Abraham's Journey
By 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 LaityBy 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 ForwardNear the end of February, I needed the longest break I have ever taken from this site due to the health needs of Fr. Wang, now ninety, for whom I provide care. As one who dwells on the positive, he has taken good care of his personal temple with exercise, nutritious food, plenty of rest, […]
Read More The Whole Church Needs a Permanent Pentecost(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 I have been working on an important, but complicated piece. Between wrestling with a virus and an increasingly spotty internet…there you go. The modem started getting hinky last Friday and finally just died. I think it was a Catholic modem. The news of the last week so mortified it, it just gave […]
Read More How Long, O Lord, How Long? – Short Takes(This was a comment by a faithful Priest who is a longtime reader and occasional commenter here. It describes the view from the pulpit from those who, despite the trials of these times, endeavor to live their mission with fidelity and fortitude. I liked it so much I reprint it, with permission, as a stand-alone […]
Read More From the Fiery Furnace(A few housekeeping notes: 1) Of late, some commenters have adopted excessively salty language, which we frown on here. I have instructed moderators either to not clear such comments or, if the comment has compelling value, to edit out excessive saltiness before clearing it. 2) I was stunned to discover on Facebook that I have […]
Read More A Terrible ResolveBy Charlie Johnston When he was in St. Louis and Milwaukee, Cardinal Timothy Dolan was an archetype of shrewd orthodoxy, a reliable defender of both the faith and the faithful. It was sometimes delightful to watch him elegantly skewer an attacker with a shrewd riposte. I miss that guy. Dolan announced he would not excommunicate […]
Read More The End of the Beginning, Part II
A Sign of Hope 