Smoke in This Life and Not the Next

Wednesday, May 1
St. Joseph the Worker
Virtue Under the Knife: Dignity & Labor

Tonight’s Pairing

Cigar: a structured, humble Habano — steady, honest, built for work
Bourbon: Old Forester 1920 — bold, historic, the backbone of American craft
Reason: tonight is about consecrating labor, not escaping it

The Reflection

In the final station of her vision, the saint was shown a dungeon unlike the others. It was not the pit of the proud, nor the stench of the impure, nor the furnace of the ambitious. It was the place of the unguarded — souls who had not embraced any single vice, yet had allowed a thousand small faults to slip through the cracks of daily life.

They were not hardened sinners.
They were not rebels.
They were simply men and women who treated the ordinary duties of life as optional.

Because they touched every fault lightly, they tasted every chastisement lightly — a share in all, a mastery of none. Their suffering was not the violence of a single chain but the slow tightening of many small cords. The saint saw what happens when a soul refuses to sanctify the small things.

These were the souls who worked sometimes, prayed sometimes, offered themselves sometimes — but never built the interior discipline that turns labor into prayer. They were not wicked. They were simply inattentive. And inattentive souls bleed slowly.

When she left that last station, she begged God never to show it to her again. Not because it was grotesque, but because it was true. She saw the cost of spiritual drift. She saw the weight of “small sins.” She saw the danger of a life where work is merely endured, not offered.

And Christ answered her:
He revealed these prisons so she would learn His holiness — and detest even the smallest stain.

On the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, the lesson sharpens. Joseph did not drift. He did not treat labor as punishment or as a way to earn applause. He kept the long watch. He guarded the silence. He carried the weight of the hidden life with precision, not passivity. He mastered the small things so the small things never mastered him.

Tonight’s smoke is not about fear — it’s about craftsmanship of the soul.
The dignity that turns labor into offering.
The discipline that turns work into prayer.
The steady, working‑man holiness that Joseph lived without applause.

Guard the small gates.
Sanctify the small tasks.
Offer the small work.

Purgatory Note

Purgatory is mercy, not vengeance — but mercy is not softness. The souls who neglected the sanctification of their daily labor are purified with a measured share of every fire, because their faults touched every corner of life. Their purification is not violent, but it is relentless. It is the slow, exacting correction of a life where work was never offered, only endured.

Better to wake up now.
Better to choose discipline now.
Better to take the humble smoke now — and not the next.

May 1 — First Friday

The Three Hearts with St. George

Phase II: Jesus Strengthens and Sends the Heart

The Sacred Heart begins the strengthening phase by placing the disciple back into the arena. The purified heart from the Marian months is no longer sheltered; it is now trained for impact. On this First Friday, Christ does not ask for comfort—He asks for courage. He hands the heart its mission and expects it to stand.

The Three Hearts move in formation:

Mary keeps the heart clean.
Joseph keeps the heart steady.
Jesus drives the heart forward.

Today the emphasis is strength—loving God with all your strength, soul, and heart—the Sorrowful, Glorious, and Luminous Mysteries braided into one disciplined ascent.

St. George — Courage in Battle

St. George stands at the head of the Nine Exterior Defenders because courage is the first requirement of mission. A man cannot carry Christ into the world if he collapses at the first sign of resistance. George teaches the heart to advance, not merely endure. He shows that courage is not noise or bravado—it is the quiet refusal to yield when the enemy expects retreat.

Sacred Heart Virtue of the Month: Doing the Father’s Will

The first virtue of the strengthening phase is obedience to the Father’s will—not passive acceptance, but active alignment. Jesus strengthens the heart by demanding clarity: Do what the Father asks, not what the world rewards. This is the virtue that turns a man from spectator to soldier.

Joseph’s Role: Protector of Mission and Work

Joseph stands behind the heart like a shield-bearer. He protects the work, the mission, the daily grind that shapes perseverance. He does not remove the battle; he ensures the heart is not ambushed while fighting it.

The Call of May 1

Christ strengthens the heart so it can love to the end.
St. George trains the heart to stand in the fire.
Joseph guards the heart so it can finish the work.
Mary keeps the heart clean so it can remain worthy of the mission.

This is the beginning of the nine-month march of the Sacred Heart.
The heart steps into the arena today.

