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Tuesday, February 24, 2026

As we enter this Lenten season, I invite you to support and share the new Coffee with Christ audiobook, now available on Audible  Candace’...

Nineveh 90 Consecration-

Total Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Total Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Day 1

Nineveh 90

Nineveh 90
Nineveh 90-Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and strength

Tuesday, March 3, 2026


 

🎬 Women of Glamour (1937)

Starring: Virginia Bruce, Melvyn Douglas, Reginald Denny
Director: Gordon Wiles

What Makes This Film Special

This is Columbia in its mid‑’30s refinement phase — polished, brisk, and built around the studio’s growing confidence in romantic melodrama softened by comedy. It’s also a fascinating echo of Ladies of Leisure (1930), but with the edges rounded by the Production Code and the emotional palette shifted from raw desperation to aspirational gentility.

Melvyn Douglas, as always, is the stabilizing center:

  • urbane without being aloof
  • emotionally available without sentimentality
  • a man whose decency is never performative

Virginia Bruce brings a luminous, almost aching dignity to the “showgirl with a past” archetype. She plays Gloria not as a fallen woman but as someone who refuses to let the world define her worth.

Reginald Denny adds the right amount of breezy charm, keeping the film from sinking into melodrama.

🧭 Plot in a Nutshell

Gloria Hudson (Bruce), a nightclub entertainer with a reputation she can’t quite outrun, crosses paths with wealthy artist Dick Stark (Douglas). Their connection is immediate but complicated by class expectations, social gossip, and Dick’s entanglement with the calculating Carol Coulter.

As Gloria tries to step into a better life, she discovers that love with a man from a different world requires courage — and that dignity sometimes means stepping back so the other person can see clearly.

The film moves lightly, but beneath the surface is a story about self‑respect, social barriers, and the quiet heroism of choosing the good even when it costs you.

💡 Themes

1. Class and the Illusion of Respectability

The film gently exposes how “respectability” is often a performance. Gloria’s past is judged more harshly than the manipulations of the wealthy, revealing the moral asymmetry of class.

2. The Dignity of the Outsider

Virginia Bruce plays Gloria with a moral steadiness that outshines the society people who look down on her. Her integrity becomes the film’s compass.

3. The Douglas Archetype

Douglas once again embodies the man who sees past surfaces — but only after being humbled. His arc is not about rescuing Gloria but about recognizing her worth.

4. Redemption Through Self‑Knowledge

The film suggests that love becomes possible only when each character confronts their own illusions:

  • Gloria’s belief that she doesn’t belong
  • Dick’s belief that he can live by society’s script
  • Carol’s belief that status can substitute for affection

🍷 A Hospitality Pairing

This film calls for something elegant but unpretentious — a nod to Gloria’s blend of glamour and groundedness.

Suggested pairing:

  • A dry sparkling wine (Cava or Prosecco — celebratory without pretense)
  • A small plate of fruit and soft cheese
  • A simple, candle‑lit setting that mirrors the film’s quiet yearning for beauty and belonging

This is a film best enjoyed in a reflective mood — not rushed, not distracted, but with space to appreciate the emotional gentleness beneath its studio gloss.

A Spiritual Reflection

At its heart, Women of Glamour is about the truth that dignity is not bestowed by society — it is lived.

Gloria’s choices echo the spirit of Romans 12:16:
“Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.”

She never demands honor; she simply lives in a way that reveals it.
Douglas’s character learns that love requires humility — the willingness to see another person as God sees them, not as society labels them.

The film becomes a quiet meditation on the holiness of seeing rightly.


