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. "
Cigar: bundled Maduro Whiskey: Evan Williams Black Virtue: Endurance Question:What still needs burning off in me
The Three Compartments
Ice: for souls who lived cold, indifferent, withholding warmth. Boiling Oil: for souls stuck to comforts and habits that clung like pitch. Molten Metal: for souls who chased shine, reputation, and appearances.
Why the Cheap Smoke Fits
No polish. No pretense. Just the raw burn that tells the truth.
Sit with the flame and ask where you’re still cold, clinging, or polishing your image instead of your soul.
A YANK AT OXFORD (1938)
Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O’Sullivan, Vivien Leigh
An energetic campus drama where an overconfident American collides with the ancient discipline of Oxford—and discovers that pride must be broken before character can be built.
Sources: imdb.com
1. Production & Historical Setting
Released by MGM in 1938, the film was part of Hollywood’s fascination with British academic life—tradition, ritual, and the shaping of young men. Director Jack Conway blends light comedy with moral formation, while the cast brings surprising depth:
Robert Taylor as the gifted but arrogant American athlete.
Lionel Barrymore as the stern but fair father figure.
Maureen O’Sullivan as the steadying presence of sincerity.
Vivien Leigh, just before Gone With the Wind, as the charming but complicated catalyst for scandal.
Oxford itself becomes a character: stone halls, rowing shells, gowns, bells—an environment designed to break pride and build discipline.
2. Story Summary
American track star Lee Sheridan arrives at Oxford expecting admiration. Instead he finds:
Rivalry with the upper‑class students he unintentionally insults.
Humiliation when his arrogance isolates him.
Temptation through a flirtation with a married woman (Vivien Leigh).
Correction when he is falsely accused and must face the consequences.
Redemption through loyalty, courage, and a willingness to change.
The turning point comes when Lee stops fighting Oxford and begins submitting to its discipline. His final race is not just athletic—it is moral: a man running as someone newly forged.
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. Pride Meets the Ancient Order
Lee’s swagger collapses when confronted with a world older, wiser, and more demanding than he expected. Pride always breaks when it meets something immovable.
B. Discipline as Freedom
Oxford’s rules, rituals, and expectations are not constraints—they are the scaffolding that allows Lee to grow into a man capable of self‑command.
C. The Wound of False Accusation
Being blamed for what he didn’t do forces Lee to choose between self‑pity and integrity. Innocence still requires endurance.
D. Friendship as Formation
The men who first mocked him become the ones who sharpen him. Brotherhood is often born from conflict, not comfort.
E. Victory After Surrender
Lee wins only after he stops performing and starts submitting to the truth about himself. His athletic triumph mirrors his interior conversion.
4. Hospitality Pairing — The Oxford Table
Strong black tea with honey — discipline softened by sweetness.
Toasted English muffin with butter and jam — simple, steadying, collegiate.
A small brass key on the table — symbol of formation: doors open only after humility is learned.
A single sprig of rosemary — remembrance of who you were before correction, and who you are becoming after it.
A setting for evenings when you feel the sting of correction and need to remember that discipline is a gift.
5. Reflection Prompts
Where does my pride still expect applause instead of accountability?
What structures or disciplines in my life function like Oxford—ancient, demanding, and good for me?
How do I respond when I am misunderstood or falsely accused?
Which friendships in my life sharpen me rather than flatter me?
What “race” am I running right now that requires humility before victory?
(“Many Are Falling Prey to the Devil’s Tactics in These Times” – U.S. Grace Force)youtu.be
The video argues that the devil’s primary tactic today is disorientation through noise—a constant stream of negative media, outrage cycles, and spiritual distraction. Dr. Dan Schneider warns that demons exploit this atmosphere to keep people off balance, divided, reactive, and spiritually unfocused. The enemy’s strategy is not always dramatic; it is often subtle:
Overconsumption of media that inflames fear or anger
Division within families, parishes, and communities
Confusion about what is true, good, or trustworthy
Emotional exhaustion that weakens prayer and discernment
The counterattack, he says, is simple, ancient, and effective: return to disciplined prayer, sacramental life, and interior order. Evil thrives in chaos; it collapses in the presence of a soul that is recollected, obedient to God, and rooted in truth.
CCC: WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES ABOUT THESE TACTICS
1. Evil exploits disorder and confusion
The Catechism teaches that humanity lives in a “dramatic struggle between good and evil” (CCC 409). The devil’s strategy is to distort truth, sow division, and manipulate disordered passions (CCC 1707). When the interior life is scattered, evil finds leverage.
2. Fortitude orders fear and prevents manipulation
The virtue of fortitude (CCC 1808) keeps a person from being ruled by fear, panic, or the emotional storms stirred by media. Evil thrives when fear is ungoverned; fortitude restores clarity.
3. Truth is the weapon that breaks deception
Christians are commanded to bear witness to truth even when costly (CCC 2471–2474). Lies—whether cultural, spiritual, or personal—are the devil’s native language. Naming truth is an act of confrontation.
4. Authority must serve the common good, not confusion
Legitimate authority exists to create order (CCC 1902–1904). When leaders—civil, ecclesial, or cultural—fail to guard truth and unity, confusion spreads and evil gains ground.
5. Peace is not passivity but the fruit of right order
Peace is “the tranquility of order” (CCC 2304). Evil thrives in disorder; peace is the sign that God’s order has been restored.
