Charlie Johnston.

Of course we have free will - didn't the seers at La Salette end up going a bit odd?

By their fruits you shall know them.

As to Charlie, we will know soon enough if his messages have been true or not.

 

It took me 11 years to make my full reversion back to the Faith after a terrible bout with OCD and a 54 day Rosary. That was without having visions but with a devotion to Mary since childhood.

I'm no Janesist - my vices are caffeine and my temper - but it's still hard for me to understand how someone who had visions for that long, a privilege that most of us never get, did things like "full service aggressive dating" after a consecration.

 

Free will is part of the Process...that is just the first layer. As for space and time...today is a great day to contemplate the life of Santa Madre Theresa. You have time to be Pius and contemplative but that not what we are talking about. Its called profound conversion...discipline/sacrifice to the joys of God.

Brother al

 

If we all saw the full picture we would be in a better position to judge for no one is perfect. We cannot judge by external appearances because God doesn't - He looks into the heart of man.

My many sins are an embarrassment to me yet I claim to know God's love and claim to be a Christian.

Romans 7:19
For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do.

 

You get it right more times than not so a good average

What I like is that your Catholicism is imbued within your personality and you also have a fine Catholic mind.

Like a stick of rock with Catholic in the middle (Catholic rock!)

 

Everyone in this forum is a saint. Like i said before, if you are not, then you are on the other team. I call us ordinary saints. The foot soldiers of Gods battle against evil. But even as ordinary saints... we battle evil. We are tempted, we sometimes fall, but then we get up again to continue fighting. Our tools are prayer, sacraments and spiritual discipline (self-denial). Now, we as ordinary saints, try our best to be good but our battles come from everyday temptations. As we grow stronger in our faith and we start entering into the mystical/spiritual realm. It gradually leads us to fasting and self denial. Little acts of love for the greater glory of God. That means our acts of asceticism (thank you st. clare). And those acts begin to take over our life. Because as we grow spiritually in our everyday life... the next spiritual step in our spirituality is abstinence and fasting. That is the next step in mysticism. Even though mysticism sometimes happens before acts of asceticism...they always occur in conjuction with mysticism.

Everyone is close to God. But to enter into the mystical and really break into the spiritual... acts of fasting and self denial is mandatory. Now this is not a killjoy. We are all at different states of sainthood. Some are more spiritually advanced then others. So, we are all at a different spiritual playing fields. But giving up our lives to God is not a killjoy. Its a act of love that brings spiritual joy. Just like the sacrifices we do for our children and/or friends...bring us joy. Now those sacrifices to our children and friends would even have greater spiritual significance if they were dedicated to God. But how much greater would the act of self denial and abstinence be...when God is the specific reciever of your small act. And to make things more confusing, those sacrifices we do for our children and friends, if done for the greater glory of God...is our acts of asceticism.


So, now it comes to visionaries and prophets (Rockstar Saints). If ordinary saints must lead spiritual lives. How much greater of a cross must a visionary or prophet have. If you are talking to God, Our Bleessed Mother, Angels and saints. Then you would have to spiritually clean yourself (through the grace of God). I have not read or studied one saint who has lead a easy life. They all have had major crosses and disappointments. But...their joy is from their love of God. And God asks everyone to carry their cross. God never asks His Rockstar Saints..."you have seen visions of heaven, know live a happy worldly life". NO Once you agree and enter the mystical...and visions begin to occur, your joy does not come from this world but comes from God. There is no sad saints. But their joy comes from the knowledge that they are not part of this world.

Now, like Our Holy Father, i state..."who am i to judge". But if someone is getting visions from God...it puts you at a whole different level. And if God is telling you to tell the world...then you have passed the ordinary and have entered the extraordinary. That means you are chosen by God and you have accepted His calling. That means your example must be above and beyond any ordinary saint. That entails acts of asceticism.



May Gods Will be Done

 

I posted a video link on the Garabandal thread in which Mother Angelica interviews a woman who was involved with Garabandal since the 60's.

A very interesting point came up in the interview about visions. At Garabandal, Our Lady told the girls that after the visions ended they would deny ever seeing her. And this came about as our Lady told them.

In the interview it was said that the confusion the girls went through for some years was like the confusion the Church would go through. It feels like confusion reigns in peoples perception about these things. Some of the messages posted on this forum, I honestly don't read with enthusiasm, while other members find the same messages awesome. It looks like we will all agree to differ on various mystical phenomena and those involved with them.

Nothing is worth losing your Peace over, that is for sure.

 

Thank you so much, DeGaulle for this information. I was not aware that Chesterton, a man I much admire, said this. I totally agree with Chesterton's view. Over ten years ago we had some nasty hurricanes hit Florida, and people in our area were without electricity for a few weeks; some had to evacuate. Now a night does not pass without my husband and I thanking the Lord for the luxury of our roof and our mattress (lumpy as it is.) It is a blessing, so easy to take a fresh cold glass of water for granted.

