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| Oct 7 (Tue) | Our Lady of the Rosary | Marian contemplation | Basil Hayden’s – light, floral | La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor | “Where does beauty lead me deeper into prayer?” |
Where Beauty Leads Me
There are moments when beauty interrupts my day—not with noise, but with stillness. A shaft of light across the floor. The hush of dusk. The scent of bread just out of the oven. These moments don’t ask for attention; they offer it. And when I receive them, something shifts. I stop striving. I start listening.
Beauty leads me deeper into prayer not because it explains anything, but because it reveals. It reveals that I am not alone. That grace is near. That the world, even in its ache, is still being held.
Sometimes beauty is grand—a canyon, a cathedral, a symphony. Sometimes it’s small—a child’s laugh, a leaf turning, a quiet kindness. But always, it invites me to respond. Not with words, necessarily, but with presence. With gratitude. With awe.
Prayer, then, becomes less about saying something and more about being with Someone. Beauty opens that door. It softens me. It reminds me that the sacred is not far off—it’s here, shimmering in the ordinary.
So I ask myself:
Where is beauty leading me today?
And I follow.
Candace’s Corner
o Foodie: Grilled Vegetable Salad with Chicken, Shrimp and Lobster
· Pray Day 7 of the Novena for our Pope and Bishops
- Bucket List: Vineyard World Tour: D.H. Lescombes Winery & Tasting New Mexico
· Spirit Hour: Turkish Blood
o Start your day by soaking in a relaxing bubble bath, celebrating cleanliness and relaxation.
§ Spruce up your living space with a DIY architecture project, embracing creativity and innovation.
§ Consider decluttering your home or donating items in honor of National Consignment Day, promoting sustainability and community support.
o Next, fire up the grill for a barbecue using propane, unleashing your inner chef and hosting a small gathering.
§ Reach out to someone you’ve had a disagreement with, fostering positive relationships on Forgiveness and Happiness Day. Stand up against bullying, whether by spreading awareness or standing up for someone in need.
· Take a moment for self-care, appreciating your inner beauty through meditation or pampering.
o Educate yourself on stem cell and bone marrow donation, potentially saving a life in the future.
o Switch to energy-efficient LED lights, contributing to a sustainable environment.
🌿 Leafing the World Behind: Day 8
Saint: St. Maximilian Kolbe
Virtue: Zeal
Virtue Connection: Sacrifice
Symbolic Act: Light a candle or lantern
Location: Any place where flame can safely burn—chapel, home altar, outdoor vigil, or even a digital flame
🕊️ Introduction: On Fire
To leave the world behind is not to extinguish desire—it is to purify it. Today we do not flee the world’s passions; we reclaim them. Zeal is not frenzy. It is the flame of love rightly ordered. It is the fire that burns away apathy, that refuses to let comfort become our creed.
This pilgrimage is not a slow fade—it is a kindling. Each day, we leaf behind indifference and distraction, so that what remains is flame: luminous, sacrificial, and holy.
Zeal, in this rhythm, is not noise—it is clarity. It is the willingness to burn for what matters. It is the refusal to let love grow cold.
🌺 Saint of the Day: St. Maximilian Kolbe
A Polish Franciscan friar, Kolbe lived with fierce devotion to the Immaculata. He founded monasteries, published Marian journals, and dreamed of converting the world through love. But his zeal was not just intellectual—it was incarnate.
In Auschwitz, he offered his life in place of another prisoner. He stepped forward, not with rage, but with peace. In the starvation bunker, he led prayers, hymns, and hope. His zeal did not die—it transfigured suffering into sanctuary.
Kolbe’s witness reminds us: zeal is not ambition. It is love that burns, even in the darkest places. It is sacrifice that sings.
🛡️ Virtue Connection: Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the virtue that gives without counting cost. It is the rhythm of Christ’s own love: poured out, not hoarded. Kolbe’s zeal was not self-centered—it was Eucharistic. He did not seek martyrdom for glory, but gave his life as a gift.
Like St. Gianna Molla and St. Damien of Molokai, Kolbe’s sacrifice was not dramatic—it was deliberate. He chose love over survival. He chose another’s life over his own.
Let his witness remind you: zeal without sacrifice is hollow. But zeal with sacrifice becomes a flame that warms the world.
🕯️ Symbolic Act: Light a Candle or Lantern
Find a candle, lantern, or safe flame. Light it with intention. Let it represent your zeal: the fire of your devotion, the clarity of your purpose, the love you refuse to let grow cold.
As the flame flickers, pray: “Lord, let me burn for what matters. Let my zeal be pure, sacrificial, and radiant.”