Monday, March 2, 2026

 US Premier of the Movie "King Kong" 1933


🔸 March 2026 – Lent: Priesthood & Sacrifice

  • Mar 2 – Diary of a Country Priest (1951)
  • Mar 9 – The Nun’s Story (1959)
  • Mar 16 – The Cardinal (1963)
  • Mar 23 – The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
  • Mar 30 – Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)

Diary of a Country Priest (1951)

A cinematic lectio divina on grace, hidden suffering, and the priesthood

Basic Film Details

  • Director: Robert Bresson
  • Source: Georges Bernanos’ 1936 novel
  • Starring: Claude Laydu
  • Country: France
  • Style: Ascetic realism, minimalism, spiritual interiority
  • Catholic Landscape: Rural France between the wars; a parish marked by spiritual indifference, grief, and quiet hostility

Plot Summary (Clean & Concise)

A young, unnamed priest arrives in the small parish of Ambricourt. He is physically frail, socially awkward, and spiritually earnest. His parishioners mock him, misunderstand him, or ignore him. He keeps a diary to make sense of his vocation, his suffering, and the silence of God.

He becomes entangled in the grief of the Count’s family—especially the Countess, who has lost a child and closed her heart to God. In a single luminous pastoral encounter, he helps her surrender her bitterness before she dies.

The priest’s own health collapses. He travels to a friend’s home, where he dies quietly, seemingly forgotten. His final words—“All is grace”—become the key to the entire film.

Catholic Moral & Spiritual Resonance

1. The Hidden Priesthood

Bresson gives us a priest who is:

  • mocked
  • misunderstood
  • physically broken
  • spiritually dry

Yet he remains faithful. His priesthood is not measured by success but by availability to grace. This is the priesthood of the Curé d’Ars, of Padre Pio, of every parish priest who labors unseen.

Lesson: Holiness is often invisible, unglamorous, and misunderstood—even by the holy person himself.

2. The Diary as Confession and Lectio

The priest’s diary is not self‑indulgence; it is:

  • a spiritual examen
  • a record of temptations
  • a search for God’s voice in desolation

It models the Catholic conviction that God speaks in the interior life, even when He seems silent.

3. The Countess Scene — A Masterclass in Pastoral Care

This is the film’s spiritual summit.

The priest, trembling and unsure, speaks with the Countess about her grief and bitterness. What unfolds is:

  • a spiritual breakthrough
  • a surrender of resentment
  • a return to trust in God

It is one of cinema’s greatest depictions of accompaniment, showing that grace often works through weakness, not strength.

4. Suffering as Participation in Christ

The priest’s stomach illness, exhaustion, and humiliation are not romanticized. They are simply there, like the Cross.

His suffering:

  • strips him of illusions
  • purifies his motives
  • unites him to Christ’s hidden life

Bresson refuses sentimentality. He shows the Catholic truth that grace does not remove suffering; it transfigures it.

5. “All is grace.”

The final line is the film’s theology in miniature.

It is not naïve optimism. It is:

  • a recognition that God wastes nothing
  • a surrender of self-judgment
  • a trust that even failure can be fertile soil

This is the spirituality of Thérèse of Lisieux, Bernanos, and the French school of holiness.

Catholic Landscape Notes

this film offers a rich French Catholic atmosphere:

  • rural parish life
  • the tension between faith and secular modernity
  • the legacy of French spiritual giants (Thérèse, Vianney, Bernanos)
  • the quiet endurance of the Church in a skeptical age

It’s a portrait of a Church wounded but alive, fragile but faithful.

Hospitality Pairing

Meal: A simple bowl of soup, a crust of bread, and a small glass of table wine
Why:
The priest’s ascetic diet—often just bread soaked in wine—becomes a symbol of:

  • poverty
  • humility
  • Eucharistic longing

A simple meal honors the film’s spirit: nothing wasted, nothing extravagant, everything offered.

Conversation Starter:
“How do we recognize grace when it comes disguised as failure?”



Sunday, 1 March, 2026

 


 

MARCH

The winds of March point to the power of God's Spirit working in us. We need to listen and respond to the gentle breezes of the Spirit; but will we, or will we be too distracted? The rebirth of spring reminds us of the energy of nature so that we ask ourselves whether we waste or wisely use energy –electricity, oil, gas, etc. Can we and should we continue to use nonrenewable fossil fuels, often with accompanying air pollution, at the rate we do? Or will the environmental ills we cause today call us in the future as a society to use wind and solar energy?