God Bless!

 

Booklady: I can't even tell you where I read it, but I'd guess it was in 'Heresies'.

 

Just posted a question on Charlie Johnston's appearance in the New Orleans area in the "Discerning Apparitions" thread. If anyone from the forum attended his talk in Covington, I had a question. I'll add additional questions on Charlie to that thread as well.

 

Charlie Johnstons choice of avatar [on this site] has left me somewhat bemused.
I just can't believe he'd choose THAT avatar. I mean, really!?!
Would Jesus choose such an avatar if he were to sign up to this wonderful site today?
Me think not...

 

+
Who is this Charlie Johnston?

If I didn't know better, he sounds a lot like you and me. He sounds a lot like a human being who struggles on a daily basis with sin so that he might eventually (through Jesus Christ) become the image that our Father created him to be. You and I don't claim to be perfect and neither does he. Yet, if he tells of his shortcomings, he is labeled a sinner. Most of us talk to God throughout each day, so does he. Most of us try to discern God's will for our lives, so does he. Most of us try to love our God and help out our families and neighbors like we ourselves would like to be treated, so does he.

Does he care what we think? He is human, we can all answer that question. Whatever the answer you come up with though, he is willing to do what he feels is God's will for him no matter the repercussions (obedience to God's will means he listens to his Bishop also).

Should Charlie be held to a higher standard because of his message? I guess this depends on whether or not we feel Charlie is acting according to the Heavenly Father's will.

• If he is not acting in the Heavenly Fathers will then somehow we are saying that he is beyond and above the Father's abillity to rule His creation. I don't want to be in this camp.
• If he is acting in the Father's will, we have to discern his message to see what we are to get out of it (we are not saying it's true, just what we should learn from something that the Fahter allows to happen). What is his message?
  • Only be concerned with taking the next right step and being a sign of hope to all around you. (I think we can agree that this is a good message which has roots in Scripture).
  • Charlie says that he is a milemarker and not a map. This is very important to understanding his message. Since private revelation is not necessary for salvation, it can not therefore be a map. The whole map for our salvation was given at the death of the last apostle, the key to unlocking where we are in salvation history is given as God the Father deams necessary and is marked out by milemarkers who serve to let us all know where exactly we are in terms of this road to humanities salvation. We are not saying here that Charlie is an actual prophet who serves as a mile marker, but only that if he is, this is the only function that he could in fact serve.
  • Charlie says he was shown many things by heavenly messengers over his life and that although his interpretation of these visions has gotten better, it remains a constant struggle for him to discern what heavens visions might look like in an earthly setting. (He interprets some right and some wrong. The wrong serve as learning experiences).
  • Certain messages given to Charlie, he says, require no interpretation and he says he was told to tell them true (just as they were given to him).
    • President Obama would not finish his term in office. (Charlie explains that this could mean that he goes beyond his current term as president due to some reason. Not finishing could mean not ending).
    • The next President of the United States will not come through the normal political process.
    • The Rescue of Mankind by the "Immaculate Conception" would occur late in the year of 2017.

The most important message, of course, is that of rescue by the Blessed Virgin Mary. We have said above that it is within the Father's will to allow the above messages (not saying their true). We have said that Charlie tells us that he is a mile marker and not a map. So...what to do. See message #1, take the next right step and be a sign of hope to others. This is what we are all called to do anyway right! Do not be concerned with the season, be only concerned with dealing with the evil in a single day. That is all that we are given the strength to fight by our Father, our daily bread. If things get tough and we come to certain mile markers (events of Fatima, Garabandal, Medjugorje, Akita...) remember that they are given to us to be a sign of hope for the fullfillment of Christ's promise to be with us always until the end of the age.

So what about the higher standard? If Charlie is indeed a mile marker too, we would do well to not judge a gift given to us by the Father. If he isn't a mile marker, we would do well not to judge him but to learn from what God allowed to happen and how it affected each of us. Did we become to curious? Did we spend time away from our daily duty? Did we write words for the whole world to see that were lacking in charity? Did we gain a sense of hope and purpose that gave us edification in the rest of our ministries? These are all questions that I deal with and that we should all examine.

Who is this Charlie Johnston? He is a Brother in Christ - Our Brother.

Peace Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Ed
Our Lady of Victory, Pray for Us
+

 

Ah ... Ed... I hate to be "The One" to tell Ya .. but... The Big She, HARPER, and HER Band of Disciples ain't gonna want to hear this **** .... be ready for Counter Battery Fire

GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

 

What is the problem with his avatar?

Please explain.

 

There are plenty of Folks "Out-There" and the USA that have a problem with Israel/Jews, (The Lion of Judah) and the American Flag/Americans ..... sadly ....a fact of life

GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

 

As promised... Some Google results.

Charlie Johnston identifies himself on his blog as a former newspaper editor, talk-show host and political consultant. He trades on these credentials to lend authority to his pronouncements on everything from football to Star Wars to GMOs to the best shows to wear while on the run from internment in a FEMA camp.

