Poking The Devil in the Eye!

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Monday, September 14, 2026 Feast of the Holy Cross

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SMOKE IN THIS LIFE, NOT THE NEXT Mon, Sep 14 — Exaltation of the Holy Cross The hinge of history rises. Cigar: Bold Maduro Drink: Stagg Jr. Reflection: Where do I carry the Cross with love? The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross lifts before us the center of history. The Cross is not an ornament or symbol of suffering; it is the place where justice and mercy meet. Christ did not erase pain—He entered it. He did not abolish death—He conquered it. To exalt the Cross is to acknowledge that every purification, every trial, every purgatorial fire finds its meaning in the wood that bore the Lamb. Yesterday we considered the refiner’s fire. Today we see the furnace in which that fire burns. The Cross is the great purifier. It burns away pride, melts stubbornness, and reshapes the soul into Christ’s likeness. Hebrews teaches that divine discipline is painful but purposeful, “that we may share His holiness.” The Cross is the measure of that discipline. Consider the arithmetic of th...
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Tuesday, September 15, 2026 Our Lady of Sorrows

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  SMOKE IN THIS LIFE, NOT THE NEXT Tue, Sep 15 — Our Lady of Sorrows: The Mother stands. Cigar: Smooth Sumatra  Drink: Eagle Rare  Reflection: Whose sorrow do I carry with grace? The Cross casts a long shadow—and today we see who stands inside it. Mary does not flee, argue, or collapse. She stands. The Church calls her Stabat Mater because her posture reveals her vocation: to remain where love suffers. If the Son bears the sins of the world, the Mother bears the sorrow of the world. She receives what He redeems. The saints teach that sin has weight, duration, and consequence. St. Vincent Ferrer speaks of seven years of penance for every mortal sin, because each offense wounds the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Fr. Schouppe extends the arithmetic: if forgiven guilt still leaves temporal debt, then the purification may stretch into years—sometimes centuries—of purifying fire. Not cruelty, but consequence. Not vengeance, but justice meeting mercy. Mary stands inside ...
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Sunday, September 20, 2026 Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost-Yom Kippur begins sundown

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   SMOKE IN THIS LIFE, NOT THE NEXT Sun, Sep 20 — Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost / Yom Kippur at Sundown Cigar: Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Drink: Laphroaig 10 Single Malt Scotch Reflection: Am I prepared to stand before the unvarnished tribunal of God? As sundown draws near, the ancient shadow of Yom Kippur crosses the Christian Sabbath. The festive air yields to an austere, penetrating stillness. Before the eternal Judge, all human titles dissolve. Popes and prelates, princes and laborers stand on identical footing, stripped of worldly prestige, their hidden works laid bare in the piercing light of truth. If even a towering pontiff like Innocent III faces the abyss of God's inscrutable decrees, what complacency can any ruler—or any ordinary man—dare to harbor? Holy Scripture does not flatter power: the judgment will be uncompromisingly severe for those who govern, guide, or lead. Tonight, the Arturo Fuente Don Carlos burns with a rich, disciplined maturity, carrying note...
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September-Last year

September-Last year
working on update

October

October

November

November
Remember-Feasts All Saint, All Souls, Thanksgiving

December

December
December opens the door to quiet expectancy