LESSONS ON CONFRONTING EVIL
1. Evil is confronted first by refusing to be disoriented
The devil wants you scattered, scrolling, outraged, exhausted. The first act of spiritual warfare is recollection—a disciplined interior life that cannot be manipulated.
2. Evil is confronted by naming lies without hysteria
The Church never teaches panic. She teaches clarity. Lies lose power when calmly exposed.
3. Evil is confronted by unity rooted in truth, not sentiment
Division is one of the devil’s oldest tools. Unity is not softness; it is the strength of people ordered toward the same truth.
4. Evil is confronted by sacramental discipline
The video’s “simple and effective counterattack” is exactly what the Church prescribes:
Confession
Eucharist
Daily prayer
Scripture
Fasting
Rosary
These are not pious accessories; they are weapons.
5. Evil is confronted by refusing to let the world set your emotional temperature
The devil cannot possess a soul, but he can agitate it. The Christian refuses agitation. He stands in ordered peace, which is itself an act of defiance.
Evil today does not always roar; it whispers through distraction, division, and the constant drip of negativity that keeps souls reactive instead of recollected. The Catechism names this as humanity’s ongoing dramatic struggle (CCC 409), where the enemy manipulates disorder and fear. The counterattack is not complicated: fortitude that orders fear (CCC 1808), truth spoken without panic (CCC 2471–2474), authority rightly exercised (CCC 1902–1904), and the peace that comes only from God’s order (CCC 2304). The devil wants scattered minds and divided hearts; Christ forms disciplined souls who cannot be moved. Confronting evil begins by refusing confusion, naming lies, and standing in the clarity of a life anchored in prayer, sacrament, and truth.
Virtue: Atonement & Honesty Cigar: Harsh, unrefined (bundle stick) Whiskey: Bottom-shelf bourbon – sharp, corrective Reflection:“What fire do I choose now so I do not face the greater one later?”
The Lowest Region of Purgatory
St. Frances of Rome teaches that the lowest region of Purgatory is not Hell, though the fire is just as fierce. It is the place where souls who confessed mortal sins but did not complete their penance undergo purification. They died in God’s friendship, but with the temporal weight of their sins still clinging to them.
She describes this region as:
A vast burning sea, where the fire is total and unrelenting.
A temporary state, because salvation is certain, but purification is necessary.
A place of intelligent flame, where every burn corresponds to what was left unhealed.
A region marked by the old tradition of “seven years per sin,” not as a stopwatch, but as a symbol of the gravity of forgiven guilt still needing cleansing.
The first of three ascending regions, each drawing the soul closer to the light of God.
Nothing here is wasted.
Nothing here is arbitrary.
The fire is mercy finishing its work.
Cheap Smoke and Chosen Fire
A harsh cigar and a bottom-shelf bourbon preach the same penitential sermon: a man can choose small fires now—discipline, honesty, penance, self-denial—or he can carry his unfinished business into the fire that God Himself must apply.
Cheap smoke night is not about indulgence.
It is about clarity.
The roughness in your throat is a reminder that purification always costs something. Better to pay in small coins now than in great sums later.
The Holy Face and the Lowest Region
The Holy Face confronts a man with the truth he avoids. The lowest region of Purgatory is where God confronts the truths we avoided in life—truths we confessed but never repaired, admitted but never atoned for, regretted but never amended.
Purgatory removes every ambiguity we refused to surrender.
The wise man begins that surrender now.
What part of your own unfinished penance do you want tomorrow night’s entry to sharpen?
THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932)
Boris Karloff, Charles Laughton & Melvyn Douglas
A storm‑lashed, pre‑Code chamber horror where stranded travelers seek refuge in a decaying mansion ruled by a family of spiritual rot—grotesque, darkly comic, and lit with flashes of unexpected humanity.
Directed by James Whale in 1932, the film stands at the crossroads of early Universal horror and the sly, subversive tone Whale perfected in Frankenstein. It adapts J.B. Priestley’s novel Benighted, retaining its blend of satire, dread, and class commentary. ar.inspiredpencil.com Boris Karloff, fresh from his breakout as the Monster, plays Morgan, the mute brute whose physicality dominates the film. Melvyn Douglas brings urbane steadiness, while Charles Laughton, in his first American role, adds warmth and grounded humanity. The house itself—rain‑battered, candlelit, and crumbling—becomes a character, a visual sermon on what happens when a family seals itself off from truth.
2. Story Summary
A violent storm forces a group of travelers—Philip and Margaret Waverton, their friend Penderel, and later the boisterous Sir William Porterhouse and his companion Gladys—into the Femm family mansion. Inside they encounter:
Horace Femm, nervous, brittle, terrified of the house’s secrets.
Rebecca Femm, a shrill moral tyrant whose piety masks cruelty.
Morgan (Karloff), the drunken, dangerous servant whose presence suggests the house’s long decay.
Saul, the mad, fire‑obsessed brother hidden upstairs, the true threat waiting in the dark.
As the night unfolds, the travelers confront the Femms’ madness, Morgan’s violence, and Saul’s deranged theology of destruction. Dawn arrives only after courage, restraint, and sacrifice hold the line against the house’s generational evil.
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. A House Without Light
The Femm mansion is a parable of what happens when a household rejects truth: fear becomes the ruling spirit, and every room hides a distortion of virtue.
B. Vice as Enslavement
Morgan’s drunken brutality is not monstrous in the supernatural sense—it is the flesh ungoverned, appetite without discipline, a warning about what happens when strength is severed from moral order.