Overview of the Month of March[1] 

The entire month of March is the liturgical season of Lent which is represented by the liturgical color violet or purple — a symbol of penance, mortification and the sorrow of a contrite heart. All saint days that are usually Memorials are shifted to Optional Memorials during the season of Lent. 

A Time of Penance and Promise 

Here and there in the stark March landscape, a few plants and trees are beginning to give evidence of the new life that winter’s frost and chill had concealed from our eyes. The Church’s vibrant new life has been obscured, too, by the austerity of the penitential season of Lent. But that life is indisputable, and it will burgeon forth on Easter as Christ coming forth from his tomb!

 

During this month we will continue our journey to the cross with our acts of penitence. We will reflect on our mortality ("Remember man thou art dust") and the shortness of life ("and to dust thou shall return"). We will heed the call, "Now is the acceptable time, now is “the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).” Just like Our Lord's earthly life every moment of our lives is leading up to the last moment—when for eternity we will either go to God or suffer the fires of hell. During this month we will go from the suffering of Good Friday to the joy of Easter Sunday. We will trade the purple of penance for the white of victory and resurrection.

 

Let us not tire of doing our good works and penance but continue with the enthusiasm of the catechumens on their way to Easter and Baptism. May our Lenten observance be a joyful journey — and not a forced march.

 

As the weeks of Lent progress let us not tire of doing our good works and penance but continue with the enthusiasm of the catechumens on their way to Easter and Baptism. May our Lenten observance be a joyful journey — and not a forced march.

Go to Joseph[2]

“This patronage must be invoked as ever necessary for the Church, not only as a defense against all dangers, but also, and indeed primarily, as an impetus for her renewed commitment to evangelization in the world and to re-evangelization,” wrote St. John Paul II in Redemptoris Custos (Guardian of the Redeemer).

John Paul II further said, “Because St. Joseph is the protector of the Church, he is the guardian of the Eucharist and the Christian family. Therefore, we must turn to St. Joseph today to ward off attacks upon the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and upon the family. We must plead with St. Joseph to guard the Eucharistic Lord and the Christian family during this time of peril.”

 MARCH TIMETABLE 

March Travel?[3] 

·         Daytona, Florida-Bike Week February 27-March 8- Rev up for a week of diesel and fun at Daytona Bike Week. The annual motorcycle rally attracts some of the fiercest bikers, clad in leather (and sometimes little else) to celebrate the freedom of the open road.

o   Bike Week AZ April 8-12

·         Las Fallas in Valencia, Spain March 1-19 Enjoy a high-spirited fiesta in Valencia, Spain’s third-largest city. The annual bash, held in commemoration of Saint Joseph, sees neighborhoods transformed into lively parties over a boisterous five-day period.

·         Holi in India March 2nd Celebrate Spring with a dash of color. The annual Holi festival in India inspires revelers to hit the streets, playfully throwing powdered colors on each other. Once your clothes are doused with all sorts of hues, you’ll understand why this is called a festival of colors.

·         Patrick’s Day


March 17th Don your friendliest green for St. Patrick’s Day. Boston is the place to be, with the city’s official St. Patrick’s Day Parade drawing anywhere from 600,000 to 1 million people every year.

Iceman’s Calendar  

·         Mar. 1st  Second Sunday of Lent

·         Mar. 2nd-US Premiere of film Hong Kong 1933

·         Mar. 3rd-Full Worm Moon

·         Mar. 4th First Wednesday

·         Mar. 6th First Friday

·         Mar 7th- First Saturday

o   St. Perpetua

·         Mar 8th Third Sunday of Lent

·         Mar 15th Fourth Sunday of Lent

·         Mar 16th Comedian Jerry Lewis

·         Mar 17th-St. Patrick’s Day

·         Mar 19th-Feast of St. Joseph

·         Mar 20th-Spring Begins

o   National Cherry Blossom Festival

·         Mar 22nd-Fifth Sunday of Lent

o   Passion Sunday

·         Mar 25th Annunciation

·         Mar 29th Palm Sunday



[3]https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/travels-best/photos/fun-things-to-see-and-do-in-february


Claire’s Corner Try Filet Mignon

·         Today in honor of the Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving your day to God. To honor God REST: no shopping after 6 pm Saturday till Monday. Don’t forget the internet.

