This blog is based on references in the Bible to fear. God wills that we “BE NOT AFRAID”. Vincit qui se vincit" is a Latin phrase meaning "He conquers who conquers himself." Many theologians state that the eighth deadly sin is fear. It is fear and its natural animal reaction to fight or flight that is the root cause of our failings to create a Kingdom of God on earth. This blog is dedicated to Mary the Mother of God. "
A kidnapping‑revenge thriller where loyalty, courage, and moral clarity collide in the shadows of pre‑war London.
Sources:
🎬 Production Snapshot
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: Louis King
Release: 1937
Screenplay: Edward T. Lowe Jr.
Stars: John Barrymore (as the urbane Inspector), John Howard (as Drummond), Louise Campbell (as the kidnapped fiancée)
Genre: Crime thriller / detective adventure
Notable: A brisk, stylish entry in the Drummond series, blending gentleman‑adventurer charm with psychological menace. Barrymore’s performance adds gravitas and theatrical intelligence.
🧭 Story Summary
The film opens with a wound: Phyllis Clavering, Drummond’s fiancée, is kidnapped by the enigmatic and vengeful Irena Soldanis, whose husband died during a previous Drummond case.
What follows is a cat‑and‑mouse pilgrimage through London:
cryptic clues delivered with icy elegance
traps designed to humiliate or break Drummond
a psychological duel between a grieving widow and a relentless hero
the police, led by Barrymore’s sardonic Inspector, always one step behind
Drummond is forced to confront not only danger but the moral shadow of his own past victories.
Every clue is a judgment.
Every step is a reckoning.
The climax brings justice — but not triumph.
The victory is real, yet tinged with the sorrow of a world where violence always leaves a residue.
🕰 Historical & Cultural Context
Released in the late 1930s, the film reflects a world sliding toward war: men of action, women of resolve, and villains shaped by grief rather than ideology.
The Drummond series embodied the British ideal of the gentleman‑hero — brave, witty, loyal — yet this entry complicates that ideal by showing the cost of heroism.
Barrymore’s presence elevates the film into something more theatrical and psychological:
a meditation on justice, guilt, and the thin line between righteousness and obsession.
✝️ Catholic Moral Resonances
1. Justice Without Mercy Becomes Vengeance
Irena Soldanis is not a cartoon villain.
She is a widow.
Her grief has curdled into cruelty.
The film becomes a meditation on the Gospel truth: “The measure you give will be the measure you get.”
Her pursuit of vengeance mirrors the spiritual danger of nursing old wounds until they become weapons.
2. The Hero’s Temptation: Self‑Righteousness
Drummond is brave — but not blameless.
His past actions, however justified, have consequences.
The film quietly asks: What does it mean to be responsible for the unintended suffering your victories create?
This is the moral maturity of the Christian life:
courage tempered by humility.
3. Loyalty as a Virtue of the Will
Drummond’s companions — Algy, Tenny, and the Inspector — embody steadfastness.
Their loyalty is not sentimental; it is chosen, tested, and costly.
It echoes the fidelity of covenant love: to stand with another even when the path is dark.
4. Evil as a Wound, Not a Monster
The film refuses to dehumanize its antagonist.
This is profoundly Catholic: sin wounds, but does not erase the image of God.
Irena’s tragedy is not that she is wicked,
but that she cannot imagine a world where mercy is possible.
🍷 Hospitality Pairing
Drink
Earl Grey with Bergamot
Refined, aromatic, slightly sharp — the taste of London fog and clipped British resolve.
Snack
Shortbread & Blackberry Jam
Buttery stability with a dark, tart center — mirroring the film’s blend of charm and menace.
Atmosphere
A dim lamp or low firelight
A leather chair or blanket — something “club‑room” in tone
Soft classical strings or a 1930s radio playlist
A sense of brisk clarity: a world where wit is a weapon and loyalty is a shield
🪞 Reflection Prompt
Where in your life are you tempted to repay hurt with hurt?
What past victory — professional, relational, or spiritual — still carries a shadow you haven’t acknowledged?
And what would it look like, in this season, to let mercy interrupt the cycle, so that justice becomes healing rather than harm?
The video emphasizes that Matthew 25 makes our judgment hinge on how faithfully we practice the works of mercy, and it highlights that one of the most neglected of these is caring for “the most forgotten souls.” Eric Genuis—a classical pianist, composer, and missionary—shares how his ministry brings Christ’s presence to people who are abandoned, overlooked, or hidden from society. He describes performing in prisons, rehab centers, and places marked by deep suffering, where beauty, dignity, and personal presence become a form of mercy. The hosts stress that these forgotten souls are not only materially poor but spiritually starved for hope, human connection, and the assurance that God has not forgotten them. The video calls viewers to rediscover this neglected work of mercy and to take seriously Christ’s warning that we will be judged by how we treat “the least of these.” youtu.be
A wartime espionage romance where loyalty, identity, and desire collide in the shadows of Stockholm.
🎬 Production Snapshot
Studio: London Film Productions Director: Victor Saville Release: 1937 Screenplay: Arthur Wimperis & Lajos Bíró Stars: Vivien Leigh, Conrad Veidt, Anthony Bushell Genre: Spy thriller / romantic espionage drama Notable: A pre‑war film that blends glamour with moral ambiguity. Beneath its polished surface lies a meditation on divided loyalties, hidden identities, and the cost of loving someone whose truth you cannot fully know.
🧭 Story Summary
Set in neutral Stockholm during World War I, the film follows Madeleine Goddard (Vivien Leigh), a fashionable boutique owner who is secretly a French intelligence agent. Her shop becomes a crossroads of coded messages, whispered alliances, and elegant deception.
Enter Baron Karl von Marwitz (Conrad Veidt), a charming German officer with secrets of his own.
Their attraction is immediate — and dangerous.
As their romance deepens, both continue their covert missions:
Madeleine smuggles information through her fashion house
Karl manipulates intelligence networks with quiet precision
Each suspects the other
Each hides behind charm, wit, and half‑truths
The tension builds as their loyalties pull them in opposite directions.
When the truth finally surfaces, love and duty collide.
The ending is bittersweet: two souls drawn together, yet separated by the kingdoms they serve.
🕰 Historical & Cultural Context
Released just two years before WWII, the film reflects Europe’s growing anxiety about espionage, shifting alliances, and the fragility of peace.
Vivien Leigh was on the cusp of international stardom; Conrad Veidt, already a master of morally complex roles, brings gravity and melancholy.
The film’s elegance masks a deeper unease: the sense that truth is always provisional in a world built on coded messages.
Stockholm’s neutrality becomes a metaphor for the human heart caught between competing loyalties.
✝️ Catholic Moral Resonances
The Mask as a Spiritual Condition
Both Madeleine and Karl live behind carefully crafted personas.
Their duplicity is professional — but it becomes personal.
The film becomes a meditation on the spiritual cost of living without transparency.
Love in a Divided Heart
Their romance is real, but their truths are not.
They long for intimacy but cannot offer honesty.
It echoes the Gospel’s warning: “No one can serve two masters.”
The Temptation of Neutrality
Stockholm’s neutrality mirrors the human desire to avoid choosing sides.