MAY

Flowers in Mary's month tie us closely to the reawakening earth. The time of Resurrection and expectant Pentecost is one of buds, blossoms, wildflowers, and greening of meadows and lawns. Days lengthen and we welcome the warmth of the sun after the long winter. Jesus is risen and is present in our midst, and so we rise and ascend with him.

Overview of May[1]

The month of Mary

· The Easter season is represented by the liturgical color white — the color of light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence (absolute or restored). The season ends on Pentecost, May 24. The remainder of the month (beginning the Monday after Pentecost) is in Ordinary Time which is represented by the liturgical color green. This symbol of hope is the color of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious resurrection.

· "In the medieval period, the rose was adopted as the flower symbol of the Virgin Birth, as expressed in Dante's phrase, 'The Rose wherein the Divine Word was made flesh,' and depicted in the central rose windows of the great gothic cathedrals-from which came the Christmas carol, 'Lo, How a Rose 'ere Blooming.' Also, in the medieval period, when monasteries were the centers of horticultural and agricultural knowledge, and with the spread of the Franciscan love of nature, the actual flowers themselves, of the fields, waysides and gardens, came to be seen as symbols of Mary…" – John S. Stokes

May

May is also:[2]

· National Military Appreciation Month

· National Barbecue Month

MAY TIMETABLE

May Travel?[3]

· Carlsbad Caverns National Park Month of May Head to this amphitheater at Carlsbad Caverns National Park for a grand show: Each May Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from a large, rocky passage within Carlsbad Cavern in search of a tasty mix of insects for dinner. In case you’ve happened on this wondrous sight in southeastern New Mexico with your family (and your kids have questions), a park ranger gives an informative talk as visitors wait for the bats to come out.

o Arizona Cavern

· Whale Watching, Stellwagen Bank—May thru October-- Did winter come and go without you getting a chance to see whales? There’s still time: Between May and September, more than 400 orcas swim in the waters around Canada’s Vancouver Island. Or head to the Azores, the Portuguese archipelago about 1,000 miles from Lisbon, where sperm whales gather from May to October. Closer to home, Stellwagen Bank, a submerged sandbank between Cape Cod and Cape Ann in Massachusetts, attracts the endangered North Atlantic right whale to its waters.

o San Diego Whale Watch

· Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival—April 24 thru May 3-- Take in the small-town charm of Winchester, VA, in this 6-day celebration of spring. First held in 1924, the annual festival packs a wallop of more than 30 events into its lineup: band competitions, dances, parades, carnival, a 10K race, the coronation of Queen Shenandoah and so much more, attracting crowds in excess of 250,000.

· Cinco de Mayo--Celebrate Cinco de Mayo (meaning "fifth of May" in Spanish) right here in the United States. Nationwide, there are more than 120 official US celebrations, spanning 21 states, in cities such as Cleveland, Los Angeles, Dallas and Atlanta. The holiday stretches back to the first few years of the American Civil War, when Mexican American communities sought to commemorate the causes of freedom and democracy. Head to downtown Denver for one such celebration: Here, members of a Mexican folkloric dance academy perform at the city’s Civic Center Park.

· Kentucky Derby-May 2^nd On your mark, get set … it’s off to Louisville for the granddaddy of all horse races. In time-honored tradition, the 152^stannual Kentucky Derby -- the first leg of the Triple Crown -- kicks off the first Saturday in May. Settle into your seat at Churchill Downs racetrack on Central Avenue, sip a mint julep and enjoy the "Most Exciting 2 Minutes in Sports."

o Derby Day Turf Paradise Arizona

o Arcadia Farms

· Mother’s Day Tea at The Plaza—May 10th Mom is always fussing over you, now’s your chance to turn the tables -- in style. Treat Mom to afternoon tea at The Plaza’s Tea Room. A tradition since the hotel opened in 1907, tea at this NYC landmark has inspired scenes in popular films and novels, including Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Mom can enjoy a selection of sandwiches and savories from the Fitzgerald Tea for the Ages and The New Yorker menus.

o Acadia Farms Mother’s Day Tea Arizona

· Cannes Film Festival—May 12-23-- La lumière, la caméra, l'action! Slip on some shades, and head to the French Riviera for the largest annual showcase of cinema in the world. Don’t have a ticket to events inside the Palais des Festivals et des Congres building where the festival is held? Pas de probleme! Enjoy open-air shows at the Cinema de la Plage, and for celebrity sightings show up extra-early outside the Palais. You may just spot Ang Lee, Nicole Kidman or Steven Spielberg on this year’s red carpet.

