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. "
Friday, May 8 The Virtue: Purification Through Constancy
Tonight’s Pairing
Cigar: A firm‑pressed Maduro — slow, disciplined, the kind of leaf that forces a man to stay with the burn Drink: A straight rye — sharp, clarifying, the drink of men who refuse to soften the truth
Reason: tonight is about the truth that follows a man, the truth he cannot outrun, the truth God purifies not with spectacle but with steady, unrelenting correction.
The Reflection
Purgatory is not the furnace of the wicked
but the workshop of the unfinished—
the place where God refuses to let a man enter Heaven
with half‑formed virtues
or uncorrected loyalties.
St. Gregory gives us the pattern again in Paschasius,
the deacon whose charity was real,
whose doctrine was sound,
whose sanctity was confirmed by miracles—
and who still found himself laboring after death
in the heat of the baths,
performing the low work
that matched the low place
where his judgment had failed.
His fault was not rebellion.
Not pride.
Not corruption.
It was constancy misplaced—
remaining loyal to the wrong men,
standing firm in the wrong camp,
holding his ground where truth did not stand with him.
When he appeared to Germain of Capua,
he did not justify himself.
He did not reinterpret events.
He did not negotiate.
He simply said: “I here expiate the wrong I did.”
No drama.
No self‑defense.
Just a soul under correction,
accepting the truth he had avoided in life.
This is the fire of May 8:
not the fire that destroys,
but the fire that finishes—
the fire that burns away the stubborn parts of a man
that refuse to be taught.
The Maduro fits the lesson:
slow, steady, unhurried—
the kind of smoke that forces a man
to stay where he is
until the work is done.
The rye matches it:
sharp, clean, uncompromising—
the drink of a man who wants to be true
more than he wants to be comfortable.
The law is the same for every man:
God purifies not only our sins
but our misplaced loyalties,
our unfinished virtues,
our half‑formed constancy.
Better to let the steady fire do its work now.
Purgatory Note
Paschasius was not broken by violence
but shaped by repetition—
the quiet, humbling labor
that burns away self‑trust
and restores right allegiance.
His purification ended
the moment Germain’s prayer
completed the last stroke of the chisel.
No spectacle.
No thunder.
Just absence—
the silence of a soul finally aligned.
Better to take the steady smoke now.
Better to drink the sharp rye now.
Better to let constancy be corrected now— and not the next.
SEVEN DAYS LEAVE (1930)
Gary Cooper • Beryl Mercer • Daisy Belmore
A Pre‑Code wartime drama built on compassion, identity, and the quiet heroism of ordinary people. Adapted from J.M. Barrie’s The Old Lady Shows Her Medals, the film pairs Gary Cooper’s understated sincerity with Beryl Mercer’s devastatingly human performance. No spectacle. No propaganda. Just the moral weight of kindness offered under fire.
1. Production & Historical Setting
Released in 1930 by Paramount Pictures, directed by Richard Wallace, Seven Days Leave sits at the intersection of:
Pre‑Code emotional candor — grief, loneliness, and moral ambiguity shown without the later Code’s sanitizing hand
Post‑WWI realism — the lingering wounds of the Great War, both physical and psychological
Early Cooper naturalism — quiet, unforced, almost modern in its restraint
Beryl Mercer’s stage‑honed gravity — reprising her role from the 1917 play with surgical emotional precision
The film’s world is small: London streets, YMCA rooms, a widow’s cramped flat. But the emotional terrain is large—identity, consolation, sacrifice, and the cost of truth.
The cultural backdrop:
A generation marked by loss and dislocation
Soldiers carrying invisible wounds
Women surviving through imagination, memory, and borrowed hope
Patriotism without triumphalism—duty as burden, not banner
The film’s power lies in its simplicity: a soldier, a widow, a lie told in mercy, and the truth that follows.
2. Story Summary
A wounded Canadian soldier, Private Kenneth (Gary Cooper), is recovering in London. A YMCA worker tells him that a lonely Scottish widow, Sarah Ann Dowey (Beryl Mercer), believes—without evidence—that he is her son.
He agrees to play the part to comfort her.
What begins as a small kindness becomes a bond:
She gains a son she never had
He gains a place where he is wanted
Their shared fiction becomes a shared dignity
But the war calls him back.
He returns to the front.
He dies in action.
The medals arrive at the widow’s door.
She receives them as a mother—
and the film refuses to correct her.
The lie becomes a mercy.
The mercy becomes a truth.
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. Compassion as Moral Risk
The soldier’s choice is not “right” in a legal sense—
but it is righteous in a human one.
Mercy outruns precision.
B. Identity Given, Not Claimed
He becomes her son not by blood
but by gift—
a reminder that belonging can be chosen.
C. The Dignity of Consolation
The widow’s life is small,
but her capacity for love is immense.
The film honors that without irony.
D. Sacrifice Without Applause
His final act is not heroic in the cinematic sense—
it is simply duty fulfilled,
quietly, without witnesses.
E. Truth That Heals Rather Than Wounds
The film refuses to “correct” the widow.
Some truths are too sharp for the living.
Mercy becomes the higher accuracy.
4. Hospitality Pairing — The Widow’s Table
A cup of black tea — humble, steady, the drink of grief and hospitality A slice of simple bread with butter — the food of wartime rationing, offered with love A small dram of Scotch — not celebratory, but consoling A wooden chair by a dim lamp — the atmosphere of Mercer’s London flat
A setting for nights when you want to reflect on compassion, duty, and the moral weight of small mercies.
5. Reflection Prompts
Where am I being asked to offer mercy rather than precision?
Who in my life needs consolation more than correction?
What identity am I being asked to “step into” for the sake of another’s dignity?
Where is sacrifice quiet, unseen, and still required of me?
How do I discern when a small lie becomes a large mercy?
Thursday, May 7 The Virtue: Discernment Under Fire
Tonight’s Pairing
Cigar:A plain Dominican corona — nothing ornate, nothing posturing; the kind of honest leaf a working priest or a tired Dominican reformer would have recognized Drink:A simple red table wine — unpretentious, dry, the drink of men who prefer truth to ornament
Reason: tonight is about ignorance purified, not malice punished—how even a holy man can burn for choosing the wrong side, and how God’s justice is precise, not theatrical.
The Reflection
Pope St. Pius V lived with the memory of Paschasius,
the deacon whose charity was legendary,
whose doctrine was sound,
whose sanctity was confirmed by miracles—
and who still found himself laboring in the baths after death,
performing menial work in a place of heat and humility.
His fault was not corruption.
Not ambition.
Not malice.
It was discernment gone soft—
backing the wrong party in a papal election,
aligning with men the bishops themselves judged unsound.
When he appeared to Germain of Capua,
he did not rage, excuse, or defend.
He simply said: “I here expiate the wrong I did by adhering to the wrong party.”
No drama.
No self‑pity.
Just the truth spoken by a soul under purification.
St. Gregory’s judgment is surgical: he sinned through ignorance, not malice—
and so his punishment was temporary.
This is the fire Pius V understood:
the fire that burns not the wicked
but the well‑intentioned man who chose poorly,
the man whose loyalty outran his judgment,
the man who mistook zeal for clarity.
The plain corona fits the lesson:
no sweetness to hide behind,
no complexity to flatter the palate—
just the steady smoke of a man
who lets the truth correct him.
The table wine matches it:
simple, dry, penitential—
the drink of a soul that wants to be clean
more than it wants to be right.
The law is the same for every man: God purifies even our good intentions
when they were aimed in the wrong direction.
Better to let the small fire do its work now.
Purgatory Note
Paschasius was not crushed by a furnace
but humbled by service—
the quiet, repetitive heat
that burns away self‑trust
and restores right judgment.