But the film insists: Neutrality is itself a choice — and often a costly one.
The Tragic Nobility of Sacrifice
Karl’s final decisions carry the weight of a man who sees clearly and chooses duty over desire.
Madeleine’s sorrow becomes a quiet echo of the soul’s longing for a unity it cannot yet claim.
🍷 Hospitality Pairing
Drink
Black Tea with Lemon
Clean, sharp, elegant — the taste of a room where secrets are spoken softly.
Snack
Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt
Bittersweet, refined, and slightly dangerous — like the romance at the film’s center.
Atmosphere
A single candle, evoking the salons and shadowed corners of wartime Stockholm
Soft classical strings or salon jazz
A sense of poised tension — beauty layered over danger
🪞 Reflection Prompt
Where in your life do you feel the pull of divided loyalties — the desire to be fully known and yet the instinct to hide?
What mask do you wear for the sake of peace, and what would it cost to set it down?
And in this season of discernment, what truth is asking to be spoken so that love can become honest, whole, and free?
🎬 Production Snapshot
Studio: Allied Artists Pictures
Director: Bert I. Gordon
Release: 1960
Screenplay: George Worthing Yates & Bert I. Gordon
Stars: Richard Carlson, Susan Gordon, Lugene Sanders, Juli Reding
Genre: Supernatural thriller / psychological horror / guilt‑haunting morality tale
Notable: A seaside ghost story that plays like a moral parable. Beneath its B‑movie surface lies a sharp meditation on conscience, omission, and the slow corrosion of the soul.
🧭 Story Summary
Jazz pianist Tom Stewart is preparing for marriage on a quiet island. His former lover, Vi Mason, returns and threatens to expose their past. At the lighthouse, she slips and clings to the railing, begging for help.
Tom chooses not to save her.
This silent refusal becomes the film’s hinge.
After Vi’s death, Tom’s life begins to unravel. Her ghost appears in subtle, unnerving ways:
A wristwatch washing ashore
Footprints where no one walks
A disembodied hand stealing the wedding ring
Her voice whispering the truth
Her face appearing in photographs
Her presence disrupting the wedding rehearsal
Tom’s attempts to hide the truth lead him deeper into darkness. A ferryman discovers his secret and tries to blackmail him; Tom kills again. A young girl, Sandy, witnesses his actions, becoming the final threat to his collapsing façade.
At the lighthouse—where the first sin occurred—Tom tries to silence the child. Vi’s ghost intervenes. Tom falls to his death, and the haunting ends only when the truth is restored.
🕰 Historical and Cultural Context
Part of the late‑1950s/early‑1960s wave of supernatural thrillers where ghosts represent conscience rather than monsters.
Director Bert I. Gordon, known for creature features, turns inward toward psychological and moral horror.
The seaside setting reflects postwar anxieties about reputation, hidden sin, and the fragility of public respectability.
The film’s ghost effects, though modest, serve the story’s moral clarity rather than spectacle.
The narrative echoes mid‑century fears of scandal and the cost of maintaining a lie.
✝️ Catholic Moral Resonances
The Sin of Omission as the First Betrayal
Tom’s refusal to save Vi is not an act of violence but an act of withholding—a betrayal born in silence.
It echoes the Catechism’s teaching that sins of omission can be as grave as active wrongdoing.
The Ghost as Conscience Made Visible
Vi’s haunting is not malevolent; it is revelatory.
She is the truth Tom refuses to face—persistent, unyielding, and ultimately merciful.
The Multiplication of Lies
Tom’s descent illustrates how sin darkens the intellect and weakens the will.
One refusal becomes a pattern.
One death becomes two.
The soul collapses under the weight of its evasions.
The Innocent as the Final Test
Sandy, the child who sees clearly, becomes the target of Tom’s desperation.
Evil, when cornered, always turns on innocence.
A Hint of Judas on Tuesday of Holy Week
Tuesday is the day Christ exposes hidden intentions.
It is the day Judas’s interior fracture becomes visible.
Tom’s story mirrors this pattern:
a quiet betrayal, a concealed truth, a conscience that refuses to stay silent.
The haunting becomes a cinematic echo of the Gospel’s warning—
that the heart’s secret choices eventually step into the light.
🍷 Hospitality Pairing
Drink:
Dark Roast Coffee with a Dash of Sea Salt
Bracing, coastal, slightly bitter—like the taste of a conscience awakening.
Snack:
Salted Caramel Popcorn
A nod to the film’s B‑movie roots: simple, nostalgic, perfect for a late‑night thriller.
Atmosphere:
A dim lamp or candle, echoing the lighthouse’s lonely glow
Soft jazz playing quietly, recalling Tom’s profession
A sense of moral tension—truth pressing gently but firmly toward the surface
🪞 Reflection Prompt
Where in your life is there a temptation to “look away” rather than act—and how might God be inviting you to choose courage over concealment?
What truth is quietly knocking, asking to be faced before it grows heavier?
And in this Tuesday of Holy Week, where Judas’s hidden intentions come into the light, what small act of honesty could keep your heart free, clear, and steady?
Director: Michael Anderson Studio: MGM Stars: Anthony Quinn, Laurence Olivier, Oskar Werner, David Janssen, Vittorio De Sica Release Year: 1968 Genre: Political‑spiritual drama Runtime: 162 minutes
Story Summary
A Ukrainian archbishop, Kiril Lakota, is unexpectedly released after twenty years in a Siberian labor camp. Sent to Rome, he is quietly elevated to cardinal and soon finds himself at the center of a global crisis: famine in China, nuclear brinkmanship, and the Church’s own internal fractures. When the pope dies, Lakota is elected to the Chair of Peter — a man formed by suffering, silence, and obedience suddenly placed at the helm of a world on fire. His final act is a gesture of radical charity that shocks the world and redefines papal leadership.
Cast Highlights
Anthony Quinn — Kiril Lakota
A performance of restrained gravitas: a man who has no ambition except obedience, and no power except the authority of suffering.
Oskar Werner — Fr. David Telemond
A Jesuit theologian whose brilliance and torment echo the Church’s own intellectual tensions of the era.
Laurence Olivier — Piotr Ilyich Kamenev
A Soviet premier whose conversations with Lakota form the film’s moral and geopolitical spine.
David Janssen — George Faber
A journalist whose personal unraveling mirrors the world’s instability.
Historical & Cultural Context
Released during the Cold War, Vatican II, and global famine anxieties.
Based on Morris West’s novel, which anticipated a Slavic pope a decade before John Paul II.
The film reflects the Church’s emerging global conscience: the papacy as a moral counterweight to nuclear powers.
Its final act — a pope emptying the Vatican treasury to feed a starving nation — is both prophetic and cinematic.
Catholic Moral & Spiritual Themes
1. The Authority of Suffering
Lakota’s papacy is not built on intellect, charisma, or politics.
It is built on twenty years of unjust imprisonment — a formation deeper than any seminary.
Lesson:
True authority in the Church is cruciform.
Leadership flows from wounds offered, not power seized.
2. Obedience Without Illusion
Lakota never romanticizes the Church or the world.
His obedience is clear‑eyed, forged in hardship, and free of clerical ambition.
Lesson:
Obedience is not naïveté; it is the discipline of trusting God more than one’s own survival instincts.
