt-under-cover-of-easter-weekend/
Six + months till Election 20 and The Usual, Foreign/Domestic, Suspects are pullin’ out all the usual stops & dirty tricks.
China, their Media/Democrat Party/Chamber of Commerce Puppets & their Plague may ‘Take-Out” Trump and the last chance to save The Republic ;-(
https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2020/04/15/nolte-bloomberg-news-caught-on-tape-telling-reporters-to-preserve-access-to-chinas-nazis/
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/03/26/tom-donohue-and-u-s-coc-beg-white-house-please-dont-stop-buying-from-china-well-lose-our-manufacturing-investments/
https://www.independentsentinel.com/nasty-cbs-reporter-who-attacked-trump-is-married-to-a-lobbyist-for-china/
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-sounds-alarm-after-state-owned-chinese-outlet-crashes-coronavirus-press-briefing
GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
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PS:
Democrat Vote Buying on Steroids!
https://www.dailywire.com/news/bombshell-memo-reveals-when-chinese-president-xi-knew-outbreak-was-severe-epidemic
https://spectator.org/time-wasted/
https://www.lifenews.com/2020/04/15/nancy-pelosi-little-sisters-of-the-poor-should-be-forced-to-pay-for-abortions/
https://www.theblaze.com/news/bloomberg-news-killed-story-china
http://www.floppingaces.net/2020/04/15/democrats-are-motivated-not-to-resolve-this-crisis-but-to-prolong-the-death-and-suffering/
https://townhall.com/columnists/larryoconnor/2020/04/14/can-we-talk-about-american-medias-connections-to-chinese-interests-n2566887
GOD SAVE ALL HERE!
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Fr Z:
https://wdtprs.com/2020/04/paschalcazt-50-easter-wednesday-the-heart-and-the-fire/
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“All too many people look to “prophecy” with itching ears, secretly hoping to find in it a way to avoid the Cross. I can’t help you with that here. From the first time I spoke publicly about our times, I said the storm cannot be avoided, that it is global in scope, and will be fought on cultural lines. A serious observer could see that coming just from the collapse of honest erudition and its replacement with disordered appetites. I also have insisted that this is not the end; that, in fact, this is the beginning of God renewing the faith of the world – and that He calls each of us to participate with Him in that great endeavor…not quite the greatest story ever told, but one of the greatest in salvation history. My way has always been the ordinary way – not a way that accurately foresees every eventuality, but one that develops and exercises the habits of mind and spirit that give you the means to confront whatever happens, when it happens.” CJ
Charlie I just keep posting all your paragraphs of your current piece and I too need to chew on this divinely inspired piece paragraph by paragraph!!! Just WOW!!!! Loving my days off and Holy hours almost alone at St. Paul’s daily!!! What a glorious time for us believers!!! Bitter yet sweet!!! And yet I feel our sufferings increase as time goes on!!! But God is purifying the dross!!! My hair is really really gray on top!!! 🤣😅😂Thy will be done Father!!!
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But gray is gorgeous, Linda, so… rock the gray! 🙂
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Saw this on fb mick!!! Gas is almost under $1, restaurants are all drive up curb style and everybody has shaggy (gray) hair….welcome to the 70’s!!!!! Hahahah 😆 I added the (gray) but sort of funny and true!!! Rocking 🤣
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I guess I have nothing to complain about. Lambzie’s hair dresser came to the house when she was healing from her illness. The hair dresser is used to this. So she is coming to the house again during this time. Proud to say, no gray. Don’t tell anyone……—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Lucky ducks 🦆 🦆 🤗😂❤️🦆🌹✝️🌷🌸🌼🐣😬😅😋🌺🌻🌷🌸
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🙂
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I saw a TV report stating 50% of food dollars are spent at restaurants, etc. And now people are having to stay home and eat. Is that a bad thing?
Another blessing out of all of this. I have the live Eucharistic exposition from Poland on a LOT more during the day. I love it.
Ok, one more, somewhere, maybe on this site, it was stated now is the time to be bold and souls are waited to be brought in from the dark. I am finding I am stepping out there more and more. Being brave and talking about Jesus. Some are very receptive and others grow more cold. Make hay while the sun is up.
______________
I cut my own bangs—-Yikes, do I need a hair dresser.
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Handtotheplow actually mike and I have been mostly social distancing for years!!! Hahaha mostly no one wants to visit us or be with us because I talk about Jesus and Mary and Charlie all the time!!! Hahaha they “Used” to make fun of me and all the Cheerios in the basement!!!
Second of all I have a really messed up stomach and I can’t process processed food so we eat real simple as possible!!! Personally I think it’s wonderful all the people are eating more at home and homeschooling..,I dunno… maybe a little bit of Mayberry is on its way and people’s businesses will have to readjust???
I’ve been watching morning Mass then keeping ewtn adoration on my tv all day while little by little I chip away at long overdue filing, organizing etc….Mike and I joke it took a global pandemic for me to be able to do it!!!! Haha haha!
Handtotheplow are your churches open at all???? Ours are 10 am to 7 pm so I try to go daily and just sit with Him and pray my Auxillium Christianorum prayers for laity and Sorrowful 🔥 Flame of Love 📿 Rosary!!!! Ha!!!! I bet we could all start a virtual order of WiFi wifies! Hahahaha
Oh my gosh you’re in Poland!!!! That is soooooo cool!!!! St John Paul 2 and Saint Faustina pray for us!!!! Wow!!!! I bet it’s just beautiful there!!!! Happy Divine Mercy Sunday Handtotheplow!!!
Incidentally I’m bolder about Christ now more than ever!!! I’m all in and I try hard right now to concentrate on acknowledging God, taking that next right step and trying to be a sign of hope to all! Charlie says this is only dress rehearsal so I feel God is preparing us all!!!
Tip on bangs! Google how to trim your bangs and they have nice tutorials on point cutting your bangs! I watched quite a few before I tried. You need a good pair of scissors ✂️ esp for hair cutting and just point cut until it’s all even and shorter!!! It really works!!! I was shocked!!!
God bless you handtotheplow I feel as if I know you already.., sisters in Christ we are!!
I had No bad dreams last night with holy 💦 on my pillow!!! Hmmmm🤔
Happy Divine Mercy Sunday y’all!!!🤗🙏❤️🌹💦📿✝️😇🔥
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HTTP is one of my Montana neighbors, Linda, albeit way on the other side of this state with its vast land area. Here’s a graphic to give you an idea:
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That is awesome Beckita!!!! 🤗🤗🤗🙏🙏🙏❤️❤️❤️🌹🌹🌹💦💦💦
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What a hoot! I live in Montana. I watch the live presentation on YouTube of the Polish Eucharistic Exhibition. I tried to paste the URL but YouTube sits and spins. It is the most beautiful display IMHO. haven’t a clue what the Polish words are but who cares. I know it is the Real Presence.
________
It takes us about 5 hours to drive to Beckita’s lovely town and that isn’t even on the western border of Montana. If we are driving east it takes us about 4 hours to get to the N or S Dakota borders. (And we drive 4 miles over the speed limit-just saying.)
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You’re mighty close to our fellow Montanan Patrick, HTTP! 🙂
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Yeah, a 3 hour drive in Montana is A next door neighbors! We have social distancing down pat. Hahahaha
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Ha! Good one, HTTP.
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I can imagine the speed limit in Montana being 80 plus. 😎—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Doug, there was a long season when there was *no* speed limit in Montana.
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Oh!!!! HahahHha How’d I get Poland out of Montana!!!!😂😂😂 I think that mind typo deserves a whole slew of fellows out of purgatory!!! Here here???
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Love it, Linda! May all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.
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Amen!!!🤗
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Send us a picture HTTP and we’ll take a vote!
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You are assuming I know how to post a picture. I may have to send it to Beckita and she can post it for us.
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HTTP and LM, I posted the picture yesterday. Please just scroll down in the comments. It is gloriously beautiful!
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I used to be a purist and thought, gee, I don’t believe in dying hair or cosmetics. I have been married to Lambzie for 35 WONDERFUL years now. She dyes her hair regularly and when she uses cosmetics (occasionally), she is stunningly beautiful with a child like innocence.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Vanity is like spice: a little adds real zest to your life. More than a pinch or two is completely unpalatable.
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Yes, yes. All things in moderation.
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😂😂😂
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My mom colored her hair for decades, up until a couple of years before she passed away. In the ’70s, when I was in grade school, her color of choice was a brownish red-orange (hey, it was the ’70s; don’t judge). I decided back then that I was never going to color my hair, and that when it started going gray, it would just be gray. I’m starting to see a few silvery hairs now, and I plan to rock the gray ’til my dyin’ day.
And I never wear makeup. I don’t have a philosophical objection to it or anything; I’m just lazy. Plus the first time (actually, the only time) I got all dolled up for a date with my now husband, his reaction upon seeing me was less than ideal: He wrinkled up his nose, frowned, and said, “What happened to you? You look like one of THOSE kind of girls!”
There’s nothing quite like being told that you look like a streetwalker.
But after I got over being spitting mad at him (he had to follow me to my car to talk me out of driving off and leaving him without a plus-one for his boss’s wedding that afternoon), I figured out that he liked the way I looked in beat-up jeans, an old T-shirt, and a baseball cap. Works for me. 🙂
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Actually Mikes mom who just passed away to be with God last April 10th, 2019 was 93…always wore makeup 💄 bright red lipstick and colored her hair to the end!!! Dressed like she was going to church every day!!! What a lady she was/is!!! I believe she was a living Saint!!! One day I asked her, “Mary, I bet you never committed a mortal sin ever!!!” She was horrified and with eyes wide responded, “I hope not!!! Why would I ever intentionally do a thing like that!!!” Some people are just born holy I do believe!😇
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Man, Linda… what a privilege to not only have known somebody like Mary, but to also be related to her.