His purification ended
the moment Germain’s prayer completed the work.
No spectacle.
No thunder.
Just absence—
the silence of a soul finally free.
Better to take the plain smoke now.
Better to drink the dry wine now.
Better to let discernment be corrected now— and not the next.
MAY 7 Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter
National Day of Prayer- New Orleans Founded-Cosmo Day
1 Samuel, Chapter 21, Verse 13
David
took note of these remarks and became very much AFRAID of Achish, king of Gath.
One
wonders why David was so afraid. According to David Roper this was David’s
testing.
Just
about the time I think I've got it all together, some unsightly emotional
display, some inappropriate reaction, some other embarrassing behavior blows my
cover and I have that horrible experience of being found out. It's humiliating!
But humiliation is good for the soul. Through it God deals with our
self-admiration and pride. Without it we could never make the most of our
lives. The trouble with us is that we want to be tremendously important. It's a
terrible trait, the essential vice, the utmost evil. It's the sin that turned
the devil into the demon he became. Obscurity
and humility, on the other hand, release God's greatness. It is the basis
of our life with God and our usefulness in this world. Thomas à Kempis wrote,
"The more humble a man is in himself, and the more subject unto God; so
much more prudent shall he be in all his affairs, and enjoy greater peace and
quietness of heart." Because ambition and pride is the center of our
resistance to God and the source of so much unhappiness, "God opposes the
proud" (James 4:6); he brings us to our knees, where He can then begin to
do something with us.
David
fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said
to him,
"Isn't
this David, the king of the land?
Isn't
he the one they sing about in their dances: 'Saul has slain his thousands, and
David his tens of thousands'?"
David took these words to heart and was very much
afraid of Achish king of Gath. So, he pretended to be insane in their presence;
and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the
doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his
servants, "Look at the man! He is insane!
Why
bring him to me?
Am
I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like
this in front of me?
Must
this [mad] man come into my house?"
David [then] left Gath and escaped to the cave of
Adullam (1 Samuel 21:10-22:1). David fled south from Nob — with Saul in hot
pursuit — and he made his way across the Judean hills and through the Valley of
Elah where a few years before he had engaged Goliath in combat. It was to Gath
— the home of his enemies — that David now turned for shelter from Saul. I
don't know what possessed David to flee to Gath. Perhaps he thought he wouldn't
be recognized, since this was several years after his encounter with Goliath,
and he had grown to manhood. Perhaps he disguised himself in some way. But
David was instantly recognized, and his presence was reported to king Achish of
Gath:
"Isn't
this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one they sing about in their
dances: 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?"
The phrase "they sing" could be translated,
"they still sing," suggesting a popular tune. David's fame was
celebrated everywhere — even in Philistia. You have to understand the
implications of this song. David had slain his ten thousands of Philistines;
his fame had been established at the expense of bereaved Philistine women and
children. Here was an opportunity to take vengeance. Furthermore, he was
considered "the king of the land [of Israel]." By some means David
became aware that he had been found out, and that he was facing imprisonment
and death, so David lost his nerve (see Psalm 34 and 56). Motivated by sheer
terror, David pretended to go mad, foaming at the mouth and scrawling crazy
slogans on the walls. According to the title of Psalm 56 the Philistines
"seized him" and brought him to Achish, who dismissed him with the
contemptuous remark: "Behold, you see a madman!
Why
have you brought him to me? Am I lacking madmen that you have brought this to
ply his madness against me? Must this come into my house?"
The word translated "mad man" (21:15), used
three times by Achish, suggests something other than insanity. The word in
other Near Eastern languages means "highly aggressive" — violent and
dangerous — which gives added force to the king's remark: ". . .
you
have brought this to ply his madness [ravings] against me?"
Achish was afraid of David. The title to Psalm 34
supplies the conclusion of the matter: Achish "drove him away," out
of his court and out of town — David, run out of town on a rail, utterly
humiliated. David, the tough guy, the hero of Israel, the man they celebrated
in song and dance had wimped out in the face of physical danger and made an
utter fool of himself. With no place else to go, unwelcome in both Israel and
Philistia, David fled into a labyrinth of broken ridges and rimrock about three
miles from Gath and crept into a cave. The cavern in which he found refuge was
called the Cave of Adullum (Adullam means refuge). It can't be located with
certainty, but the traditional site is a dark vault located on a shelf at the
top of a near-perpendicular cliff. In that dark place — humiliated, crushed,
alone — he wrote Psalm 34 and Psalm
56. He was at his
nadir. In that dark place David cried out to God: "This poor [humiliated]
man called, and the LORD heard him." There he learned that "The LORD
is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit"
(34:6, 18). Lord Byron wrote from Reading Jail,
"How
else but through a broken heart can Lord Christ enter in?"
Furthermore, David learned to boast in the Lord rather
than in his own ability (34:2). Through shame and disgrace he became a more
modest man — one whom God could shape and use.[1]
The modern
world confronts evil the same way David confronted Gath: with discernment gone
soft. Our age is marked by speed, noise, and self‑confidence—conditions that
erode the interior clarity required to recognize evil before it matures. The
Catechism teaches that evil begins when man “lets his trust in his Creator die
in his heart” (CCC 397). That is the modern condition: a culture that trusts
technique, emotion, and autonomy more than God. The result is predictable—fear
bends judgment, judgment bends identity, and identity bends the moral order.
The CCC
insists that evil is not primarily external but interior. “The heart is the
seat of moral personality” (CCC 2517), and the modern heart is overstimulated,
under‑formed, and allergic to silence. Without interior discipline, a man
becomes reactive, not discerning; anxious, not anchored. This is David before
Gath—running into danger because fear has replaced prayer. The modern world’s
greatest vulnerability is not the scale of evil but the absence of interior
resistance. Evil thrives where men refuse to examine themselves.
The modern
world also confronts evil the way Pilate confronted Jesus: with power but no
truth. Pilate represents the state, the institution, the machinery of public
order—yet he is the one who trembles. He asks,
“What is
truth?”
not
because he seeks it, but because he has lost the capacity to recognize it. The
CCC warns that relativism is a form of blindness (CCC 1790–1791). When truth
becomes negotiable, evil becomes manageable, and once evil becomes manageable,
it becomes acceptable. Pilate’s courtroom is the modern world’s courtroom.
The CCC
teaches that evil is confronted not by outrage but by ordered virtue. Fortitude
“ensures firmness in difficulties” (CCC 1808), prudence “discerns our true
good” (CCC 1806), and justice “gives to each his due” (CCC 1807). These are not
abstractions; they are the architecture of resistance. The modern world prefers
sentiment to structure, activism to asceticism, expression to obedience. But
evil is not defeated by emotion. It is defeated by men whose interior lives are
governed by truth, not impulse.
The modern
world’s greatest danger is the collapse of discernment. The CCC warns that sin
darkens the intellect (CCC 1865), and a darkened intellect cannot recognize
evil even when it stands in front of it. This is why modern men confuse
compassion with permissiveness, tolerance with surrender, and unity with the
abandonment of truth. Evil advances not because it is strong but because
discernment is weak. The battle is not primarily cultural; it is ascetical. The
man who cannot govern himself cannot confront evil outside himself.
The path
forward is the movement from David’s panic to Christ’s composure. Every man
must pass through Gath—his moment of collapse, fear, and exposure.But
he must not remain there. Christ before Pilate reveals the antidote:
identity rooted in the Father, truth held without negotiation, and authority
exercised without fear. The modern world does not need louder men; it needs
ordered men. Men whose discernment is sharp, whose interior life is governed,
and whose courage is anchored in God. This is how evil is confronted in any
age—by men who refuse to let their trust in the Creator die in their hearts.