If no flame is possible, light a digital candle or imagine the flame in prayer. The act is the same: kindling love with intention.
🔥 Reflection Prompt
What passion have you allowed to dim?
Where have you seen sacrifice ignite hope?
Can you name one person whose zeal has rekindled your own?
Write, walk, or pray with these questions. Let St. Maximilian’s witness remind you: zeal is not noise—it is love on fire. It is the courage to burn for beauty, even when the world grows cold.
OCTOBER 7 Tuesday-Our Lady of the Rosary
John 16, Verse 33
This was the labor of Christ to give us peace with God and to conquer the world of sin. We have peace in his love. In order to follow our Lord, me must not only receive and accept His love but pour that love out on others. We must not keep this love but in courage reach out to others knowing He has already conquered ahead of us. To be great we must be filled with a foundation of Love. Pray for this Nation that it may be dedicated to love of life, liberty and then the pursuit of happiness; thus, being a great Nation founded in love.
Are lawyers
a necessary evil?
Celebrate the contribution of lawyers to upholding a civilized society on Love Litigating Lawyers Day, no matter how unpopular we generally consider them to be… #LoveLitigatingLawyersDay
🕊️ Copilot’s Take: Love, Law, and the Labor of Peace
On this feast of
Our Lady of the Rosary, we’re reminded that peace is not passive—it is
labored into being through love, courage, and the Cross. Christ’s words in John
16:33 are not a gentle lullaby but a rallying cry: “Take courage, I have
conquered the world.” His victory is not just cosmic—it is personal,
communal, and national. It invites us to build a society where love is not
sentimental but structural.
💼
Lawyers: Guardians of the Covenant
On Love
Litigating Lawyers Day, we might chuckle at the irony—but let’s not miss
the deeper truth. Lawyers, at their best, are stewards of justice, defenders of
the vulnerable, and architects of peace through law. They translate love into
precedent, liberty into protection, and happiness into possibility. In a world
of trouble, they help uphold the covenant that binds a nation together.
🇺🇸 A Nation Founded in Love
Would you like to pair this with a symbolic act or civic ritual—perhaps a “Table of Restoration” or a Rosary of the Republic—to reframe governance as an act of love and renewal? I’d be honored to help.
To be great, a
nation must be rooted not merely in power or prosperity, but in love—love of
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These are not abstract ideals;
they are daily disciplines. They require courage to confront injustice,
humility to serve the common good, and hope to believe that renewal is
possible. Let us pray for a national reawakening—where love is not just
preached but practiced in policy, in law, and in neighborly care.
Our
National Principles[1]
Declaration
of Independence in July and the Constitution in September, let us once again
reflect on the marvelous principles underlying these two documents. The
following is a review of these principles together with a comment or a quote by
the Founders. Documentation may be found in The
Five Thousand Year Leap.
Principle
1–The
only reliable basis for sound government and just human relations is Natural
Law.
Natural
law is God’s law. There are certain laws which govern the entire universe, and
just as Thomas Jefferson said in the Declaration of Independence, there are
laws which govern in the affairs of men which are “the laws of nature and of
nature’s God.”
Principle
2–A free people
cannot survive under a republican constitution unless they remain virtuous and
morally strong.
“Only
a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and
vicious, they have more need of masters.” – Benjamin Franklin
Principle
3–The
most promising method of securing a virtuous people is to elect virtuous
leaders.
“Neither
the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and
happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt. He therefore is
the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its
virtue, and who … will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power
and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man.” – Samuel Adams
Principle
4–Without
religion the government of a free people cannot be maintained.
“Of
all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion
and morality are indispensable supports…. And let us with caution indulge the
supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.” – George
Washington
Principle
5–All
things were created by God, therefore upon him all mankind are equally
dependent, and to him they are equally responsible.
The
American Founding Fathers considered the existence of the Creator as the most
fundamental premise underlying all self-evident truth. They felt a person who
boasted he or she was an atheist had just simply failed to apply his or her
divine capacity for reason and observation.
Principle
6–All
mankind were created equal.
The
Founders knew that in these three ways, all mankind are theoretically treated
as:
- Equal before
God.
- Equal before
the law.
- Equal in
their rights.
·
The
Freedom to try.
·
The
Freedom to buy.
·
The
Freedom to sell.
·
The
Freedom to fail.
The shutdown betrays that founding truth—when some are paid and others are furloughed, when access to services depends on status or geography, equality becomes conditional. A government rooted in the dignity of all must not suspend that dignity for political leverage.
Principle
7–
The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal
things.
The
Founders recognized that the people cannot delegate to their government any
power except that which they have the lawful right to exercise themselves.