C. The Courage of the Steady Man
Melvyn Douglas’s Penderel becomes the film’s moral center: calm under pressure, willing to confront danger, and able to protect the vulnerable without bravado. His steadiness is the antidote to the house’s chaos.
D. Dawn as Deliverance
The survivors step into the morning not triumphant but sobered. Evil has been restrained, not conquered. The film quietly affirms that sometimes spiritual victory is simply refusing to be swallowed by the darkness around you.
4. Hospitality Pairing
Storm‑Night Vigil Table
Hot toddy with lemon and clove — warmth against the storm, a drink that steadies the nerves rather than inflames them.
Dark rye bread with salted butter — simple, grounding, the opposite of the Femm family’s decayed excess.
A single candle — not for mood but for symbolism: one flame held against a house full of shadows.
A small stone or piece of wood on the table — a tactile reminder of solidity and endurance when the world feels unstable.
A setting for nights when you feel the wind rising and need to remember that courage is often quiet.
5. Reflection Prompts
Where in my life have I allowed fear to become the governing spirit of a room, a relationship, or a habit?
What appetites in me resemble Morgan—strong, mute, and dangerous when ungoverned?
Which parts of my interior “house” have I locked away rather than brought into the light?
How do I respond when confronted with another person’s chaos—with steadiness or with panic?
What does dawn look like in my current season—what small act of courage would move me toward it?
Virtue: Witness & Clarity Cigar: Bold, expressive (Habano Maduro) Bourbon: High West Double Rye – spirited, daring Reflection:“What gospel do I live aloud?”
The Ordered Fire of St. Frances of Rome
St. Frances of Rome saw Purgatory as the final architecture of mercy—a realm where God completes the purification we resisted or delayed in life. Her vision is striking for its structure: three ascending levels, each ordered, purposeful, and filled with the certainty of salvation. Nothing is chaotic. Nothing is wasted. Every flame is intelligent.
The Lowest Region is a vast burning sea for souls who confessed grave sins but never fully atoned. Tradition speaks of “seven years per sin,” not as a stopwatch but as a symbol of the weight of forgiven guilt still needing purification.
The Intermediate Region contains three crucibles: a dungeon of ice for coldness toward God, a boiling cauldron for sins of passion, and a molten-metal pond for greed and attachment.
The Upper Region is quieter, a place of longing rather than torment, where the soul aches for the God it now loves without obstruction.
Angels descend into every level. They do not shorten the purification, but they steady the soul so it can endure the fire that frees it.
Witness and the Holy Face
A bold Habano Maduro and a spirited rye preach the same Tuesday sermon: your life is already a witness. The only question is what it witnesses to. Clarity is not merely speaking truth; it is living truth in a way that leaves no ambiguity about whom you serve.
Purgatory is the place where God removes every ambiguity we refused to surrender in life. The wise man clears it now.
The Holy Face confronts you with the unavoidable question: What gospel does my life proclaim—without my words ever needing to speak?
THIS IS THE NIGHT (1932)
Cary Grant, Thelma Todd & Roland Young
A Paris‑to‑Venice pre‑Code farce of jealousy, invented lovers, and the fragile male ego—sparkling, mischievous, and quietly revealing about the masks people wear.
Released in 1932 and directed by Frank Tuttle, the film belongs to Paramount’s polished pre‑Code cycle, where marital deception and sexual innuendo were treated with breezy sophistication. Cary Grant appears in his screen debut—not yet the urbane figure he would become, but a jealous, hot‑blooded javelin thrower whose insecurity fuels the plot. imdb.com
Thelma Todd, at the height of her comic allure, plays the wife caught between affection and fear of confrontation. Roland Young, with his dry, hesitant charm, becomes the accidental moral center of the story. The film’s Paris‑and‑Venice settings, elegant interiors, and light orchestral scoring give it the feel of a continental holiday where everyone is pretending to be someone else.
2. Story Summary
When Olympic athlete Stephen (Cary Grant) returns home early and suspects his wife Claire (Thelma Todd) of infidelity, her friends scramble to protect her reputation. They invent a fictitious lover and recruit the mild‑mannered Gerald (Roland Young) to play the part.
The lie expands as the group travels to Venice, where:
Gerald’s awkward decency makes him more believable than intended.
Claire’s guilt and fear of Stephen’s temper deepen the tension.
Stephen’s jealousy grows, revealing his insecurity rather than strength.
The glamorous Colette (Lili Damita) complicates the charade with her own flirtations.
The farce unravels in a cascade of misunderstandings until the truth emerges—not through moral heroism but through the collapse of everyone’s carefully maintained illusions.
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. Jealousy as a Distorting Force
Stephen’s suspicion shows how jealousy warps perception, turning love into surveillance and affection into fear. His strength as an athlete contrasts with his weakness of character.
B. The Fragility of Appearances
The entire plot depends on maintaining a fiction. Each character participates in the lie to avoid discomfort, revealing how easily people choose illusion over truth when the truth threatens their pride.
C. Grace Through Embarrassment
The film’s comedy becomes a gentle moral teacher: truth often enters not through solemn revelation but through humiliation, exposure, and the collapse of our self‑protective stories.
4. Hospitality Pairing
Continental Mischief Table
A French 75—effervescent, elegant, and slightly dangerous, matching the film’s flirtatious tone.
Gougères or light cheese puffs—airy, insubstantial, delightful, like the plot’s comic deceptions.
A small travel token on the table (a postcard, a luggage tag) to echo the Paris‑to‑Venice escapade.
Soft lamplight to evoke the film’s blend of glamour and secrecy.
