Posts
Vinny’s Corner
· Saturday Litany of the Hours Invoking the Aid of Mother Mary
· Foodie Food on the Camino de Santiago
· Spirit hour: 15 Traditional Spanish Drinks
· Bucket Item trip: October 4–11 Camino itinerary
· 🍷 Pilgrimage & Renewal in La Rioja
o Camino Francés | October 4–11, 2025
From Logroño to Santo Domingo de la Calzada: a week of walking, wine, and witness
§ After the Marian heart of Medjugorje and the threshold descent from Roncesvalles to Pamplona, this next arc of pilgrimage invites renewal. La Rioja—Spain’s wine country—is not just a place of vineyards and stone churches. It’s a terrain of Eucharistic rhythm, quiet hospitality, and embodied grace. Here, the Camino deepens.
· 🏞️ Day 1: Arrival in Logroño (Oct 4)
o Logroño welcomes pilgrims with scallop shells carved into church façades and tapas shared in narrow alleys.
§ Stay: Albergue Parroquial Santiago El Real (donativo, sacred simplicity) or Winederful Hostel & Café (stylish, central).
· Evening: Mass at Santiago el Real, followed by a tapas walk along Calle Laurel—a communal act of welcome.
· 🍇 Day 2: Logroño → Navarrete (~13 km) (Oct 5)
o Begin with a Rosary at Puente de Piedra, crossing into renewal.
o Walk through vineyards and olive groves.
§ Pause at the ruins of San Juan de Acre—a medieval pilgrim hospital.
· Stay: Albergue La Casa del Peregrino or Hostal Villa de Navarrete.
· 🕊️ Day 3: Navarrete → Nájera (~17 km) (Oct 6)
o A gentle ascent through Alto de San Antón leads to Nájera, once a royal court and monastic center.
§ Visit the Monastery of Santa María la Real, built into red cliffs.
· Stay: Albergue El Peregrino or Hostal Ciudad de Nájera.
· 🥾 Day 4: Nájera → Santo Domingo de la Calzada (~21 km) (Oct 7)
o Grain fields and quiet villages guide the way.
o Pause at Azofra’s single-room albergue—symbol of solitude.
o Arrive in Santo Domingo, builder of bridges and patron of pilgrims.
§ Visit the Cathedral and its live chicken coop—echoes of Camino legend.
· Stay: Albergue Casa del Santo or Parador de Santo Domingo (luxury in a former hospital).
· 🏙️ Day 5: Cultural Day in Santo Domingo (Oct 8)
o Explore the pilgrim museum and medieval streets.
§ Optional vineyard tour with Eucharistic reflection on wine as symbol.
· Stay: Albergue La Catedral or remain at your previous lodging.
· 📖 Day 6: Writing & Integration (Oct 9)
o Morning journaling in a monastery garden or quiet café.
§ Visit a local artisan for a symbolic keepsake—scallop shell, pottery, or wine.
· Optional walk to Grañón’s Albergue Parroquial San Juan Bautista (communal meals, spiritual depth).
· ✝️ Day 7: Sending Forth (Oct 10)
o Morning Mass and pilgrim blessing.
§ Short walk westward or return to Logroño.
· Stay: Hotel Sercotel Portales or Hotel Murrieta.
· ✈️ Day 8: Departure (Oct 11)
o Quiet morning prayer.
§ Onward travel—carrying renewal westward.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
John 3:16
· Texas State Fair (Dallas) September 27-Oct 20 “Our state fair is a great state fair.” How can it not be when it’s in Texas? Beginning the last Friday in September, the annual Texas State Fair unfolds over 24 days in Dallas, TX, with plenty of fun for the whole family, including the chance to ride this Ferris wheel – the largest in North America.
· How to celebrate Oct 4th
o Start your day by baking a batch of delicious cinnamon rolls to celebrate Cinnamon Roll Day. Let the aroma fill your home and indulge in a sweet treat for breakfast.