· Indianapolis 500—May 24-- Rev up for the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Part of the Triple Crown of Motorsports (with the Monaco Grand Prix and 24 Hours of Le Mans right behind) this annual race is quite possibly the largest single-day sporting event in the entire world, attracting roughly 400,000 spectators. Head to Indianapolis the last weekend in May, and prepare for a high-speed show around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval circuit.

o BEST. EXPERIENCE. EVER. Phoenix Raceway

§ Welcome to NASCAR Racing Experience. DRIVE a NASCAR race car by yourself on the Phoenix Raceway- A 1 mile, low-banked tri-oval racetrack with 8 to 9 degrees of banking in the turns. Following drivers meeting with training and instruction, you’ll drive a NASCAR race car for timed racing sessions. There’s no lead car to follow and no instructor rides with you. Get one-on-one instruction from a spotter over in-car radio. In between every 8 minutes of Track Time get to a brief pit stop and head back on the track to work on driving faster speeds. Pass the slower cars as you catch them... YES, passing is allowed!

Iceman’s Calendar

· Fri. May 1^st St. Joseph the Worker

o MASS First Friday

§ Full Flower Moon

· Sat. May 2^nd First Saturday

o Kentucky Debry

· Sun. May 3^rd Fifth Sunday of Easter

o Feast Sts Phillip & James Finding of the Cross

· Wed. May 6^th MASS First Wednesday

· Thu. May 7 National Day of Prayer

· Sun. May 10th Rogation Sunday

o Saint Damien

§ Mother’s Day

· Mon. May 11^th Rogation Monday

· Tue. May 12^th Rogation Tuesday

· Wed. May 13^th Our Lady of Fatima

o Rogation Wednesday

· Thu. May 14^th Mass Ascension Thursday

o Feast of St. Matthias

§ Start Novena to St. Rita Saint of Impossible causes.

· Fri. May 15^th Friday in the Octave of the Ascension

o Start Holy Spirit Novena

· Sun. May 17^th Ascension Sunday

· Tue. May 19^th St. Dunstan

· Thu. May 21^st Shavuot begins

· Fri. May 22^nd St. Rita

· Sun. May 24^th Pentecost

· Mon. May 25^th Memorial Day

o The Murph

· Wed. May 27^th Ember Wednesday in Pentecost

· Fri. May 29^th Ember Friday in Pentecost

· Sat. May 30^th Ember Saturday in Pentecost

o MASS St. Joan of Arc

· Sun. May 31^st Trinity Sunday

o MASS Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

§ Full Blue Moon

MAY 1 Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter-First Friday

St. Joseph The Worker-May Day-Full Flower Moon

Psalm 2, verse 11

Serve the LORD with FEAR; exult with trembling, accept correction lest he become angry and you perish along the way when his anger suddenly blazes up. Blessed are all who take refuge in him!

To fully understand this verse, we must know who the writer is referring to. In verse 10 the writer states “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear. Our God is a just God and to those who have been given much; much is required. Kings (and the 1 percent’ers) to be wise must humble themselves. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle then for a rich man to get into heaven. The "Eye of the Needle" has been claimed to be a gate in Jerusalem, which opened after the main gate was closed at night. A camel could only pass through this smaller gate if it was stooped and had its baggage removed.^{^[4]}

I also with this verse picture Mary Magdalene. Mary who by many accounts was a very rich woman financed our Lord’s ministry. We see in this verse the shadowing of her kissing of His feet and at the same time the hardening of Judas’ heart: who on seeing her act of love and wanting riches refused to humble himself and died in his pride.

Does Christ desire us to serve with Fear and trembling?

I noticed the other day that my two dogs when I come in are so excited about seeing me that they tremble with excitement. I think our God wants our hearts and our desires. I think we should have the humble fear that a loved child has for his or her parents, full of love and respect and that we should be excited too. So, let us approach each day with the kind of excitement that makes us tremble ready to do the will of God.

Copilot’s Take

The Catechism teaches that evil does not begin in institutions but in the human heart wounded by sin (CCC 1707). Psalm 2 exposes this truth with precision: when a person or a people refuse correction, pride becomes rebellion, and rebellion becomes destruction. The psalm’s warning to kings applies to every man who carries influence—authority without humility becomes a doorway for evil to enter.