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Yes she was/is amazing!!! We really got along quite well and I was lucky before she passed she gave me her huge and ancient infant Prague and taught me the prayer to say to Him! His face is pretty wiped off because she kissed him all the time with that bright red lipstick 💄!!! 💋 so eventually I wiped it off but it took off Baby Jesus’ face!!! I want to have it fixed but I dunno…it’s a beautiful reminder of her great love and devotion to Infant Prague!!! Actually I have ALL her statues and a big beautiful baby Jesus in His crib!! (Ha! I had to fight no one to get them!!!😂) Mary must have kissed Mary and Jesus all day long everyday!!!🤗
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It’s kinda sad that nobody else wanted any of her statues; but boy, aren’t YOU a lucky duck. 🙂
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Ha!!! You picked up on that one Mick!!!😂😂😂 we need all the heavenly help we can get over here!!!😂🤗🙏❤️✝️🌹📿😬😘😜
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I had this problem when an aunt died. Only my wife and I were identified by peers as survivors with an interest in religious memorabilia. Our goldmine! My wife(a convert) took several items to school(yes, a Catholic school) and our family became a target of our prayers.Ok not a target but a beneficiary! The kids in school loved coming to her room and seeing the icons she brought in!
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That’s neat LM!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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My Mom had auburn hair, but when she started graying, she eventually got the most beautiful shimmery gray hair I have ever seen.
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Sounds absolutely lovely, Charlie. Chris was a carrot-top as a kid, and his hair was a gorgeous auburn when we got married. A quarter century later, it is graying and looks amazing.
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My Mom had Auburn hair. Am I starting to see a theme on why the team was picked as such? 😎—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Fessing up now. My mother had THE most gorgeous auburn hair.
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We are keeping the tradition alive with my son in law who has a tiny of red in his hair. Here is a recnt video produced by his parish. Dominic is our grandson, the first little girl saying no to fashion is our grand daughter. Near the end, it is our son in law giving the Gospel reflection. Their priest is a great gift. I could not be a more proud father and grandpa!https://skdamador.flocknote.com/note/6844321/video/327379910—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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How delightful, Doug!!! Your sassy lassie granddaughter is adorable! And that precious Dominic! Thanks for sharing.
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The priest is Dominic’s God father. The little sassy one definitely has a mind and will of her own. It’s like a retreat when we visit them. It is Mayberry for us and in California too.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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SO good, Doug. I think the sassy darling knew what she was doing and played her role very well.
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She did. She is such a cutie pie!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Beautiful family, Doug!
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They inspire me. Thanks Kim!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Sweet! ❤
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Hahaha! Doug, that was a stitch! Your grandchildren are so stinkin’ cute.
P.S. How old is that priest? Ten? He looks too young to be out of seminary yet. 🙂
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He does look young. I honestly don’t know how old he is. I figure early 30’s. I’ll have to ask my SIL. He gives me great hope for the younger generation!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Those grand kids are so cute. I can’t resist them. Kinda how our heavenly father looks at us. Doesn’t take much to win his heart; just a simple, sincere, I’m sorry and willingness to change. Perfect for a day like today on divine mercy Sunday!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Well, here’s hoping I become as fortunate as your mom, Charlie, because my every eighth week appointment is passing and I figure I might as well get a head start on the inevitable when the economy dives into its major reset in the not so distant future.
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Beckita I jumped on that inevitable *bandwagon* four years ago when I broke my foot.
The perks are that my hair actually looks and feels like human hair versus the wiry and frizzy nest it had become from my over-the counter do it yourself coloring. I spent little more than $5.00 every 6 or so weeks. I always wanted highlights and could never justify the investment of time and money in my mind. My gray hair is subtle and has grown in as streaks, very much like the ones I would have had professional done. When I pull my hair back, as I often do, they disappear. God is SO good. ❤
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Awesome, Jen. It’ll be freeing in many ways but there’ll be a dramatic contrast as it grows out. In the end, being half brunette and half gray will be the least of anyone’s concerns as we plunge into what’s ahead of us. ♥️
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Perspective! 🙂
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Ha, Jen! Yes. 😉
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Scary thought Beckita 😂😷😩😳😬 btw I hope Charlie puts new piece up soon!!! Took me half an hour maybe more to navigate to these 🧵 threads!!!😂😂😂
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Here’s for going to the natural look. 😉
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Diving in together HTTP! Splash!
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Have to laugh Beckita. Several years ago I worked on a farm. One of the ladies came in to the office for something & commented that the “frosting” I had done on my hair was a really good job; very attractive. I told her it should be: God did it!
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This probably sounds a little vain so forgive me, but the shimmery thing you’re talking about I sort of see coming in my hairline! It is sort of pretty!!! Hmmmm….maybe it’s time to let go and let gray! lol Also, Mick, I cracked up so hard when I read your post on your husband’s reaction to your make up! First of all, I agree with him, you are beautiful just as you are! Sort of funny…. i used to wear at least eye make up when I left the house (only full make up maybe 10 times per year when a special celebration) but I think I haven’t worn ANY make up in about 2 months! lol Even before the pandemic thing. I sort of like being “au naturel!” God is just chipping away at us all in little bits here in there isn’t He? Probably MOST of you have been here for decades!!! lol I’m a Johnny come lately! PS! Cut Mike’s hair again today! Success!!!
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Ha, Linda! My husband’s lack of tact is the stuff of legend, but he has a good heart. And so do you. Thank you for your kind words. 🙂
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You could be my sister, Mick. And our husbands are cut from the same cloth. I have to confess. I wore mascara and lipstick, called it my teacher face. Then menopause hit and I became allergic to everything. Puffy eyes and cold sores caused by the cosmetics just isn’t that attractive.
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HttP, if you and your husband ever happen to be in Michigan, please honor us with a visit. It would be a blast to meet you. 🙂
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I’m still contemplating the exact significance of the St Augustine quote as it relates to the piece. Is it meant to illuminate “be rigorous with yourself but charitable to others” and focusing on “addition”?? Or more along the lines of the great divide and assumptions made about the other side? Or neither?
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It is something to ponder – there is a great richness and depth to it. It resonated with me because I used it so frequently in political analysis and planning. I always listened to what opponents (and frankly, allies) said about their enemies and even their friends. Their world view projected out on others told me VOLUMES about what their own world view was. That was at least half of how I figured out who the moles, who the false friends, and who the true loyalists were – and I was deadly accurate on that. The fact is, what a person reflexively accuses others of is usually who, when you strip away pretensions, the person speaking is. That speaks volumes about how malignant our press corps are. Every time a person speaks about others, they are actually giving evidence of who THEY are. If they knew, they would guard their hearts with much more care. It is something we are going to need to ponder on as we go forward. Do you have an acquaintance who is constantly harping on rich fatcats? Usually they are actually unconsciously telling you how envious and covetous THEY are. Oh, if people knew how much they reveal when they speak! And if the most decent people only knew how to read such things with pragmatic candor! Pay close attention to the generic accusations people make without evidence. They are almost ALWAYS telling you who they are.
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“And if the most decent people only knew how to read such things with pragmatic candor!”But Charlie, if this was true, you would be out of the job here. —- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Ha! I spent most of my life wishing I could have another job other than the one that seemed laid out for me. All in all, though, I have found a LOT more joy in it than I expected. Once again, God knows best.
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Well I/we sinserely appreciate you. When I was in first grade and had no idea about faith, I actually had an infusion of knowledge not realizing what it was at the time. I was sitting inside missing recess because I day dreamed and did not get my work done. I hated missing recess and did not like school. I would often cry to my mom. Anyway, I was sitting alone and somehow knew I was going to go to college. My next thought was, “oh. I’m just a kid. I have to grow up first. Wow. That’s a long way off. Sigh…” Being an engineer now for almost 40 years has been very rewarding. I was made it. However, I can’t see myself doing anything remotely close to what you are doing Charlie. It’s neat how God gives us all different talents in the one body. 1 COR 12. As you often say, “nothing is lost in God’s economy.”—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Another Hear Hear, Doug!
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What you say Charlie is right there in Romans 2:1;
“Therefore you have no excuse or justification, everyone of you who [hypocritically] judges and condemns others; for in passing judgment on another person, you condemn yourself, because you who judge [from a position of arrogance or self-righteousness] are habitually practicing the very same things”. [which you denounce].
The first time I heard this was from an old German woman who was asked by her son why some people had accused him of some wrong doing he had never even thought of before. She quickly told him that if those people were in his shoes THAT is exactly what they would be doing!
It wasn’t until years later when I read Romans 2:1 I realized it was a universal truth.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” is the remedy for this vice.
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I first heard that ‘pure-in-heart’ Bible verse as a pip squeak when watching The Little Drummer Boy. The narrator delivers it so beautifully as the closing line; unfortunately I haven’t seen that children’s story air on TV for eons. (min.clip of the ending with B.verse here-start at the 4 minute mark.)
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Oh that is still one of my favorites Maggie! You can easily get it online.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Awesome and insightful teaching, Charlie. Thanks, Irish, for pressing into the meaning of the quote and then asking about it.
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As my dad used to quip, “The man was thought a fool until he opened his mouth and removed all doubt!”. Yes guard our hearts and be aware of what we say and what it is telling us about ourselves.
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Amen Doug. Thanks so much Charlie!
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Interesting Charlie and yes so true!!!