A setting for evenings when life feels tangled and you need levity without losing honesty.
5. Reflection Prompts
Where am I tempted to maintain a fiction rather than face a difficult truth?
How does jealousy—mine or another’s—distort what I believe about people I love?
What masks do I wear to avoid embarrassment or conflict?
When truth threatens my pride, do I reach for clarity or for another layer of disguise?
What would it look like to let truth enter gently, even if it unsettles the story I prefer?
Virtue: Stewardship & Reverence Cigar: Earthy, rooted (Sumatra) Bourbon: Wilderness Trail – grounded, clean Reflection:“How do I tend the garden of mercy?”
✨ The Hour That Rose from the Earth (Short, Sharp, True)
St. Magdalen de Pazzi once saw the soul of a deceased sister rise from the earth during prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. She appeared wrapped in purifying fire, yet beneath the flames shone a robe of dazzling white, the sign that grace had already claimed her. She knelt for one final hour of silent adoration before the Hidden God. When that hour was complete, she rose and ascended to Heaven.
Purgatory is not punishment for its own sake.
It is the completion of love, the final cleansing of what grace has already begun.
It is the soul returning to right order—adoration before ascent.
National “Weed Day” — A Necessary Clarification
April 20 is widely associated with marijuana culture, but your ritual framework is not about recreational intoxication. It is about purification, stewardship, and symbolic smoke—the rising of the soul toward God, not the dulling of the mind. The contrast actually strengthens the entry:
One kind of smoke numbs.
The other kind of smoke awakens.
One escapes responsibility.
The other accepts purification.
One drifts.
The other ascends.
Your Sumatra cigar becomes the counter‑sign: rooted, disciplined, earthy, reverent—a smoke that teaches rather than distracts.
An earthy Sumatra and a clean Wilderness Trail bourbon preach the same truth:
Stewardship begins in humility,
reverence begins in purification,
and every garden—soil or soul—must be tended in this life and not the next.
Monday Night at the Movies
🔸 April 2026 – Resurrection & Marian Vision
Apr 6 –King of Kings (1927)
Apr 13 – Lady for a Day (1933)
Apr 20 – The Song of Bernadette (1943)
Apr 27 – The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
Across these four films, Resurrection appears not only as an event but as a pattern: Christ rises, dignity rises, vision rises, vocation rises. King of Kings opens the month with the Resurrection as cosmic rupture — light breaking into darkness, Magdalene restored, and Mary standing as the quiet axis of fidelity. One week later, Lady for a Day translates that same rising into human terms: a woman the world overlooks is lifted into honor, revealing a Marian truth that the lowly are never invisible to God. What Christ does in glory, grace echoes in the lives of the poor.
The movement deepens with The Song of Bernadette, where Marian vision becomes the lens through which Resurrection continues in history. Heaven touches earth through humility, purity, and suffering — the same virtues that shaped Mary’s own discipleship. And the month concludes with The Keys of the Kingdom, where Resurrection becomes mission: a long obedience marked by Marian endurance, hidden fruitfulness, and the quiet courage to love in obscurity. Together, these films trace a single arc — from the empty tomb to the human heart, from glory revealed to glory lived — showing how the light of Easter becomes the shape of a life.
The Song of Bernadette (1943)
Jennifer Jones & William Eythe
A luminous meditation on innocence, suffering, and the quiet ferocity of grace. This is not a film about spectacle but about truth borne silently, a peasant girl whose purity unsettles the powerful and consoles the broken. Bernadette’s visions do not elevate her socially—they crucify her gently, shaping her into a vessel of obedience, humility, and hidden sanctity.
🎬 Production Snapshot
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Director: Henry King
Release: 1943
Screenplay: George Seaton (from Franz Werfel’s novel)
Stars:
Jennifer Jones (Bernadette Soubirous)
William Eythe (Antoine Nicolau)
Charles Bickford (Father Peyramale)
Vincent Price (Prosecutor Vital Dutour)
Gladys Cooper (Sister Marie Thérèse Vauzous)
Genre: Religious Drama / Hagiographic Epic
Notable: Jennifer Jones won the Academy Award for Best Actress; Alfred Newman’s score remains one of Hollywood’s great sacred compositions.
🧭 Story Summary
Bernadette Soubirous is a poor, asthmatic miller’s daughter in Lourdes, unnoticed and unremarkable—until she sees a Lady in the grotto at Massabielle. What follows is not triumph but trial:
The civil authorities interrogate her.
The clergy doubt her.
The crowds overwhelm her.
The jealous resent her.
The sick cling to her.
Yet Bernadette remains steady, gentle, and unshaken. She does not argue, embellish, or defend herself. She simply repeats what she saw: “I saw her. I saw the Lady.”
The spring emerges. The healings begin. The world descends on Lourdes. But Bernadette’s path bends not toward glory but toward the convent, where hidden suffering becomes her final vocation. Her physical pain—kept secret for years—reveals the depth of her sanctity. She dies young, unseen by the world, but radiant in the eyes of Heaven.
🕰 Historical & Cultural Context
Released during World War II, the film offered a wounded world a vision of:
Innocence resisting brutality
Faith surviving interrogation
Suffering transfigured into meaning
A poor girl becoming a global sign of hope
Hollywood rarely treats sanctity with reverence; this film does. It stands as one of the great religious epics of the studio era, alongside The Keys of the Kingdom and A Man for All Seasons.