3. The Papacy as Global Fatherhood
The film portrays the pope not as a monarch but as a father whose responsibility extends to every suffering people.
Lesson:
Spiritual fatherhood demands sacrificial generosity, even when the world calls it impractical.
4. The Church as Bridge‑Builder
Lakota’s conversations with Kamenev show the Church’s unique role:
neither capitalist nor communist, but a moral mediator.
Lesson:
The Church’s diplomacy is not political maneuvering — it is the pursuit of peace rooted in human dignity.
5. The Cost of Intellectual Brilliance
Fr. Telemond’s arc is a meditation on the tension between theological creativity and ecclesial obedience.
Lesson:
Genius without humility becomes fragmentation; humility without courage becomes silence.
The Church needs both — but ordered.
Hospitality Pairing
To match the film’s global, ascetic, and ecclesial tone:
Drink:
Austere Red Table Wine — something simple, unadorned, almost monastic.
A wine that tastes like stone, earth, and discipline.
Atmosphere:
Dim lighting, like a Vatican study at night.
A single candle or lamp.
A wooden table or desk, uncluttered.
Silence before and after the film — a contemplative frame.
Food:
A peasant bread with olive oil and salt.
The kind of meal a man formed in a labor camp would not take for granted.
Closing Reflection
Shoes of the Fisherman is not about papal politics.
It is about the weight of spiritual responsibility in a world that prefers spectacle to sacrifice.
Lakota’s final act — giving away everything — is the film’s thesis:
The Church leads when she bleeds.
She teaches when she empties herself.
She fathers when she feeds the world.
This is a film for anyone discerning leadership, obedience, or the cost of being entrusted with souls.
🎬 Production Snapshot Studio: Gaumont British Director: Alfred Hitchcock Release: 1937 Screenplay: Charles Bennett & Edwin Greenwood, adapted from Josephine Tey’s A Shilling for Candles Stars: Nova Pilbeam, Derrick De Marney, Percy Marmont, George Curzon Genre: British crime thriller / romantic chase / early Hitchcock “wrong man” Notable: One of Hitchcock’s most youthful, brisk, and charming pre‑Hollywood thrillers. Features the famous ballroom crane shot that reveals the killer in a band—an early masterstroke of cinematic suspense.
🧭 Story Summary
A young writer, Robert Tisdall, discovers the body of a famous actress washed ashore. Two witnesses see him running and assume guilt. When the police find that the belt used to strangle her is missing from his raincoat, suspicion hardens into accusation.
Robert escapes custody and crosses paths with Erica Burgoyne, the spirited daughter of the Chief Constable. Initially skeptical, Erica is gradually drawn into his plight. Their journey becomes a chase through rural England—barns, mills, roadside cafés—where innocence must outrun bureaucracy, gossip, and fear.
As they uncover clues, the real murderer emerges: a man hiding in plain sight, performing nightly in a dance‑hall band. Hitchcock’s legendary crane shot descends from the rafters, across the ballroom, and lands on the killer’s twitching eyes—an early example of cinematic revelation through camera movement.
The film ends with truth exposed, innocence vindicated, and a quiet, youthful hope between Erica and Robert—two people who have learned courage by walking through danger together.
🕰 Historical and Cultural Context
Part of Hitchcock’s British “wrong man” cycle, refining themes he would later perfect in The 39 Steps and North by Northwest.
Nova Pilbeam, only 18, was one of Britain’s brightest young stars; Hitchcock had considered her for Rebecca.
The film blends light romance with real suspense, a hallmark of Hitchcock’s early style.
Its technical centerpiece—the ballroom crane shot—was groundbreaking for 1937 and signaled Hitchcock’s growing mastery of visual storytelling.
The story reflects 1930s anxieties about police fallibility, public suspicion, and the fragile line between guilt and innocence.
✝️ Catholic Moral Resonances
The Wrongly Accused as Icon of the Just Man
Robert Tisdall becomes a symbol of the innocent who suffers under misunderstanding and haste. His journey echoes the biblical theme that truth often walks a narrow, vulnerable road.
Erica’s Courage as Moral Awakening
Erica begins as a dutiful daughter of the law but discovers a deeper vocation:
to discern truth not by authority alone, but by compassion, conscience, and personal risk.
The Court of Public Opinion as a False Judge
Gossip, assumption, and fear form a kind of secular “mob judgment.”
Catholic moral tradition warns that rash judgment is a sin against justice and charity.
The Pursuit of Truth as a Shared Pilgrimage
Robert and Erica’s journey becomes a parable of accompaniment:
truth is found not alone, but through loyal companionship, humility, and perseverance.
The Killer’s Eyes as Revelation of the Heart
Hitchcock’s crane shot lands on the murderer’s twitching eyes—an image of interior corruption made visible.
In Catholic thought, sin distorts the gaze long before it stains the hands.
Vindication as a Foretaste of Justice
The film ends not with spectacle but with restoration—an echo of the Christian conviction that truth, though delayed, ultimately prevails.
🍷 Hospitality Pairing
Drink: English Breakfast Tea with a Slice of Lemon
Brisk, clear, and honest—matching the film’s youthful pace and rural English setting.
Snack: Shortbread with a Touch of Sea Salt
Simple, sturdy, and comforting—like Erica’s steadying presence in the story.
Atmosphere:
A single warm lamp, evoking the coziness of an English cottage
Soft instrumental jazz or light strings, nodding to the ballroom finale
A sense of quiet companionship and moral clarity emerging from confusion
🪞 Reflection Prompt
Where in your life do you feel wrongly judged or misunderstood—and how might God be inviting you to walk that path with patience and integrity?
Who is the “Erica” beside you—someone whose loyalty helps you stay steady in the pursuit of truth?
And where might you be called to be her for someone else?
ovilla fleur will captivate guests transcending them into an eclectic atmosphere of rich prints and bold textures, striking visuals and lush florals. set under romantic lighting, guests will settle into parlor-style seating designed to ignite the senses while enjoying chef-driven fare and elixirs and a state-of-the-art projection show designed exclusively for villa fleur. this rare journey is available for a limited time from March 14 – May 11.
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oSad is the world that believes in Mermaids but refuses to believe in the Resurrection. Most people believe what they want and are Not In Church (NIC).
🌍 The Conqueror’s Pilgrimage — March 28–April 3, 2026
Jerusalem → The School of Sacrifice (Part II) Theme: Hiddenness, Purification, Interior Obedience, and the Silence of Holy Saturday Identity Shift: From cruciform man → steadfast man
This final Jerusalem week deepens the cruciform identity you received. If March 21–27 revealed the cost of love, then March 28–April 3 teaches the endurance of love.
This is the week where Christ is silent, where fidelity is tested, where the disciple learns to remain with Him in the shadows, and where mission is purified by waiting, watching, and trusting.
🏨 Where We Stay
Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center You remain in the same house overlooking the Old City. This stability mirrors the interior stability Christ forms in His disciples during the Triduum: Stay with Me. Remain here. Do not flee.
✝️ Where We Attend Mass
Holy Sepulchre or Notre Dame Chapel Mass this week becomes a descent into the silence of Christ’s Passion. Every liturgy is a step deeper into the mystery of surrender.