·         Carnival Time begins in Catholic Countries.

  • How to celebrate Mar 1st
    • If you’re up for an adventure, start your day with a big smile and share compliments with everyone you meet. Get into the spirit of spreading joy and positivity. Attend a wheelchair awareness event to show your support, then grab a cup of coffee at a local cafe to celebrate baristas. Try a peanut butter treat and spend time with a Welsh Corgi if you can find one. Research Endometriosis Awareness and support the cause online.
    • Later, plan your dream wedding or solo vacation. Take time to appreciate the artistry of black women in jazz. Indulge in a delicious fruit compote and a hearty meal to celebrate National Dadgum That’s Good Day.

    • Learn about the Asiatic Fleet Memorial and reflect on history. Support horse and pig protection causes. Thank someone special with a heartfelt compliment for World Compliment Day. Take a self-care day to manage stress, perhaps with a luxurious hotel slipper day at home.
    • Explore risk management ideas and make small changes at home for safety. Learn about Peace Corps volunteering or solo travel tips. Dive into seagrass conservation and environmental awareness. Remember the sacrifices made on Independence Day in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
    • End your day with a good book on your refired, not retired journey. Finally, enjoy a peaceful moment under the stars, appreciating the uniqueness of each weird holiday.
  • Events

o   Las Fallas in Valencia, Spain March 1-19 Enjoy a high-spirited fiesta in Valencia, Spain’s third-largest city. The annual bash, held in commemoration of Saint Joseph, sees neighborhoods transformed into lively parties over a boisterous five-day period.

Claire’s Perfect Weather World Tour

🇲🇹 Week 9 — Valletta, Malta
“Fortress Faith & Mediterranean Light”
March 1–7, 2026
Base: Valletta — Baroque Capital by the Sea


🌦️ Overview
Early March in Malta is warm, bright, and breezy — 62–68°F, perfect for walking the golden limestone streets and coastal paths. Malta is one of the oldest Christian nations on earth, shaped by St. Paul’s shipwreck and centuries of fortress faith.
Theme: resilience, apostolic courage, and walking with God in Mediterranean light.


📅 Daily Outline with Embedded Links

📌 Mar 1 — Arrival (Second Sunday of Lent)

Flight: Rome → Malta via ITA Airways or Air Malta

Mass: St. John’s Co‑Cathedral — heritagemalta.mt (heritagemalta.mt in Bing)

Lodging: The Cumberland Boutique Hotel (~$150/night)



Meals: ~$55/day

Symbolic Act: “Entering the Fortress” — write one area of life where you seek God’s protection

Fun: Try pastizzi (ricotta or pea pastries) still warm from the oven


📌 Mar 2 — Valletta’s Baroque Heart (Monday)

Visit: Upper Barrakka Gardens — visitmalta.com (visitmalta.com in Bing)

Walk: Republic Street → St. George’s Square

Mass: St. Paul’s Shipwreck Church — visitmalta.com (visitmalta.com in Bing)

Symbolic Act: “Stand Firm” — pray among the relics of St. Paul

Fun: Watch the noon cannon fire from the Saluting Battery


📌 Mar 3 — Mdina, the Silent City (Tuesday)

Visit: Mdina — visitmalta.com (visitmalta.com in Bing)

Walk: Mdina Gate → Cathedral Square

Mass: Mdina Cathedral — mdinacathedral.com

Symbolic Act: “Silence Before God” — spend 10 minutes in quiet in the cathedral

Fun: Try Mdina glass blowing demonstrations


📌 Mar 4 — St. Paul’s Bay & Shipwreck Chapel (Wednesday)