The CCC describes evil as both personal and structural. Personal evil arises when a man knowingly chooses what is false, unjust, or degrading to human dignity (CCC 1849). Structural evil forms when many such choices accumulate into patterns—cultures of contempt, habits of violence, or systems that treat people as less than the image of God (CCC 1869). Psalm 2 names this dynamic: nations “rage,” peoples “plot in vain,” and rulers “take counsel” against the Lord. It is the anatomy of sin scaled up.

Holy fear is the antidote. The fear of the Lord—listed among the gifts of the Spirit (CCC 1831)—is not dread but the clarity that keeps a man from becoming his own god. It is the interior discipline that prevents him from drifting into the pride that fuels every form of evil. A man who fears God rightly cannot participate in hatred, injustice, or cruelty without violating his own conscience.

Confronting evil, then, is not about rage or retaliation. The CCC calls Christians to resist evil without becoming evil (CCC 2306). That means naming sin truthfully, refusing to cooperate with injustice, and standing firm in charity even when the world demands vengeance. It is the strength of Joseph, who obeyed God quietly; the courage of the apostles, who spoke truth without hatred; and the humility of Mary Magdalene, who trembled with love rather than pride.

Psalm 2 ends with a promise: “Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.” The man who bows before God stands upright before evil. He is not shaken by the world’s threats, nor seduced by its ideologies. He confronts darkness with a steady heart because he knows the true King—and he knows that no rebellion, no structure of sin, and no human pride can stand against Him.

Psalm 2 is not ancient poetry—it is a diagnostic tool for every age that forgets who God is. It warns that when rulers, institutions, and movements abandon humility, they drift into the same rebellion the psalm describes: plotting in the shadows while demanding moral authority in the daylight. The Catechism names this pattern “structures of sin,” the quiet accumulation of disordered choices that eventually harden into deception, pride, and betrayal.

And now, in our own time, we see that pattern reflected with disturbing clarity in the April 21, 2026 press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Federal prosecutors allege that the Southern Poverty Law Center secretly funneled more than $3 million of donor money to individuals tied to violent extremist groups—including the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party—while publicly claiming to oppose them. These are allegations, not convictions, but the shape of the scheme described—fictitious entities, covert accounts, hidden payments, and a betrayal of donor trust—is the exact moral inversion Psalm 2 exposes. It is not the loud evil of mobs and torches; it is the polished, administrative evil of deception wrapped in virtue language.

If proven true, this is evil in our time: the laundering of darkness through institutions meant to stand for light. And Psalm 2 answers it with a single command: serve the Lord with fear. Not terror, but the humility that keeps a man from becoming his own god. God sees through every disguise, judges every distortion, and calls His people to stand upright in a crooked age—steady, obedient, and unblinded by the world’s illusions.

First Friday[5]

“I promise you, in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the first Friday for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance; they shall not die in my disgrace nor without receiving the sacraments; my divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in that last moment.” — Our Lord to St. Margaret Mary

How to complete the First Friday’s Devotion

1. Receive Holy Communion on each First Friday.

2. The nine Fridays must be consecutive.

3. They must be made in honor and in reparation to His Sacred Heart.

ACT OF REPARATION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Sacred Heart of Jesus, animated with a desire to repair the outrages unceasingly offered to Thee, we prostrate before Thy throne of mercy, and in the name of all mankind, pledge our love and fidelity to Thee!

· The more Thy mysteries are blasphemed, the more firmly we shall believe them, O Sacred Heart of Jesus!

· The more impiety endeavors to extinguish our hopes of immortality, the more we shall trust in Thy Heart, sole hope of mankind!

· The more hearts resist Thy Divine attractions, the more we shall love Thee, O infinitely amiable Heart of Jesus!

· The more unbelief attacks Thy Divinity, the more humbly and profoundly we shall adore It, O Divine Heart of Jesus!

· The more Thy holy laws are transgressed and ignored, the more we shall delight to observe them, O most holy Heart of Jesus!

· The more Thy Sacraments are despised and abandoned, the more frequently we shall receive them with love and reverence, O most liberal Heart of Jesus!

· The more the imitation of Thy virtues is neglected and forgotten, the more we shall endeavor to practice them, O Heart of Jesus, model of every virtue!

· The more the devil labors to destroy souls, the more we shall be inflamed with desire to save them, O Heart of Jesus, zealous Lover of souls!

· The more sin and impurity destroy the image of God in man, the more we shall try by purity of life to be a living temple of the Holy Spirit, O Heart of Jesus!

