Orange, Calif., Mar 6, 2017 / 03:39 pm (National Catholic Register).- On Friday, Feb. 17, a rainstorm was raging in Orange County, California. During a lull in the storm, at around 5:00 p.m., Teresa Johnston left to walk an elderly neighbor’s dog.
“She was always like that—making or doing things for our neighbors. She would pick flowers from one neighbor’s garden, and she would give them to another neighbor who was sad, had a trauma, or was sick. That’s why they called Teresa the ‘neighborhood’s sunshine,’” said Teresa’s father, Dr. Roch Johnston, D.C.
When Teresa failed to return home around an hour later, her parents, Roch and Vera, became worried. “She was always like clockwork: leave our house, go to the neighbors, walk the dog for 30 minutes, and be back 40 minutes after she left our house,” says Roch.
After calling the owner of the dog that she was supposed to have been walking, the Johnstons learned that their daughter had never arrived to get the dog. “That’s when our radars went up. Our first concern was that she had been abducted,” he says.
Frantically, the Johnstons searched their neighborhood for Teresa. “One of my sons and I ran through all of the different paths and trails where she walks, and we climbed over the very tree that struck her,” says the father of seven.
Transported to the Hospital
What the Johnstons hadn’t known was that their daughter was already at the hospital. Teresa had walked only a few minutes away from their home when the 60-foot tree struck her. According to a Los Angeles Times article, a neighbor, who had heard the tree fall, came to Teresa’s rescue. While waiting in the rain for emergency response to arrive, the neighbor covered the unconscious girl with a blanket and held an umbrella over her. Firefighters removed Teresa from the scene without having to dig her out or to move any tree branches. Teresa was being transported to the hospital before her family even had an inkling that anything was wrong.
Unsettling Diagnosis
During their hunt for Teresa, Roch flagged down a policeman, who quickly verified that Teresa had been found, but he didn’t tell the Johnstons about the condition of their daughter. “We saw her in the emergency room just before they transferred her to CCU,” he recalls. “I felt faint when I saw her, and when they read the diagnosis, I almost passed out.”
The Johnstons learned that Teresa suffered multiple cranial facial fractures. On their YouCaring page, Misha Johnston, Teresa’s older sister, writes, “The base of her ocular orbit is fractured with possible damage to the optic nerve. There are fractures of her maxillary bone, her zygomatic arch, her mandible, her hard pallet, her clavicle, and possible compressions of her T6, T7, and T8. Also, there is intracranial bleeding in her right frontal lobe and right occipital lobe.”
The outlook looked bleak for Teresa, and she appeared to be declining because of swelling on her brain. The Monday after the accident, doctors took Teresa off the medical coma drugs, so she could undergo a five-hour surgery, which involved removing part of her skull to alleviate intracranial pressure due to excess blood. During the operation, doctors feared that she might have had a stroke—if this was the case, then it was likely that Teresa would never wake up from her deep comatose state.
Why Bad Things Happen to Good People
Most of us have stories proving how God has protected us in our moment of need, so it can be easy to think that prayer will keep us immune from accidents and tragedies. Fr. Alan Benander, O. Praem, Dean of St. Michael’s Prep in Silverado, California, has kept many vigil hours at Teresa’s bedside. Her parents are Third Order Norbertines, so they are particularly close to Norbertine community of St. Michael’s. He told NCR, “Prayer does not make us immune from accidents and tragedies simply because sometimes it is not part of the Will of God that we avoid a given evil. God allows such evils to occur to us in order to bring about a greater good (e.g., the salvation of more souls).”
Fr. Benander continues, “Thus, for example, Our Lord Himself […] asked that the ‘chalice of suffering’ be removed from Him (though adding, importantly, ‘not my will, but Thine be done’). However, this chalice was not removed simply because that was not part of the Divine Will; the Divine Will allowed Christ to suffer in order that a greater good might be obtained, namely, the eventual glorification of Christ, in his Sacred Humanity, in the Resurrection and Ascension, and the redemption of the entire human race.”
Tragedy Becomes Catalyst for Conversions
Within hours after Teresa’s injury, thousands of people all over the of the world—including in Australia, Norway, France, England, Scotland, Czech Republic, Israel, Jordan and Brazil—began praying for the young girl, who is known for her smile and generosity. As messages started pouring in, the Johnstons learned that their daughter’s accident has been the catalyst for conversions. “I have family members who were away from the church for years and have gone to confession. One of my daughter’s teachers sent me a letter saying she had stopped praying because she felt separated from God. Now she’s back praying on her knees for Teresa.”
He continues, “Another lady told us that she got on her knees immediately and started praying for our daughter. She thought of another friend that has cancer and then another friend. Teresa’s accident is causing people to pray for others not just our daughter.”