Principle
8
– Mankind are endowed by God with certain unalienable rights.
“Those
rights, then, which God and nature have established, and are therefore called
natural rights, such as are life and liberty, need not the aid of human laws to
be more effectually invested in every man than they are; neither do they
receive any additional strength when declared by the municipal [or state] laws
to be inviolable. On the contrary, no human legislation has power to abridge or
destroy them, unless the owner [of the right] shall himself commit some act
that amounts to a forfeiture.” – William Blackstone
Principle
9 – To
protect human rights, God has revealed a code of divine law.
“The
doctrines thus delivered we call the revealed or divine law, and they are to be
found only in the Holy Scriptures. These precepts, when revealed, are found by
comparison to be really a part of the original law of nature, as they tend in
all their consequences to man’s felicity.” – William Blackstone
Principle
10–The
God-given right to govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole
people.
“The
fabric of American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of the consent of
the people. The streams of national power ought to flow immediately from that
pure, original fountain of all legislative authority.” – Alexander Hamilton
The shutdown lays bare how far we've drifted from that God-given principle—when a handful of officials can halt wages, suspend services, and silence civic function, the sovereign authority of the people is not exercised but ignored. True governance flows from the consent and welfare of the governed, not from partisan brinkmanship that treats the public as collateral.
Principle
11–The
majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become
tyrannical.
“Prudence,
indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed
for light and transient causes … but when a long train of abuses and
usurpations … evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is
their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new
guards for their future security.” – Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of
Independence
Principle
12–The
United States of America shall be a republic.
“I
pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic
or which it stands….”
Principle
13–A
Constitution should protect the people from the frailties of their rulers.
“If
angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government
would be necessary…. [But lacking these] you must first enable the government
to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” –
James Madison
Principle
14–Life
and liberty are secure only so long as the rights of property are secure.
John
Locke reasoned that God gave the earth and everything in it to the whole human
family as a gift. Therefore, the land, the sea, the acorns in the forest, the
deer feeding in the meadow belong to everyone “in common.” However, the moment
someone takes the trouble to change something from its original state of
nature, that person has added his ingenuity or labor to make that change.
Herein lies the secret to the origin of “property rights.”
Principle
15–The
highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free-market economy and a
minimum of government regulations.
Prosperity
depends upon a climate of wholesome stimulation with four basic freedoms in
operation:
Principle
16–The
government should be separated into three branches.
“I
call you to witness that I was the first member of the Congress who ventured to
come out in public, as I did in January 1776, in my Thoughts on Government … in
favor of a government with three branches and an independent judiciary. This
pamphlet, you know, was very unpopular. No man appeared in public to support it
but yourself.” – John Adams
Principle
17–A
system of checks and balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power
by the different branches of government.
“It
will not be denied that power is of an encroaching nature and that it ought to
be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it.” – James
Madison
Principle
18 –The
unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the
principles of government are set forth in a written Constitution.
The
structure of the American system is set forth in the Constitution of the United
States and the only weaknesses which have appeared are those which were allowed
to creep in despite the Constitution.
Principle
19–Only
limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to government, all
others being retained by the people.
The
Tenth Amendment is the most widely violated provision of the bill of rights. If
it had been respected and enforced America would be an amazingly different
country than it is today. This amendment provides:
“The
powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited
by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the
people.”
Principle
20–Efficiency
and dispatch require that the government operate according to the will of the
majority, but constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of
the minority.
“Every
man, by consenting with others to make one body politic under one government,
puts himself under an obligation to every one of that society to submit to the
determination of the majority, and to be concluded [bound] by it.” – John Locke
Principle
21–Strong
local self-government is the keystone to preserving human freedom.
“The
way to have good and safe government is not to trust it all to one, but to
divide it among the many, distributing to every one exactly the functions he is
competent [to perform best]. – Thomas Jefferson
Principle
22–A
free people should be governed by law and not by the whims of men.
“The
end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.
For in all the states of created beings, capable of laws, where there is no law
there is no freedom. For liberty is to be free from restraint and violence of
others, which cannot be where there is no law.” – John Locke
The shutdown reveals how fragile freedom becomes when governance bends to the whims of power rather than the rule of law—where budgets stall, services vanish, and citizens are left waiting in uncertainty. In such moments, law is no longer a shield but a hostage, and the people—though free in name—are ruled by delay, dysfunction, and discretionary force.
Principle
23–A
free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of general
education.