✝️ Catholic Moral Resonances
Purity as Strength
Bernadette’s simplicity disarms every worldly power. Insight: Holiness is not naivety—it is clarity.
Suffering as Hidden Vocation
Her final illness reveals the depth of her offering. Insight: The holiest sacrifices are often unseen.
Authority Purified by Humility
Father Peyramale’s skepticism becomes reverence. Insight: True authority bows before truth.
The Poor as Bearers of Revelation
Heaven chooses the lowly, not the learned. Insight: God’s logic overturns human hierarchies.
Miracle as Invitation, Not Proof
The spring heals bodies, but Bernadette’s life heals souls. Insight: Signs point beyond themselves.
🍷 Hospitality Pairing
Drink: “The Grotto Candle”
A quiet, contemplative drink:
Snack: Simple Almond Biscuit
The food of pilgrimage—plain, sustaining, humble.
Atmosphere:
Dim light, a single candle, a bowl of water on the table—Lourdes reduced to essence.
🪞 Reflection Prompt
Where is God asking you to accept a hidden vocation—quiet, unseen, but radiant with obedience?
Introduction to the Book of Ruth
The Book of Ruth is one of
Scripture’s most understated meditations on courage. It never uses the language
of fear, yet fear sits behind every scene—famine, widowhood, displacement, and
the vulnerability of two women with no protection.
Ruth answers that fear not with
bravado but with covenant loyalty. She binds herself to Naomi at the very
moment when self‑preservation would have been the sensible path. Her courage is
quiet, steady, and embodied.
Boaz confronts the fear-driven
chaos of the Judges era by choosing integrity over exploitation. His
righteousness becomes a shelter for Ruth and a rebuke to the culture around
him.
Naomi’s courage is slower. She
names her bitterness honestly, yet she keeps moving, planning, and hoping. She
refuses to let grief become her final identity.
The book begins in emptiness and
ends in a genealogy, revealing a God who works beneath the surface—turning
ordinary acts of fidelity into the architecture of redemption. Ruth shows that
courage is not the absence of fear but
the refusal to let fear dictate the next step.
Welcome to 1 Samuel, the
original Game of Thrones(cue awesome theme here). Oh, yes, that's right. As
much as you've probably heard that the story of 1 Samuel is about the little guy (David) fighting the big guy
(Goliath), that's actually not the whole point of the book. We're here to tell
you that the plot of 1 Samuel is really
about control of the throne of Israel.
Written at about 1000
B.C. by the Deuteronomists, the book starts off
with a man named Eli serving as God's priest. But God decides that a young man
named Samuel should be in charge, so when Eli eventually dies, Samuel takes
over as priest and prophet. Everything's coming up Samuel. Hence the title.
The people of Israel
decide they need a king, so God makes Samuel appoint a man named Saul, who's
kind of the worst. To make a long story short, Saul is a terrible king, so
Samuel has to go find someone else.
After a long search,
Samuel ends up in Bethlehem (way before Jesus was born there), where
he meets an adorable young shepherd named David, he anoints David on the
spot.
Fast-forward a good
long while, and the Israelite army is ready to fight the Philistines. Every
Israelite soldier is too scared to fight Goliath, the Philistine champion, so
David steps forward like a champ. Overly confident, Goliath is defeated by a
stone being flung through his skull by David. Boom. Now everyone loves David.
Even Saul... sort of. Well, maybe not so much Saul.
Now that David has
gone from zero to hero, everyone has the David fever except for Saul. He tries
to kill David several times out of jealousy for his new found fame and power.
And the Game of Thrones has begun. What follows until the end of 1 Samuel is a
series of plot twists, battles, more plot twists, and more battles until
(spoiler alert) Saul is killed on the battlefield. 1 Samuel ends on a
cliffhanger, but don't worry, as with all good action adventures, there's a
sequel.
Political intrigue? Check. Power plays? Check. Epic battles?
Check. Seriously, 1 Samuel has all the makings of every awesome R-rated movie
or rated Mature TV show to grace the HBO airwaves. And our man David's the
star.
So here is the real question: if the book is really about
David, why is the book titled Samuel?
Any guesses?
Fine, we'll just tell you. Although the book has got David
fever along with the rest of the Israelites, as Prophet-in-Residence, Samuel's
there every step of the way. In fact, it's because of Samuel that most of the
events transpire. He's the Gandalf to David's Bilbo. The Dumbledore to his Harry. Without the old
gray wizard to guide, there is no unexpected journey and adventure. Without
Samuel, there's no Game of Thrones for Israel.
Why
Should I Care?
Because you loved The Mighty Ducks, Rudy,
and Star Wars. Because no one—and we mean no one—has
ever said no to a good underdog story, and 1 Samuel is a classic.
Some of our greatest tales are based on the old
little-dude-defeats-big-dude plot, and this one's no exception. From his very
humble beginnings as a shepherd boy, David has to contend with all kinds of Big
Bads every step of the way. See, 1 Samuel is one of the original underdog
stories and it's not just about one big foe. David is constantly struggling to
be the bigger man, whether it's against Goliath, Saul, or even himself at
times.
Think of 1 Samuel as a
precursor to all those people-pleasing blockbuster franchises making the big
bucks in theaters these days. It's got all the awesome elements that pack
people in those seats: violence, romance, power struggles, dashing heroes, and
even a soundtrack (David's got a bit of a musical knack).
The
Ark of the Covenant was the glory of Israel who had by this time had become no
better than their neighbors and they worshiped the gods of their neighbors.