🗓️ Daily Itinerary & Symbolic Acts
March 28 — The Hidden Day
🌑Symbolic Act: “Enter the Silence of Christ”
This is the quiet day between the Via Dolorosa and the Triduum. Walk the Old City without agenda.
Let the silence teach you.
Reflection: Where is God silent in my life? Where do I demand answers instead of offering trust?
Stay: Notre Dame Center
March 29 — Palm Sunday (Anticipatory)
🌿Symbolic Act: “Lay Down Your Cloak”
Walk the Palm Sunday route from Bethphage to the Old City. Lay a small cloth or scarf on the ground as a sign of surrender.
Journal: What part of my identity must I lay down so Christ can reign?
Stay: Notre Dame Center
March 30 — The Temple Day
🔥Symbolic Act: “Cleanse the Inner Courts”
Visit the Temple Mount (as permitted). Read Matthew 21:12–17.
Reflection: What interior clutter must be overturned? What compromises have crept into my worship?
Stay: Notre Dame Center
March 31 — The Teaching Day
📜Symbolic Act: “Sit at His Feet”
Spend the morning on the Southern Steps—where Jesus taught. Read His Jerusalem teachings: Matthew 22–25.
Reflection: What truth is Christ speaking to me that I resist? Where is He calling me to vigilance?
Stay: Notre Dame Center
April 1 — Spy Wednesday
🕳️Symbolic Act: “Name the Betrayal”
Visit St. Peter in Gallicantu again—this time slowly. Sit in the dungeon where Christ was held.
Journal: Where do I betray Christ through fear, self‑protection, or silence? What patterns of denial must be confessed?
Stay: Notre Dame Center
April 2 — Holy Thursday
🕊️Symbolic Act: “Let Him Wash Your Feet”
Return to the Upper Room. Read John 13 aloud. Let Christ’s humility confront your pride.
Attend evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Stay in prayer afterward—remain with Him.
Stay: Notre Dame Center
April 3 — Good Friday
🩸Symbolic Act: “Stand at the Foot of the Cross”
Walk the Via Dolorosa again—this time in total silence. End at Calvary. Remain there as long as needed.
Prayer: “Lord, I stand with You. Teach me to love with endurance.”
Now, therefore, FEAR the LORD and serve him completely
and sincerely. Cast out the gods your ancestors served beyond the river and in
Egypt and serve the LORD.
Joshua
was telling the Israelites that it was a day for decision-making, a day for
clarifying what they worship and to what they will give their ultimate
allegiance.
In a sermon by Rev.
Margaret Bullitt-Jonas she states:
“Put away the gods that
your ancestors served...” Joshua declares. Doing that requires an act of
self-examination.
·What
are the gods that I serve?
·What
does my bank statement or my credit card statement say about my values?
·What
does the way I spend my free time say about what matters most to me?
·How
does the way that I treat family-members and co-workers, neighbors and friends
show which gods I serve?
·To
what do I give my best, most focused attention and care?
·What
do I Really care about?
·What
motives really drive me?
·What
goals really draw me forward?
·Are
there compulsive patterns of thought or behavior to which I am excessively
attached?
You and I can go to
church and say very sincerely that we worship God, but in the hurly-burly of
daily life there are all kinds of lesser gods that tug at us and clamor for our
attention and our devotion.[1]
Blessed are the poor
in spirit; for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. (Mt. 5:3)
Copilot’s Take
Joshua’s command to fear the
Lord and serve Him completely and sincerely confronts us with the same
decision Israel faced: to clarify what we worship and to whom we give our
deepest allegiance. Rev. Margaret Bullitt‑Jonas reminds us that putting away
false gods requires honest self‑examination, the kind that looks at our
spending, our use of time, our treatment of others, our motives, our
attachments, and the quiet compulsions that shape our days more than we admit.
It is easy to say in church that we worship God, yet in the rush of ordinary
life countless lesser gods tug at our attention and siphon off our
devotion—comfort, distraction, resentment, ambition, or the subtle desire to
control our own world. Joshua’s call exposes these rivals and invites us to
choose again, not abstractly but concretely, in the patterns of our days and
the habits of our hearts. This is the poverty of spirit Christ blesses—the
freedom to let go of what cannot save and to stand before God with an undivided
heart, ready to serve Him alone.
Saturday in passion Week.
Prayer.
MAY Thy right hand defend Thy
suppliant people, we beseech Thee, O Lord, and worthily instruct them, being
purified in Thy sight, that by present consolation it may profit for future
good things. Amen.
EPISTLE.
Jer. xviii. 18-23.
In those days the impious Jews
said: Come, and let us invent devices against Jeremias: for the law shall not
perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the
prophet: come, and let us strike him with the tongue, and let us give no heed
to all his words. Give heed to me, O Lord, and hear the voice of my
adversaries. Shall evil be rendered for good, because they have digged a pit
for my soul? Remember that I have stood in Thy sight, to speak good for them,
and to turn away Thy indignation from them. Therefore, deliver up their
children to famine, and bring them into the hands of the sword: let their wives
be bereaved of children, and widows: and let the husbands be slain by death:
let their young men be stabbed with the sword in battle. Let a cry be heard out
of their houses: for Thou shalt bring the robber upon them suddenly: because
they have digged a pit to take me and have hid snares for my feet. But Thou, O
Lord, knowest all their counsel against me unto death: forgive not their iniquity,
and let not their sin be blotted out from Thy sight: let them be overthrown
before Thy eyes ; in the time of Thy wrath do Thou destroy them, O Lord our
God.
GOSPEL.
John xii. 10-36.
At that time a great multitude,
that was come to the festival-day, when they had heard that Jesus was coming to
Jerusalem, took branches of palm-trees and went forth to. meet Him, and cried:
Hosanna, blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel.
And Jesus found a young ass, and sat upon it, as it is written; Fear not,
daughter of Sion: behold thy King cometh sitting on an ass s colt. These things
His disciples did not know at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then
they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done
these things to Him. The multitude therefore gave testimony, which was with Him
when He called Lazarus out of the grave and raised him from the dead. For which
reason also the people came to meet Him: because they heard that He had done
this miracle The Pharisees therefore said among themselves: Do you see that we
prevail nothing? behold, the whole world is gone after Him, Now there were
certain gentiles among them who came up to adore on the festival-day. These
therefore came to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him,
saying: Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew. Again,
Andrew and Philip told Jesus. But Jesus answered them, saying: The hour is
come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless
the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, itself remaineth alone. But if
it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it:
and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal. If any
man minister to Me, let him follow Me: and where I am, there also shall My
minister be. If any man minister to Me, him will My Father honor. Now is My
soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour. But for
this cause I came unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name. A voice therefore
came from heaven: I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. The
multitude therefore that stood and heard said that it thundered. Others said,
an angel spoke to Him. Jesus answered, and said: This voice came not because of
Me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince
of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw
all things to Myself. (Now this He said, signifying what death He should die.)
The multitude answered Him: We have heard out of the law, that Christ abideth
forever: and how sayest Thou:
The Son of man must be lifted
up? Who is this Son of man?