The consistent presence of the Norbertine Fathers at the hospital has also impacted strangers. “Not only has Teresa been able to receive the graces of priestly blessings and the Sacraments, but, also, other persons, both Catholic and non-Catholic (i.e., other patients, visitors, even hospital staff and media), have had opportunity to receive the Sacraments, blessings, and prayers from us priests, and simply an opportunity to talk to a priest about God and the Catholic Faith,” Fr. Benander explains.
Because the Norbertine priests were there visiting Teresa, they had the opportunity to administer the last Sacraments to dying people in the hospital and console their families. “All these graces have been given to souls there precisely because of the situation involving Teresa,” Fr. Benander says.
Teresa’s mother, Vera Johnston, writes on their YouCaring page, “There have been so many visible touches from above with His grace that bring us peace and consolation through this all. Our little queen is enthroned in the hospital bed, and God is using her now to shower His graces upon us all.”
Asking for the Intercession of Blessed James Kern
The family is asking that people pray for the intercession of Bl. James Kern, so that Teresa may have a complete healing. “At first, I didn’t want to leave anyone out, I wanted to pray to all of the saints for their intercession, but one of the Norbertine priests said that’s the wrong way to think about it. Whenever you pray for the intercession of any particular saint, all of the saints join in especially when this could be a miracle that could raise the canonization process,” Roch explains.
Bl. James Francis Kern (1897-1924) entered the Norbertine Order because he wanted to be a victim soul and to make reparation for a schism.
In 1916, while serving in the Army during World War I, he received a bullet wound in his lung that doctors thought would be fatal. He surprised them by living. Though he was still unwell, he went on to join the seminary of the Archdiocese of Vienna. “About this time, a sad event occurred in the Czech Republic. A group of Catholics separated themselves from Rome and founded the schismatic Czech National Church. Isidore Bogdan Zahradnik, a Norbertine canon of Strahov and a doctor of philosophy, also fell away and became a leader of the schism. […] James was deeply shocked by all this and decided to offer himself in atonement for Isidore,” according to Premontre.org, a Norbertine website.
In 1924, Fr. James Kern ultimately died due to his war injuries. On June 21, 1998, he was beatified by Pope John Paul. He only needs one more miracle to further his cause for canonization.
Eyes Open
As the Johnstons, and tens of thousands of other people, continue to invoke Bl. James Kern, Teresa’s condition has taken a turn for the better.
As of February 27th, Teresa’s sister Misha writes, “Teresa opened her eyes today—she is waking up! And she was moving her legs and arms around a bit (and getting annoyed at the nurse shining lights in her eyes, hitting the flashlight away with her hand)! I spoke to her a bit (telling her the whole world loves her and is praying for her), not sure if she understood any of that, but she is waking up! Thanks be to God!”
To help pay for Teresa’s medical expenses, visit her YouCaring page. As of Feb. 28, 1,154 donors have donated more than $95,000.
This article was originally published by the National Catholic Register.
[…]
[Sen Roger] Marshall said in a statement that he didn’t think we would need legislation to tell us that there are only two sexes, male and female, but here we are’. Law has a foundation, in its barest but required sense is Natural Law. Natural Law is not discovered in books, it’s arrived at by common sense and right reason conviction in the observation of human acts, whether conscience tells us they are good or evil, right or wrong.
Law cannot be beholden to scattered whims, individual desires counter to what has been recognized clearly indicated biologically in the human form. There is no right for a man to decide to be a woman and invade women’s locker rooms and bathrooms, and participate in women’s sports. They have the unfortunate right to adapt themselves to disordered behavior, they have no right whatsoever to impose their perverted predilections on an ordered society.
Law references justice, what is just and right. What is just and good is common to our human nature because of that intelligible law within us.
There are sports where men and women compete together. The best example I can think of is figure skating.
There are various sexualities competing at all levels of the sport, especially in the Adult level, which generally consists of adults who were never close to being “champions” on the National, International, and World stages of the sport, but enjoyed the sport and even passed the most advanced figure skating tests to achieve a high level (e.g., Junior, Senior) in the sport, and as adults, wish to continue the sport they love.
My late husband participated in Adult figure skating in the ice dance discipline for many years, and he knew and was friends with quite a few “trans” skaters. But these folks did not compete on a public stage where they were seen on TV or other media–they do the sport because they love the sport, and if they win a medal, every other adult is happy for them. No money or endorsement deals are at stake–it’s just grown-ups having fun with a sport that they love and working on their skills with other adults.
At the “elite” levels of figure skating that we see on TV- it is rare for trans people to compete in the demanding sport of figure skating and advance in the sport. Our current U.S. champion, Amber Glenn, identifies as “pansexual”, which means romantic or other attraction to all genders. But biologically, she is a woman and competes against other biological women, and she doesn’t always win. (Most figure skaters don’t always win!)