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I totally agree with you Charlie. I have often commented to close fellow parishioners that if our pastor only knew how much he reveals of his own lack of a good spiritual life and attitude in the examples he gives of how to think about faults and failings. I had observed in my seeing of fellow seminarians and of priest’s own spiritual life and attitudes that they usually are formed more by their families and home life than by seminary training. Our pastor reveals so much about himself and who he is as an individual in his telling about his relations with his father and his brothers and his home life. One particular priest who I knew for a couple of years at the seminary still portrays the type of person he was when he was in high school. I have always found people most interesting given my gifts of understanding psychology and my insights. How some people on this site respond to various situations tells much about their personalities and who they are as people. Such a marvelous group this community is. May the Holy Spirit continue to bless and guide all here. jas
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Seventh Day:
Today bring to Me THE SOULS WHO ESPECIALLY VENERATE AND GLORIFY MY MERCY,* and immerse them in My mercy. These souls sorrowed most over my Passion and entered most deeply into My spirit. They are living images of My Compassionate Heart. These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death.
Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of Your mercy. These souls are mighty with the very power of God Himself. In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward, confident of Your mercy; and united to You, O Jesus, they carry all mankind on their shoulders. These souls will not be judged severely, but Your mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate Your greatest attribute, that of Your fathomless mercy, and who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy, and their hearts, overflowing with joy, sing a canticle of mercy to You, O Most High! I beg You O God:
Show them Your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You. Let there be accomplished in them the promise of Jesus, who said to them that during their life, but especially at the hour of death, the souls who will venerate this fathomless mercy of His, He, Himself, will defend as His glory. Amen.
*The text leads one to conclude that in the first prayer directed to Jesus, Who is the Redeemer, it is “victim” souls and contemplatives that are being prayed for; those persons, that is, that voluntarily offered themselves to God for the salvation of their neighbor (see Col 1:24; 2 Cor 4:12). This explains their close union with the Savior and the extraordinary efficacy that their invisible activity has for others. In the second prayer, directed to the Father from whom comes “every worthwhile gift and every genuine benefit,” we recommend the “active” souls, who promote devotion to The Divine Mercy and exercise with it all the other works that lend themselves to the spiritual and material uplifting of their brethren
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“This study shows irrespective of whether the country quarantined like Israel, or went about business as usual like Sweden, coronavirus peaked and subsided in the exact same way. In the exact-same- way.
His graphs show that all countries experienced seemingly identical coronavirus infection patterns, with the number of infected peaking in the sixth week and rapidly subsiding by the eighth week.”
https://townhall.com/columnists/marinamedvin/2020/04/15/israeli-professor-shows-virus-follows-fixed-pattern-n2566915
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JESUS = GOOD NEWS! 😉
http://blog.newadvent.org/2020/04/watch-archbishop-gregory-aymond-blesses.html
https://stream.org/this-is-more-important-than-recognizing-the-mark-of-the-beast/
Here is a Sign of The Beast:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/dozens-cops-tactical-gear-aggressively-show-california-church-easter-pastor-now-facing-fine-six-months-jail/
https://townhall.com/columnists/victordavishanson/2020/04/16/we-are-approaching-covid19-gutcheck-time-n2566969
View at Medium.com
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/devin-nunes-latest-declassified-footnotes-show-obama-regime-lied-ica-report-omitted-critical-information-video/
https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/ig-footnotes-serious-problems-dossier-sources-didn-t-stop-fbi-s-page-surveillance
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/obamas-deep-state-create-use-fake-steele-dossier-win-2016-election-cover-actions/
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/interesting-researchers-reveal-clinton-foundation-linked-pepfar-gates-foundation-global-fund/
https://www.newsbusters.org/
GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
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Crew Dog,
Have you ever heard of this video?
“ We’re Living in 12 Monkeys “
Check it out. It may be too much Truth for me. I feel nauseous and overwhelmed. I started waking up with Charlie’s posts in 2015… and now we’re here.
I pray God thwarts this global agenda. I struggle to be off use in this pandemic/war. All I do is pray but I feel I need to do more action. And what would that look like?
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Little One, with gentleness I say, if such as this is “too much” it may be better to pass by such offerings – there’s a plethora of such videos out there – and simply keep focused on what you *can* do. This mess we’re in is all too big for any one person. No one is being called to know everything in detail. We each have a post to man, a mission which God has entrusted to each one and He gives the grace to fulfill it as we give our best to do so. Reading details which provoke nauseousness and feelings of being overwhelmed may be a sign to let go of consuming such knowledge. I also keep in mind these days that while God is calling us to co-create and take next right steps, there are parts of the Plan no human can accomplish so I cling to the knowledge that Christ’s terrible swift sword is the lion’s share of what’s unfolding.
1st verse of the Battle Hymn of the Republic:
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword
His truth is marching on, His truth is marching
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Thanks Beckita. You are such a stabilising influence. I appreciate it.
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Thanks for your kindness, Little One. It’s so good to be here and to be who we are with the ability to share what’s troubling us because there’s SO much troubling stuff in the world. Soon enough, I think we’ll all be called to be pillars for those around us as people grapple with the Truth they’ve either denied or honestly not known fully because of the prolific lies of this age.
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Yes she is!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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And so are you, Doug! 🙂
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You are too kind Becks.
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“We each have a post to man, a mission which God has entrusted to each one…” Amen, Beckita! I was involved in several ministries before the virus, and now I am doing simpler things: making masks and rosaries, learning how to dehydrate and store food, trying out new bread and bean recipes, cleaning and organizing just about everything, and of course praying for the many intentions that come my way. Livestreamed Masses, rosaries and Chaplets are my new normal, and I am reading several spiritual books and the Bible to feed my soul. I feel blessed not to be on the front lines of this pandemic, while simultaneously praying for all who are sick and their caregivers. I confess as a natural introvert who doesn’t mind working independently, that this “time out” suits me better than most.
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Sounds like a good rhythm of living, Marie. I need to get crackin’ in the cleaning and organizing department!
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Well stated Becks. So important to keep focused on the one who takes care of our souls. As I have heard many state before, God has a plan.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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In my FB Carnivore Eating group, someone just posted this information with her observation that this is impacting our food supply.
Very sad thing here in South Dakota. Our Smithfield plant (owned by China) had a huge outbreak of COVID19 and they have shut the plant down. The hog farmers here are contemplating just digging vast holes and shooting their hogs because they are ready for butcher and keeping them any longer would be such a monetary loss it would be less expensive for them to just cull the animals. The small lockers here can’t butcher the thousands of hogs and transporting them would cost more then culling. I can buy a whole hog at 34 cents hanging weight. Total cost would be about 1.30 a pound. The cost of pork will be rising exponentially over the next year. I feel for our producers here. This might not be appropriate for this group and if so I would be fine with its removable but wanted you all to know what this is doing to our food supply.
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The Smithfield covid19 problem was reported on the news but they didn’t mention Smithfield was sold to the Chinese a few years back. But you had me remembering that business news fact. Plus CJ’s link above about the depth of Chinese (CCP) ownership of Italy and Italy’s Communist party’s involvement was a complete eye opener to the CCP’s infiltration of the West.
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Wow!
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Yes. It may be good to save some extra food for the fall. This virus could hide during the warm weather and come back with a vengeance in the fall when our guard is down. Couple that with the left throwing everything they possibly can at Trump during the election cycle could make for a serious recipe for a major crash and civic unrest. Mix with a natural disaster or two and supply chains may not survive a 2nd round. Doesn’t hurt to exercise some prudence. —- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Hear Hear, Doug!
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Beckita: Some thoughts from your posting.
The law of unintended consequences is unremitting in its effects.
I have been sitting here in Rhode Island where we produce very little of the food we consume and are at the end of a vey long supply line. (I like to befuddle people from the center of the country by reminding them that to us New York is west.) So far certain things have disappeared from the markets but there is still enough food available to not cause panic. (The prepackaged and frozen things seemed to go first, then the canned meats and soups. Of course, toilet paper is nowhere to be found. Meats are dicey, unless you can afford the ten to twenty dollar a pound cuts, but so far fresh fruits and vegetables are available.) I wonder how long this can last.
Keeping track of what we have and what we need, checking the internet to see what may be out there, sending my adult daughter out to the markets and then wiping everything down when she returns have added tens of hours to our keeping our household of six people fed. At the moment God has us in a place where finances are not an issue, but I know we are a small minority as to that. The prices have gone up on everything. I shudder to think about how the folks whose jobs are gone are making ends meet.
As an incidental bit of anecdotal information, the small, locally owned convenience stores that have always purchased eggs from the local farmers have not runout, while the big chain stores began having egg shortages a couple of weeks ago.
I pray that the economy gets reopened soon. May God have mercy on us.
JT
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Interesting, JT. Grocery shopping in Rhode Island sounds like shopping in the many small towns in Montana scattered over the massive land area of our state. When I read the comment on FB, I also thought of the farm land changes I saw in the Midwest last fall on the drive from the Omaha airport to Sioux City. The farmers saw record-breaking rainfall that impacted not only the planting season, but the entire season into harvest. Watching now to see what develops this year. This is all reason for more and more people to become keenly aware of our absolute n.e.e.d. to rely on our Heavenly Father for His providence.
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And they’re already worried about potential upcoming floods in the midwest. I’ve scanned so many credible articles in the past couple of years concerning how our food sources are getting assailed on all sides that… I’ve lost count.
I believe one of your spiritual kin, Maria Esperanza, was quoted as saying “it will begin here.” What will begin there? Seems the news was typically focused on the geopolitics with that despot thug as the poster child, but I preferred CJ’s simple take (warning) concerning a once rich nation falling into poverty and suffering almost overnight.
You’re right, there’s simply nothing for it but to trust in God. From those who made the best use of this time of girding loins, to the laziest and/or most distracted.