National
Day of Prayer is an annual holiday that serves to encourage Americans to pray,
meditate and repent. It is also used to draw awareness to prayer and religious
beliefs. The origins of National Day of Prayer date back to 1787. Benjamin
Franklin asked President George Washington to open each day with prayer, and to
realize that prayer is deeply intertwined in the fabric of the United States.
However, it was not until February 1952 during the Korean War that
Reverend Billy Graham petitioned support of Representative Percy Priest to
observe a National Day of Prayer. On April 17, 1952, President Harry Truman
signed a bill proclaiming National Day of Prayer, to encourage Americans to
turn to God in prayer and meditation. National Prayer Day is celebrated every
year on the first Thursday of May.
National
Day of Prayer Facts & Quotes
·According
to the Pew Research Center's Religious Landscape Study of 2015, 23% of
Americans have indicated that they are not part of any religion. The
survey is based on responses of more than 35,000 Americans.
·On
October 3, 2008, The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) sued President
George W. Bush and staff to challenge the designation of a National Day of
Prayer. On April 14, 2011, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled
that the National Day of Prayer did not cause harm and a feeling of alienation
cannot suffice as injury.
·According
to the Pew Research Center, more than 55% of Americans pray every day.
60% of older Americans are likely to pray every day, compared to 45% of
young Americans.
·Prayer
is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's
weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words
without a heart. - Mahatma Gandhi, Civil Rights and Freedom Activist
National
Day of Prayer Top Events and Things to Do
·Attend
a religious service at your place of worship on the National Day of Prayer.
·Offer
a prayer for your loved ones and for those who are serving at the frontlines to
protect America.
·Attend
a spiritual retreat that appeals to your beliefs.
·Attend
a prayer event on Prayer Day. There are many local events, some religious
based, others meditation oriented.
Bible in a
year Day 306 Wisdom
Is Beautiful
Fr. Mike draws our attention to the descriptions of wisdom found
in our readings for today and reflects on the beauty of wisdom’s feminine
nature. He also discusses the death of Antiochus Epiphanes and offers two
perspectives on reconciling God’s role in suffering. Today’s readings are from
2 Maccabees 9, Wisdom 7-8, and Proverbs 25:1-3.
St. Louis
Cathedral, the country’s oldest continuously operating cathedral, faces Jackson
Square. Melding French, Spanish, Italian, and Afro-Caribbean cultures, New
Orleans is a city that is at once elegant and debauched. And while it was
gravely impacted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Big Easy has shown
formidable resilience. Many of the city’s myriad pleasures are packed within
the lively grid of streets that make up the Vieux Carré (aka the French
Quarter). It is New Orleans’s most touristy area, yet also its heart. The
French laid out the Quarter’s 90 blocks of narrow streets in the 1720s, and the
Spanish—who ruled during the mid- to late 18th century—further developed it.
Indeed, despite its name, the neighborhood looks more Spanish than French. Wherever
you stroll, you risk sensory overload, from jazz on boisterous Bourbon Street
to the smell of café au lait and beignets (deep-fried dough dusted with
powdered sugar) wafting from Café du Monde in Jackson Square. Decatur Street
offers souvenir stands, offbeat boutiques, and charming restaurants. It’s also
home to Central Grocery, an old-fashioned Italian deli whose claim to fame is
having perfected (some say invented) one of the city’s classic sandwiches, the
muffuletta. Royal and Chartres streets are your best bets for upscale shopping.
Be sure to pop into the tacky but fun Pat O’Brien’s to sample their Hurricane,
a fruity—and potent—rum cocktail in a glass shaped like a hurricane lamp.
Charming Soniat House is comprised of 30 antiques-filled rooms in a cluster of
three 19th-century Creole town houses overlooking an interior courtyard garden
where guests breakfast on warm biscuits and homemade preserves. For a big-hotel
experience, and a big dose of history, it’s hard to beat the lavish 600-room
1886 Hotel Monteleone. Stop by its revolving circus-themed Carousel Bar for a
Sazerac cocktail before dinner. The Windsor Court, arguably the finest hotel in
the Big Easy, is known for its palatial accommodations, award-winning
restaurant, the Grill Room, and museum-quality art collection—yes, that’s a
Gainsborough.
Cosmopolitans
are probably one of the most famous cocktails out there, where people can go
out at night and enjoy and fun night dancing, laughing, and singing in clubs.
If you love cosmos, then you’ll
love Cosmopolitan Day. This drink has been making the rounds for a while, and
it highlights the 90’s as one of the best drinks of its time. Let’s check out Cosmopolitan Day! Although
the day itself is coined by freelancer writer, Jace Shoemaker-Galloway, who
writes about non-traditional holidays, the history of the Cosmo itself is very
murky. According to Vinepair.com, the first tracked origins of the cosmo go
back to the late nineteenth century, where a cocktail known as the Daisy
emerged as a drink with a recipe that called for spirit, sweetener and citrus.
Although this isn’t
exactly a cosmo, a more direct line for its origins comes from 1968, when Ocean
Spray wanted to advertise cranberry juice to adults. They named the drink “The Harpoon” and it called for an ounce of
vodka, an ounce of cranberry and a squeeze of lime, which was close to the
Cosmo recipe but missed the Cointreau and/or Triple Sec.
Although
legends differ that the Cosmo came from the gay subculture of Miami Beach,
Florida and Provincetown, Massachusetts, the formal invention of the drink is
credited to a bartender named Toby Cecchini, who made the drink while working
at the famous Odeon in Manhattan’s
Tribeca neighborhood in 1987. Its
popularity spread into celebrity culture, where it ended up in The Rainbow
Room, where Madonna is pictured drinking it at a Grammy after party. However,
it was brought into mainstream culture by the famous Tv Show Sex and the City,
where it appeared multiple times throughout the show, creating a cultural
impact on the U.S.
How to Celebrate
Cosmopolitan Day
Want a Cosmo?
Here’s an
amazing recipe you can easily make at home. In a cocktail shaker, mix 1 1/2
ounces vodka (or citrus vodka), 1-ounce Cointreau orange liqueur, 1/2-ounce
lime juice (fresh), and 1/4-ounce cranberry juice. Strain into a chilled
cocktail glass dipped in sugar, then garnish with an orange peel and voila!
Cosmo’s can be
as strong or tame as you like it, but because it has vodka in it, it isn’t exactly the most innocent drink
out there as far as cocktails go. You can also hashtag #CosmopolitanDay on your
social media and share you drinking your fancy cocktail with your friends.
Around the Corner
A Scar, a Shrine, and a Second Life
When Rachel was a child,
her life narrowed to a single terrifying point: a grand‑mal seizure, a
diagnosis of a brain tumor, and the sudden awareness that the world can tilt
without warning. Her father did what fathers do when the ground gives way—he
reached for God. He called Father Paul Wolff, General Patton’s
Belgian guide, and asked for prayers at the shrine of Our Lady of
Beauraing, the Virgin who appeared to children with the simple
message: “Do you love My Son?”
A week later, the tumor
vanished. Not metaphorically. Not gradually. It disappeared. The doctors still
saw the scar on the brain—evidence that something had been there, something
real, something dangerous—but the mass itself was gone. The seizures remained
for years, controlled by medicine, a reminder that miracles do not erase the
body’s history; they redirect it.
Eventually, through the
work of a surgeon at the Barrow Neurological Institute, Rachel
received a world‑class procedure that ended the seizures entirely. The scar
remained, but the threat did not. Healing came through prayer, then medicine,
then the long obedience of recovery. Grace and nature, not in competition, but
in sequence.