Additionally, as they descended, they warred with each other rather than the
nations opposed to them. The Ark was now considered a powerful talisman in war
and when the Israelites bring it into battle with the Philistines it is
captured, and the glory of Israel departs. The cause was the corruption of the
priestly family of Eli who forgot the way of God. God would call another
Priest: Samuel and the house of Eli was brought down.
The
Israelites lost a battle against the Philistine army. The Philistines are a sea
people and a superior fighting force. The Israelites rarely stand a chance
against them (1-2).
The
Israelites decide to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the camp with them so
they might win the battle the next day. Everyone gets so excited when the Ark
makes its way into camp, the echoes of joy reach all the way to the Philistine
camp and they become afraid.
The
next day, the Philistines fight even harder and they steal the Ark for
themselves. So much for that plan, Israelites. Oh, and Hophni and Phinehas die
just as prophesied (3-11).
A
messenger comes to deliver the news of Israel's defeat. Eli, sitting in his
place of power on the outer wall, receives the news of the defeat, the loss of
the Ark, and the death of his sons.
He
promptly falls backwards from his seat, breaks his neck, and dies. Little known
fact: Humpty Dumpty is based on Eli. Little known fact: that was a lie (14-18).
Phinehas'
pregnant wife, upon hearing of his demise, goes into labor and gives birth to a
son. She is so sad, she names the child Ichabod, which means the glory has
departed from Israel. Sorry kid, you're stuck with it (19-22).
Copilot’s Take
Israel’s collapse in 1 Samuel 4 is not a story of
military misfortune but of spiritual erosion. The Ark of the Covenant—once the
throne of the Living God—had been reduced to a battlefield charm, a sacred
object treated like a weapon rather than a presence. Eli’s sons consumed the
sacrifices, corrupted the priesthood, and hollowed out the nation from within.
When the Philistines struck, they did not defeat a faithful people; they merely
exposed a people who had already defeated themselves. The glory did not “depart”
in a single moment. It had been leaking for years.
The women surrounding Phinehas’ wife speak the
ancient blessing—“Do not be afraid, you have given birth to a son”—but she
cannot hear it. Her silence is the silence of a nation that has forgotten how
to listen to God. She names the child Ichabod, not out of despair alone,
but out of clarity: a people who treat holy things as tools cannot expect holy
protection. The Catechism warns against this very drift—superstition, ritual
without conversion, leaders who refuse correction, and communities that want
God’s power without God’s demands. Israel’s fear is not the fear of enemies; it
is the fear that comes when obedience has been replaced by presumption.
Eli’s fall from his seat is more than an old man’s
accident. It is the collapse of authority that refused to discipline its own
house. The priest who once recognized Hannah’s prayer now cannot restrain his
sons. His backward fall is the physical sign of a spiritual truth: when
shepherds fail, the flock scatters. When leaders tolerate corruption, the
people inherit catastrophe. Evil does not first triumph on the battlefield but
in the sanctuary, in the quiet places where compromise becomes habit and habit
becomes culture.
The Philistines, for all their strength, are not the
true villains of the chapter. They are the instrument that reveals the deeper
enemy—Israel’s own infidelity. The Catechism names this pattern with precision:
sin creates structures, cultures, and momentum. Once a people begins to treat
God as an accessory rather than Lord, the outcome is inevitable. The Ark cannot
save a nation that refuses repentance. God does not abandon His people; His
people abandon the posture that allows them to receive His glory.
Yet even in this dark chapter, the Easter season
reframes the story. The child named Ichabod is born into a moment of collapse,
but God is already preparing Samuel, already rebuilding the priesthood, already
restoring what Israel squandered. The glory of God does not depend on human
strength but on human surrender. The path back is always the same: obedience,
repentance, and the courage to confront the evil within before confronting the
evil without.
From the fear that God’s glory depends on my success
rather than my obedience—deliver me, Jesus.
Bible in a
year Day 290 Judas
Maccabeus Dies
Fr. Mike guides us through Judas Maccabeus' last battle, his
death, and his succession. We learn that part of Judas and Jonathan's victory
involved fighting fellow Jews living in the land who were not living according
to God's laws. Fr. Mike points out that when the enemy is in the inside, it is
especially heartbreaking. Today's readings are 1 Maccabees 9, Sirach 24-25, and
Proverbs 23:1-4.
April 20 has become a counterculture holiday in North
America, where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis.Some
events have a political nature to them, advocating for the legalization of
cannabis. North American observances have been held at Hippie Hill in San
Francisco's Golden Gate Park near the Haight-Ashbury district, the University
of Colorado's Boulder campus,Ottawa, Ontario, at Parliament Hill
and Major's Hill Park, Montreal, Quebec at Mount Royal monument, Edmonton,
Alberta at the Alberta Legislature Building,as well as Vancouver,
British Columbia at the Vancouver Art Gallery.The growing size of
the unofficial event at UC Santa Cruz caused the Vice Chancellor of Student
Affairs to send an e-mail to parents in 2009 stating: "The growth in scale
of this activity has become a concern for both the university and surrounding community."
Q:
I have a question regarding the use of marijuana and whether it is considered a
sin to smoke it recreationally now that it is legal in Washington state. I have
a Catholic friend who smokes it and doesn’t seem to think that there is
anything wrong with doing so. What does the church teach about using marijuana
recreationally — is it a sin?
A:
During the period of continuing formation following my ordination, I was
introduced to Stephen Covey’s well-known book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People. The second habit has always stuck with me: “Begin with the end in
mind.” It means that before we start something, we need to think it out and
make sure our present actions will help us toward our future goals.