Jesus therefore said to them: Yet a little
while the light is among you. Walk whilst you have the light, that the darkness
overtake you not. And he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Whilst you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be the children
of light. These things Jesus spoke, and He went away, and hid Himself from
them.
·Sacramentals
include certain actions, such as the Sign of the Cross and other blessings, as
well as objects that have been blessed, such as holy water, oil, salt, candles,
incense, rosaries, crucifixes, scapulars, and religious images.
·In
an exorcism, the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus
Christ that a person or object be protected against the Devil’s power and
withdrawn from his dominion.
·The
Sign of the Cross is the most terrible weapon against the Devil.
·The
Church displays images of the cross so that we can have it continually in front
of our minds to recall to us just what our souls are worth and what they cost
Jesus Christ.
·Blessings
and blessed objects. Both the blessings that are properly given by clergy (such
as those in the Liturgy) and the blessings spoken by lay people as part of
their daily lives (such as a table grace) are important sacramentals.
Bible in a
year Day 269 The
Day of Small Things
Fr. Mike
encourages us not to be discouraged about the small things happening in our
lives, because just as we see through Zechariah's visions, God takes small
things and turns them into great triumphs. He also touches on the dedication of
Israel to rebuild the temple, and the connection between the crowing of Joshua
and the crowning of Christ the King. Today's readings are Ezra 5-6, Zechariah
4-6, and Proverbs 20:8-11.
No,
we are not talking about mops or brooms (although we are very thankful for
them, of course!) but Something on A Stick Day is all
about celebrating foods we love to eat – that just happen to come on a stick! Who
doesn’t love relaxed finger food that you can pick up by the stick and eat? So,
whether it’s a toffee apple, camp-fire sausage, cheese cubes on a toothpick,
ice cream bar, lollipop or other lovely treats, feel free to indulge in them on
this day! Or why not try the favorite American food on a stick if you can – the
famous corn dog? What about planning an entire meal of a starter, main course
and dessert all on sticks? Easy, informal, and fun – and very little cleaning
up to do afterwards! What a great theme for a dinner party to have on Something
on a Stick Day!
Is a traditional seasoned
grilled meat on a stick for the Feast of St. Bart. While stationed in Belgium
many years ago with my young daughter Nicole there were none of the American fast-food
places in close vicinity, but there were frites stands. Nicole loved Belgium
frites, which are “French Fries” with an attitude. We used to joke that someday
we will open our own Frite stand and on the placard, we would proudly proclaim
the name of our stand, “DICK AND NIC’S FRITES AND SHASLIKS”.
THIS WE BELIEVE
PRAYERS AND TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH
The Great
Commandment
The
Ten Commandments are fulfilled in Jesus' Great Commandment: “You shall
love...God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and
with all your strength.... You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark
12:30-31)
The New Commandment
Before
his death on the cross, Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment: “Love one
another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (John
13:34).
🎬 Production Snapshot
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Director: William Dieterle
Release: 1953
Screenplay: Harry Kleiner (adaptation), based loosely on the New Testament accounts and apocryphal traditions
Stars: Rita Hayworth, Stewart Granger, Charles Laughton, Judith Anderson
Genre: Biblical epic / court intrigue / romantic drama
Notable: Rita Hayworth produced the film through her own Beckworth Corporation, crafting a version of Salome that is not a villain but a woman seeking truth and redemption. The film blends Technicolor spectacle with a surprisingly intimate moral arc.
🧭 Story Summary
Salome, the daughter of Herodias, returns to Galilee after being expelled from Rome for defying Caesar. She enters a palace thick with political tension: Herod is paranoid and superstitious, Herodias is scheming for power, and John the Baptist’s preaching has stirred unrest among the people.
Salome meets Claudius, a Roman commander whose integrity and compassion stand in stark contrast to the decadence of the court. As she witnesses the conflict between Herodias and John the Baptist, she begins to question her mother’s ambitions and her own place in the world.
When Herodias demands John’s execution, Salome becomes a pawn in the struggle. Her famous dance—here portrayed not as seduction but as a desperate attempt to save Claudius and defuse political violence—fails to prevent John’s martyrdom. Confronted with the consequences of her mother’s vengeance, Salome rejects the corruption of the palace and chooses a path of repentance and renewal.
The film closes not with destruction but with a gesture toward redemption: Salome and Claudius walk away from the palace, leaving behind a world built on fear and manipulation.
🕰 Historical and Cultural Context
Released during Hollywood’s golden age of biblical epics, Salome stands apart for its focus on character rather than spectacle.
Rita Hayworth’s involvement as producer allowed her to reshape the legend, softening the femme‑fatale archetype and giving Salome a moral awakening.
Charles Laughton’s Herod is a masterclass in theatrical decadence—equal parts grotesque, insecure, and strangely human.
The film reflects 1950s American fascination with ancient empires as mirrors of modern political anxieties: tyranny, propaganda, and the fragility of conscience.
Its Technicolor palette, lavish sets, and Jean Louis costumes place it firmly in the lineage of The Robe and Samson and Delilah, but with a more intimate emotional core.
✝️ Catholic Moral Resonances
The Corrupt Court as a Mirror of the Fallen World
Herod’s palace is a study in spiritual decay—fear, manipulation, and the worship of power. It echoes the biblical theme that sin is not merely personal but systemic.
The Prophet as the Voice of Truth
John the Baptist stands as the uncompromising conscience of the film. His presence exposes the moral bankruptcy of the court and calls each character to conversion.
Salome’s Dance as Misused Beauty
In Scripture, beauty can reveal God—but it can also be twisted for manipulation. The film reframes the dance as a moment of inner conflict: a woman caught between obedience to her mother and the stirrings of conscience.
Repentance as Liberation
Salome’s arc is not one of seduction but of awakening. She recognizes the cost of her mother’s vengeance and chooses truth over loyalty to corruption.
This echoes the Catholic conviction that repentance is not humiliation but freedom.
Martyrdom as Seed of Renewal
John’s death is not the end but the beginning of transformation. His witness becomes the catalyst for Salome’s conversion and Claudius’s courage.
🍷 Hospitality Pairing
Drink: Pomegranate Wine (or Sparkling Pomegranate)
Rich, ruby‑colored, and rooted in Middle Eastern tradition. Symbolic of both royal courts and the biblical themes of sacrifice and renewal.
Snack: Honey‑Date Cakes with Toasted Almonds
Sweet, ancient, and fitting for a Judean palace. Dates evoke the desert, the prophets, and the tension between worldly luxury and spiritual hunger.
Atmosphere:
Low lamplight or candles to evoke the flickering shadows of Herod’s court
Middle Eastern strings or soft choral tones
A sense of moral tension giving way to clarity and repentance
🪞 Reflection Prompt
Where in your own life do you feel caught between the expectations of others and the quiet voice of conscience?
How might God be inviting you—like Salome—to step out of a corrupted pattern and into a path of truth, courage, and renewal?
“For a child* is born to us, a son is given to us, upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:5)
·National Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C.
o The nation’s capital comes abloom every spring with the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival. See the famed cherry blossom trees, lining the Tidal Basin, while strolling by iconic sites like the Jefferson and Martin Luther King memorials.