§ Put on your favorite plaid shirt in honor of Plaidurday, embracing both comfort and style.
§ Spend the morning listening to kids’ music for Kids Music Day, whether it’s your childhood favorites or current hits that bring a smile to your face on World Smile Day.
· Head outside for a walk and appreciate nature on World Animal Day. Show love to your furry friends and consider donating to a local animal shelter.
· Take a moment to relax and appreciate the simple pleasures in life. Grab a taco for lunch to celebrate National Taco Day and pair it with a refreshing vodka drink for National Vodka Day.
o Invite a good buddy over to join in the festivities on National Good Buddy Day.
· Improve your workspace for Improve Your Office Day by decluttering and adding personal touches to create a more productive environment.
o Tune in to college radio for College Radio Day, discovering new music and supporting your local campus station.
o Thank a trucker on National Truckers Day for their hard work and dedication to keeping goods moving across the country.
· Finish the day with a feast in honor of St. Francis of Assisi Feast Day, reflecting on the importance of compassion and service to others.
OCTOBER
4 First Saturday-Saint Francis of Assisi, Religious
Revelation, Chapter 18, Verse 11-18
The world is mourning
Babylon’s fall in these verses. After watching this year’s MTV awards show I am
convinced that we morally are much closer to a Babylonian culture than we are
to the original vision of the founders of this great nation of “A city on the
hill” and a shining light to the world.
Is America the new
Babylon or that shining city on the hill?
Yet for
those who are united in Christ there is hope. Don’t worry the victory is for
those who are in the risen one.
Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope. (Matthew 12:18-21)
You cannot receive if you do not ask. Let us ask for God’s mercy and count on it, to deliver our soul from death and keep us alive through this earthly famine for ourselves and others. In fact, one pious work we could do this week is a Novena to the Divine Mercy. In the novena Christ asks us to pray each day for a certain group of people.
1.
All Sinners
2.
Priests and Religious
3.
Devout Souls
4.
Unbelievers
5.
Departed brethren
6.
Children
7.
Saints or those saints known only to God
8.
Those in purgatory
9. And the Lukewarm
A good time to pray the novena is the hour of Christ’s death. “At three o’clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy…”
Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways!
🔥 October 4: Saint Francis and the Smoke of Babylon
First
Saturday | Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi
Babylon doesn’t fall with a whisper. It
collapses in smoke and silence. Revelation 18 isn’t just apocalyptic—it’s
diagnostic. The world mourns not for truth, but for trade. Gold, silk, spices,
slaves. The city burns, and the merchants weep—not for justice, but for lost
luxury.
And we?
We watch the
spectacle. We scroll past the pyre. We wonder if the “shining city on a hill”
has dimmed into something more Babylonian than beatific.
But the Gospel doesn’t flinch.
“A bruised reed he will not break…
until he brings justice to victory.”
—Matthew 12:20
Christ moves gently. No shouting in the
streets. No spectacle. Just mercy. Just justice. Just the quiet lifting of the
wounded.
🌙 First Saturday: The Quiet Flame
First Saturday doesn’t shout either. It
whispers. It’s not a feast of spectacle—it’s a rhythm of repair. A gentle
invitation to sit beside Mary, to let her teach us how to love Christ when the
world forgets Him.
She doesn’t demand. She beckons.
She doesn’t condemn. She consoles.
She doesn’t flinch at Babylon’s smoke—she walks through it with a heart pierced
and a gaze fixed on heaven.
We offer her our rosary—not as a charm,
but as a chain of love.
We meditate on mysteries—not to escape, but to enter.
We receive Communion—not as routine, but as rescue.
And we do it not once, but monthly.
Because Babylon doesn’t fall in a day—and neither does the soul rise without
rhythm.
🕊️ The Novena: Mercy in Motion
The Divine
Mercy Novena
isn’t a list—it’s a liturgy of relationships. Each day reveals a spiritual
dynamic:
·
Sinners
are not shamed—they’re shepherded by priests and religious, whose hands
are stained with sacramental oil and mercy.