This is the architecture
of God’s interventions: He saves. Then He strengthens. Then He sends.
The miracle removes the immediate danger; the discipline builds the long-term
resilience. The scar becomes the proof that God acted, not the proof that He
abandoned.
Brain Tumor Awareness
Month is not a sentimental observance for your family. It is a reminder that
the world is fragile, that children suffer, that fathers intercede, and that
God answers in ways that leave marks. The scar is not a defect; it is a seal. It
says: “You were nearly lost. You were held. You were given back.”
Around the corner is the
same truth for every man: the places where you were nearly destroyed become the
places where God writes His signature. The scar is not the end of the story. It
is the beginning of the mission.
Thursday is the day of the week that our Lord gave himself up
for consumption. Thursday commemorates the last supper. Some theologians
believe after Sunday Thursday is the holiest day of the week. We should then
try to make this day special by making a visit to the blessed sacrament chapel,
Mass or even stopping by the grave of a loved one. Why not plan to count the
blessing of the week and thank our Lord. Plan a special meal. Be at Peace.
According to Mary Agreda[5] in
her visions it was on a Thursday at six o'clock in the evening and at the
approach of night that the Angel Gabriel approached and announced her as Mother
of God and she gave her fiat.
Best Places to Visit in May- Las Vegas and
Grand Canyon[6]
Often referred
to as the ‘Entertainment Capital of the World’, Las Vegas is the ultimate
playground of adventures, cuisines, and nightlife scenes, and when you visit,
you’ll see why!
While Sin City
sees an influx of visitors during winters and scorching summers, I honestly
think the best time to visit the city is from March to this month and from
September to November.
It’s still one
of the warmest states to visit this month, but temperatures are much more
manageable and hover around 89.6 degrees during the day.
You’ll find
various events, hot (but not unbearable) daily temperatures, and fewer crowds.
Nearby the city is the Grand Canyon, and I highly suggest a visit here—it’s a
once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Spring and fall
make for an ideal trip to the canyon for hiking, sky walking, and discovering
the wildflower blooms, but I would also highly recommend just enjoying the
scenic vistas.
Visitors Center Address: 495 S. Main St.
Las Vegas, NV 89101
Average temperatures – 89.6 degrees
Location Map and Directions
My highlights…
·Capturing
an unbelievable Instagrammable shot overlooking the Grand Canyon after hiking
around the area.
·Checking
out a fun show at MGM Grand.
·Take
a road trip drive from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon.
[5] Venerable Mary of Agreda. The Mystical City of God:
Complete Edition Containing all Four Volumes with Illustrations (p. 770).
Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition
A pre‑Code waterfront romance‑crime comedy where a beat cop and a sharp‑tongued waitress fall into love, danger, and rapid‑fire banter on the New York docks. Raoul Walsh mixes humor, grit, and Depression‑era realism, giving Tracy and Bennett one of the most natural, modern-feeling pairings of the early ’30s.
1. Production & Historical Setting
Released in 1932, directed by Raoul Walsh, and produced by Fox Film Corporation, Me and My Gal stands at the crossroads of:
Pre‑Code looseness — sexual frankness, class tension, and moral ambiguity before the 1934 clampdown
Depression‑era realism — waterfront bars, cramped apartments, and working‑class survival
The rise of naturalistic acting — Spencer Tracy’s grounded, unforced style emerging years before Hollywood caught up
Joan Bennett’s early phase — blonde, quick, playful, long before her noir transformation under Fritz Lang
Walsh shoots the docks with a mix of grit and comedy—longshoremen, cheap cafés, police beats, and the constant hum of the river. The film feels lived‑in, unvarnished, and unmistakably urban.
Women with agency—Bennett’s Helen is witty, skeptical, and unafraid to spar
Crime as proximity, not abstraction—gangsters are neighbors, not mythic figures
Tracy’s Danny Dolan is the prototype of the modern American cop: decent, streetwise, allergic to pretension. Bennett matches him line for line, giving the film its electricity.
2. Story Summary
Danny Dolan, a wisecracking New York beat cop, meets Helen Riley, a waterfront waitress with a sharp tongue and no patience for charm. Their flirtation is fast, combative, and unmistakably mutual.
But beneath the comedy runs a crime thread:
Helen’s sister Kate is entangled with Duke Castenega, a small‑time gangster
A robbery and shooting pull the family into danger
Danny must navigate duty, affection, and the messy loyalties of the docks
The film unfolds through:
Banter that borders on screwball
Domestic tension as Kate is manipulated by Duke
Police work grounded in neighborhood reality
A final confrontation where Danny’s steadiness and Helen’s courage converge
The tone is light but never frivolous—Walsh keeps one foot in romance and the other in the hard edges of Depression‑era life.
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. Love as Mutual Correction
Danny and Helen sharpen each other—humor as honesty, affection as accountability.
B. The Working‑Class Moral Universe
Right and wrong are not abstractions; they are lived in cramped rooms, family loyalties, and the pressure of survival.
C. The Danger of Charming Evil
Duke is not a mastermind—he is the everyday seducer of the weak, the man who thrives on confusion and emotional vulnerability.
D. Constancy Over Flash
Danny’s virtue is not brilliance but steadiness—showing how ordinary fidelity outperforms charisma.
E. The Dignity of Small Places
The docks, diners, and tenements become the stage where courage, loyalty, and sacrifice are tested.
4. Hospitality Pairing — The Waterfront Table
A shot of rye — straightforward, warming, unpretentious
Fried fish or oysters — the working meal of the docks
Black coffee — the drink of night shifts, early mornings, and men who don’t dramatize fatigue
A wooden table and a draft from the river — the atmosphere of Walsh’s New York
A setting for nights when you want to reflect on loyalty, vocation, and the moral weight of ordinary life.
5. Reflection Prompts
Where am I relying on charm instead of constancy?
Who in my life needs the kind of honest banter that sharpens rather than flatters?
Where am I tempted by the “Duke” option—easy, exciting, but corrosive?
What small, unglamorous duties form the backbone of my character?
How do I live fidelity in the cramped, unromantic spaces of daily life?
The video argues that modern political discourse is being intentionally reshaped to eliminate dialogue itself. The claim is that certain cultural and ideological forces—here framed as a “directive”—seek to replace reasoned exchange with accusation, emotional manipulation, and moral intimidation. The speaker warns that when a society abandons dialogue, it abandons the conditions for truth, justice, and peace.
He highlights three mechanisms:
Dehumanization of opponents through labels that shut down conversation.
Weaponization of media and social platforms to amplify outrage and suppress dissent.
Moral inversion, where vice is presented as virtue and virtue as vice, making honest speech appear dangerous.
The proposed countermeasure is not reciprocal aggression but moral clarity, disciplined speech, and spiritual resistance—a refusal to let one’s conscience be shaped by propaganda or fear.
2. CCC Grounding (Formation‑Ready)
The Catechism gives you a clean, authoritative structure for evaluating this cultural moment:
Truth and Dialogue “Men could not live with one another if there were not mutual confidence that they were being truthful.” (CCC 2469)
When dialogue dies, trust dies; when trust dies, community collapses.
The Duty to Speak Truth Without Hatred
Truth must be spoken “in charity” (CCC 1822) but also with fortitude (CCC 1808).
Charity without fortitude becomes cowardice; fortitude without charity becomes brutality.
The Sin of Detraction, Calumny, and Rash Judgment
The CCC names the very tactics the video describes:
Detraction (CCC 2477): revealing faults to destroy reputation.
Calumny (CCC 2477): lying to destroy reputation.
Rash judgment (CCC 2478): assuming the worst without evidence.
These are the spiritual architecture of the “death of dialogue.”