Visit: St. Paul’s Bay — visitmalta.com (visitmalta.com in Bing)

Chapel: St. Paul’s Shipwreck Chapel on Selmun Hill

Mass: Local parish in St. Paul’s Bay

Symbolic Act: “When Storms Break Us Open” — reflect on the storms God has carried you through

Fun: Take a photo with the St. Paul statue overlooking the bay


📌 Mar 5 — Blue Grotto & Coastal Cliffs (Thursday)

Visit: Blue Grotto — visitmalta.com (visitmalta.com in Bing)

Walk: Dingli Cliffs coastal path


Mass: Parish in Żurrieq

Symbolic Act: “Light on the Water” — meditate on God’s guidance

Fun: Drink a fresh pomegranate juice from a cliffside stand


📌 Mar 6 — Gozo Island Day Trip (Friday)

Ferry: Malta → Gozo — gozochannel.com

Visit: Victoria Citadel — visitgozo.com

Mass: Ta’ Pinu National Shrine — tapinu.org

Symbolic Act: “Mother of Hope” — light a candle at Ta’ Pinu

Fun: Try Gozitan cheeselets (ġbejniet)


📌 Mar 7 — Three Cities & Farewell (Saturday)

Visit: Vittoriosa, Senglea, Cospicua — visitmalta.com (visitmalta.com in Bing)

Walk: Senglea Point → Safe Haven Gardens

Mass: Saturday Vigil at St. Lawrence’s Church

Symbolic Act: Leave a written prayer of gratitude overlooking the Grand Harbour

Fun: Ride a dgħajsa (traditional Maltese boat) across the harbor


💰 Cost Snapshot (Per Person)

Lodging (6 nights): ~$900

Meals (7 days): ~$385–$420

Tickets/Activities: ~$60–$120

Local Transport: ~$80–$120

Flight (Rome → Malta): ~$70–$140
➡️ Total: $1,495–$1,700




MARCH 1 Second Sunday of Lent, Called “Reminiscere”

La Falla-Horse Rescue Day

 Matthew, Chapter 17, verse 5-8

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much AFRAID. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

 

The apostles during the transfiguration heard the voice of the Father; saw the light of the Holy Spirit and were touched by the Son of God, Christ the Messiah. They fully experienced the triune God which empowered them for the trial ahead.

 

Copilot

The Gospel of the Transfiguration shows the apostles overwhelmed by the Father’s voice, the Spirit’s radiance, and the touch of Christ Himself. They fall in fear—not the fear of evil, but the awe that comes when human frailty meets divine majesty. This is the heart of Reminiscere, the ancient cry of the Church: “Remember, O Lord, Your mercies.” Lent begins by reminding us that courage is born from remembering who God is. Fear loses its grip when we recall the glory we have already seen, the covenant we belong to, and the Beloved Son to whom we are commanded to listen.

 This remembering becomes the foundation for confronting evil. Jesus does not give the apostles a strategy or a warning; He gives them His presence. “Rise, and do not be afraid.” Evil is not defeated by staring into the shadows but by fixing our eyes on “Jesus alone.” His touch steadies the heart, His voice cuts through deception, and His glory exposes every counterfeit power. The Transfiguration teaches that holy fear—reverence before God—drives out the paralyzing fear that evil tries to sow. We confront darkness not by our strength but by proximity to Christ, who stands between us and every storm.

 Here La Falla becomes a vivid Lenten symbol. In Valencia, towering monuments of vanity, corruption, and human folly are burned to ash in a single night. What is false cannot survive the fire. The same truth unfolds on the mountain: the light of Christ reveals what is real and consumes what is hollow. When the cloud lifts, the apostles see “Jesus alone” because everything else—fear, confusion, the illusions of evil—has been burned away by divine clarity. Lent invites us into that same purification: to remember God’s mercy, to stand unafraid in Christ’s presence, and to let His light reduce every falsehood in us to ash.