Shoot, most days I just shorten my prayer to this: “Lord, help me improvise in Your Will.”
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Amen to all of this, MP.
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Another article on how this virus will effect our food supply.
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/04/14/phase-five-supply-chain-with-a-message-from-a-dairy-farmer/
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Very interesting article Phillip. Again, it may be prudent to save some extra food this summer in case things get disrupted in the fall. Worse case, if we get through fine, can donate next Spring. Somehow though, I think most will be needing the extra. But most importantly, pray and keep God in the first place. Blessings!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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This is wisdom, Doug.
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Great article Phillip! What an eye opener.
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Intuitively, when lock down went into place I started telling people to plant a victory garden this year. I grew up on a farm and we were dirt poor. We rarely went to town and I think we (family of 9) ate out 2 times my entire growing up years. We grew everything we ate, butchered animals and ate what we hunted. When I think about how our food gets here now as compared to my childhood all by truckers. If it collapses how will we get food. I have been doing that all of my life except pressure canning. I am still leery about it. I may have to get over it and do some practicing.
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HttP, my family used to plant a large garden every year, but we haven’t had much of one the past 4 years. Today we planted 70 pounds of seed potatoes (we bought them before the lockdown, fortunately), and hopefully we’ll be planting more in a couple of weeks. Even my husband helped, and he really dislikes gardening (he’s more comfortable dealing with the livestock). Like you, I’ve been asking loved ones to please put in a garden if they are able. Also like you, I’ve been leery of pressure canning my whole life, ever since my mother blew up a batch of tomato sauce when I was a kid. But a couple of months ago an Amish neighbor of mine showed me how to pressure-can meat. It’s not as scary as I thought! In fact, I bought a pressure canner last month and am hoping to use it in the next several weeks. I made sure to buy one very similar to me neighbor’s, so that I can remember how to use it. 🙂
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Mick, would you post the link to that pressure cooker. The one I picked up at a second hand store scares me. Thank you.
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HttP, here’s the link:
I paid only $78 for mine because it was in stock at our local Walmart (if you have a Walmart, it might be worth checking; make sure to look for pressure canners, not pressure cookers). I plan to can mostly quart jars, so the 16-quart made sense. If you plan to can lots of pints jars, then a 22-quart would make more sense. Mirro makes a 22-quart pressure cooker that gets good reviews and is in the $100 range including the shipping:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mirro-22-Quart-Aluminum-Pressure-Cooker-Canner/16817998
Here’s an Amazon link with a ton of reviews of the 22-quart Mirro:
Two things that I learned while researching pressure canners: (1) Look for one with a “jiggler” weight on top, rather than a gauge; and (2) If you have a glass or ceramic stovetop, make sure that the canner that you buy can be used on your stove.
Hope this helps. 🙂
P.S. I had an old pressure canner that I got at a rummage sale; it scared me, too.
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HttP, I don’t know what is wrong with the Amazon links that I included in my response to you. I’ll try again:
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HttP, I don’t know what the deal is, or why my copy-and-pasted links are not connecting to the Amazon listings from which I took them. I may be a tech idiot, but I’ve never had trouble copying and pasting Amazon links before. Anyhow, the Presto 16-quart is Model number 01745; and the Mirro 22-quart is Model number 92122. Haha… maybe God wants you to buy it from Walmart rather than Amazon! 😉
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Cool Mick!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Mick, I had to laugh about blowing up the batch of tomato sauce, only because of the memory I had of my own fiasco! I’ve never pressure canned, but I tried my first pressure cooker with yummy pot roast and tomato sauce, etc. I sat on a stool in the kitchen reading to my little one (about 40 yrs. ago!) and boom! Tomato sauce all over the ceiling! OOOOOOOOOOOh it was awful! Now I use a pressure cooker all the time. 😁
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Ha, Annie! That’s exactly what it was like at our house: tomato sauce all over the ceiling. 🙂
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Yes HTTP. Good idea. We can manufacture tons of stuff in this country, but food has to grow and only God can make things grow. All we can do is feed and water. Same spiritually too as this is in the Gospel. Blessings!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Doug and HttP, I came across this article this morning:
https://www.zerohedge.com/health/its-not-just-toilet-paper-seed-shortages-spread-locked-down-americans-turn-growing-their-own
So I got on the websites of the 7 seed houses from which I order every year, and 4 others from which I have ordered in the past. Of the 11, 6 aren’t even taking new orders right now. All of the others are running anywhere from 1 to 6 weeks behind on shipping current orders. One of the companies that is shipping the most quickly is St. Clare Seeds, owned by our own John and Sarah. If anybody would still like to buy garden seeds, that would be an excellent place to start. Here’s the link, for anybody who might be interested:
https://www.stclareseeds.com/garden-help/
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A Sign of Hope: The bishop of Las Cruces, New Mexico has lifted a diocesan ban on public Masses, stating in a letter to his priests that “depriving the faithful of the nourishment offered through the Eucharist” cannot “become the ‘status quo’ for the foreseeable future.”
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Yaaaay!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Thank you Charlie, you are always keeping us on track and giving us hope. Your next right step in starting TNRS blog and continuing with ASOH has been a blessing to all of us. I have always liked your matter of fact writings and am grateful for your knowledge and candid telling of what you see. T-D-L Always working on it, and T-P-L (Pray) this community. ~juls
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Christian Unity
Pope Francis signaled an openness to changing the date of Easter in the West so that all Christians around the world could celebrate the feast on the same day.
The Pope on June 12 said “we have to come to an agreement” for a common date on Easter.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/will-pope-francis-change-the-date-of-easter-87684
Jesus says the first step to unity is combining the Catholic & Orthodox Easter dates.
See http://www.blessedmiracle.com/Miracle_of_Damascus.html & http://ourladyofsoufanieh.com/
Also see https://ww3.tlig.org/en/unity-in-diversity/ & https://tligradio.org/2019/08/16/true-life-in-god-a-call-to-unity-and-faithfulness-to-the-pope-by-michelle-wright/
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Living in an upside down world. This is a tad long but so true so I didn’t want you to miss it!
Here are the official Coronavirus guidelines:
1. Basically, you can’t leave the house for any reason, but if you have to, then you can.
2. Masks are useless, but maybe you have to wear one, it can save you, it is useless, but maybe it is mandatory as well.
3. Stores are closed, except those that are open.
4. You should not go to hospitals unless you have to go there. Same applies to doctors, you should only go there in case of emergency, provided you are not too sick.
5. This virus is deadly but still not too scary, except that sometimes it actually leads to a global disaster.
6. Gloves won’t help, but they can still help.
7. Everyone needs to stay HOME, but it’s important to GO OUT.
8. There is no shortage of groceries in the supermarket, but there are many things missing when you go there in the evening, but not in the morning. Sometimes.
9. The virus has no effect on children except those it affects.
10. Animals are not affected, but there is still a cat that tested positive in Belgium in February when no one had been tested, plus a few tigers here and there…
11. You will have many symptoms when you are sick, but you can also get sick without symptoms, have symptoms without being sick, or be contagious without having symptoms. Oh, my..
12. In order not to get sick, you have to eat well and exercise, but eat whatever you have on hand and it’s better not to go out, well, but no…
13. It’s better to get some fresh air, but you get looked at very wrong when you get some fresh air, and most importantly, you don’t go to parks or walk. But don’t sit down, except that you can do that now if you are old, but not for too long or if you are pregnant (but not too old).
14. You can’t go to retirement homes, but you have to take care of the elderly and bring food and medication.
15. If you are sick, you can’t go out, but you can go to the pharmacy.
16. You can get restaurant food delivered to the house, which may have been prepared by people who didn’t wear masks or gloves. But you have to have your groceries decontaminated outside for 3 hours. Pizza too?
17. Every disturbing article or disturbing interview starts with ” I don’t want to trigger panic, but…”
18. You can’t see your older mother or grandmother, but you can take a taxi and meet an older taxi driver.
19. You can walk around with a friend but not with your family if they don’t live under the same roof.
20. You are safe if you maintain the appropriate social distance, but you can’t go out with friends or strangers at the safe social distance.
21. The virus remains active on different surfaces for two hours, no, four, no, six, no, we didn’t say hours, maybe days? But it takes a damp environment. Oh no, not necessarily.
22. The virus stays in the air – well no, or yes, maybe, especially in a closed room, in one hour a sick person can infect ten, so if it falls, all our children were already infected at school before it was closed. But remember, if you stay at the recommended social distance, however in certain circumstances you should maintain a greater distance, which, studies show, the virus can travel further, maybe.
23. We count the number of deaths but we don’t know how many people are infected as we have only tested so far those who were “almost dead” to find out if that’s what they will die of…
24. We have no treatment, except that there may be one that apparently is not dangerous unless you take too much (which is the case with all medications).
25. We should stay locked up until the virus disappears, but it will only disappear if we achieve collective immunity, so when it circulates… but we must no longer be locked up for that?
**Copied & Pasted**
Hat tip to Michael J Foley.
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Sounds like a weather report.
Good grief, my local weather report online had a Coronavirus warning, early on. I kid you not. It stated “…an extreme possibility of Coronavirus outbreak… on the home weather page.
❤
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LOL, Jen.
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Absolutely the best thing I have read in a couple of weeks!!!! Tears running down my face. Don’t know how to use emojis on this…. ; – )
Thank you, Beckita!!!
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Right, Arwen?!
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Gotta laugh so you don’t cry, huh, Beckita!?
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Exactly, Kim!
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This is great Becks! Shows the hypocracy of it all.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Beckita, by #7 I was laughing so hard that I had tears in my eyes. The inanity of it all is simply breathtaking.