The Common Good Requires Authentic Communication
Authority and citizens alike must pursue the common good through truthful communication (CCC 1902–1904).
A society that cannot speak truth cannot pursue the good.
The Eighth Commandment as Cultural Firewall
The commandment against bearing false witness is not private morality—it is the foundation of civilization (CCC 2464).
3. Confronting Evil
Evil is confronted not by matching its volume but by refusing its terms. The CCC’s pattern is unmistakable:
A. Evil thrives where dialogue dies
When the enemy destroys dialogue, he destroys discernment.
When he destroys discernment, he destroys freedom.
When he destroys freedom, he destroys souls.
B. The Christian response is clarity, not combativeness
The believer stands in the truth with ordered speech, not reactive speech.
Fortitude orders fear; charity orders anger; truth orders speech.
C. The battlefield is the tongue
James 3 calls the tongue a fire.
The CCC calls it a moral instrument.
The culture treats it as a weapon.
The Christian must treat it as a sacrament of truth.
D. The enemy’s strategy is noise; the Church’s strategy is light
Noise overwhelms.
Light reveals.
Noise manipulates.
Light liberates.
Noise divides.
Light reconciles.
E. The Christian refuses to be formed by propaganda
The CCC warns that media can distort conscience (CCC 2496).
The believer must guard the imagination, the attention, and the affections.
Formation beats manipulation every time.
4. The Takeaway
The death of dialogue is not a political crisis—it is a spiritual crisis.
The Christian confronts it by:
guarding the tongue,
disciplining the imagination,
refusing false narratives,
speaking truth with fortitude,
and anchoring every word in Christ, who is Truth Himself.
Wednesday, May 6 Virtue Under the Knife: Structure & Truth
Tonight’s Pairing
Cigar: Freud’s Cigar — dark Austrian‑style Maduro; dense, bitter earth; a harsh, honest draw that exposes every weakness in the structure
Drink: Old Forester 1920 — high‑proof discipline, oak and heat, the burn that clarifies a man’s interior architecture
Reason: tonight is about the collapse of compensations—psychological, muscular, spiritual—and the fire that reveals what a man really built
The Reflection
A Roman soldier’s leg was built for truth:
glute, hamstring, adductor—
a load‑bearing tripod that could march twenty miles in armor.
No illusions.
No compensations.
Just structure proven under weight.
Modern men reverse the ratio:
quads for show, weak adductors, collapsing gait,
and a psyche trained to avoid interior load.
Freud named the evasions—
repression, projection, rationalization—
but denied the cure.
He mapped the labyrinth of self‑deception
without admitting the fire that eventually burns it clean.
His cigar makes the point:
dense smoke, harsh draw,
the taste of a mind circling its own defenses.
St. Lidwina saw what happens
when those defenses finally collapse.
The cincture tears.
The soul stands before divine light with no illusions left—
no psychological smoke,
no muscular compensations,
no interior escape routes.
Purgatory is not punishment—
it is the forced march of a soul
that refused to train for holiness.
The Freud‑style Maduro fits the moment:
bitter, dense, unadorned—
the smoke of a man who can no longer hide from himself.
The 1920 matches it:
heat without chaos,
fire without rage,
the stern burn that exposes the weak joints of the will.
The legionary teaches the law:
build the structure now
or God will rebuild it later.
Purgatory Note
The souls she saw were not crushed by one furnace
but by many small ones,
because their faults were scattered across the whole field of life.
Their purification was relentless, not violent—
the slow correction of men
who lived on compensations instead of discipline.
Better to take the harsh smoke now.
Better to taste the high‑proof fire now.
Better to build the structure now—
and not the next.
THE MAN ON THE EIFFEL TOWER (1949)
Charles Laughton • Franchot Tone • Burgess Meredith
A Parisian manhunt filmed in rare Ansco Color, where Inspector Maigret stalks a brilliant, taunting killer through cafés, alleys, and finally the iron lattice of the Eiffel Tower itself. A procedural wrapped in psychological cat‑and‑mouse, driven by Laughton’s weighty intelligence and Tone’s unnerving theatricality.
1. Production & Historical Setting
Released in 1949, directed by Burgess Meredith (with uncredited work by Irving Allen), and shot almost entirely on real Paris locations — a bold choice in the late‑40s when most crime films still lived on studio backlots. The Ansco Color stock gives the film a cooler, grainier palette than Technicolor, lending Paris a lived‑in, postwar melancholy.
The film emerges from a Europe and America wrestling with:
Postwar psychological fracture — men returning from war with interior wounds and moral ambiguity
Rise of international noir — crime stories leaving Hollywood soundstages for real cities
Simenon’s influence — the shift toward procedural realism and flawed detectives
A fascination with the brilliant sociopath — the criminal as intellectual adversary, not brute
Charles Laughton plays Inspector Maigret with a mix of irritation, patience, and quiet brilliance — a man who solves crimes by watching human nature unravel. Franchot Tone plays Johann Radek, a mercurial, taunting figure whose intelligence is both weapon and pathology. Burgess Meredith appears as the anxious, compromised Heurtin — a man crushed by circumstance and suspicion.
The world is cafés, narrow stairways, river fog, and the iron geometry of the Tower — a Paris still recovering from occupation, where guilt and desperation linger in the air.
2. Story Summary
A wealthy Parisian woman is murdered. Evidence points to Heurtin, a jittery, impoverished deliveryman. But Inspector Maigret senses something off — the crime feels too clever, too staged.
Maigret begins to pursue:
The truth behind the planted evidence
The shadowy figure manipulating the investigation
The psychological pattern of a killer who wants to be seen
Enter Radek — brilliant, mocking, and fascinated by Maigret’s mind. He toys with the inspector, dropping hints, provoking him, daring him to follow the trail.
What follows is a tightening sequence of:
Interrogations in cramped Paris rooms
Cat‑and‑mouse exchanges between Maigret and Radek
A citywide pursuit through markets, bridges, and back alleys
A final ascent into the Eiffel Tower’s steel skeleton
The climax — Radek climbing the Tower, Maigret following — is both physical and psychological: a duel between a man who kills for intellectual sport and a detective who refuses to be outplayed.
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. Evil as Intelligence Without Conscience
Radek embodies brilliance severed from moral grounding — a reminder that intellect alone cannot order a soul.
B. The Detective’s Vocation
Maigret’s patience, steadiness, and refusal to be provoked show the virtue of constancy in the face of chaos.
C. The Weight of False Accusation
Heurtin’s desperation reflects the spiritual damage inflicted when the weak are crushed by systems they cannot navigate.
D. Pride as a Murderous Engine
Radek kills not for gain but for superiority — a portrait of pride metastasized into violence.
E. Truth Requires Endurance
Maigret’s method is slow, observational, and humane — a counter‑witness to Radek’s speed, ego, and cruelty.
4. Hospitality Pairing — The Inspector’s Table
Cognac in a short glass — warm, steady, contemplative
Crusty bread with salted butter — the simplicity of a Parisian working meal
Hard cheese (Comté or Gruyère) — sharp, disciplined, no excess
A dim lamp and a quiet room — the mood of a detective sorting clues at midnight
A setting for nights when you want to examine pride, conscience, and the discipline of seeing clearly.
5. Reflection Prompts
Where am I tempted to use intelligence as a shield rather than a service?
What truths require my patience rather than my speed?
Where have I misjudged the weak or assumed guilt too quickly?
What part of my life needs Maigret’s steadiness — or Radek’s pride confronted?