“They
made an early provision by law that every town consisting of so many families
should be always furnished with a grammar school. They made it a crime for such
a town to be destitute of a grammar schoolmaster for a few months, and
subjected it to a heavy penalty. So that the education of all ranks of people
was made the care and expense of the public, in a manner that I believe has
been unknown to any other people, ancient or modern. The consequences of these
establishments we see and feel every day [written in 1765]. A native of America
who cannot read and write is as rare … as a comet or an earthquake.” John Adams
Principle
24–A
free people will not survive unless they stay strong.
“To
be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.” –
George Washington
Principle
25–“Peace,
commerce, and honest friendship with all nations — entangling alliances with
none.”-Thomas Jefferson, given in his first inaugural address.
Principle
26 –The
core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family; therefore
the government should foster and protect its integrity.
“There
is certainly no country in the world where the tie of marriage is more
respected than in America, or where conjugal happiness is more highly or
worthily appreciated.” Alexis de Tocqueville
Principle
27–The
burden of debt is as destructive to human freedom as subjugation by conquest.
“We
are bound to defray expenses [of the war] within our own time, and are
unauthorized to burden posterity with them…. We shall all consider ourselves
morally bound to pay them ourselves and consequently within the life
[expectancy] of the majority.” – Thomas Jefferson
Principle
28–The
United States has a manifest destiny to eventually become a glorious example of
God’s law under a restored Constitution that will inspire the entire human
race.
The
Founders sensed from the very beginning that they were on a divine mission.
Their great disappointment was that it didn’t all come to pass in their day,
but they knew that someday it would. John Adams wrote:
“I
always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the
opening of a grand scene and design in Providence for the illumination of the
ignorant, and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the
earth.”
Our Lady of the Rosary[2]
The feast
of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted to honor Mary for the Christian
victory over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Pope St. Pius V and all
Christians had prayed the Rosary for victory. The Rosary, or the Psalter of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, is one of the best prayers to Mary, the Mother of God.
Pope
Benedict XVI invites all families to pray the Rosary for the intentions of the
Pope, the mission of the Church and peace. "It is as if every year Our
Lady invited us to rediscover the beauty of this prayer, so simple and
profound." The Rosary, a "contemplative and Christocentric prayer,
inseparable from the meditation of Sacred Scripture," is "the prayer
of the Christian who advances in the pilgrimage of faith, in the following of
Jesus, preceded by Mary," said the Pontiff.
Things to Do
·
Pray
the Rosary, or 5 decades of the Rosary tonight with your family. Continue this
practice through October, the month that is especially dedicated
to the Rosary.
·
Read
the encyclicals on the
rosary,
and the latest apostolic
letter.
·
Learn
the Luminous Mysteries. For families
with younger children, it helps to have visual aids for the mysteries. Have a
picture to flip at the beginning of each decade for the family Rosary. See the
Activities Bar for ideas.
·
Learn
how to make rosaries, cord and/or wire for missions.
·
Learn
about the great victory of Our Lady at the Battle of Lepanto. You can also
read more about Pope
St. Pius V,
who instituted the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
·
Read
Cardinal Angelo Sodano's homily at the Shrine of
Our Lady of the Rosary.
·
"The
Rosary, or Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is one of the most excellent
prayers to the Mother of God." Read the Directory
on Popular Piety and Liturgy on the Rosary, particularly encouraging
the practices of:
1.
[T]he
recitation of the Rosary could be made more solemn in tone "by introducing
those Scriptural passages corresponding with the various mysteries, some parts
could be sung, roles could be distributed, and by solemnly opening and closing
of prayer."
2.
The
custom of making an insertion in the recitation of the Hail Mary, which is an
ancient one that has not completely disappeared, has often been recommended by
the Pastors of the Church since it encourages meditation and the concurrence of
mind and lips.
Insertions of this nature would appear
particularly suitable for the repetitive and meditative character of the
Rosary. It takes the form of a relative clause following the name of Jesus and
refers to the mystery being contemplated. The meditation of the Rosary can be
helped by the choice of a short clause of a Scriptural and Liturgical nature,
fixed for every decade.
Hillbilly foods—earthy, humble, and communal—honor the Marian spirit of Lepanto by embodying the victory of prayerful simplicity over imperial might. Or: A skillet of cornbread and beans becomes a Rosary of the table, each bite a mystery of mercy, unity, and rural resilience.
· Foods for this feast: Since the origin of this feast came from the Christian fleet defeating the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in 1570 through the intercession of Mary through the Rosary, why not make a cake in the shape of a ship? See the top bar for a cut-out cake, or make moderations to this Ship Cake. Read more about the Battle of Lepanto for ideas.
·
St.
Pius V was a very holy Dominican, who wore his scratchy habit underneath his
papal robes, and walked around Rome barefoot. He ate just to sustain himself
and fasted frequently. We should use his example and remember to fast and pray
the Rosary for the conversion of Islam.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his
kindness, to deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine.