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Totally, Mick.
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😂😂😂
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Oh, my, we are a mess, aren’t we!
A continuation of political doublespeak that the news has gotten so use to using. For example, the Me, Too movement except when it reveals Democrats with the problem. Or that a baby once born has rights except when born alive from abortion. Thanks though Beckita I was having a very down day until your post got me laughing at each observation. So I think I’ll get a shower now and then put on a fresh set of pajamas!
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A PJ Day will melt the snow away. 🙂
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At least that’s what happened in my corner of the world.
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Someone has probably posted how to obtain all the graces available on Divine Mercy Sunday (this coming Sunday!) already, but just in case they haven’t, it’s really easy to do, even though we can’t get to the sacraments:
https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/what-do-divine-mercy-sunday
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It seems to me that this whole Wuhan thing is analogous to the group of beavers who gnawed trees down in a futile effort to dam the Mississippi River in a St. Paul park this Spring. The flood waters continued to rise a bit every day. Today I saw the mud left after the waters receded and a jumbled mess of gnawed treees by the shore. It’s a fun image to play with. Whenever I think of the Wuhan and beavers damming the Mississippi, I get a chuckle and it helps me take Julian of Norwich’s advice to take waiting and distress as slightly as I can for the sake of Love.
By the way, “Revelations of Divine Love:Julian of Norwich translated and ordered for daily devotional use” by Fr. John-Julian, OJN, is a great timely read for these days. Feeling quarantined? Julian spent 40 years bricked in a small cell connected by small window to church and another small window for supplies and laundry. The “storm” that raged in her days included a king and archbishop assassinated, 3 sieges of Black Death which killed half the folks in Norwich, the beginning of Hundred Years War, the firm rock of papacy crashed with three “popes”, etc.
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Dame Julian is AWESOME and perfect for these times! “All will be well and ALL will be well and ALL manner of things shall be well!”
I encourage anyone here to read about her revelations from Jesus as she almost died. So encouraging. Thanks for this timely reminder Katicos.
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I don’t have the edition you referenced but have “The Complete Julian of Norwich” by the same author; Fr. John-Julian, OJN. You’ve inspired me to dust this off and actually read it, Lol. Thank you. It’s a better use of my time than Team Scarf consumption.
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I don’t know why I’m having trouble getting into prayer requests… probably because I’m a lame brain 😬 but “big guns” can you please pray for Adam Swain!!! We got a call in from his dad, Jeff… actually our best friend we stayed with in Florida..AJ is most probably drug addicted and suicidal!!! Strong prayers requested! Just totaled his car for second time! Dad is inconsolable.,, thank you dearest family!!!🤗🙏❤️🌹😇✝️🌸🌺💝
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Praying for AJ and his dad right now, Linda.
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Thanks Mick!!!🤗🙏❤️🌹📿
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Lifting up AJ and his dad in prayer, Linda.
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Thanks so much Beckita!!! So sad😭🙏❤️🌹
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Flu Season…Deaths…….Cases….
2019-2020….24,000…39,000,000
2018-2019….34,157…35,520,883
2017-2018….61,099…44,802,629 <— whoa!
2016-2017….38,230…29,220,523
2015-2016….22,705…23,504,319
2014-2015….51,376…30,165,452
2013-2014….37,930…29,739,994
2012-2013….42,570…33,679,171
2011-2012….12,447…..9,315,621
2010-2011….36,656…21,286,119
2020 – Flu vaccine 45% effective in U.S.
(CDC) https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6907a1.htm
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Eighth Day:
Today bring to Me THE SOULS WHO ARE DETAINED IN PURGATORY, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice.
Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You, and yet, who must make retribution to Your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, that there, too, the power of Your mercy may be celebrated.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded: Manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way but only through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion. Amen.
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JESUS = GOOD NEWS!
https://www.catholicleague.org/kanye-west-busts-many-stereotypes/
https://www.citizenfreepress.com/breaking/thou-shalt-not-piss-off-tom-cotton/
If the GOP, Prez/Congress, manages to fend off the China Plague Op and Wins in November, we may actually get the Truth about the political/medical manipulation of this virus … and the Entire 4+ year Coup to Take-Out Trump and his Deplorables.
If not, I’l bet on a new Dark Age that will only be ended by Civil War &/or Divine Intervention ;-(
https://townhall.com/columnists/marinamedvin/2020/04/15/israeli-professor-shows-virus-follows-fixed-pattern-n2566915
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/16/rush-limbaugh-we-are-headed-to-great-depression-with-democrats-fully-on-board/
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/04/17/declassified-doj-letter-to-fisa-court-highlights-severe-institutional-corruption-doj-blames-fbi-for-spygate/
…. & while we are distracted by China Plague the Eivil Ones are busy, BUSY ;-(
https://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/vortex-forced-to-kill?mc_cid=d13d968db7&mc_eid=2a0b6c7ef6
https://www.crisismagazine.com/2020/for-democrats-social-engineering-trumps-public-health
https://stream.org/covid-19-and-the-trolley-problem-youre-on-the-tracks-and-the-government-is-controlling-the-switch/
http://www.floppingaces.net/2020/04/17/the-week-in-radical-leftism-4-17-2020/
https://www.newsbusters.org/
It’s Past Time for The USA to re-recognize Taiwan as a separate from China Nation State!
https://www.breitbart.com/health/2020/04/17/vatican-thanks-china-but-not-taiwan-for-donated-medical-supplies/
GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
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This on St. Joan:
https://www.ncregister.com/blog/kturley/the-passion-of-joan-of-arc
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Happy Easter Friday…it’s good to know that we have listened and seen the signs of the times that many saints, popes and mystics have spoken of. (Here too 😉) I Believe that the graces of having ‘eyes to see and ears to hear’ are something Our Father is giving us especially now for hearts that are open to His will.
Like all, feel that this storm is ramping to a full fury ahead and being docile to the Holy Spirit and putting aside fears, concerns and self devised plans is being put squarely on my heart now more than ever.
Watched this movie documentary yesterday about Sr. Clare Crockett. I remember hearing about the eathrquake in Ecuador at this school taking the life of the nun and several of her students but never really read much more. Anyway, may be late to the party (per usual) with this link…but it is a movie worth watching…even again. There’s hope in all of us. Sr Clare’s pure joy and transformation is a thing of heaven. Happy Feast of the Divine Mercy ✝️😇
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Guess I should have posted the movies Trailer link instead for easier vettin…sorry out of practice
😆
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Thank you for sharing this ECO. I listened while washing dishes and really enjoyed it.
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Wow!!! 405 comments on this one!!! We have snow here today folksies!!! ❄️ ⛄️
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Some snow in my neck of the woods as well in the last couple of days, Linda. Chains were required on the passes.
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Wow!!! It’s just crazy!!!
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Snow in Illinois this morning too. ❤
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Jlynnbyrd 😩🌨❄️⛄️😭I actually asked Jesus today to give us a little break on the weather 😂😂😂🙏🙏🙏✝️✝️✝️
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I second that prayer notion, Linda! ❤
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There’s also snow on the ground in Michigan, where our illustrious governor continues to make no sense while she tries to justify her tyranny. Apparently, it’s OK to take away our civil liberties because we have snow on the ground. Also, we can’t buy paint for that overdue “honey-do” project; but we can elect to have an abortion because abortion saves lives. Oh… and exercising our Constitutional right to freely assemble in protest justifies a possible extension of her unconstitutional lockdown. She’s not auditioning for Biden’s VP; she’s auditioning for “Dumb and Dumber, Redux” (not trying to be mean, but… well…):
https://hotair.com/archives/ed-morrissey/2020/04/16/whitmer-dont-need-property-rights-snowing-something/
https://hotair.com/archives/ed-morrissey/2020/04/17/whitmer-government-shouldnt-intrude-right-get-life-sustaining-abortion/
https://www.redstate.com/elizabeth-vaughn/2020/04/17/michigan-fuhrer-whitmer-protests-are-the-kind-of-irresponsible-action-that-might-make-her-decide-to-extend-stay-at-home-orders/
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😀 Right?!?!
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Her anti-American antics have been featured on Tucker Carlson’s show nearly every evening this week, Mick, including the also essential services of pot shops and liquor stores.
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Yes, because getting stoned and hammered is a much more worthwhile use of one’s time than is gardening or spiffying up one’s house.
Whitmer’s descent into madness would be hysterically funny if it weren’t so mindnumbingly ridiculous and so incredibly dangerous.
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Judge Jeanine surely does not mince words here:
❤
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Yesssssss!
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4 days of snow in a row here in Wisconsin!!!
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The pure white snow is blanketing the heart of America! ❤
Our Lady of the Snows
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Yes, the Heartland… and the Rocky Mountains as well. 🙂
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It was beautiful–8 inches coating everything and the “biggest” snowfall for our whole winter. Then it all went away–74 today in Omaha. 🙂
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What a difference a day makes! ❤
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Sheesh! Glad I live in warm NH. Only had two days spread out over the last week where we had a dusting.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Snoooow ! Bleh!
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Sorry it for some reason the websites for Damascus were corrupted
Below are 2 good websites you will find very interesting
A example of the messages:
But My God has said it.
Establish a church. I did not say: “Build a church.”
The Church that Jesus adopted is One Church, because Jesus is One.
The Church is the kingdom of Heaven on earth.
He who has divided it has sinned.
And he who has rejoiced from its division has also sinned.
Jesus built it. It was small.
And when it grew, it became divided.
He who divided it has no love in him.
I told you: The Church is the kingdom of Heaven on earth.
He who has divided it has sinned.