Charlie also refers frequently to highly place people he knows from his past. "Stunned" by his success in predicting events, Charlie says, they now flock to his talks seeking advice.

All these assertions create an impression of Charlie as a very important person, someone with friends in high places on earth as well as a confidant of Jesus, the Blessed Mother and the Angel Gabriel. He even claims to have been tasked by God to draw up plans for a new form of government for the U.S.

Anyone who questions Charlie's story gets attacked. I experienced this when I first brought up issues on Charlie on this thread and on "Discerning Apparitions." The intensity and viciousness of the attack are extreme, even for MOG. Why? I assume the goal is to intimidate questioners and deflect further inquiry. That is very worrisome behavior from a visionary and his followers -- a sure sign of bad fruits.

I have done some preliminary Googling to see if Charlie's claims match up with reality. Findings are posted below.

Disclaimer: I had a brief conversation with Charlie about his Disqus comments. He acknowledged he had never had any expectation of privacy about comments he made online using his own name and photograph. Charlie also insists he is a public figure; indeed, he brags about this on his blog. I will take him at his word and treat him as public figure.

Is Charlie a former newspaper editor?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a newspaper as "a set of large sheets of paper that have news stories, information about local events, advertisements, etc., and that are folded together and sold every day or every week."

I cannot find any newspaper that listed Charlie Johnston as a staff member or editor. I can't find any evidence he ever worked as a print journalist. This doesn't mean he didn't. It means that if he did, he didn't leave a Google footprint. That would make him a rare newspaper editor. Virtually all newspaper editors --especially those of his generation--begin as reporters, then advance to the copy desk before they move into what is a middle- or senior-management position. That takes years of work, and most everyone who succeeds begins with a BA or MA in journalism. The fact that Charlie offers no information on his newspaper days is also very unusual: old newspaper editors love to talk about the business.

I did find one outlet that Charlie was associated with that may be the source of his "newspaper editor" claim.

Charlie was listed as a member of the editorial board of the "Chicago Daily Observer" website between August 2007 and October 2008. During that time his byline appeared on 16 different dates. At the time of the website's launch, Charlie was listed as one of 20 original contributors.

Is the Observer a newspaper? According to the website's inaugural post, the goal was to create a local Chicago version of the "Real Clear Politics" website. Real Clear Politics is a news aggregator. Moreover, the Observer has no print edition, no advertising, and no list of staff members. A brief look at its archives (August 2016) shows little or no original content. According to the latest figures at webstatdata.com, the Observer attracts a mere 127 daily unique visitors, with only 254 daily page views, for an Alexa website raking of 3,797,683 (measurement from two years ago).

(By comparison, the website of the Springfield IL newspaper, the State Journal-Register, attracted 11,985 daily unique visitors with 71,910 daily page views in measurements taken five years ago. The State Journal-Register is a smallish newspaper, with a daily circulation of just over 45,000.

All in all, Charlie's claim of being a newspaper editor cannot be confirmed independently. I'll be happy to hear differently.

Charlie's Radio Days

Charlie has spoken of his days in Chicago radio. These were spent at a small station in Waukegan, IL, forty miles away.

Michael Brown of Spirit Daily discussed Charlie's radio career in an (undated) article in his archives: "The former broadcaster, Charles Johnston, once of WKRS (a station based in Waukegan), now a salesman in Belleville, Illinois, warns that mankind is approaching a great purification..."

So, Charlie was a talk-show host, although I can't find information on how often he was on-air, or if he was a staff member or just part-time talent. He's not discussed in the only history I can find of the station. I also haven't found ratings information.

Wikipedia's description of WKRS: "Between 1949 and 2012, WKRS had been a longtime English-language radio station broadcasting local news and information for the Lake County region. Until February 1, 2012, it carried both local and syndicated talk shows including national hosts Laura Ingraham and Dave Ramsey and local hosts Jerry & Nick, Lenny Palmer and Paul Lepeck & Company. Known as "The Voice of Lake County" and "The Talk of Lake County," WKRS also broadcast the Lake County Fielders minor league baseball games as well as high school sports for the Lake County area."

Never a major presence in its media market, WKRS apparently fell on hard times. It was purchased in 2012 and became a Spanish-language station offering canned programming.

Charlie was an occasional guest on a Chicago-based radio show hosted by others, but it seems to be a stretch to call him a Chicago radio personality.

I will post on Charlie's career in politics in the future. Charlie has also made other career claims online, which I might discuss later today, time permitting.

 

This is unhealthy behavior for you to engage in, Harper, but it's also becoming disturbing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalking

 

Charlie's latest incarnation. He is beginning to look like the Leonardo DiCaprio character in "Catch Me if You Can."

View attachment 5395

 

I disagree. Let the information come out. If there are good answers I'm sure Harper, and myself for that matter, would be willing to change her mind.

Or would you call the good efforts of our own Janet and Glenn against MDM stalking?