Covey’s
second habit can be applied to the spiritual life. The goal of our spiritual
lives is ultimately to love God and others to the fullest possible extent, and
ultimately to make it to heaven. What we do in the present should assist us in
these spiritual goals.
So,
to your question, with the understanding that marijuana is a legally prescribed
therapeutic drug for certain mental and physical conditions: Does recreational
marijuana use help or hinder us in reaching this goal of our Christian life?
The
Catechism of the Catholic Church, quoting Vatican II, says the following: “God
willed that man should be ‘left in the hand of his own counsel,’ so that he
might of his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed
perfection by cleaving to him.” (1730) God doesn’t force us to seek and love
him; it is something that he has left us free to do.
Marijuana
affects the limbic system of the brain, which deals with emotion, behavior,
motivation, long-term memory, and sense of smell and time. Using this
substance, as many studies show, causes both physical and psychological effects
in the user, including heightened heart rates, short-term memory loss, delayed
reaction, depression and even anxiety. When a person smokes marijuana, they are
placing chemicals in their nervous system that alter their consciousness and
have the potential to produce future emotional and physical damage.
Marijuana
certainly is not beneficial to the spiritual life, and if it becomes a serious
impediment to growth in the spiritual life and drawing closer to God and our
ultimate goal, heaven, the church would consider its recreational use a sin.
It’s important to remember that there is a big difference between recreational
and therapeutic drug use and this understanding does not apply only to
marijuana.
YouCat,
the youth catechism of the Catholic Church, says: “Every time a person loses or
forgets himself by becoming intoxicated, which can also include excessive
eating and drinking, indulgence in sexual activity, or speeding with an
automobile, he loses some of his human dignity and freedom and therefore sins
against God. This should be distinguished from the reasonable, conscious, and
moderate use of enjoyable things.” (389)
When
we forget ourselves in this way through “intoxication” of any kind, we run the
risk of forgetting what the purpose and goal of our lives are, and certainly
are not considering this ultimate goal in the present.
St.
Paul says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit
within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1
Corinthians 6:19) We were created to be good and responsible stewards of God’s
creation, including our bodies, which are sacred. Recreational marijuana use
can be an impediment to the fullness of life that God wants to share with us
and so can become a hindrance to being a good steward of what God has created.
Do you want to be a Dude or a Dud?
While trapped in the hut some of the guys there were
talking, and they mentioned that Lipton’s tea when it was burnt smells just
like marijuana. I could not believe it; the next thing you know I was running
back to my footlocker. I knew I had a pipe in there somewhere. Yes! I loaded it
up with Lipton’s and lit it. Tasted like pure shit but yes it did smell just
like marijuana. Brillo and I were going to have some fun with this. At lunch,
we took my pipe with us over to the galley and we were eating slowly waiting
for our victim. Then he came in, Mr. Winterover. You know the guy with his head
shaved who wintered over stares at walls and things like that. He sat a few
spaces down from us. Brillo and I watched him as he was eating soup like an
“animal.” Staring at the wall with his face about four inches from the bowl and
eating quickly, one spoon after another; just staring at the wall. I pulled the
pipe out, lit it, and took a big drag; held it in my lungs then let the smoke
out. Then, I passed the pipe over to Brillo, who did the same. The smoke
drifted over to Mr. Winterover, all the sudden he stopped in mid stroke with
the soup, sniffed, and then sniffed again. Slowly his head turned our way, and
he sniffed one more time. Then he dropped his spoon, jumped up and ran over to
us like a kid. He said to me,
“Hey, man is that shit.”
I said, “Yah it’s some Maui Wowi.”
He said, “Holy crap man how did you get it here, with
customs and all.”
I quickly said, “Brillo here just hid it in his
jacket.”
He was rubbing his hands together and prancing. “Hey
man you don’t mind if I take a hit.” “Like man I ain’t had any shit for 18
months.”
I said, “Sure,
here you go.”
I handed the pipe to Mr. Winterover, he greedily
grabbed it, put the pipe to his lips taking a draw bending his whole body
backwards with the draw, then he took two more deep draws rolling his eyes back
in his head, breathed out and said to me and Brillo, “Man, that was the best
shit I have ever had!” Brillo and I could hardly contain our laughter. After
lunch we decided that it would also be fun to walk through the officer’s
quarter’s area on the way back to the hut. It was interesting to note doors would
open people would sniff through the crack in the door, but nobody came out of
their rooms.
Earth Day seeks to
highlight and promote efforts dedicated to the protection of the environment.
We face many environmental crises, including global warming,
deforestation, endangered wildlife, shortages of potable water
and widespread pollution, all which negatively affect our planet’s resources
and can have adverse effects on our long-term lifestyle and health.
In 1970, a US Senator named Gaylord Nelson was inspired to bring about mass
public awareness of environment problems. He heavily promoted the day across
the nation in an effort to gather the largest amount of public support possible
and ultimately, in the hopes of elevating environmental protection onto the
national political agenda. This day in 1970 marked the creation of United
States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean
Water and Endangered Species Acts. Today, Earth Day is celebrated by
billions of people around the world and is observed in over 190 countries.
Worldwide, Earth Day celebrations utilize educational programs to inform people
of ways that can help protect the environment and its natural resources. It is
observed annually on April 22nd and is celebrated as International Earth Day.