And he who has rejoiced from its division has also sinned.
http://www.divinemysteries.info/damascus-syria-1982-1990
http://www.one-catholic-church.com/miracle-of-damascus.html
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God bless Fr. Fox who worked tirelessly to promote Our Lady of Fatima and other messages of our times. I discovered Myrna in the early 90’s and most people who are here in this community are aware of the many works of Heaven in these times preparing us to become one flock under one shepherd. The Unity is in progress from many dimensions, cofears, and it’s something for which I’ve prayed for forty years. It’s so heartening to see unity between the Roman Catholic Church and the eastern Greek Orthodox Church advancing well. It’s also exciting to read the accounts of Muslims who are converting as Jesus Himself appears to them. Fr. Mitch Pacwa commented about five years ago that Africa has gone from predominantly Muslim to becoming a predominantly Christian continent.
Unity has been a theme of Charlie’s mystical lights and writings back at TNRS and now here at A Sign of Hope. Probably like you, I had read about and visited many a holy site where Our Lord and Our Lady became visible on earth to call us to conversion and prayer for others. I cherish my pilgrimages and appreciate having read so many messages. And with those blessings, I gained two royal gems particular to this site and Charlie’s work.
Royal Gem #1: Prophecies given in mystical messages are much more delicate and complex than most realize. Most take the words of messages at face value, that is, in a literal way. Back at TNRS, Charlie wrote a *lot* about the intricacies of interpreting prophecies. We’ve considered Biblical prophecies wherein God’s people thought things were going to turn out so differently than what they did. Jonah is a prime example of how mitigation alters the fulfillment of prophecy. The Apostles also come to mind. They had Jesus in their very midst, teaching them constantly, and , still, they fled when he was arrested because they thought His very words had meant He was going to establish an earthly kingdom. All this is to say, while there’s a plethora of prophecies – and we know some are false because our Mother’s adversary is ever near,stirring chaos and confusion, and many likely authentic messages have not received official Church approval – we don’t actually focus on messages here. Why? That bring us to…
Royal Gem #2: Even if we knew all the details of what God’s Plan entails, how would that help us navigate these waters of purification – the purification which Charlie calls the Storm? Further, we can look at salvation history and see a pattern of God: He doesn’t divulge the details clearly. Part of being disciplined throughout salvation history is living with circumstances which we created ourselves by our own separation from Him. God allows us to f-e-e-l our absolute need for Him and to know, deep down in our souls, that every good in our lives is a result of His Providence.
All this is to stay, the bulk of Charlie’s writing (the result of hours of research and years of gaining vast knowledge in many areas along with the wisdom and humility to reach out to others with expertise to gain counsel) has been centered on two major things: 1. What we now are living while Charlie gives analyses and insights which temper the tendency to freak out at the division, chaos and confusion which surrounds us. And 2. Fostering habits of the mind so that we can rise to the occasion of being Christ’s Light, “a Sign of Hope”, to those around us when things tumble and crumble as so many prophecies have indicated are possible lest humanity turn back to God.
This is more succinctly stated here. We’re happy you’re with us, cofears. I just wanted you to have a little more background on why we focus less on Heavenly messages and more on living what we’re called to be in these days so precious to Our Lord and Our Lady as God is on the move with this effusion of purifying grace covering the earth.
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I just watch & listen to a video my Mark Mallet on facebook/youtube
https://www.markmallett.com/blog/category/daily-journal/
I agree with Mark. I have for at least 35 years to Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good… To run the good race. As Charlie says taking the next right step
COUNTDOWN TO THE KINGDOM : https://www.countdowntothekingdom.com/
HEAVEN’S MESSAGES FOR OUR TIMES
Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything;hold fast to what is good…
(1 Thessalonians 5:20-21)
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Mark Mallett was a guest author at TNRS quite a few times, Charles, and many here read his writing, either frequently or consistently. He has written some beautiful pieces.
I had so many people asking me about Countdown to the Kingdom (CTTK) – and more than a few times we’ve had readers share the link here – that shortly after it was opened last month I did look to see what it is about. In my estimation, it simply repeats – albeit with more details – much of what has already been given in a plethora of sources of private revelation given to us in the last hundred years.
(By the way, I have a source who personally knows a very close friend of Fr. Michel and that friend has shared how disturbed Father has been that his talks have gone up on social media without his permission. They were personal videos recorded with cell phones and iPads. This is troubling. I wonder why an announcement wasn’t made to request refraining from recording and/or posting. Perhaps Father was simply naive and has learned a tough lesson on the need to set boundaries. According to my source, Father now says it’s in God’s hands to resolve. Fr. Michel certainly has the favor of his Bishop in regards to the order Father has founded and in the construction of the monastery under construction. Praying for a good outcome for all.
Then there’s the problem that Fr. Michel gave a retreat at the Holy Love Shrine with John Leary. Well, testing the spirits causes me to pause and reflect about that error. The former Bishop who investigated the alleged Holy Love messages made an official declaration that there is nothing supernatural there. The team gathered around the purported seer chose to transform the Holy Love place from focusing on their Catholic identity to become an ecumenical shrine. That’s not obedience; that’s an act of running from legitimate Church authority. I personally know the priest who was invited to be the spiritual director to the lay group at Holy Love in 2003. Father told me it wasn’t long into that role that he had to remove himself because he could see the problems among the laity associated with Holy Love in their unwillingness to obey Church authority. John Leery, too, has had an official declaration made about his alleged messages by his local Bishop, honoring John by saying he’s a good Catholic while also declaring that the messages John distributes are not of supernatural origin, yet, Mr. Leery continues to distribute new alleged messages. That’s NOT good fruit. Again, maybe Fr. Michel didn’t have full knowledge about those with whom he was associating. God bless them all.)
Most troubling to me as I read what is available on CTTK was the sense that what was presented was very much about being secure in a hiding place as a sort of golden ticket to avoid being chastised. Oh I would be happy to be part of any effort to seek protection for me, my family, priests, and people around me should we go through a period of severe persecution. I simply would have been more excited about CTTK if the comments and reflections on messages would highlight the Gospel call to care for all our brothers and sisters when the going gets really tough.
I’m also concerned with the expressed certainty of the timeline. Maybe it will turn out as diagrammed. I think, most likely, there will be lots of surprises to come. Again, we humans are infamous for missing the actual meaning and sure outcomes for prophetic words. God bless us all as we continue walking through these days together.
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Hi Beckita, I am currently reading and discerning countdowntothekingdom.com. I, too, question the general focus on physical refuges and statements about being let there by lights/angels.
Clarification about Father Michel Rodrigue’s current view on John Leary has been posted at: https://www.countdowntothekingdom.com/why-fr-michel-rodrigue/#messages
“A few websites have posited, without his permission, words about him and from him, which are not entirely factual. Fr. Michel, for instance, does not support or even know of the messages of Maria Divine Mercy, and he supports Bishop Matthew H. Clark’s investigation of John Leary, which declared Mr. Leary’s messages to be of human origin.” Then the author posts a link to Father’s written statement.
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Thanks, Marie. I initially ignored CTTK until I had more than a few people asking me what I thought of it. I actually had previously read what you’ve share in the links. Still, if Fr. Michel agrees with the official statement from Bishop Clark about John Leary, it’s befuddling as to why Father would have spoken at the same conference with John Leary on the Holy Love Ministries property. Bishop Perez, who has since been moved to Philadelphia, reaffirmed Bishop Lennon’s original statement in this release from 2019. His directive is clear: “…the Catholic faithful are admonished to cease gathering for spiritual, liturgical, religious, or devotional purposes at the site of Holy Love Ministries.” These are not good signs.
Long have we known, in a general way, that greater difficulties lie ahead. Our focus is to be prepared to tend to all those around us, being a sign of hope, as each new day brings its particular challenges while we navigate the uncharted waters in the Storm. God bless us all.
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Thank you for your reply. You are very good at writing and at explaining yourself. Me I am very poor at writing and explaining myself. But I like your respond, although I do not understand some of it. So I hope you will understand what I write. I love my Holy Catholic Church and I obey my holy Bishop. I love going to mass and praying. I do read a lot of spiritual books, especially Maria Valtorta. I have read all her books and I read extracts of them almost every day. As they give me peace and the LOVE of Jesus. I have research her writing and there is a lot of evidence that her writing are super natural. And there are several Bishop who approve . May God bless you, grant you peace and keep you safe.
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Charles, I understand you well and your great faith, kindness and graciousness come through strong and clear. You know, I remember your name – if you’re the same Charles Fears – from the days in the 90’s when Joyce Lang maintained a distribution list of Marian messages and, if I remember correctly, there was also a site where people discussed Marian messages from all over the planet. That would be awesome if you’re the man I remember from those days so long ago.
One main point of all that I wrote is that we’re here, as you note, to focus on taking the next right step… and doing so in the midst of so many prophecies unfolding in convergence. The other main point is that most often prophecies are fulfilled differently than how we thought they would turn out. Most people go with the literal while God loves to speak with hidden meanings. Just so grateful we’re making the journey with a community of those who love the faith as do you and who are ready to do whatever God asks of each one of us.
I have the joy of working with Charlie and, along with Mick, assist in moderating comments as they queue up. I also live in residence with an aging, wise and holy priest as he’s now in his 90’s and we continue to include everyone and all the families from this community in Fr. Wang’s private Masses offered every day. God bless you, Charles.
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Yes I am that Charles Fears and I remember those times a little. I AM getting old and do not worry about myself, but I am concerned a bout my children and grandchildren and the world. I pray everyday, morning and night for conversion and peace. I know God is mercy, that even His justice is also mercy. May God bless all of us, keep us safe and grant us peace.