·
Devout souls
don’t hide—they instruct unbelievers, becoming living catechisms in a
world of confusion.
·
Heretics
don’t just err—they wound mothers and children, distorting truth at its
most tender.
·
The faithful,
through prayer, lift souls in purgatory, becoming bridges between
suffering and light.
·
And
the lukewarm—those drifting in
spiritual sleep—are stirred by the beatitudes, which whisper hunger,
purity, peace.
This is choreography. Mercy moves. Justice
breathes. The novena becomes a dance of intercession—each step lifting someone
closer to the light.
🌿 Saint Francis: The Counter-Babylon
Francis didn’t just renounce wealth. He
renounced the illusion. He walked away from Babylon’s cargo and built a Church
from rubble and song. His life was a novena in sandals—mercy for sinners,
tenderness for the poor, joy for the forgotten.
So we pray. We act. We become mercy.
At 3:00 PM, the Hour of Mercy, the veil thins. Let us stand in the breach—not
with condemnation, but with compassion.
“Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!”
—Psalm 128:1
First Saturday[1]
The Five
First Saturday’s devotion is one of the principal points of the Fatima message.
It centers on the urgent need for mankind to offer reparation and expiate for
the many injuries that the Immaculate Heart of Mary suffers from the hands of
both impious and indifferent men.
On the First Saturday during 5 Consecutive Months,
the Devotion consists of:
1.
Going to Confession,
2. Receiving the Sacrament of Holy Communion,
3. Saying five decades of the Rosary,
4. Meditating for 15 minutes on the mysteries of the Rosary.
All this offered
in REPARATION for the sins of blasphemy and ingratitude committed against
the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
During the third apparition on July
13, 1917, Our Lady revealed that she would come to ask for the consecration of
Russia to her Immaculate Heart and for the Communion of Reparation of the Five
First Saturdays. Consequently, she asked for the devotion in 1925 and the
consecration in 1929. While staying at the House of the Dorothean Sister in
Pontevedra, Portugal, Sister Lucia received a vision on December 10, 1925,
where the Blessed Mother appeared alongside a Boy who stood over a luminous
cloud. Our Lady rested one hand on the Boy’s shoulder while she held on the
other hand a heart pierced with thorns around it. Sister Lucia heard the Boy
say, "Have pity on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother which is covered
with thorns with which ingrate men pierce it at every moment with no one to
make an act of reparation to pull them out." Our Lady expressed her
request in the following words, "See, my daughter, My Heart surrounded
with thorns with which ingrates pierce me at every moment with blasphemies and
ingratitude. You, at least, make sure to console me and announce that all those
who for five months, on the first Saturdays, go to confession, receive
Communion, say five decades of the Rosary and keep me company for 15 minutes
meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, with the purpose of making
reparation to Me, I promise to assist them at the hour of death with all the
graces necessary for the salvation of their souls." A few days
afterward, Sister Lucia detailed this vision in a letter addressed to Monsignor
Manuel Pereira Lopes, her confessor when she resided in the Asylum of Vilar in
the city of Oporto, Portugal.
Why Five Saturdays?
Sister Lucia’s confessor questioned
her about the reason for the five Saturdays, asking why not seven or nine. She
answered him in a letter dated June 12, 1930. In it she related a vision she
had of Our Lord while staying in the convent chapel part of the night of the
twenty-ninth to the thirtieth of the month of May, 1930. The reasons Our Lord
gave were as follows: The five first Saturdays correspond to the five kinds of
offenses and blasphemies committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. They
are:
1.
Blasphemies
against the Immaculate Conception
2.
Blasphemies
against her virginity
3.
Blasphemies
against her divine maternity, at the same time the refusal to accept her as the
Mother of all men
4.
Instilling,
indifference, scorn and even hatred towards this Immaculate Mother in the
hearts of children
5.