Virtue: Terror, Purification, and the Fragrance of Truth Fragrance: Chanel No. 5 — the cold, immaculate clarity of judgment Bourbon: Four Roses Single Barrel — floral top, fire beneath
1. The Vision That Breaks the Belt
St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi is shown a soul in Purgatory — not the soft, pastel version we invent, but the furnace of divine justice. The account records:
“The sight of this soul, a prey to the most terrible torment of fire… gave our saint such a shock that the cincture which she wore around her body was rent in twain.”
Holiness does not faint.
Holiness breaks when confronted with the true cost of sin.
This is the masculine lesson: If you saw what your compromises cost, you would tear too.
2. Chanel No. 5 — The Fragrance of Judgment
Chanel No. 5 is not sentimental.
It is architecture — aldehydes, cold florals, clean geometry, a scent built like a cathedral of light.
It symbolizes:
Purity without softness
Beauty without indulgence
A clarity that exposes everything
On May 5, the fragrance becomes the counterpoint to the saint’s vision:
The fire of Purgatory
The ice of Chanel No. 5
The truth that stands between them
This is the day when elegance becomes a warning.
3. The Moral Line
May 5 is not a comfort entry.
It is a confrontation.
Sin is not abstract
Purgation is not poetic
God’s justice is not negotiable
The saint’s torn cincture is the masculine reminder: Your soul is not built to carry hidden rot. Purify now, or be purified later.
4. The Ritual — Fire and Fragrance
Tonight’s pairing is symbolic, not indulgent:
Fragrance: Chanel No. 5 — one spray on the wrist, a reminder of clarity
Drink: Four Roses Single Barrel — floral nose, disciplined burn
Setting: A single lamp, open window, night air, silence
Let the fragrance rise like a clean blade.
Let the bourbon burn like a truth you’ve avoided.
5. Reflection Prompts
What sin in my life would tear the cincture if I saw its true weight?
Where have I mistaken beauty for innocence?
What fire do I need now so I do not face a greater one later?
What part of my soul still smells of smoke — and needs to be washed clean?
Chanel No. 5 fragrance introduced 1921
MAY 5 Tuesday of Fifth Week of Easter
Cinco
De Mayo
John, Chapter 14, verse 27
Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled
or AFRAID.
Shalom, which means peace, is a Hebrew
salutation. Yet Christ tells us that HIS shalom is different. It is a gift of
salvation a messianic blessing.
Through the spirit we are born again, sons and
daughters of the eternal. The world and its attractions to sin lose its sparkle
to us. Yes, we may fall from time to time, but the spirit and peace of Christ
is always with us, and we rise up again.
10 things happy professionals do
before 10 a.m.[1]
Success often seems like a visionary goal — a feat
in life that’s attempted only after many strides, plenty of pitfalls and a
healthy serving of endurance. However, for those who consider themselves
fulfilled by their career, it’s not only a sense of accomplishment and an
impressive LinkedIn profile that defines their satisfaction with their work. In
fact, their overall desire to work harder and effectively doesn’t just stem
from extra zeros on their paycheck, but rather, it derives from a place of happiness.
As the old rhyme reminds, contentment isn’t a destination, but a process — and
if you’re smart, a priority for both your professional and personal life. How
do you carve in time to, well, improve your overall mood and outlook?
Here, life coaches and psychologists explain the
joint secrets happy professionals share:
1. They
get enough sleep
Even if college was many
moons ago, you’ve likely pulled an all-nighter in the past year. Or you’ve been
so overworked and double-booked that you spent more time tossing and turning
than resting. For those people who wake up ready – and elated – to tackle the
day ahead, the eight hours that come before the alarm clock dings are just as
important as the minutes that follow it. As licensed therapist Melody Li explains, many workers overlook the power of a good
night’s sleep in an effort to push their minds and bodies to the limit. As
studies indicate and Li reminds, not reaping the rewards of shuteye usually
results in poor memory, difficulty problem-solving and unexplained ups and
downs. Professionals who tuck themselves into bed instead of watching Netflix
(or their favorite YouTube videos on repeat)? They wake up in better spirits.
2. They
take their time
Sure, there are some
mornings that warrant that tempting snooze button, but to rise on the right
side of the bed, yoga therapist and natural health expert Dr. Lynn Anderson Ph.D., giving
yourself time to linger is key. When you feel frazzled or pressed for time,
you’ll not only make more mistakes which can bum-out your confidence levels,
but you don’t allow yourself to ease into the day’s tasks in an enjoyable
manner. “Get up early enough to relax, enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and
organize the day. Rushing and running late leads to stress and stress is like a
fire extinguisher for happiness. It’s a poisonous gas that makes a mess. Being
organized and relaxed creates happiness,” she shares.
3. They
make their bed
Seems simple enough, but how
often do you leave your apartment or home in shambles? It’s easy to forget in
the hustle of the morning, but motivational speaker and workplace expert Amy Cooper Hakim, Ph.D. says there’s a sense of glee found when your living
area is prime. “A happy professional builds confidence and self-efficacy by
completing a simple chore like making her bed before heading to the office.
This act sets a ‘can do’ mindset into motion for the day. It’s an easy task to
check off the to-do list,” she shares. “When we accomplish one item on our
agenda, we are more driven to accomplish others. Also, as a double bonus, many
find it especially comforting and gratifying to climb into a made bed at the
end of a long day!”
4. They
are able to see gratitude and practice humility
We all have that Wonder
Woman (or man) in our life that seemingly glides through life, experiencing it
all with ease. They’re top of their game at work, thoughtful and kind to
others, brave to their core, and overall, rather funny. If you dig a little deeper,
you’ll notice a common thread of humility in these happy-go-lucky,
positive-thinking individuals. Career coach and shamanic practitioner John Moore explains that those who exercise gratitude as
part of their daily routine tend to be more joyful, in life and in work. He
adds that research even indicates thankful people have better relationships and
more enduring psychological health.
5. They
set daily goals
Yep, you read that
correctly: Happy professionals are masters of setting micro, 24/7 goals that
keep them on the right track. As career and branding expert Wendi Weiner explains, those who are
able to turnaround the best work with the best attitude take the time to plan
ahead, so they aren’t caught in a bind or a last-minute deadline that slipped
off their radar. “These are non-negotiable tasks that must be completed for
that day. The reason for this is that when you actually achieve what you set
out to achieve, that will raise the level of happiness and personal
satisfaction,” she says.
6. They
communicate with others
Those people who are nearly
always smiling — and not faking it, but really grinning their heart out —
usually want to spend time with one another. Moore explains that the pull comes
from a part in our brains called the ‘anterior cingulate cortex’ which measures
social status, as well as pain and a high number of opiate receptors. “Social
exclusion registers in the brain much like physical pain. In studies, one of
the greatest predictors of happiness is the breadth of social networks,” he
says.
Even if you don’t start
chatting up a storm with your partner or your morning-hating roommate, Moore
says you’ll start the day off brighter if you, at the very least, communicate
in some way. “Happy professionals focus some of their morning time growing and
nurturing social connections. Check in with friends, meet someone for coffee,
chat up the cute barista — just start talking!” he says.
7. They
keep their calendars open
It might be difficult to
tango around time zones if you have international clients, but if you can help
it, health coach Kenneth
Rippetoe recommends keeping your calendar completely free until after 10 a.m.
This gives you time to prepare for your day and be mindful of the moments
you’re giving your energy to others, instead of always being readily available.
“Practice being intentional with your time and resources. When you are
intentional, you make the choices that do align with your value system and
goals for your personal and professional life,” he explains.
8. They
focus on the present and future, not the past
Ask anyone who has been able
to send away the skeletons in their closet and they’ll agree that releasing the
mistakes of yesteryear was the first step. If you find yourself dreading each
day or feeling anxious about how your career will exceed, Weiner suggests
taking a page from the notebook of joy-focused professionals who make a habit
of living in the moment and preparing for the future with a solid outlook.