Earth Day Facts & Quotes
·Energy
Star rated LED light bulbs use at least 75% less energy, and last 25 times
longer, than incandescent lighting. Switching entirely to LED lights over
the next two decades could save the U.S. $250 billion in energy costs, reduce
electricity consumption for lighting by nearly 50 percent and avoid 1,800
million metric tons of carbon emissions.
·In
the past 50 years, humans have consumed more resources than in all previous
history. - U.S. EPA, 2009. Sustainable Materials Management: The Road Ahead.
·We
do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. -
Native American Proverb
Earth Day Top Events and Things to
Do
·Organize
a group of volunteers to help clean up and restore a green space. Some
suggestions include planting trees and adding waste receptacles.
·Try
to go the whole day without creating any garbage, • Try not to use your car for
the entire day. Instead, use public transit, walk or ride your bicycle.
·Change
your traditional incandescent light bulbs to energy saving LED or CFL light
bulbs.
·Watch
a documentary or movie that touches on an ecological issue. Our favorites are:
An Inconvenient Truth (2006), the Burning Season (1993, 2008), Elemental (2012)
and The Day after Tomorrow (2004).
·Read
one of many books that relate to environmental issues such as, The World
Without Us (Alan Weisman), Hell and High Water (Joseph Romm) and Natural
Capitalism (Hawken, Lovins and Lovins)
We show our respect for
the Creator by our stewardship of creation. Care for the earth is not just an
Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect
people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation.
This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that
cannot be ignored.
Scripture
·Genesis 1:1-31
God made the heavens and the earth and it was good.
·Genesis 2:15
Humans are commanded to care for God’s
creation.
·Leviticus 25:1-7
The land itself must be given a rest
and not abused.
·1 Corinthians 10:26
Creation and all created things are
inherently good because they are of the Lord.
Tradition
The
environment is God's gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a
responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations and towards
humanity as a whole. . . Our duties towards the environment are linked to our
duties towards the human person, considered in himself and in relation to
others. It would be wrong to uphold one set of duties while trampling on the
other. (Pope Benedict XVI, Charity in Truth [Caritas in Veritate],
nos. 48, 51)
Changes
in lifestyle based on traditional moral virtues can ease the way to a
sustainable and equitable world economy in which sacrifice will no longer be an
unpopular concept. For many of us, a life less focused on material gain may
remind us that we are more than what we have. Rejecting the false promises of
excessive or conspicuous consumption can even allow more time for family,
friends, and civic responsibilities. A renewed sense of sacrifice and restraint
could make an essential contribution to addressing global climate change.
(United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence
and the Common Good)
Equally worrying is the ecological question which accompanies
the problem of consumerism and which is closely connected to it. In his
desire to have and to enjoy rather than to be and to grow, man consumes the
resources of the earth and his own life in an excessive and disordered way. .
.. Man, who discovers his capacity to transform and in a certain sense create
the world through his own work, forgets that this is always based on God's
prior and original gift of the things that are. Man thinks that he can make
arbitrary use of the earth, subjecting it without restraint to his will, as
though it did not have its own requisites and a prior God-given purpose, which
man can indeed develop but must not betray. Instead of carrying out his
role as a co-operator with God in the work of creation, man sets himself up in
place of God and thus ends up provoking a rebellion on the part of
nature, which is more tyrannized than governed by him. (St. John Paul II, On
the Hundredth Year [Centesimus Annus],
no. 37)
The
dominion granted to man by the Creator is not an absolute power, nor can one
speak of a freedom to "use and misuse," or to dispose of things as
one pleases. The limitation imposed from the beginning by the Creator himself
and expressed symbolically by the prohibition not to "eat of the fruit of
the tree" (cf. Gen 2:16-17) shows clearly enough that, when it comes to
the natural world, we are subject not only to biological laws but also to moral
ones, which cannot be violated with impunity. A true concept of development
cannot ignore the use of the elements of nature, the renewability of resources
and the consequences of haphazard industrialization - three considerations
which alert our consciences to the moral dimension of development.(St. John
Paul II, On Social Concerns [Sollicitudo rei Socialis], no. 34) witness
its grandeur up close.
O Mary, Virgin most
powerful and Mother of mercy, Queen of Heaven and Refuge of sinners, we
consecrate ourselves to thine Immaculate Heart.
We consecrate to thee
our very being and our whole life; all that we have, all that we love, all that
we are. To thee we give our bodies, our hearts and our souls; to thee we give
our homes, our families, our country.
We desire that all
that is in us and around us may belong to thee, and may share in the benefits
of thy motherly benediction. And that this act of consecration may be truly
efficacious and lasting, we renew this day at thy feet the promises of our
Baptism and our first Holy Communion.
We pledge ourselves
to profess courageously and at all times the truths of our holy Faith, and to
live as befits Catholics who are duly submissive to all the directions of the
Pope and the Bishops in communion with him.
We pledge ourselves
to keep the commandments of God and His Church, in particular to keep holy the
Lord's Day.
We likewise pledge
ourselves to make the consoling practices of the Christian religion, and above
all, Holy Communion, an integral part of our lives, in so far as we shall be
able so to do.
Finally, we promise
thee, O glorious Mother of God and loving Mother of men, to devote ourselves
whole-heartedly to the service of thy blessed cult, in order to hasten and
assure, through the sovereignty of thine Immaculate Heart, the coming of the
kingdom of the Sacred Heart of thine adorable Son, in our own hearts and in
those of all men, in our country and in all the world, as in heaven. so, on
earth. Amen.
Gabriel’s Corner
·Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance
of the Angels
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