· The more Thy Holy Church is despised, the more we shall endeavor to be her faithful children, O Sweet Heart of Jesus!

· The more Thy Vicar on earth is persecuted, the more we will honor him as the infallible head of Thy Holy Church, show our fidelity and pray for him, O kingly Heart of Jesus!

O Sacred Heart, through Thy powerful grace, may we become Thy apostles in the midst of a corrupted world, and be Thy crown in the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

12 Promises of the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.

2. I will give peace in their families.

3. I will console them in all their troubles.

4. I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.

5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.

6. Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.

9. I will bless those places wherein the image of my Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.

10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.

11. Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart.

12. In the excess of the mercy of my heart, I promise you that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour

St. Joseph the Worker[6]

"May Day" has long been dedicated to labor and the working man. It falls on the first day of the month that is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pope Pius XII expressed the hope that this feast would accentuate the dignity of labor and would bring a spiritual dimension to labor unions. It is eminently fitting that St. Joseph, a working man who became the foster-father of Christ and patron of the universal Church, should be honored on this day. The feast of St. Joseph the Worker was established by Pope Pius XII in 1955 in order to Christianize the concept of labor and give to all workmen a model and a protector. By the daily labor in his shop, offered to God with patience and joy, St. Joseph provided for the necessities of his holy spouse and of the Incarnate Son of God, and thus became an example to all laborers. "Workmen and all those laboring in conditions of poverty will have reasons to rejoice rather than grieve, since they have in common with the Holy Family daily preoccupations and cares"(Leo XIII).

Highlights and Things to Do:

· Read more about St. Joseph the Worker:

o Catholic Ireland

o Franciscan Media

o Vatican

o Crisis Magazine

o St. Josemaria Institute

· May 1 is celebrated in Communist countries as the Day of the International Solidarity of Workers. Today would be a good day to pray for atheistic Communism's influence to cease and a proper application of the principles explained by Leo XIII in Rerum novarum and John Paul II in Centesimus annus to be the guide used by nations.

· Read this comparison, May Day the Socialist Worker vs. St. Joseph the Worker.

· Read St. Joseph the Worker on May 1 and Every Day in the National Catholic Register.

· Louisiana in 2021 made May 1 an Annual ‘St. Joseph the Worker Day’ Statewide.

· Consider purchasing and reading Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father by Fr. Donald Calloway.

· The Josephites are a religious order of brothers and priests with the mission of serving African Americans. Visit their site for more information and also some prayers for the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. They are named Josephites because St. Joseph was the first missionary.

· Find some cooking inspiration for this feast day at Catholic Cuisine.

· Become a temple of the Holy Spirit via the St. Joseph Universal Man Plan.

May Day[7]

The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian times, with the Floralia, festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, held on April 27 during the Roman Republic era, and with the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries. The day was a traditional summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures.As Europe became Christianized, the pagan holidays lost their religious character and May Day changed into a popular secular celebration. A significant celebration of May Day occurs in Germany where it is one of several days on which St. Walburga, credited with bringing Christianity to Germany. The secular versions of May Day, observed in Europe and America, may be best known for their traditions of dancing around the maypole and crowning the Queen of May. Fading in popularity since the late 20th century is the giving of "May baskets," small baskets of sweets or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbors’ doorsteps. Since the 18th century, many Roman Catholics have observed May – and May Day – with various May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In works of art, school skits, and so forth, Mary's head will often be adorned with flowers in a May crowning.

May Day Facts & Quotes[8]

· Roman Catholics celebrate May as Mary's month, and May Day is celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

· May Day is also recognized as International Worker's Day, or Labor Day. This day commemorates workers’ rights and the labor movement. One popular cause that this day commemorates is the eight-hour workday.

· During the Haymarket Affair of 1886, more than a dozen people were killed after a 3-day strike and rally. US Labor Unions had agreed upon a general nationwide strike on May 1, 1886 in support of an eight-hour workday. One such rally, held outside the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, Chicago, Illinois, became violent when police fired into the crowd of striking workers. Outraged, the worker's organized another rally the next day at Haymarket Square. The rally became violent when a bomb was thrown into a crowd of police. Seven officers were killed. A very public trial ensued which ended in the public hanging of four anarchists.