“Happy professionals will concentrate their focus on the present things they
are doing and the present goals they want to achieve as well as the future
things they plan to do and/or achieve,” she explains. “Their energy will
concentrate less on regrets, and more on taking chances and risks to maximize
their happiness.”
9. They
complete a task that makes them feel powerful
Perhaps it was after you ran
your very first 5K. Or landed a client that took months to romance. Or when you
finally took the plunge and checked ‘bungee jumping’ off your bucket list.
While you can’t perform one-of-a-kind feats every single day (sadly), Li
stresses the importance of completing something in the A.M. that set you up to
feel powerful throughout the day. Though every person will sing a different
tune, it’s most important that you strategize your day to make time for this
task. “For many, it’s some type of physical activity like running, swimming, or
lifting. For others, it might be solving a tricky puzzle or crossword. It could
be meditating, dancing to energetic music, or even stretching,” she explains.
“Whatever that looks like to you, spend at least 15 minutes doing something
that reinforces the strength that you hold within and carry this sense of power
with you into your day.”
10. They
visualize their success
Much like amping up for the
future — whether it’s a month, a year or a decade away — psychologist and
relationship expert Anotina
Hall says happy careers are much like flourishing love affairs. To truly find
the grace and vulnerability in the positions you’re in, you have to be
courageous enough to imagine your future. As Hall explains, “Studies have shown
that by spending even a few minutes each morning to visualize your goals coming
to fruition with ease increases the likelihood of successfully accomplishing
those goals.
“See your upcoming meeting
in vivid detail, visualizing the desired outcome will help make it go well and
build your confidence!”
Copilot’s Take
Christ offers a peace the world cannot imitate—a peace untouched by
shooters, political theatrics, media agitation, or the corrosive humor of those
shaped by darker influences. His shalom is not the fragile calm that
collapses with every headline but the interior authority that steadies a man in
a culture discipled by fear. The Catechism teaches that Christ’s peace flows
from His reconciliation of man to God (CCC 2305), making it a covenant, not a
mood.
The world profits from anxiety, outrage, and instability, yet the
Christian rises each morning ordered, grateful, disciplined, and unafraid. The
“10 before 10 a.m.” habits become more than productivity rituals; they are a
quiet form of spiritual resistance. They form a man who cannot be manipulated
by noise, panic, or the emotional volatility of the age. This is the
tranquility of order the CCC calls true peace (CCC 2304).
Cinco de Mayo becomes a fitting reminder that even small forces can hold
their ground against overwhelming odds. A disciplined minority can resist a
chaotic majority. The same is true spiritually: evil seeks to destabilize the
interior life before it disrupts the exterior world. The CCC teaches that evil
distorts the good, disorders the passions, and weakens the will (CCC 1707), but
grace restores clarity, strength, and direction.
In a culture shaped by fear‑rhetoric, instability, and the influence of
evil, the disciple refuses to surrender his interior ground. He practices
gratitude, sets non‑negotiable goals, orders his environment, and guards his
time. These habits are not self‑help; they are cooperation with grace, the
daily discipline that strengthens the heart against confusion and fear (CCC
736).
The Christian does not overcome evil by matching its chaos but by
standing in the order Christ restores. Conversion, discipline, and fidelity to
grace are the weapons the CCC identifies for spiritual combat (CCC 1426–1428).
A man who lives this way becomes unshakable, not because the world is stable,
but because his soul is anchored.
Christ’s peace is not the absence of danger but the presence of
authority. It is the interior strength that allows a man to walk into a
disordered world carrying a calm that cannot be stolen. In a time when many are
discipled by fear, the Christian becomes a sign of contradiction: steady,
clear, rooted, and free.
He carries Christ’s covenantal calm into a world addicted to chaos,
overcoming evil not by force or frenzy but by fidelity, clarity, and the steady
strength of a man formed by the Spirit.
Today
is Cinco de Mayo; sometimes referred to as Cinco de Drunko, due to the heavy
consumption of alcohol connected with the hedonistic celebration. Cinco de Mayo
is a relatively minor holiday in Mexico. However, in America it is up there
with some of our most celebrated: like the Fourth of July and St. Patrick’s Day.
The holiday has reinvented itself in America, from celebrating Mexico's win at
the Battle of Puebla, to celebrating Mexican culture, and beer, and tequila. If
we're being completely honest though, the actual meaning of Cinco de Mayo in
America is pretty lost on us, but so is the meaning of St. Patrick’s Day. Today
instead of following this hedonistic celebration try and make it to Mass today.
Things
to Do[3]:other than drinking yourself into unconsciousness
Attend a Cinco de Mayo
Festival. Popular such festivals can be found in San Antonio, Los
Angeles, Chicago and Houston.
St.
Peter prescribes sobriety and watchfulness as necessary means for resisting the
attacks of the devil, who by day and night goes about seeking whom he may
devour. Woe to those who, by reason of their drunkenness, (The term drunkard
applies to any person who is caught up in the addiction cycle, whether it is
drink, gambling, drugs or sex.) live in a continual night and lie in the
perpetual sleep of sin! How will it be with them if, suddenly awakened from
this sleep by death, they find themselves standing, burdened with innumerable
and unknown sins, before the judgment-seat of God? For who can number the sins,
committed in and by reason of drunkenness, which the drunkard either accounts
as trifles, easily pardoned, or else, not knowing what he has thought, said,
and done in his fit of intoxication, considers to be no sins at all? Will the
divine Judge, at the last day, thus reckon? Will He also find no sin in them?
Will He let go unpunished the infamous deeds and the scandals of their
drunkenness?
He
Who demands strict account of every word spoken in vain, will He make no
inquiry of so many shameful, scandalous, and blasphemous sayings, of so much
time wasted, of so much money squandered, of so many neglects of the divine
service, of the education of children, of the affairs of home, and of
innumerable other sins? Will they be able to excuse themselves before this
Judge by saying that they did not know what they were doing? Or that what they
did was for want of reflection, or in jest? Or that they were not strong, and
could not bear much? Will not such excuses rather witness against them that
they are the worthier of punishment for having taken more than their strength
could bear, thereby depriving themselves of the use of reason, making
themselves like brutes, and, of their own free will, taking on themselves the
responsibility for all the sins of which their drunkenness was the occasion?
What, then, awaits them? What else than the fate of the rich glutton who, for
his gluttony, was buried in hell? (Luke xvi. 22.)
Yes,
that shall be the place and the portion of the drunkard! There shall they in
vain sigh for a drop of water. There, for all the pleasures and satisfactions
which they had in the world, as many pains and torments shall now lay hold of
them (Apoc. xviii. 7); there shall they be compelled to drain the cup of God’s
anger to the dregs, as they, in life, forced others into drunkenness. This is
what they have to hope for, for St. Paul says expressly that drunkards shall
not possess the kingdom of God (i. Cor. vi. 10). What then remains for them but
to renounce either their intemperance or heaven? But how rare and difficult is
the true conversion of a drunkard! This is the teaching of experience. Will not
such a one, therefore, go to ruin?
Bible in a
year Day 304 Life
Beyond Death
Fr. Mike focuses on the powerful theme that connects all of our
readings today- the reality of life beyond death. In the story of the martyrdom
of the seven brothers in 2 Macabees, we see how the brothers and their mother
fiercely reject the temptation to violate God's law, and boldly hold onto their
hope in the resurrection of the dead. Our readings from Wisdom also remind us
that death is not the end, because we know that eternal life is waiting for us
beyond death. Today's readings are 2 Maccabees 7, Wisdom 3-4, and Proverbs
24:27-29.
