Abraham's Journey
By Charlie Johnston Woe to those who call evil good and good evil – Isaiah 5:20 There is an old saying that a guilty man tries to hide all the evidence he can because he doesn’t know which piece, if revealed, will convict him. Similarly, an innocent man tries to get as much evidence out […]
Read More A Time to Choose – Short TakesBy Charlie Johnston Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path. Psalm 27:11 The last four verses of my favorite Psalm, the 27th, are among the most compelling prayers I have ever read. They are a rebuke and a consolation, a weary plea and a profound statement of faith: Teach […]
Read More Lead Us In a Plain PathBy Charlie Johnston As I write this, all tell me that Carolyn Jones, the Texas woman we’ve been writing about, is doing well. Once again, thank you for stepping up to the plate on this one. You were God’s hands and feet – and saved a life. The inside story of what was happening is […]
Read More Sounding the Seventh Trumpet – Short Takes“And Saul was consenting to his death” (Acts 8:1) (Once again, a woman who wants to live is being forcibly euthanized by Texas hospitals, contrary to her family’s wishes. Carolyn Jones’ family has found three facilities which would continue to give her care, but Texas has a hideous rule: if a hospital gives a patient […]
Read More Texas Bishops Yawn as Hospitals Forcibly Euthanize Another Patient Who Wants to LiveBy Charlie Johnston The Russian Collusion Hoax is dead. A very hostile and partisan team of prosecutors was unable to find anything they were willing to put their necks on the line for in formal accusations against Pres. Donald Trump. Even so, Congressional Democrats and the establishment media are determined to play political alchemists, hoping […]
Read More May Shapes Up to be Very Consequential – Short TakesBy Charlie Johnston Some years back I was visiting my son when the local Bishop celebrated Mass at his Parish and then stayed for a rather lengthy reception. My son was standing by the punch bowls when the Bishop took a short break to come get a drink. Young Charlie looked at him with a […]
Read More Real People, Real Faith, Real Hope – Short TakesBy 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?(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 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
A Sign of Hope 