· In France, it is customary to give a sweet-smelling flower called the spring of lily of the valley (a symbol of springtime) on May 1st. The tradition started in 1561 when King Charles IX of France received a lily of the valley as a lucky charm.

· All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. – Martin Luther King Jr.

May Day Top Events and Things to Do

· Dance around a Maypole. Decorate a tall pole with garlands of flowers and ribbons. Have a group of friends each take a ribbon and dance around the pole, interweaving the ribbons to form a braided affect. The braid can be undone by retracing one's steps.

· Have a picnic outdoors in the sunshine.

· Attend a May Day Festival.

· Visit a local fresh air market.

· Watch a film relating to worker’s rights. Our favorite films on the topic:
1) The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
2) Office Space (1999)
3) Caesar Chavez (2014)

Bible in a year Day 301 Rising Again

As we begin to wrap up the Old Testament, Fr. Mike reflects on our reading from Sirach and what we have already learned on this journey through the Bible. He emphasizes that Scripture encourages us to rise again from our sin and return to God, because our God always picks us up again with his mercy. Today’s readings are 2 Maccabees 4, Sirach 47-49, and Proverbs 24:13-16.

THIS WE BELIEVE

PRAYERS AND TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Closing Invocation for Night Prayers

Holy Mother of Jesus, my guardian angel, St. Joseph and my holy patron saint, protect me during this night and during my whole life, especially at the hour of my death. Amen.

Fitness Friday

Modern populations are increasingly overfed, malnourished, sedentary, sunlight-deficient, sleep-deprived, and socially isolated.[9]

Depression and Sleep: Understanding the Connection

Depression and sleep problems are closely linked. People with insomnia, for example, may have a tenfold higher risk of developing depression than people who get a good night’s sleep. And among people with depression, 75% have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.

Which comes first? Either one can be the starting point, say sleep experts. Poor sleep may create difficulties regulating emotions that, in turn, may leave you more vulnerable to depression in the future — months or even years from now. And depression itself is associated with sleep difficulties such as shortening the amount of restorative slow wave sleep a person gets each night.

If you have depression, daily stresses — such as financial worries, an argument with your spouse, or a jam-packed evening commute — could also lead to more nighttime wake-ups and more trouble getting back to sleep than someone without depression would experience.

Understanding the relationship between insomnia and depression can help you spot risks early, get the right help, and recover more fully if you are experiencing both. You’ll feel healthy, well-rested, and able to enjoy life again. Here’s what you need to know about depression and sleep:

Take sleep problems seriously.

You should tell your doctor if you:

have trouble falling or staying asleep.
feel tired during the day.
have physical pain, discomfort or other complaints (for instance, signs of obstructive sleep apnea or pauses in breathing at night) that prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep.

Treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices for apnea can restore good sleep, helping you sidestep related conditions like depression. (People with sleep apnea have a fivefold higher risk of depression.)

Stay alert for signs of depression.

These include feeling hopeless, helpless or sad; trouble concentrating and remembering things; loss of energy; daytime sleepiness; loss of interest in activities that once gave you pleasure; or thoughts of suicide or death. Tell your doctor if you have any of these. (Call 911 if you have thoughts of suicide.)

This is especially important if you’re discussing insomnia with your doctor. Insomnia may be a separate condition or a symptom of depression. Your doctor needs to know as much as possible to treat the right problem.

Get help for both depression and sleep.

If you have insomnia and depression, don’t assume that medical treatment for one will automatically cure the other. Treatments for depression, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and other medications, may improve your mood and outlook, but they may not be enough to improve your sleep.

There’s some evidence that lingering sleep problems in people undergoing depression treatment increase the risk of a slide back into depression. The good news: There’s also some early evidence that CBT-I (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia), along with depression treatment, improves sleep in people with depression and may increase the chances of a remission of depression.

Poor Quality Sleep Reduces Resilience

In a Johns Hopkins study, healthy women and men whose sleep was interrupted throughout the night had a 31% reduction in positive moods the next day. The data shows that sleep interruptions interfere with deep, restorative slow-wave sleep. Ongoing insomnia could increase a person’s risk of depression by weakening their emotional resilience — the buffer of positive emotions that helps people deal with stress and challenges of life.

Around the Corner-Mary’s Month-Do a family Rosary

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

(Matthew 1:23)

Try Truffle-when I was little my Dad was stationed in Belgium and I would go to the Market and eat the sample truffle till I was thrown out.

· do a personal eucharistic stations of the cross.