May 5 — Litany of Trust
When I fear that
peace is impossible in a chaotic world — Jesus, I trust in You
Opening Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Lord Jesus, anchor my heart.
Silence the noise that surrounds me.
Teach me the peace that comes only from Your presence.”
Reflection
There is a fear that rises when the world grows loud:
the fear that true peace is no longer possible.
Not the fear of danger itself—
you’ve lived long enough to know the world has always been violent, unstable,
and unpredictable.
The deeper fear is this:
What if the chaos around me becomes the chaos within
me?
What if the world’s instability steals my interior ground?
What if peace is a promise meant for others, but not for me?
This is the fear that keeps a man reactive instead of
rooted.
Distracted instead of discerning.
Busy instead of whole.
But Christ does not give the world’s fragile peace.
He gives His own.
The Risen Lord stands before you today with the same
words He spoke in the Upper Room:
“Do not let your heart be troubled or afraid.”
Not because the world is calm,
but because He is stronger than the world.
Peace is not the absence of conflict.
Peace is the presence of Christ.
Scripture
John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you…
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.”
This is not wishful thinking.
It is a command rooted in reality:
Christ’s peace is unstealable.
Petition of the Day
From the fear that peace is impossible in a chaotic
world — deliver me, Jesus.
Not because the world is stable,
but because You are.
Act of Trust
“Jesus, I place my fears, my tension, and my restless
thoughts before You.
I release the belief that I must secure my own peace.
I choose the narrow road of trust,
not because I feel strong,
but because You are faithful.
Guard my heart from the noise of the age
and root me in Your unshakable calm.”
Hospitality Cue
Choose one act that cultivates interior peace today:
silence one source of noise
simplify one decision
step away from one draining conversation
say yes to one small act of grace
Before you act, pray:
“Jesus, I trust in You.”
Let the action become the offering.
Closing Prayer
“O Christ, my Captain and my King,
teach me the discipline of peace.
Let my heart be steady,
my mind clear,
my trust unwavering.
Lead me through the world’s noise,
and make me faithful there.”
Mary, Mother of Holy Confidence, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, Guardian of Peace, pray for us.
Welcome to Alexi’s
Grill, a family-owned and operated restaurant that has been a treasured Phoenix
tradition for more than a quarter-century. Opened by Christo and Connie
Panagiotakopoulos, of Christo’s Ristorante, in 1994, has since become a Midtown
Phoenix landmark and highly acclaimed fine dining establishment. Now, nearly 30
years after our founding, Alexi’s Grill is dedicated to continuing our longtime
legacy of fantastic food, outstanding service, and a welcoming, upscale
ambiance.
We are proud to have
created an ideal environment for any occasion, including business lunches,
special celebrations, and even romantic dates. Besides our dine-in and take-out
services, we also offer catering for a wide range of events. Intimate and chic,
yet decidedly relaxed, Alexi’s Grill provides a dining experience unlike any
other in the Valley.
Holistic spa treatments, an
on-site culinary school, and desert hikes await.
Named one of the best destination spas in the world
by Travel + Leisure Rancho La Puerta is a special place.
Rancho
La Puerta has been family-owned and operated since 1940 and is widely
recognized as the pioneer of the 20th-century wellness movement in the U.S. In
the wake of World War II, Edmond Szekely, a Jewish Romanian scholar known as
“the Professor,” and his wife, Deborah, were forced to move south across the
border to Mexico after his immigration status expired. The couple found a scrap
of land at the base of sacred Mount Kuchumaa with a bare-bones storage shed to
live in, and not long after, Rancho La Puerta was born.
The expansive grounds span 4,000 acres, with 40 miles
of hiking trails and 32 acres of landscaped gardens.
A daily sunrise hike concludes with breakfast at the
ranch’s culinary school, set on an organic farm.
There’s a huge, diverse selection of fitness
activities and spa treatments to choose from.
The villa accommodations have private patios and
wood-burning indoor fireplaces.
[5] Sheraton, Mimi. 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A
Food Lover's Life List (p. 800). Workman Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
[6] Schultz, Patricia. 1,000 Places to See Before You
Die: A Traveler's Life List Workman Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
CRY DANGER (1951)
Dick Powell • Rhonda Fleming
A lean, sardonic Los Angeles noir where an ex‑con walks out of San Quentin with nothing but a dry wit, a bad alibi, and a determination to clear his name — only to find that the truth is more dangerous than the crime.
1. Production & Historical Setting
Released in 1951, directed by Robert Parrish, shot in sharp, high‑contrast black‑and‑white on a tight RKO budget, and filmed largely on real Bunker Hill locations — a vanished Los Angeles of stairways, trailer courts, and neon‑lit bars.
The film emerges from a post‑WWII America wrestling with:
Disillusionment with institutions — police, courts, and wartime promises
The rise of location noir, moving crime stories out of studio sets and into real streets
A shift toward hard, unsentimental protagonists shaped by wartime trauma
Hollywood’s fascination with the morally ambiguous ex‑GI navigating a corrupt city
Dick Powell plays Rocky Mulloy — dry, wounded, and razor‑sharp after five years in San Quentin for a robbery he insists he didn’t commit.
Rhonda Fleming plays Nancy, the luminous but conflicted wife of Rocky’s imprisoned best friend.
Richard Erdman plays Delong, a one‑legged Marine whose humor masks desperation — one of noir’s great supporting turns.
The world is trailer parks, cheap whiskey, and the moral fog of postwar Los Angeles — a perfect crucible for betrayal.
2. Story Summary
Rocky Mulloy is unexpectedly released from prison when Delong, a disabled Marine he barely knows, suddenly provides an alibi. Rocky heads straight to Los Angeles to:
Clear his name
Find the real thieves
Reclaim the life stolen from him
But nothing is clean:
The police still think he’s guilty
The criminals think he’s after the missing robbery money
Nancy, the woman he once loved, is tied to the past in ways he doesn’t want to see
What follows is a taut sequence of:
Barroom interrogations
Double‑crosses
Shadowed meetings in trailer courts
A tightening noose of suspicion
Rocky discovers that the robbery money is still in play — and that the people closest to him may be the ones who betrayed him. The final confrontation forces him to choose between vengeance, truth, and the last remnants of loyalty.
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. Innocence Under Suspicion
Rocky’s suffering is unjust, but it strips him down to the essentials — truth, loyalty, and endurance.
B. Loyalty as a Costly Virtue
His fidelity to his imprisoned friend becomes the film’s moral axis, even when that loyalty wounds him.
C. Temptation of the Crooked Path
The stolen money is always within reach; Rocky refuses the shortcut that would poison his soul.
D. Wounded Men Seeking Dignity
Delong’s humor hides despair; Rocky’s dryness hides pain. Both fight to retain a shred of honor.
E. Truth Requires Sacrifice
The final revelations demand that Rocky give up the life he imagined in order to live with a clean conscience.
4. Hospitality Pairing — The Ex‑Con’s Table
Rye whiskey neat — dry, sharp, unsentimental
Black coffee in a metal mug — the taste of a man who’s slept in too many hard places
Salted peanuts or pretzels — barroom rations for men who don’t linger
Dim lamp, open window, night air — the atmosphere of a trailer court perched above a city that doesn’t care
A setting for nights when you want to examine betrayal, endurance, and the discipline of refusing the easy lie.
5. Reflection Prompts
Where am I tempted to reclaim what was taken from me by force rather than by truth?
Whose loyalty have I taken for granted — or misjudged?
What compromises look small but would bend my character out of shape?
Where do I need Rocky’s dryness, Delong’s courage, or Nancy’s honesty?
What part of my past still shadows my present — and needs to be faced without illusion?
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