💎 Serbia vs India River of Memory / Subcontinent of Seeking
Serbia and India sit just beyond the fourth ring of the global middle — nations shaped by ancient civilizations, religious depth, and the long shadow of empire. Serbia is a Balkan crossroads where Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and history intertwine through conflict and resilience. India is a vast, rising subcontinent where Catholicism survives as a small but ancient flame amid a billion‑soul mosaic of faiths. Together they reveal the world where memory and seeking meet.
🇷🇸 Serbia — Proud, Historic, and Spiritually Layered
GDP per capita (PPP): ~$20,000 (2024)
🧮 Why Serbia Sits Just Above This Ring
Post‑Yugoslav transition economy
Strong manufacturing and IT growth
High diaspora remittances
Political balancing between East and West
Tourism tied to monasteries, rivers, and history
✝️ Catholic Landscape
Catholic minority (mostly Croats and Hungarians)
Historic monasteries and pilgrimage sites
Church active in reconciliation and youth outreach
Interfaith coexistence with Orthodox majority
Quiet but steady parish life
⚠️ Challenges
Emigration of young professionals
Political polarization
Rural depopulation
Slow EU integration
🌿 Pilgrimage Cue
Serbia is a river of memory — a land where the Church navigates history’s wounds with patience, fidelity, and the slow work of reconciliation.
🇮🇳 India — Vast, Ancient, and Spiritually Searching
GDP per capita (PPP): ~$9,000 (2024)
🧮 Why India Sits Just Below This Ring
Rapid economic growth but uneven distribution
Massive population diluting per‑capita wealth
Strong tech and service sectors
Rural poverty and urban expansion
Complex federal and religious landscape
✝️ Catholic Landscape
~20 million Catholics — ancient and diverse
St. Thomas Christian heritage in Kerala
Vibrant youth, charismatic, and Marian movements
Church active in education, healthcare, and social justice
Occasional pressure but strong internal vitality
⚠️ Challenges
Inequality and caste dynamics
Religious tensions
Rural poverty
Urban overcrowding
🌿 Pilgrimage Cue
India is a subcontinent of seeking — a Church that lives as leaven in a vast spiritual landscape, witnessing through service, education, and quiet holiness.
🕊️ Editorial Reflection
Serbia and India reveal the world where memory and seeking converge. Serbia carries centuries of conflict, culture, and Christian identity. India holds millennia of spiritual searching, diversity, and quiet Catholic witness.
One remembers. The other quests. Both show that the Church thrives not only in stability or suffering, but in the vast, complex middle where identity is shaped by history and hope.
Rich/Poor Tour — Center Ring Wrap‑Up
Standing at the World’s Hinge
As March closes, we pause at the very center of the world’s economic ladder — the hinge where the global story turns. These past weeks have taken us through the middle ring of the Rich/Poor Tour, where nations are neither wealthy nor destitute, but suspended in the tension between memory and possibility.
This center ring has revealed something essential: the middle of the world is not mediocrity — it is balance. It is where wounds and resilience meet, where ancient faith and modern struggle coexist, where the Church survives not by power but by presence.
Here is the ground we have covered:
Jordan & Sri Lanka — The Exact Middle
Crossroads of Covenant / Island of Resilience Two nations holding steady in the world’s center:
Jordan, a desert of covenant and hospitality
Sri Lanka, an island of wounds and resurrection Together they form the global hinge — the midpoint between wealth and poverty.
Albania & El Salvador — Just Beyond the Center
Mountains of Memory / Valleys of Mercy
Albania rising from enforced atheism
El Salvador carrying the courage of martyrs Both nations show faith fought for, not inherited.
North Macedonia & Morocco — The Crossroads Ring
Crossroads of Identity / Gate of the Maghreb
North Macedonia balancing ancient Christian memory with modern uncertainty
Morocco sheltering a quiet Catholic presence through hospitality and service Here the Church thrives in dialogue, not dominance.
Bosnia & Herzegovina & Vietnam — Wounds and Rising Light
Valley of Wounds / River of Rising Light
Bosnia tending to trauma with Marian tenderness
Vietnam glowing with youthful Catholic energy This ring reveals the world where suffering and hope coexist.
Serbia & India — Memory and Seeking
River of Memory / Subcontinent of Seeking
Serbia navigating history’s fractures
India carrying an ancient Christian flame within a billion‑soul mosaic Here the Church lives through identity, service, and quiet courage.
What the Center Ring Teaches
Across these nations, a pattern emerges:
Faith survives in the middle not through power, but through perseverance.
The Church grows where wounds are tended, not ignored.
Identity is shaped by memory, migration, and mercy.
The middle of the world is where the extremes meet — and where the pilgrimage begins.
This center ring is the spiritual fulcrum of the entire Rich/Poor Tour. From here, the journey will widen — outward toward wealth, outward toward poverty, outward toward the edges where the world’s contrasts sharpen.
But before we move on, we honor this middle ground: the place where the world holds its breath, remembers its wounds, and prepares to rise.
MARCH 27 Friday in
Passion Week
Feast of the Seven Dolor’s of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The
LORD said to Joshua, “Do not FEAR
them, for by this time tomorrow I will present them slain to Israel. You must
hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.”
The
enemy was defeated; why destroy their horses and chariots?
Horses
and chariots were the tanks of that time. God knows the human heart we tend to
trust in our human strength, or our clout, or our wealth, or weapons. God knows
and He wants us to trust in Him not any of these things. Even to this very day
we have not learned this lesson we in America have learned to trust in the
strength of our Army, which is the greatest Army in the world and have
forgotten the true basis of our strength which is printed on our money: In God
We Trust. Many people in high offices like to play the prophet: but “A wise
person is superior to a prophet” (Bava Basra 12a) Think a prophet can see the
future but a wise person can see the present. God asks us to be present to each
other every day. Live in the Present!
Words
of wisdom Saint Teresa of Avila:
“I am
afraid that if we begin to put our trust in human help, some of our Divine help
will fail us.”
“The most
potent and acceptable prayer is the prayer that leaves the best effects. I
don’t mean it must immediately fill the soul with desire . . . The best effects
[are] those that are followed up by actions—–when the soul not only desires the
honor of God, but really strives for it. “
“You pay
God a compliment by asking great things of Him.”[1]
Copilot’s
Take
The
Catechism teaches that humanity lives within a “dramatic struggle between good
and evil” (CCC 409), a battle that runs not only through history but through
every human heart. When the news overwhelms us with corruption, violence, and
political hostility, and when the Church herself bears the wounds of scandal or
division, the temptation is either to rage or to retreat. But the Church
insists that evil is never confronted by matching its fury; it is confronted by
fidelity. Politics can shape laws, but only grace can shape hearts. News can
expose darkness, but only holiness can dispel it. The Christian confronts evil
not by choosing a side in the world’s shouting match, but by choosing the side
of truth, mercy, and conversion. The Catechism calls this the “work of justice
and charity” (CCC 1928–1933): refusing lies, resisting fear, protecting the
vulnerable, and purifying our own hearts before demanding purification from
others. In an age of outrage, the Church’s task is not to mirror the world’s
anger but to reveal a different power—the quiet, courageous light of those who
trust God more than headlines, grace more than politics, and Christ more than
any earthly institution.
(FRIDAY
IN PASSION WEEK.)