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How about that, Charles! Good to meet up with you again. You’re in a good community here because that concern for our children, grandchildren and the world is shared by all as we pray for our own kin and all those here with their families and, as prayed in the Chaplet of Divine Mercy: the whole world.
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Yes I have been praying the Divine Mercy for may years and I have read her diary and have put together most of Jesus messages to her on many subjects to reread. Also I have been attaining Divine Mercy Sunday services every year for along time. May God bless us, keep us safe and grant us peace
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Amen, Charles.
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Jesus says: “This is the Voice of the Teacher. It roars and caresses. It roars when it is addressed to those who do not want to be converted. It caresses when it speaks to those who, though imperfect, have the “good will” to find God and His Word and, having found Them, to sanctify themselves. For these it becomes the caress of a Friend and the blessing of Jesus.” Maria Valtorta THE NOTEBOOKS 1944, Oct. 23. As for me I think we can be focus on Heavenly messages and on how we are living. As the messages can give us direction in to days ways and can give us peace. As St. Paul says hang on to the good and let go of the bad.
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Hey Charlie
This is off topic, but I have a question
I’ve been praying in front of abortion mills for many years now, probably mainly because I’m one of the guilty ones, having pushed a high school girlfriend to have an abortion. When I came back to the church via confession 13 years ago, the first words out of my mouth were about this sin.
Its lately been occurring to me that we’re treating symptoms, or end results, rather than the cause.
The cause as we all know is contraception, and the contraceptive mentality, and everything that was foretold in Humana Vitae. Until we put a cork in it regarding contraception, abortion will continue as an end result of the contracepting mentality and will NEVER END.
Are there any groups out there that are outright pushing for an end to contraception? I know it’s a stand of the Church, but precious few ever mention it.
Ending abortion already sounds ridiculous to so much of the public, so we might as well give them both barrels and just come out with the actual truth… the only solution to all of the mayhem (teenage & out of wedlock pregnancy, and the poverty and wreckage that results) is an end to contraception.
And start praying, in front of abortion mills, for an end to contraception.
Does this make sense?
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It makes perfect sense, Paul, and the root cause of contraception is lack of conversion. The people with whom I gather to keep prayer vigil at the 40 Days for Life campaigns pray the Rosary for an end to abortion in so much as all involved embrace the fullness of that first and fundamental conversion inherent in their baptism – and for some it will actually involve becoming newly baptized – so that they turn to living the Gospel fully and rebuild the culture of life in every aspect.
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It does make sense, Paul – except in the sense that we need to bring down walls of resistance. It is prudent to focus on abortion, for the broad public understands that issue. If we focus on contraception, we are very likely to lose the people in the middle that have been giving us gains in cutting back on the great evil. WE definitely need conversion – and it is coming.
I guess my attitude is kind of like this when the Nazi’s were targeting Jews and other for extinction, the root cause was irrational hatred. Efforts to change that mindset should not have been used as an excuse NOT to concentrate on the great evil of murder that was going on. So yes, I agree we need to change mindsets – but without taking a moment’s focus off the great holocaust going on around us.
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Yes Charlie & Beckita-
You are right…first things….and the key is Conversion
So and end to abortion and conversion of sinners…prime intentions for prayer at abortion mills…
Thank you!
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God bless you and your lovely Lambzie. 🙂
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Doug, this comment was supposed to be directly under your comment wherein you mentioned that you also like pink highlighters, and wherein you paid me a very sweet compliment. Not sure why it got misplaced, but I wanted to make sure that you saw it. 🙂
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Mick: God has a sense of humor.
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Yep, For the Sake! 🙂
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No worries Mick! God bless you!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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God bless us all and give us strength now and in the future! Please give us good health also to get through all that is ahead of us. Today is our 55th wedding anniversary and I’ll wager that there won’t be another one quite like this one!! I pray that there are many more for us though!
Thank you for all that we have here, Charlie! I learn, I laugh, I cry, with our family here.
Love and blessings to all of you!
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Happy and Blessed Anniversary, Annie and Hubby! Thank you for your witness to marriage and its foundational place in a culture of life!
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Congratulations, Annie, and Happy Anniversary!
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Hey Annie, we’re also having wedding anniversary this month (52yrs), and I agree, hopefully there will never be another like this year, however, hoping for many more.
Happy 55th Wedding anniversary to you both!!
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Happy Anniversary, San San, to you and your husband! 🎉🐿💐🐿❣️
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Hey, SanSan, let us know on the big day so that we may congratulate you then, OK? 🙂
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April 26th. Trying to think of something special to do in quarantine….:)
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April 26, 1941 , my mother and her 2 brothers had a triple wedding.
Growing up I didn’t think anything of it, until I went to look for 25th anniversary presents.
When I picked out what I wanted (a glass tray with Happy 25th on it), the salesperson was shocked when I asked for 3 trays.
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Amazing, for the sake!
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What an awesome story, For the Sake! And how wonderful it must’ve been for all of them to celebrate their anniversaries together every year.
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❤ ❤ ❤
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Happy anniversary to you and yours this month, SanSan. ❤
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Congratulations SanSan!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Congratulations to you and yours Annie!
Happy Anniversary. ❤ ❤
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Happy Anniversary to you Annie and husband. God Bless You both as you celebrate 55 years together! Thank you for being a part of our family here!
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Thank you and God bless all of you. I’m so glad we have each other here to “talk” to!
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Congratulations Annie!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack
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Oh Guys, look at this beauty!
WATCH: Priests drive Blessed Sacrament around Atlanta perimeter in 125 car procession
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Be still my <3!
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This is an awesome and inspirational story Beckita! Thanks for sharing.
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Right, LM?!
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No wonder I’m thinking so much of Mary, my mother-in-law today!!! A year ago today we buried our mother Mary😭😭😭
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Ninth Day:
Today bring to Me SOULS WHO HAVE BECOME LUKEWARM,* and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. These souls wound My Heart most painfully. My soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls. They were the reason I cried out: ‘Father, take this cup away from Me, if it be Your will.’ For them, the last hope of salvation is to run to My mercy.
Most compassionate Jesus, You are Compassion Itself. I bring lukewarm souls into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart. In this fire of Your pure love, let these tepid souls, who, like corpses, filled You with such deep loathing, be once again set aflame. O Most Compassionate Jesus, exercise the omnipotence of Your mercy and draw them into the very ardor of Your love, and bestow upon them the gift of holy love, for nothing is beyond Your power.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon lukewarm souls who are nonetheless enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Father of Mercy, I beg You by the bitter Passion of Your Son and by His three-hour agony on the Cross: Let them, too, glorify the abyss of Your mercy. Amen.
*To understand who are the souls designated for this day, and who in the Diary are called ‘lukewarm,’ but are also compared to ice and to corpses, we would do well to take note of the definition that the Savior Himself gave to them when speaking to St. Faustina about them on one occasion: There are souls who thwart My efforts (1682). Souls without love or devotion, souls full of egoism and selfishness, proud and arrogant souls full of deceit and hypocrisy, lukewarm souls who have just enough warmth to keep themselves alive: My Heart cannot bear this. All the graces that I pour out upon them flow off them as off the face of a rock. I cannot stand them because they are neither good nor bad (1702).
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Famous scientist discovers man-made genome in corona virus and explains why it is becoming less lethal over time.
https://www.gilmorehealth.com/chinese-coronavirus-is-a-man-made-virus-according-to-luc-montagnier-the-man-who-discovered-hiv/
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This is essentially what was reported on Tucker Carlson’s show last evening, Phil… along with the news that the head doctor who had been directing the research in the Wuhan lab with this strain of the corona has been silenced – forced to sign a statement of remaining silent – while all research papers associated with this experimenting have been destroyed. (How valuable they would have been had this info been shared to actually h.e.l.p. humanity.) Stating the obvious: the current Chines regime is invested in evil ways to get what they want: absolute power. Beijing seems to be the satan’s headquarters for targeting all humanity with as much suffering and destruction as possible before we’re rescued by Our Lady. Like every power hungry entity, I think it’s nearly a sure bet that those hard line communist leaders are surveying the effect of the current scenario, prompting Xi and Company, toys of the evil one, to nefariously dream up new bioweapons, among additional means, to bring about as much destruction as possible to this country and her peoples as well as to the world. In my reckoning, THIS is – not the first, but certainly the most obviously impactful to all – salvo in that conflict between the US and China. Remember how many were concerned back at TNRS about Chinese troops arriving on American shores? We’re living how we can be affected even without the presence of actual troops.
Continuing to pray with faith, hope and love and ever more the grateful that God has a Plan.
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I saw another report early on when a Harvard researcher mentioned seeing man-made like genomes in the virus strain he was studying.
The cause of the virus mutating back to its “normal” condition is just natural selection in action and probably why some researchers do not see the markers from the original strain, making them believe it is a natural virus. Obviously, those who carry a more lethal strain will leave human areas wether from being sick or from dying, while those with less sever strains/symptoms will continue to interact with others and thus spread the less reactive strains. This type of herd immunity will result in antibodies for the virus so even if a more sever strain comes along down the pike (like some flue seasons do) hopefully the impacts will be less over all than they are right now.
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JESUS = GOOD NEWS!
HullyGee!! An inquiring mind would like to know WHY the Media & their Democrat Party Puppets are Soooo concerned about Trump placing the BLAME where it belongs?
I’m sure that they are not fearful of an awakened electorate that might also inquire about which persons &/or entities were/are beholden to China PLA $$$ and other emoluments … Would they? …. Eh!!!???