Feast of the Holy Rosary[3]
This feast was fixed for the first Sunday in October by Pope Clement XI; in perpetual commemoration of a celebrated feast was fixed for the first Sunday in October by him due to the double victory gained by the Christians at Lepanto, in 1571, under Pope St. Pius V., and at Belgrade, under Pope Clement XI., through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, who had been invoked by saying the Holy Rosary. It is at the same time the principal feast of the Archconfraternity of the Holy Rosary. In 1885 Pope Leo XIII., ordered the Rosary to be recited every day during the month of October in every parish church and cathedral throughout the world, and those of the faithful who cannot be present at this recital he exhorted to say it with their families or in private. The Holy Rosary is a form of prayer in which there is first said the Apostles Creed, and then fifteen decades, each one of which consists of ten Hail Mary’s. Each decade has one Our Father to be said before it and is followed by a meditation upon one mystery of our redemption.
It is called the Rosary, or Wreath of Roses, because the joyful, the sorrowful, and the glorious mysteries, aptly symbolized by the leaves, the thorns, the flower, of which the rose consists with the prayers and praises that are blended together compose, as it were, a wreath or crown. It is also called the Psalter, because it contains a hundred and fifty Hail Mary’s, as the Psalter of David contains a hundred and fifty psalms, and because it is used in place of the singing of psalms, as practiced in former times. There are three parts in the Rosary the joyful, the sorrowful, the glorious. The joyful part consists of the five first decades, to which are attached five mysteries of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, through which, full of joy, we speak to Mary of Him: 1. Whom she conceived while a virgin. 2. Whom she bore to Elizabeth. 3. Whom she brought forth while a virgin. 4. Whom she offered to God in the temple. 5. Whom she found Him in the temple. (This is said particularly in Advent.) The sorrowful part, in like manner, contains five decades, in connection with which there are presented for our meditation five mysteries of the passion and death of Jesus: 1. Who for us sweat blood. 2. Who for us was scourged. 3. Who for us was crowned with thorns. 4. Who for us bore the heavy cross. 5. Who for us was crucified. (This is said particularly in Lent.) The glorious part, consisting of the last five decades, reminds us of the glory of Christ and of the Blessed Virgin by five mysteries in which we commemorate Him: 1. Who rose from the dead. 2. Who ascended into heaven. 3. Who sent to us the Holy Ghost. 4. Who received thee, O Virgin, into heaven. 5. Who crowned thee, O Virgin, in heaven. (This part is said particularly at Eastertide.)
How was this prayer introduced into the Church?
St. Dominic had for many years preached against the errors of the Albigenses and other heretics, with such zeal and profound ability that they were often convinced. But nevertheless, the results were unimportant; but few returned to the bosom of the Catholic Church. In this discouraging state of things St. Dominic redoubled his prayers and works of penance, and in particular besought Mary for support and assistance. One day Mary appeared to him and taught him the Rosary. He zealously labored to introduce everywhere this manner of prayer, and from that time preached with such success that in a short period more than one hundred thousand heretics and sinners were converted. The divine origin of the Rosary is testified to by the bull of Gregory XIII of the year 1577.
Is the Rosary a profitable method of prayer?
Yes, for by bringing before the eyes of
the spirit the fundamental mysteries of Christianity it supplies us with the
strongest motives to love God, to hate sin, to subdue the passions, to condemn
the world and its vanity, and to strive after Christian perfection, in order
that we may gain those happy mansions which Jesus prepares for us. The Rosary,
besides, brings before us living examples Jesus and Mary whom we must follow,
and encourages us to good works by pointing to the all-powerful grace procured
for us by Jesus, and the all-prevailing intercession of the gracious Mother of
God. Let us not be ashamed to carry the beads with us, for otherwise we might
be ashamed of being Catholics; let us say the Rosary often every evening as was
the custom with Catholics in former times, and we shall find that, as in St.
Dominic’s day it was a wholesome check to error, so too in our times it will
be, if said aright, a powerful weapon against heresy and unbelief, and will
increase faith, piety, and virtue.
“I am the resurrection
and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and
everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”–
John 11:25-26
Bible in a Year Day 93 Strengths and
Weaknesses
Today, Fr. Mike begins to read Samson's story and
points out that Samson, despite his physical strength, has a lot of weaknesses.
The readings are Judges 12-15 and Psalm 1
Daily Devotions
·
Unite
in the work of the Porters of St.
Joseph
by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: Holy Bishops and Cardinals
·
Religion
in the Home for Preschool: October
·
Litany of the Most Precious Blood
of Jesus
·
Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
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