Thursday, July 9, 2026
Smoke in This Life Not the Next — Thu, Jul 9 Holy Face Rosary II: Struck & Mocked Virtue: Mercy & Dignity Cigar: Habano Maduro — bold, peppered, bruised yet unwavering Bourbon: None — silence before the Holy Face The second decade of the Holy Face Rosary turns toward the blows Christ received — the striking, the spitting, the mockery meant to erase His dignity. In that light, the testimony of the deceased Franciscan who left his handprint seared into the refectory table becomes more than a purgatorial warning; it becomes a meditation on the dignity of suffering and the mercy that reveals it. “Nothing on earth,” he said, “can give an idea of the torments which I endure, and of which God permits me to give you a visible proof.” Then he placed his hand upon the table, and the wood burned beneath him as though touched by a red‑hot iron. This was not spectacle. It was instruction — a lesson meant for his friend, and for every soul who later came to see the ma...