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/juliorosas/2020/04/17/adam-schiff-begs-trump-to-stop-blaming-china-and-the-who-for-the-wuhan-coronavirus-pandemic-n2567159
The Usual Suspects have not only been unable to force Trump/Deplorables out and all their Coup, Bimbo, Impeachment Ops have backfired. China Plague is their last card to play before Election. Their efforts to Vote Steal, lie, distort, blame shift and suppress the economy will continue … on a Turbocharger. ;-(
HullyGee!! An enquiring mind would like to know
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/juliorosas/2020/04/17/adam-schiff-begs-trump-to-stop-blaming-china-and-the-who-for-the-wuhan-coronavirus-pandemic-n2567159
https://amgreatness.com/2020/04/16/political-elite-plays-its-last-card/
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/04/16/new-york-governor-cuomo-announces-northeastern-directorate-will-remain-on-lockdown-through-may-15th-maybe-longer/
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/elitist-billionaire-bill-gates-condemns-president-trump-rightly-withholding-funds-china-puppet/
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/04/democrats-twisted-approach-virus-david-horowitz/
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/president-trump-slams-nancy-pelosi-delays-critical-relief-small-business-owners-american-workers-second-time/
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/16/charles-hurt-the-terrifying-zealotry-of-adam-schiff-and-his-impeachment-fairies/
https://www.oann.com/dems-defend-china-despite-bombshell-taiwan-letter-pointing-to-covid-19-cover-up-by-beijing-who/
https://www.oann.com/cnn-caught-running-chinese-propaganda-praises-beijing-slams-u-s-navy-in-article/
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/gretchen-whitmer-hell-no-we-wont-pause-abortions-for-coronavirus-theyre-life-sustaining
…. & does anyone here think that the Above would NOT be quite willing to aid/abet & except campaign $$$ from the enemies of The USA?
https://pjmedia.com/trending/china-iran-step-up-aggressive-moves-on-the-seas/
GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
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Our Monsignor had a chat on today on fb trying to figure out how to open churches back again..he has meeting with our bishop this Thursday.,,asking for ideas to deliver communion???? Any ideas here???
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“Ideas to deliver communion” Yes I do. If contagion is truly an issue, and the sole issue of consideration, then you can have parishioners volunteer who are both nurses and Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers.
From solely a stop-infection standpoint, if the nurses used full ppe (gown/mask/goggles/face shield, gloves) to distribute communion and If the both the ministers and the recipients washed their hands first with real soap and water, then the chance of infection would be very very low.
However this is problematic on many other levels” sacredness of the sacrament, civil liberites, etc.
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Very good ideas there Littlelight!!i I will pass this along!!!! Thank you so much!!!
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From solely an infection-prevention standpoint, receiving +Jesus+ on the tongue would be obviously more problematic. Also, if the ministers had to wash hands and don/doff new gloves for each recipient, that would be challenging—it could be done, but, aargh, skin integrity with all that hand washing, logistics of it all, etc., it becomes very complicated.
If recipients screened themselves, for instance they are healthy no temps, this may help. Also, if recipients washed their hands, and the EM only touched +Jesus+ and not anything else, it would be possible for them to use only one pair of gloves. Their technique would need to be flawless.
All these crazy machinations could be done, and myself and I wonder how much of my proposal is a fantasy, contributing to the the massive crisis we are in, and not solving it. I don’t like how this solution seems to deny the miraculous associated with the Eucharist. As Charlie so aptly stated, the truth is being presented as a movable target. It’s hard to know where good will stops and totalitarian power grab begins. The line is oh so fuzzy. Once you start feeding the monster, it’s appetite becomes insatiable—think Little Shop of Horrors, “Feed Me Seymour”
In light of this, I am tending to think what would be most worth fighting for would be the freedom to celebrate without constraint.
+May God have mercy on me/mine/all, sinners.+
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The challenge with recipients screening themselves are the reports coming out with discovery that many more are testing positive with *no* symptoms. That said, people in that high risk category could be those who receive, at the beginning of distribution, with more than a few super large hosts – the ones the priest uses for elevation at the consecration – being consecrated for the purpose of breaking them into double the usual size pieces. Voila! Those at high risk can be given the larger portion of the Sacred Body which can be placed either on the tongue or in the hand without transmitting germs. On second thought, it’s true that even the breath has potential to distribute microscopic droplets so it may be time to sacrafice receiving on the tongue to receiving in the hand for a period of time. It would be easy for a priest to place a larger portion in the commmunicant’s hand without making contact.
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Yes!
The screening idea is limited as people showing no symptoms with high viral loads have been reported. But is this report indeed accurate? Is this true in all asymptomatic cases? What are the percentages? Could the asymptomatic/high viral load people be in reality only a very low percentage of cases? If so, is this low percentage being exploited to create maximum fear? Weaponized fear becomes easier with no vetting of reality.
It is interesting to me, that given the assumption that asymptomatic people can possibly be highly infectious, essential businesses are using a daily temperature screening for employees in a safety protocol to satisfy government regulation.
Now, if asymptomatic people are only mildly infectious, why screen at all? Herd immunity here would be most effective.
It’s all very complicated.
That is a good idea to let our high-risk brothers and sisters be first.
Another concern with EM using ppe, is that wearing gloves limits tactical sensitivity, making it easier to drop the sacred host.
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It surely is complicated. In addition to the fear-mongering, though, is an honest effort to exert wisdom and prudence. The death count of Italian priests due to the covid19 is over 100 now – the majority of whom were high risk with age above 60 and underlying health conditions. God bless us, enlighten us and guide us on our way.
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I do not recall HIV ever being transmitted by way of Holy Communion, yet we panicked. Just like there has been no known reported case of a mother’s life being saved by aborting a baby. My stance is to trust God.
I did a quick search online to see if I could find a *known* cause of death being a result of Holy Communion, besides Jesus’ with His Father, and found this excerpt from this 2009 article interesting; https://www.oca.org/reflections/fr.-john-breck/disease-and-holy-communion :
“…today’s society is militantly anti-Christian and, throughout Europe and in the United States, is using the H1N1 scare to further undermine the faith and traditional liturgical practices of the Church. Do not let 2000 years of experience, he urged, be put into question by “the rationalism and superficiality” of the present times. For there is no evidence at all that illness has ever been transmitted through Eucharistic communion. (Were that the case, we might add, there would have been throughout history a much higher death-rate among clergy, who consume the chalice after all the people have had communion, than there has been among the general populace or among Christian faithful. Empirically, this is simply not the case.)
The Metropolitan concluded with a pertinent observation: the real problem is not the virus H1N1, nor is it world-wide panic; it is rather “the virus of impiety and a lack of faith,” for which the best remedy is precisely frequent communion….”
❤
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We have been going to Mass and Communion for almost 3 weeks now. We receive on the tongue, kneeling. A seminarian assists Father by spraying his fingers (with alcohol I think) before he gives Communion to each person. Since we are kneeling that probably makes it easier for him to carefully place Our Lord on our tongues. He’s never touched our tongue or mouth. He’s very adept, as he’s had lots of practice distributing Communion in that manner. He’s always been so very reverent and careful with the Sacred Host! In this way, we don’t pick up any germs that might be on our hands. I haven’t been nervous going to Communion for one nanosecond! We are over 60, but have no underlying health issues.
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Those are wonderful ideas and insights littlelight!!!! Are you by chance a Priest? You speak so elegantly… Holy…if you don’t mind me thinking and saying so!!! 🤗❤️🙏🌹😇
The only remedy I could think of was to make little pattents for each member who receives communion that would be self enclosed in a little Holy Communion 📦 box sort of like a pix maybe bigger…that our priest would put Jesus in and the communicant could self feed +Jesus+ him/herself and bring back at each Holy Communion ??? Maybe someone could make and market these??? They made a whole lot of ventilators in a short time so I don’t know but maybe????
Or….. we could all go to Beckita and Fr Wangs 🏡 house and have communion with them!!!🤗🤗🙏🙏❤️❤️🌹🌹✝️✝️
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Thing is, you’re all here with us anyway… spiritually, that is, with full heart and intent.
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🥰 awwwww so very comforting Beckita!!!! Merci beaucoup!!!🙏❤️🌹✝️😇😇
Actually it is true here too although I can’t receive +Jesus+ I do sit with Him each day at St Paul’s and I remember all of you at TNRS ASOH before my 🔥 of ❤️ Rosary!!!! Wow!!! What a communion of little squirrels we are!!!🤗
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🐿♥️🐿♥️🐿♥️🐿♥️🐿♥️🐿
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Ooooooh I like that display Beckita!!!!♥️🐿♥️🐿♥️🌊♥️🐿♥️🐿♥️ 🐿 don’t know why there’s a wave in the middle!!!😂
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Nicely done, Linda. Water is powerful imagery which evokes manifold meaning. Just one: “He that shall drink of the water that I will give him, shall not thirst forever” (John 4:13)
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Ahhhh so beautiful!!!! Thank you for that Beautiful image Beckita!!! I think too because I was fb’ing prayers of divine mercy image to my brother and his wife who are still on their 62 foot c&c in the us Virgin Islands.., they are trapped there with 600 other sail boaters (normally only 200) mired off shore as the other islands made them leave due to Wuhan and the beaches are closed and the locals are not liking them there due to the overflux of damage to their eco system and the boaters are supposed to go out 6 miles to rid of waste which they are not!!! Hurricane season is quickly approaching and they all may need to head back to America!!! Yikes!!!🌊
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Oh boy! Prayers for your brother and his wife, Linda.
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Thanks Beckita…it’s just surreal!!! The islands they were SUPPOSED to go to who are practically never burdened by hurricanes are on lock down and are allowing no foreigners to bouey there🙄 just so strange how this thing has so many tentacles 🦑
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