Abraham's Journey
By Charlie Johnston The symbolism in the fire that destroyed much of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on the first day of Holy Week is so starkly obvious that almost everyone, including secular commentators, have opined about it. It is a metaphor both for the faithlessness that stalks the Church and for the precipitous decline […]
Read More Can You Hear Me Now?(While I am going to clear Desmond Birch’s scholarly response on St. Ambrose when he has finished it, this discussion on the validity or lack thereof of Pope Emeritus Benedict’s resignation and Pope Francis’ Papacy is now finished. I know it is earlier than I originally said, but it is clear to me that most […]
Read More The Foundation of Authority(I am heartily dismayed that in the last week, we have gotten into a consuming argument on the validity of the election of Pope Francis. First, it is entirely contrary to the focus of this site. Second, the whole idea is based on a minority interpretation of canon law. If there were an actual deficiency, […]
Read More An End to the Discussions on the Validity of Pope FrancisBy Charlie Johnston Mine is an ordinary way: Acknowledge God, Take the Next Right Step, and Be a Sign of Hope to those around you. It is not a way developed casually through some focus group. It is the result of a process of boiling down what is critical and yet accessible to all over […]
Read More Grace is Free, But Not CheapBy Charlie Johnston Over the weekend, I got into a little dispute with one of our key leaders here, Steve BC. I had written, at one point, in my last article, that “there is no such thing as ‘settled’ science.’ Steve objected, noting that there ARE some areas that are settled. I responded that I […]
Read More Be Merciful, O Lord – Short TakesBy Charlie Johnston Miracles I am a realist. Partly because of this, miracles have always struck me as a matter of course. If God IS, of course He is not bound by the normal laws He has instituted to govern the universe. If He is not, it is perfectly natural that there are things we […]
Read More Ballad of the Ordinary Man III: The Apostolate of the Laity(I am out of town until Sunday. Perusing over some old articles, I thought this one – which I originally published on Dec. 31, 2014 – was worthy of a reprise. Interestingly, Susan Skinner – who writes the Veil of Veronica site, and I first met each other because we had basically the same vision […]
Read More The Challenge Before UsBy Charlie Johnston “I fed you with milk, not solid food; for you were not ready for it; And even yet you are not ready.” – 1 Cor 3:2 When I was a young fellow, it was very striking to me that different preachers and different people in my little fundamentalist denomination would […]
Read More A Time for Heroes: The Way Forward(In my last piece, I said, in exasperation, that there is no “middle coming.” That was hyperbole – and wrong. I meant that there is no middle coming in the sense of Jesus coming in his normal humanity. I was frustrated because some have tortured the Church’s authentic teaching on the middle coming to mean […]
Read More The Middle ComingBy Charlie Johnston “Hear me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.” – Jesus Christ, Mark 14-15 When I was on the road over the last few years, occasionally I […]
Read More Invincible Armor