Feast of
the Seven Dolor’s of the Blessed Virgin Mary
THE part which the Blessed Virgin took in the sufferings and death
of her beloved Son has induced the Church to give her the glorious title of
Queen of Martyrs. The feast of the Seven Dolors was first instituted by the
Council of Cologne, in the year 1423, in order to make amends for what the
Hussites had done against the veneration of the Blessed Virgin, whom they, like
all heretics, had assailed with many calumnies and insults; in particular,
rejecting the image of the Mother of Dolors with the body of her dead Son
resting upon her lap.
This feast was originally called the feast of the Compassion of
the Blessed Virgin.
At the presentation of Jesus in the temple Simeon had predicted
that the suffering of the Son would be the suffering of the Mother also: Behold
this child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and
for a sign which shall be contradicted; and thy own soul a sword shall pierce
(Luke ii. 34, 35). The ignominy, insults, and cruelties inflicted on Him were
to be so many swords piercing her heart. Remember, therefore, on this day the
seven dolors which the Blessed Virgin experienced:
1. At the circumcision of her Son.
2. At her flight into Egypt with Him.
3. On losing Him for three days in the temple.
4. At the sight of Him carrying the cross.
5. At His death.
6. When beholding His side pierced with a spear, and His body
taken down from the cross.
7. At His burial. Make an act of contrition for your sins, which
helped so much to cause the sufferings and death of Jesus, and resolve firmly
that you will no more grieve the hearts of Jesus and Mary by sin. Ask her to
assist you at your death by her powerful intercession, that then she may show
herself to you as a mother, and obtain from her beloved Son grace for you.
The Introit of the Mass is as follows: “There stood by the cross
of Jesus His Mother, and His Mother s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary
Magdalen” (John xix.). “Woman, behold thy son,” said Jesus, and to the
disciple: “Behold thy mother.” Glory be to the Father…
Prayer. O Lord, in Whose passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, a
sword of sorrow pierced the most sweet soul of Mary, mother and virgin, grant,
in Thy mercy, that we may call to mind with veneration her transfixion and
sufferings; and by the glorious merits and prayers of all the saints, who stood
faithfully by the cross, interceding for us, may experience the happy effects
of Thy passion. Amen.
EPISTLE. Judith xiii. 23-25.
The Lord hath blessed thee by His power, because by thee He hath
brought our enemies to naught. And Ozias, the prince of the people of Israel,
said to her, Blessed art thou, O daughter, by the Lord the most high God, above
all women upon the earth. Blessed be the Lord Who made heaven and earth, Who hath
directed thee to the cutting off the head of the prince of our enemies. Because
He hath so magnified thy name this day, that thy praise shall not depart out of
the mouth of men who shall be mindful of the power of the Lord forever, for
that thou hast not spared thy life, by reason of the distress and tribulation
of thy people, but hast prevented our ruin in the presence of our God.
GOSPEL. John xix.
25-27.
At that time: There stood by the cross of Jesus His Mother, and
His Mother s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore
had seen His Mother and the disciple standing whom He loved, He saith to His
Mother: Woman, behold thy
son. After that, He saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that
hour the disciple took her to his own.
A special commemoration, one week
before Good Friday, of Mary's compassion for (literally, "suffering
with") Her innocent son.
The Friday of Sorrows is
a solemn pious remembrance of the sorrowful Blessed Virgin Mary on the Friday
before Palm Sunday held in the fifth week of Lent (formerly called
"Passion Week"). In Divine
Worship: The Missal it is called Saint Mary in Passiontide
and sometimes it is traditionally known as Our Lady in Passiontide.
In certain Catholic
countries, especially in Mexico, Guatemala, Italy, Peru, Brazil, Spain, Malta,Nicaragua and the Philippines, it is seen as the beginning of the Holy Week celebrations and termed as Viernes
de Dolores (Friday of Sorrows). It takes place exactly one week before Good
Friday, and concentrates on the emotional pain that the Passion of Jesus Christ
caused to his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is venerated under the title
Our
Lady of Sorrows. In
certain Spanish-speaking countries, the day is also referred to as Council
Friday, because of the choice of John
11:47-54 as the
Gospel passage read in the Tridentine Mass on that day (which is now read in
slightly expanded form on Saturday of the fifth week of Lent), which recounts
the conciliar meeting of the Sanhedrin priests to discuss what to do with
Jesus. Like all Fridays in Lent, this Friday is a day of abstinence from meat,
unless the national episcopal conference has indicated alternative forms of
penance. A similar commemoration in sympathy with the Virgin Mary under the
title of Our
Lady of Solitude
is held on Black
Saturday.
Relationships
never end and neither should our prayers for the dead. In addition to PRAYERS,
we should also offer up Masses for them and offer indulgences for their
benefit. The dead cannot pray for themselves but they can pray for us and we in
turn should pray for them.
Modern
man and the media often portray persons that fast as deranged, passé or even
ignorant. However, fasting and bodily discipline are truly the marks of a man
or woman of mature intellect which has mastery over not only the mind but also
the body and spirit. St. Paul put it in stronger terms, “put to death therefore
what is earthly in you (Col. 3:5).” Jesus has also said, “If any man would come
after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Christ
knew we become attached to created things and to the pleasure they bring us.
St. Augustine said that sin begins as a turning away from God and a turning
toward lesser goods. When we sin, we don’t choose evil. We choose something
less than God and His will. Our bodies want more than they need, so we must
give them less than they want. Our bodies must be subject to our reason—or our
reason will soon be subjected to our bodies. St. Paul went even further. “I
pommel my body and subdue it” (1 Cor. 9:27). Nevertheless, our goal should be
to let our reason/soul cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
Chassidic philosophy[5] demonstrates three ways in which
the body and soul can interact:
ØThe
soul can try and mitigate the urges of the body. Things that look good, taste
good and feel good are stimulating and addictive. Most of us live life with our
body in the driver’s seat. The soul just can’t compete. And so, the soul tries
to negotiate reasonably, and encourages moderation.
ØOr,
the soul can choose to reject the body and abhor anything associated with
materialism. The soul-driven person would then rebel against society’s shallow
and false veneers. Simplicity and ascetism become the ultimate goals of the
soul.
ØThe
third scenario is not a compromise between the first two. It is an entirely new
approach, where the body and soul learn to work together. The soul neither
leans towards the body nor rejects it. It
does not react; it pro-acts. In a proactive position, the soul directs and
channels the body’s inclination in a constructive way. In this last approach,
instead of repressing the body’s needs, the soul views them as an opportunity
to serve God in a whole new way.
ØUsing
the third approach we should fast with a purpose like Moses or Elijah for
example before going into God’s presence or to strengthen us or for the benefit
of others. Jesus fasted not because He needed to, but as a model for us. We
should make self-sacrifices in an effort to make others happy or out of love
for our God to share in his plan of salvation.
Read: “Wherefore, we ask, urgently and prayerfully, that we, as people of God,
make of the entire Lenten Season a period of special penitential observance.
Following the instructions of the Holy See, we declare that the obligation both
too fast and to abstain from meat, an obligation observed under a stricter
formality by our fathers in the faith, still binds on Ash Wednesday and Good
Friday. No Catholic Christian will lightly excuse himself from so hallowed an
obligation on the Wednesday which solemnly opens the Lenten season and, on that
Friday, called ‘Good’ because on that day Christ suffered in the flesh and died for our sins.