At this time in U.S. history, figure skating does not enjoy the tremendous popularity that it used to benefit from. I think the current judging system has confused and alienated many fans, who loved the “6.0” system. It’s really hard to chant, “210.46, 210.46!! (the score that Ms. Glenn earned to win the National Championship last season!
But my two adult daughters still compete in the discipline of synchronized skating, and this discipline allows men and women of all sexualities to compete on teams TOGETHER. For the most part, synchro teams are mainly female, but our National Champions, the Haydenettes, have enjoyed having men on their teams for decades now. There’s no advantage to having men on a synchro team.
I wish the sport could become popular again. The loss of sponsors (and their funding) is hurting the sport. Please give it a chance!
Certainly correct regards sports in which a man and woman are a team in which mutual talent is enhanced. It’s when men and women are pitted physically against eachother that’s at issue.
Figure skating, especially male female pairs is a favorite. The male and the female compliment the uniqueness of their opposite gifts.
Mrs. Sharon, with respect do we need to adopt newspeak verbiage like “sexuality”? We’re either male or female. I’m uninterested in what anyone is attracted to romantically whether it’s animal, vegetable, or mineral. If folks are suffering from sexual confusion then that’s a private conversation between them & their therapist or spiritual advisor.
Yes, mrscracker, it’s not incumbent upon the rest of us to accommodate aberrant behavior or lifestyles.
Thank you Tyler for highlighting this legislation in a very well written article. I hope I’m wrong but I’m thinking the dems will opose this bill.
Absolutely astounding we have come to the point of needing to define male and female legally. Akin to coming to the point of having to define cat and dog legally. We can treat both cats and dogs with compassion and love, regardless of the personalities they have, but somehow need a law to make sure that cats are not allowed in dog shows and vice versa, and people are not forced to pay for veterinarian care to convert a cat to a dog and vice versa. I mean, for heavens sake, I have to go in via the dog door with my dog to the Vet, and stay on the dog side, so as not to upset the cat side, and vice versa. I know we are talking about humans, and mean no disrespect at all, but I am just making the point that we, as humans, can treat everyone with the love and compassion they are born deserving as children of God, and have grown ill from trying to distort that love and compassion into being forced to accept cats into dog shows and dogs onto cat litter areas etc. All because a cat insists on being called a dog and a dog insists on being called a cat.
The sea saw whimsinesss of gender legislation is the product of a society without a common morality. A win today is a loss tomorrow. The only way out is for the Church to teach the truth and for the Holy Spirit to open minds and hearts to be receptive to the truth , and to apply it to their lives. Changing laws is only a temporary quick fix. Changing the signs on bathroom doors does not change the people who use them.
Necessary, but a sad day when “man and woman” are objectified as “male and female”…
Adam named everything, except God–the unspoken Word. And, about the woman Eve, Genesis gives us two different stories, one where she is created after Adam, and one where they are created simultaneously. About the “Original Unity of [binary and complementary] Man and Woman,” we have the opening sessions of St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body; Catechesis on the Book of Genesis” (1979-1980).
In a footnote, about simultaneity, partly this: “The original text states: ‘God created man (ha-adam–a collective noun: ‘humanity’?), in his own image: in the image of God he created him (zakar–masculine) and female (uneqebah–feminine) he created them’ [Gn. 1:27].”
In a later footnote, this: “It is interesting to note that for the ancient Sumerians the cuneiform sign to indicate the noun ‘rib’ coincided with the one used to indicate the word life’. As for the Yahwist narrative, according to a certain interpretation of Genesis 2:21, God rather covers the rib with flesh (instead of closing up its place with flesh) and in this way ‘makes’ the woman, who comes from the ‘flesh and bones’ of the first man (male).” Following comes a discussion of both original sin and original innocence, and nuptiality.
But, hey, if a member of the United States Supreme Court cannot define a “woman” at all, then maybe in our brainstem culture we have to start with clarity about markings on bathroom doors and membership on athletic teams (our new religion). A sad day in all of human history, possibly even dwarfing the political events of January 6, 2021.
I pray that this bill becomes law. May the Holy Spirit awaken the hearts and minds of legislators to return to common sense and normalcy. Gender self-identity is ludicrous. Mother nature has given us our gender identity. To deny that, is to deny the workings of God and his established gender identities. To think otherwise is foolish.
The debate about such a bill ought to be . . . interesting. Assuming it ever gets out of committee, it may force legislators to take a stand. If it passes, let’s hope the Supreme Court upholds it, despite one Justice having declared that she can’t define “woman.”
God’s laws like “love your neighbor” never change, but man’s laws need to change to correct chaos in the land. It is the responsibility of Congress to write laws to correct chaos—like chaos at the southern border. But remember human biology can be complicated—-there are documented cases of little girls developing a penis at the age of 6 years old. Let us always treat everyone with love and compassion.