 Rosary Virtue — Spiritual Courage

In this mystery, the Rosary gives us the virtue of spiritual courage, which is simply the Transfiguration lived out in daily life. Reminiscere teaches us to remember God’s mercy; La Falla shows us that what is false must burn; and the mountain reveals that courage is born not from our strength but from Christ’s touch. Spiritual courage is the grace to rise when fear presses down, to walk toward the Cross with clarity instead of confusion, and to let the light of Christ expose every illusion that evil tries to cast. It is the courage to remember what we have seen on the mountain, to carry that fire into the valleys below, and to stand firm because the Beloved Son walks beside us.

 ON KEEPING THE LORD'S DAY HOLY[1]

CHAPTER II

DIES CHRISTI

The Day of the Risen Lord
and of the Gift
of the Holy Spirit

The day of the gift of the Spirit

28. Sunday, the day of light, could also be called the day of "fire", in reference to the Holy Spirit. The light of Christ is intimately linked to the "fire" of the Spirit, and the two images together reveal the meaning of the Christian Sunday. When he appeared to the Apostles on the evening of Easter, Jesus breathed upon them and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (Jn 20:22-23). The outpouring of the Spirit was the great gift of the Risen Lord to his disciples on Easter Sunday. It was again Sunday when, fifty days after the Resurrection, the Spirit descended in power, as "a mighty wind" and "fire" (Acts 2:2-3), upon the Apostles gathered with Mary. Pentecost is not only the founding event of the Church but is also the mystery which forever gives life to the Church. Such an event has its own powerful liturgical moment in the annual celebration which concludes "the great Sunday", but it also remains a part of the deep meaning of every Sunday, because of its intimate bond with the Paschal Mystery. The "weekly Easter" thus becomes, in a sense, the "weekly Pentecost", when Christians relive the Apostles' joyful encounter with the Risen Lord and receive the life-giving breath of his Spirit.

Second Sunday of Lent, Called “Reminiscere”[2]

 AT the Introit to-day the Church asks of God the grace to fall -no more into sin: Remember, O God, Thy bowels of compassion, and Thy mercies that are from the beginning of the world, lest at any time our enemies rule over us; deliver us, O God, from all our tribulations. To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul. In Thee, O God, I put my trust, let me not be ashamed; (Ps. xxiv.).

 Prayer.

 O God, Who beholdest us destitute of every virtue, preserve us both inwardly and outwardly, that we may be defended from all adversities in body, and purified from all evil thoughts in mind.

 EPISTLE, i. Thess. iv. 1-7.

 Brethren: We pray and beseech you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received of us, how you ought to walk, and to please God, so also you would walk, that you may abound the more. For you know what precepts I have given to you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor: not in the passion of lust, like the gentiles that know not God: and that no man overreach, nor circumvent his brother in business: because the Lord is the avenger of all these things, as we have told you before, and have testified: for God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto sanctification.

Explanation. St. Paul exhorts all Christians to live chastely and honestly, and continually to aspire to higher perfection. Such is the will of God, Who has called us to holiness, and will punish severely all impurity and injustice.

 Prayer.

Grant, O Lord, that, according to my vocation, I may never be addicted to earthly and fleshly lusts like the heathen, who know Thee not, but may live in modesty, chastity, and holiness, and adorn my name as a Christian with good works. Amen.

 Traditionally for this Sunday Paul exhorts us to keep up our progress and we hear the story of the Transfiguration as a heartening foretaste of Christ's ultimate triumph.

 GOSPEL. Matt. xvii. 1-9.

 At that time: Jesus taketh unto Him Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart: and He was transfigured before them. And His face did shine as the sun: and His garments became white as snow. And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with Him. And Peter, answering, said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here: if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo a voice out of the cloud saying: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased: hear ye Him. And the disciples, hearing, fell upon their face: and were very much afraid. And Jesus came and touched them: and said to them: Arise, and fear not. And they lifting up their eyes saw no one, but only Jesus. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying: Tell the vision to no man, till the Son of man be risen from the dead.