Direct
insults against Her sacred images
Let us keep the above reasons
firmly in our minds. Devotions have intentions attached to them and knowing
them adds merit and weight to the practice.
Modifications to the Five
First Saturdays Devotion to facilitate its observation.
The original request of Our Lady
asks one to confess and receive Communion on five consecutive first Saturdays;
to say five decades of the Rosary; to meditate during 15 minutes on the
mysteries of the Rosary for the purpose of making reparation to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary in reparations for the sins of men. In subsequent private visions
and apparitions however, Sister Lucia presented to Our Lord the difficulties
that devotees encountered in fulfilling some conditions. With loving
condescension and solicitude, Our Lord deigned to relax the rules to make this
devotion easy to observe:
·
Confession
may be done on other days other than the First Saturdays so long as one
receives Our Lord worthily and has the intention of making reparation to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary.
·
Even
if one forgets to make the intention, it may be done on the next confession,
taking advantage of the first occasion to go to confession.
·
Sister
Lucia also clarified that it is not necessary to meditate on ALL mysteries of
the Rosary on each First Saturdays. One or several suffice.
With much latitude granted by Our
Lord Himself, there is no reason for the faithful to hesitate or delay this
pious practice in the spirit of reparation which the Immaculate Heart of Mary
urgently asks.
This devotion is so
necessary nowadays.
The culture of vice and sin remains
unabated even as one reads this. Abortion, blasphemy, drug abuse, pornography,
divorce and bad marriages, religious indifference, the advances of the
homosexual agenda and others are just some of society’s many plagues that cut
deeply into the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We must console Our Lady amidst all these insults and injuries to her
and her Divine Son. She asks for reparation, she pleads for our prayers, she
hopes for our amendment of life. Let us listen to her maternal pleas and atone
for the ingratitude of men. The First Five Saturday’s devotion stimulates the
spirit of reparation; it instills a tender love for the Holy Sacraments of
Confession and the Blessed Eucharist. It nurtures a holy affection for the
Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Rosary. Above all, it is an excellent means to
maintain one in the state of grace while immersed in the daily spiritual
battles and prosaic existence in the neo-pagan world that we live in. Let us
not delay in observing this devotion for it too gives us hope for eternal
salvation.
Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi[2]
ST. FRANCIS was
born at Assisi, in Italy, in the year 1182. His father, a rich merchant,
intended him for trade, and Francis applied himself with aptness to this
employment, in which, though fond of show, he exhibited, at an early day, a
particular love for the poor. Agreeable and amiable, affable and kind to all,
he was beloved by all around him, and the world sought to draw him to its side.
But, enlightened from above, and by heavenly apparitions rendered attentive to
the call he was about to receive, he followed the leadings of grace which drew
him on to imitate Christ in poverty and humility. Hearing one day at Mass the
words of the Gospel “Do not possess gold, or silver, or money in your purses,
nor scrip for your journey, nor two coats, nor shoes, nor a staff” (Matt. x. 9,
10), he began to regulate the whole manner of his life according to this
precept of the Gospel, and at once began to preach penance with such
evangelical poverty, and with such power, that all who heard him were moved to
tears. Disinherited by his father, who was greatly displeased at his poverty
and open-handedness towards the poor, he threw himself altogether upon the
providence of his Father in heaven, dividing with the poor the alms he thus
received. The extraordinary manner of his life soon brought around him
disciples, and as the number of them increased daily, he wrote for them a rule,
and then set out for Home, to procure from the Pope a confirmation of it. He
came back, rejoicing in the Lord that everything at Rome had gone according to
his wish, and established himself about a mile from his native city, at a small
church belonging to the Benedictines, which he called Portiuncula (little
portion). Here he led a life of the severest penance here he prayed day and
night, and here he laid the foundation of that Order which has filled the world
with the splendor of its virtues. Here in this church, dedicated to the virgin
Mother of Jesus and to the holy angels, he received from Christ Himself the
celebrated indulgence known throughout the whole Christian world as the
Portiuncula Indulgence, for while the saint was praying there with glowing