Biology regarding male and female is not complicated. And your “documented cases” is just another hoax. Treating others with love and compassion must always include honesty. Lying to people about biological reality is neither loving nor compassionate.
The bill proposed by Senator Marshall, MD, is written with superb clarity on the topic. Many people, including leaders in the Church, could gain much needed wisdom from thoughtfully reading the bill that lucidly promotes the fundamental God-provided biological reality of 2 and only 2 sexes of male and female.
The Senator’s excellent bill can be found at https://www.marshall.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/KIN2463023.pdf
Make a copy and share it with priests, relatives, friends, colleagues, and others.
Not a hoax, Tom
Not at all convincing, Gerald.
If you wish to demonstrate that your claim is not another hoax (or just absurd) as I believe it is, and that I and others should accept your claim, all you need do is provide specific references to the documented evidence you claim exists so I and others can check the documented evidence, or you can reference specific reports or articles about the claim and the evidence supporting it that also feature checkable references. Otherwise, it remains just a nonsense claim you made up that disrespects the truth.
And for your own sake, it’s time to put up or shut up to avoid making sinfully false claims.
Gerald, there are all sorts of complicated anomalies & birth defects, but at the end of the day biological human gender is binary. Period.
About “specific references to the documented evidence,” take the complicated science of human exposure to Endocrine Disruptive Compounds (EDCs) and the effects on human health and even fetal development.
The emerging science of EDCs leads to the question whether fetal exposure can even disrupt what happens (or doesn’t happen) when the fetal brain develops sexually while bodily development of the fetus/child is normally delayed two months, but then is maybe chemically disrupted. From the science, here are two reader-friendly links:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7073082/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4762757/
Think the deformed Thalidamide Babies of the late 1960s, caused by the actual marketing of a tranquilizer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide_scandal
Regarding the more unknowing and indeliberate exposure to a very wide range of ubiquitous EDCs, the correct and moral response for the birth-victims of such chemical poisoning is environmental prevention, and corrective therapy if possible, but not further surgical and chemical mutilation. As an industrial culture are we possibly poisoning our children without even knowing it? The marketing of Mifepristone might be only the tip of the iceberg.
In any event, the binary (and un-disrupted) sexuality of the human person should not be further deformed by a radically secularist and morals-challenged medical-industrial complex. And, here, let’s tread lightly when tempted to counsel readers to “shut up to avoid making sinfully false claims.”
My advice is to help people avoid sin when they are seriously misleading people, especially when they double down, because unlike softer-minded people, I care about the harm that can be done by such serious misleading to both the person doing the misleading and others who may be led astray. Another version of fraternal correction is to advise to “tread lightly” in more snowflake fashion when pointing out such things, but only after rambling on about other things completely off point as if the rambling adds weight to the snowflake admonition.
Lastly, let’s tread lightly when leaving out essential elements (“time to put up or….”) of what someone has written in order to purposely mischaracterize what was written as that is also quite sinful.
Tom Flounders.
Appreciate you sharing this Bill information, author Mr. Tyler Arnold, and the discussion following. Appreciate Fr/Dr Peter M’s Reason of Natural Law and its sanity as it’s God’s perfect Order.
Motives I’m always looking for in dissension. Lending credibility to Our Lady of Fatima’s prophecies: Russia spread its errors of atheistic Communism to China-and now obvious are their motives destroying arch rivals (non-threatening) Putin’s Russia (via NATO alliances) &the free world (esp. the United States of America).
Heard a recent article that men (our future soldiers) have 50 percent less testosterone now than men had a few decades ago ( resulting from toxins/chemicals, etc.). Poisoning our food supply; putting lead in manufactured goods shipped here, etc.; remaking/approving even fake Catholic Clergy!- allowed by liberal Francis 🙁 ; Covid Hoax to tank our Capitalism and “needed” paper ballot hoax to elect Biden (paid off millions $ by whom? o, right, China)!
Then there are movements-‘wrongs which will appear right’ in end times: Feminism; Black Lives Matter, Gender fluidity, etc. to divide (& then conquer).We’ve been targeted (but so are Israel and holy people).
Seems end times New Testament last few Books our reality today. (As a persecuted Catholic from within, [I believe] Cardinal Burke asserted something to the effect of ‘that we’re in end times now’ also within the last couple of years). Impetus for Advent penances for conversion/reversion, 🙏Rosaries and Divine Mercy Chaplets
Heard Planned Parenthood (aka “Banned Parenthood”- another author’s term) is-not only butchering our BABIES once conceived. Their dens of death are making “filthy lucre” from transgendering/carving up our YOUTH- sterilizing them before they conceive! 🙁 and all the while FUNDING DEMONCRATS’ coffers! 🙁