 Why was Jesus transfigured before His disciples on Mount Tabor?

 1. To give them manifest proof of His divinity.

2. To prevent all doubt on their part when they should see Him on Mount Calvary.

3. To encourage all the faithful to patience under agony and suffering.

4. To show us how our glorified bodies shall rise from the dead (i. Cor. xv. 52).

 Why did Moses and Elias appear with Our Lord?

 

To testify that Jesus was the Savior of the word spoken of by the law and the prophets.

 

Lenten Calendar[3]


Read: Today’s Gospel shares the story of the Transfiguration of the Lord.  

 Reflect: “The Transfiguration reminds us that the joys sown by God in life are not finishing lines; rather they are the lights he gives us during our earthly pilgrimage in order that “Jesus alone” may be our Law and his word the criterion that directs our existence.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, February 28, 2010)

 Pray: Pray for strength today to continue your Lenten promises and fasting with this prayer from Catholic Relief Services. . . . 

 Act: It’s the second Sunday of Lent, but there are three more to go. Rededicate yourself to your Lenten promises today and enter the week ready to tackle what’s ahead. 

 ·         Devotion of the Seven Sundays: St Joseph-4th  Sunday

La Falla de San Chusep[4]

Italy is not the only country that claims great love for Saint Joseph. Here's an explanation of the festivities in Valencia, Spain.

·         Among the many folk festivals of Spain which each year attract large numbers of tourists, Saint Joseph's Day in Valencia takes a unique position. La Falla de San Chusep, as it is called in the local dialect, has been celebrated for centuries, and it is perhaps the most spectacular, the most colorful of all Spanish holidays. It starts on March 13 and attains its gala climax six days later, after a solid week of fun and festivities.

·         San Chusep (St. Joseph) is the patron saint of Valencia, and since the sixteenth century his day has been celebrated by the city's artisans and craftsmen with a great deal of zest, humor, and originality. In the Valencian dialect, falla means "pyre." It seems that the term originated in the annual custom of the carpenters who cleaned their shops of shavings and discarded wood at this time of the year and burned the debris with a short ceremony. With the scraps, a comical wooden figure depicting the most inept and backward of the carpenter's apprentices was thrown into the flames. Eventually this developed into a local tradition with all the guilds participating in the burning of humorous and satirical effigies of animals, people, or subjects of local or national ridicule and scorn. Apparently the falla figures are also a product of Baroque art, with its emphasis on painting on wood, for which Valencia's craftsmen became justly famous.

·         Today, each guild, club, or association builds a falla of wood or papier-mâché. A queen, la reine del Falla, is chosen, and a band accompanies the queen, her court, and the falla to the contest on the main plaza of Valencia. The lavish preparations for the festival attract artists and musicians from the provinces who help the various groups build and exhibit their entries to the contest of falla. During the week, bullfights are held every day. The streets are jammed with visitors admiring the fallas. In decorated booths and pavilions food and drinks are being served. And in the streets and on the city squares people dance to the music of the innumerable bands which accompany the fallas.

·         The best productions in art and music are judged for subject matter and presentation and awarded prizes. The most outstanding falla is transferred to a special museum which harbors the prize winners of previous years. On March 19, at midnight, all the other fallas, some towering three stories in height, are burned in huge bonfires. Strings of firecrackers explode around the plaza, and elaborate fireworks illuminate the scene with brilliant flashes of color. As each falla crumbles into ashes, the crowds shout with glee amidst the furiously burning pyres. As the fires slowly burn down to the last embers, the merrymakers leave the scene, exhausted and jubilant, already dreaming of next year, of the next falla.

Bible in a year Day 242 King Nebuchadnezzar's Role

Fr. Mike explains why God asks his people to surrender to king Nebuchadnezzar even though it seems contradicting. We learn that God can use evil circumstances to win the hearts of his people back. In Daniel, as we read about the vision of the ram and the goat, Fr. Mike reminds us that prophecy is always shrouded in mystery. Today we read Jeremiah 26-27, Daniel 8-9, and Proverbs 16:9-12.