devotion, on the day of the dedication of the church, in the year 1221, the
Lord appeared to him and said “Francis, ask whatever thou wilt for the
salvation of the nations.” He answered: “I desire the remission of guilt and
punishment, a plenary indulgence for all who shall visit this church with
contrite hearts and sincerely confess their sins. The Lord replied, Go then to
My representative, the Pope, and ask the indulgence in My name. “Forthwith he
went to Pope Honorius III., who first, by word of mouth, and afterwards by a
proper bull, confirmed to him the indulgence. The same indulgence was, at a
later day, extended to all churches of the Franciscans, and by Pope Pius VII to
all parish churches (at least to all in Bavaria), and may be gained on the
first Sunday in August of every year. Burning with desire for the salvation of
the people, St. Francis with his brethren, whom he sent out two by two to
preach penance and the peace of God, labored to establish everywhere the
kingdom of heaven. His love for sinners, and his ardent zeal for the salvation
of souls, impelled him to visit remote parts of the world to preach the Gospel
to unbelievers. For this he was rewarded by God with miraculous graces, among
which there is particularly to be mentioned that which was granted him upon
Mount Alverno. While he was there engaged, separated from the world, in fasting
and praying for forty days, as he was accustomed to do often, the Savior
appeared to him in the form of a seraph on the cross, and imprinted the five
wounds of His own body on the body of St. Francis. On account of this, and for
his ardent love for Jesus crucified, St. Francis received the surname of
Seraph. After this event the saint lived two years in manifold bodily distress
and sickness, without murmur or complaint, with perfect resignation to the will
of God. Sometime before his death he caused his will to be written, in which he
left to his brethren poverty as an inheritance in which they should find great
treasure for heaven. As the hour of his dissolution drew nigh he had the
passion of Christ read to him; he then said the one hundred and forty-first
psalms, and at the words, bring my soul out of prison that I may praise Thy
name, he expired happy in the Lord, October 4, 1226, in the forty-fifth year of
his age. St. Francis founded three Orders, the first and proper Order of
Franciscans, or the Order of Friars Minor, then the Order of Franciscan nuns,
or Clares, so called from St. Clare, their first superior and lastly, that
called the Third Order, for people in the world, of both sexes, who aim at
perfection, but do not desire to make the vows of the cloister. This last
Order, which has been approved by many Popes, particularly by Gregory IX.,
Innocent IV., and Nicholas IV., has spread throughout the whole world, and is
becoming in our day more and more flourishing.
Prayer.
O God, Who by the merits of blessed Francis dost increase Thy Church by a new progeny, grant us by imitating him to despise earthly things, and ever to rejoice in the participation of heavenly gifts. Amen.
EPISTLE. Gal. vi. 14-18.
Brethren: God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ: by Whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And whosoever shall follow this rule, peace on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From henceforth let no man be troublesome to me: for I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus in my body. The grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.
GOSPEL. Matt. xi. 25-30.
At that time Jesus answered and said: I confess to Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones. Yea, Father: for so hath it seemed good in Thy sight. All things are delivered to Me by My Father. And no one knoweth the Son, but the Father: neither doth anyone know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you that labor, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up My yoke upon you, arid learn of Me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For My yoke is sweet and My burden
· We must as is sometimes do as attributed to the sayings of St. Francis, “preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.”
This is the first premise of leadership. As leaders, especially Christian leaders, we must demonstrate the Be, Know and Do attitudes of Christ. That is we must become an “Alter Christus” or another Christ. We must BE to others as Christ would. We must KNOW spiritual principals as Christ does and we must act or DO in the world as Christ would.
This day emulate
our Lord by reflecting and living the prayer of St. Francis.
The
Prayer of Saint Francis
Lord,
make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where
there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where
there is injury, pardon;
Where
there is doubt, faith;
Where
there is despair, hope;
Where
there is darkness, light;
Where
there is sadness, joy.