· Bucket List trip: New Zealand

· Spirit Hour: Sauvignon Blanc

Full Flower Moon

Today according to the almanac is a Full Flower Moon; bring flowers to all the women in your life. Christ always brought His mother Lilies of the Valley.

Daily Devotions

· Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: St. Joseph’s intersession for the Porter’s of St. Joseph

· Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

· Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

· Make reparations to the Holy Face

· Drops of Christ’s Blood

· Universal Man Plan

[1]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=12548

[2]https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/may/

[3]https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/spring/photos/things-to-do-in-april

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_a_needle

[5]https://americaneedsfatima.org/Our-Lord-Jesus-Christ/the-nine-first-fridays-devotion.html

[6]http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2017-05-01

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day

[8]http://www.wincalendar.com/May-Day

[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3330161/

OLIVER TWIST (1933)

Dickie Moore • Irving Pichel • William “Stage” Boyd
A stark, early‑sound adaptation where poverty, exploitation, and moral brutality are shown without sentiment — revealing how a society’s indifference can deform a child faster than outright cruelty.

1. Production & Historical Setting

Released in 1933 and directed by William J. Cowen, this Oliver Twist is a Pre‑Code Poverty Row drama — shot with limited resources, minimal sets, and a rawness that accidentally aligns with Dickens’ original brutality. Before Hollywood softened the edges, this version lets the ugliness of the workhouse and the criminal underworld stand unfiltered.

The film emerges from an America wrestling with:

The Great Depression’s exposure of systemic poverty
A growing distrust of institutions — workhouses, courts, police
The rise of the “lost child” archetype in early cinema
A moral climate where survival often overshadowed virtue

Dickie Moore plays Oliver with a quiet, wounded realism — no theatrical innocence, just a child absorbing blows.
Irving Pichel’s Fagin is cold, calculating, and less caricatured than later versions — a predator shaped by scarcity.
William “Stage” Boyd’s Bill Sikes is pure menace: a man whose violence is not dramatic but habitual.

The world is cramped rooms, shadowed alleys, and the claustrophobic interiors of poverty — the perfect landscape for a child who learns early that mercy is rare and justice is slow.

2. Story Summary

Oliver is born in a workhouse; his mother dies immediately. Raised in institutional neglect, he is sold, beaten, and eventually flees to London.

There he meets the Artful Dodger, who brings him into Fagin’s den — a criminal apprenticeship disguised as family.

What follows is a descent into:

exploitation
theft
fear
moral confusion

Oliver is wrongly accused of pickpocketing but rescued by Mr. Brownlow, who sees the child beneath the grime. Fagin and Bill Sikes abduct Oliver to force him into burglary. Nancy tries to save him — and pays with her life.

Sikes dies while fleeing justice. Fagin is executed. Oliver is restored to Brownlow’s care, but the film leaves the scars visible: salvation does not erase what the world has done to him.

3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances

A. Innocence Without Protection Becomes Prey

Oliver’s goodness is not enough. Without defenders, innocence is consumed.

B. Institutions Can Fail the Weak

The workhouse, the courts, the police — all fail Oliver before any criminal does.

C. Evil Often Masquerades as Necessity

Fagin and Sikes justify their cruelty as survival. Sin frequently hides behind “I had no choice.”

D. Mercy Arrives Through Individuals, Not Systems

Brownlow’s compassion is the turning point — one man choosing to see dignity where others saw inconvenience.

E. A Child’s Soul Reveals a Society’s Soul

Oliver’s suffering is an indictment: the measure of a culture is how it treats its smallest members.

4. Hospitality Pairing — The Workhouse Table

A coarse brown bread — dry, plain, the taste of institutional survival
A tin cup of weak broth — thin, insufficient, the rationed mercy of the world
A single candle on a rough wooden table — the fragile light of conscience
A worn wool coat thrown over a chair — the armor of the poor
A chipped bowl — the symbol of every child who has ever asked for more

A setting for nights when you want to examine the cost of neglect, the weight of responsibility, and the quiet heroism of those who choose mercy in a brutal world.

5. Reflection Prompts

Where have I tolerated injustice because it was “normal”?
Who in my life is vulnerable — and am I acting like Brownlow or like the indifferent crowd?
What “workhouse rules” have I internalized that keep me from compassion?
Where am I excusing harshness as necessity?
What part of my soul still feels like Oliver — waiting for someone to see me?