 

Today is Horse Rescue Day[5]

 

Adopt a (Army) Caisson Horse

 

The Caisson Horses of The Old Guard participate in all Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps Full Honors Funerals performed in Arlington National Cemetery. These magnificent animals serve with the men of the Caisson Platoon daily to ensure final honors are given in a dignified, professional, and respectful manner; and they love their job. Each Caisson Horse offered for adoption has served on average for over a decade. During the course of their service, they participate in thousands of funerals for our nation’s heroes. Because of the long and distinguished service of each and every horse in our stables, The Old Guard has introduced the Caisson Horse Adoption Program to ensure each horse is rewarded with a great home following its well-earned retirement.

 

The primary goal of the Caisson Horse Adoption Program is to select a home for a retiring Caisson Horse. The program publishes Horses ready for retirement to a website, identifies potential adopters, and selects the best candidate from a pool of applicants seeking to adopt a retired Caisson Horse. The specifics of the Caisson Horse Adoption Program is governed by The Old Guard.

Daily Devotions

·         Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: End to abortion

·         Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

·         Make reparations to the Holy Face

·         Drops of Christ’s Blood

·         Universal Man Plan



🎬 That Uncertain Feeling (1941)

Starring: Melvyn Douglas, Merle Oberon, Burgess Meredith
Director: Ernst Lubitsch

What Makes This Film Special

This is Lubitsch in his late‑period mode — lighter, airier, and more psychologically playful than his pre‑Code work. Instead of the sparkling sexual innuendo of Trouble in Paradise, you get a comedy of manners built around emotional hesitation, marital drift, and the strange ways people rediscover each other.

Douglas is at his best here:

  • smooth but not smug
  • wounded but never pathetic
  • witty without ever breaking the emotional truth of the scene

Merle Oberon brings a cool, refined presence that plays beautifully against Douglas’s warmth. And Burgess Meredith — as the neurotic, self‑absorbed pianist — is the perfect destabilizing force.

🧭 Plot in a Nutshell

A married woman (Oberon) develops hiccups — a classic Lubitsch metaphor for emotional blockage — and visits a psychoanalyst. There she meets a temperamental pianist (Meredith) who draws her into a flirtation that threatens her marriage to her steady, affectionate husband (Douglas).

The comedy comes not from slapstick but from the elegant dance of misunderstandings, hesitations, and the subtle ways people test the boundaries of loyalty.

💡 Themes 

1. The Fragility of Contentment

Lubitsch suggests that marriages don’t fall apart from catastrophe but from boredom, routine, and the desire to feel “interesting” again.

2. The Comedy of Self‑Discovery

Oberon’s character isn’t malicious — she’s simply trying to understand herself. The film treats this with gentleness rather than judgment.

3. The Douglas Touch

He plays the husband as a man who refuses to fight dirty. His dignity becomes the film’s moral center — and ultimately its romantic engine.

4. Lubitsch’s Moral Playfulness

No one is a villain. Everyone is a little foolish. And love, in the end, is something you choose again, not something you merely possess.

🍷 A Hospitality Pairing 

This film pairs beautifully with something light, civilized, and slightly effervescent — a nod to the hiccup motif and the emotional carbonation of the story.

Suggested pairing:

  • A chilled white (Riesling or Gewürztraminer)
  • Light European snacks — olives, almonds, a soft cheese
  • A quiet evening where conversation can drift as easily as the film’s tone

A Spiritual Reflection 

The film quietly affirms that fidelity isn’t just about resisting temptation — it’s about remembering the goodness of what you already have.
Douglas’s character embodies Romans 12:10 without ever quoting it:
“Outdo one another in showing honor.”
He honors his wife even when she is uncertain of herself, and that honor becomes the path home.



Domus Vinea Mariae

Domus Vinea Mariae
Home of Mary's Vineyard