O
divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To
be consoled as to console,
To
be understood as to understand,
To
be loved as to love;
For
it is in giving that we receive;
It
is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It
is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.
Things to Do[3]
·
Pray
the Canticle of the Sun, which was
written by St. Francis.
·
For
more reading, see the selections from the Catholic Culture Library. This page from
the Franciscan Archives contains links
about St. Francis of Assisi, including biographies, articles, writings, Orders
& Societies, liturgical texts and art.
·
Many
parishes have a Blessing of animals or pets on this day. See
the Prayers column for other alternatives. St. Francis loved all of God's
creatures. Find the stories of the Wolf of Gubbio, the Sermon to the Birds, his
Canticle of Creatures to see some illustrations of his honoring God's creation.
·
St.
Francis was influential on our present-day Christmas crib or creche.
·
Although
St. Francis is one of the most popular saints of the Church, and his feast is a
huge celebration in Assisi, there are no particular foods attached to that
festival. Tradition has passed on that on his deathbed he requested Frangipane
cream or Moastaccioli (almond biscotti). Fire is a symbol of St. Francis, first
of all because his heart was on fire with love of God, but there are other
stories in Little Flowers of St. Francis that deal with fire,
particularly when he prayed, the surrounding areas would become so bright that
people thought the areas were on fire. So a flaming dessert or wine would be an
appropriate ending of a wonderful feast. One could also try some Umbrian
style
recipes, or just have "Italian night" at home, even just simple
spaghetti or other pasta and sauces.
·
Learn
more about the Franciscan order. The Catholic
Encyclopedia
has a wonderful entry on St. Francis, including his Rule. And from the Catholic
Culture Library you can read a detailed summary of the life of St. Francis and
his founding of the Order of Friars Minor.
·
What
does poverty in our state of
life mean? How can I follow the Gospels like Francis?
·
Learn
more about geography and history of the Umbria area, and how
much Francis has impacted that area.
·
Study
art and photos of Francis. Find out more about the Basilica
of St. Francis
in Assisi. Although the earthquake in 1997 damaged the basilica, it reopened in
1999.
·
Go
here for Saint Francis of Assisi, The Writings of
Saint Francis of Assisi,
translated by Fr. Paschal Robinson in 1906.
·
Read
Little Flowers of St. Francis by Brother
Ugolino online or purchase a copy. This is a collection of many stories and
legends of the life of St. Francis. Of particular note is his Sermon to the
Birds,
"My little
sisters the birds, ye owe much to God, your Creator, and ye ought to sing his
praise at all times and in all places, because he has given you liberty to fly
about into all places; and though ye neither spin nor sew, he has given you a
twofold and a threefold clothing for yourselves and for your offspring. Two of
all your species he sent into the Ark with Noah that you might not be lost to
the world; besides which, he feeds you, though ye neither sow nor reap. He has
given you fountains and rivers to quench your thirst, mountains and valleys in
which to take refuge, and trees in which to build your nests; so that your
Creator loves you much, having thus favoured you with such bounties. Beware, my
little sisters, of the sin of ingratitude, and study always to give praise to
God."
St. Francis was a
great respecter of life and viewed all creation as a gift of God; he called the
animals brothers and the moon sister moon. If we have God’s breath and love in
us we must respect and protect all creation starting with the most vulnerable
of human life.
Bible in a Year Day 90 Ruth and Boaz
Fr. Mike highlights the life of Ruth, and what seems to be the first day of hope she's had in a long time. Sometimes it takes a long time to catch a glimmer of hope in the darkness of our lives, but Ruth reminds us that no matter what we've been through, God is always with us. Today's readings are Judges 4-5, Ruth 2, and Psalm 134.
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite
yourself in the work of the Porters of
St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: An Increase of the
Faithful
·
Religion
in the Home for Preschool: October
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