. .. Gratefully remembering this, Catholic peoples from time immemorial have
set apart Friday for special penitential observance by which they gladly suffer
with Christ that they may one day be glorified with Him. This is the heart of
the tradition of abstinence from meat on Friday where that tradition has been
observed in the holy Catholic Church.”
(1966 USCCB Pastoral Statement on
Penance and Abstinence, no. 12 and no. 18)
Reflect: "If you have fasted two or three
days, do not think of yourself better than others who do not fast. You fast and
are angry; another eats and wears a smiling face." —St. Jerome, Letters, 22.37
Pray: Pray that abstinence from some of your
favorite things this Lenten season will help bring you closer to God long after
the season is over.
Act: Take note of the meatless meals you have
enjoyed this Lent. Add your favorites to your family’s regular meal rotation once Lent is
over.
Fr.
Mike continues to take us through the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem,
and the importance of moving on from the past to see what God is doing in our
lives right now. He also gives some context on the Samaritans and what was
happening across Jerusalem, post return. Today's readings are Ezra 3-4,
Zechariah 1-3, and Proverbs 20:4-7.
Recognizing that God, the Father created man on Friday the 6th day
I propose in this blog to have an entry that shares on how to recreate and
renew yourself in strength, mind, soul and heart.
Is interval training more effective than steady-state cardio
training for fat loss?
·Exercise combined with diet modifications has been shown to
be more effective than either alone for promoting weight loss.
·Establishing exercise habits during the weight loss phase can help
prevent weight regain and yo-yo dieting down the road. One of the most
common excuses for lack of exercise is a lack of time.
·These results show that the type of cardio performed for fat loss
(intervals vs. steady state) probably doesn’t matter as much as the number of
calories burned in the exercise session. Moreover, the overall amount of fat
loss is small.
·Focus should be placed on how the exercise session impacts other
areas of life, such as appetite, food intake, and leisure-time physical
activity.
·Focus should also be placed on whether you can see yourself
sticking with your chosen exercise modality for the long-term.
·Exercise may not be all that for fat loss, but it certainly
impacts fitness and health improvement. As such, all forms of exercise should
be encouraged despite their relatively minimal contribution to fat loss.
·Strength training is especially important for developing lean body
mass.
·High-intensity training such as interval endurance training
appears to be more effective at reducing inflammation and increasing insulin
sensitivity than lower-intensity training such as steady-state cardio.
Evidence has shown that exercise
has additional benefits on health that warrant its inclusion in daily life,
such as reducing inflammation and increasing insulin sensitivity. Moreover,
high-intensity exercise appears to be more effective than lower intensity
exercise at inducing these beneficial changes, which might be one reason to
prefer interval training over steady-state even if fat loss would be
similar. Ultimately, though, adherence is key. Thus, enjoyment and
personal preferences when it comes to exercise are what’s most important
[7]Sheraton, Mimi. 1,000 Foods
To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (p. 892). Workman Publishing
Company. Kindle Edition.
Heidi (1937)
🎬 Production Snapshot
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Director: Allan Dwan
Release: 1937
Screenplay: Walter Ferris (adaptation), based on Johanna Spyri’s 1881 novel
Stars: Shirley Temple, Jean Hersholt, Arthur Treacher, Mary Nash
Genre: Family drama / Alpine fairy‑tale realism
Notable: One of Shirley Temple’s most beloved roles, blending pastoral innocence with melodrama. Though often remembered as a children’s classic, the film carries a surprisingly mature emotional architecture—loss, exile, forgiveness, and the healing power of belonging.
🧭 Story Summary
Heidi, an orphaned Swiss girl, is taken by her stern but tender‑hearted grandfather, Alm‑Oncle (Jean Hersholt), to live in his mountain hut. Their life is simple, joyful, and rooted in the rhythms of nature—goats, meadows, and the quiet restoration of a wounded man learning to love again.
This peace is shattered when Heidi’s aunt sells her into service with a wealthy Frankfurt family. There she becomes companion to Klara, a lonely, wheelchair‑bound girl whose illness is as much emotional as physical. Heidi’s presence—her joy, her honesty, her mountain‑shaped freedom—begins to heal Klara, even as Heidi herself suffers from homesickness so severe it borders on spiritual exile.
A cruel governess (Mary Nash) tries to keep Heidi captive for her own ambitions, but the truth eventually surfaces. Klara’s father intervenes, Klara finds the courage to walk, and Heidi is returned to her grandfather. The film closes with restored relationships, renewed trust, and the sense that grace has flowed through a child’s innocence to heal an entire household.
🕰 Historical and Cultural Context
Released at the height of Shirley Temple’s stardom, the film offered Depression‑era audiences a vision of innocence that felt medicinal.
The Alpine setting—though largely studio‑constructed—tapped into American fascination with European pastoral purity.
The story’s themes of exile, restoration, and the healing of the father‑child bond resonated deeply with families fractured by economic hardship.
Allan Dwan, a veteran of silent cinema, brought a gentle, almost fairy‑tale pacing that softened the harsher edges of Spyri’s novel.
The film helped cement the “child redeemer” archetype in American cinema: the idea that a child’s purity can restore adult hearts.
✝️ Catholic Moral Resonances
The film’s emotional core aligns naturally with Catholic themes of providence, mercy, and the healing power of innocence.
The Child as Icon of Grace
Heidi embodies the Gospel’s teaching that a child’s trust reveals the Kingdom. Her joy is not naïve—it is a spiritual force that softens hardened adults and restores broken relationships.
Providence in Exile
Heidi’s forced removal from the mountain echoes biblical patterns of exile: suffering that becomes the seedbed of grace. Her presence in Frankfurt is not an accident but a mission—Klara’s healing depends on her.
Restoration of the Father
Alm‑Oncle’s transformation from bitterness to tenderness mirrors the Catholic conviction that fatherhood is healed through love freely given, not earned. Heidi becomes the instrument of his conversion.
Mercy Against Manipulation
The governess represents the misuse of authority—control, fear, and ambition. Heidi’s forgiveness and Klara’s eventual courage reveal the triumph of mercy over domination.
Healing as Communion
Klara’s recovery is not merely physical; it is relational. She walks because she is loved, encouraged, and believed in. Catholic anthropology sees healing as communal, not individualistic.
🍷 Hospitality Pairing
Drink: Hot Milk with Honey
Simple, comforting, and childlike—something Heidi herself might have been given after a long day in the mountains. It carries the film’s warmth and innocence.
Snack: Rustic Alpine Bread with Butter and Jam
Unpretentious, pastoral, and rooted in the film’s Swiss setting. It evokes the mountain hut, the goats, and the sense of home restored.
Atmosphere:
Soft lamplight, like a mountain cottage at dusk.
Gentle classical or Swiss folk melodies.
A sense of quiet domestic peace—something being mended, something being welcomed home.
🪞 Reflection Prompt
Where might God be inviting you to recover Heidi’s childlike trust—believing that exile can become mission, that innocence can heal, and that the Father’s house is always open for your return?
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