Saturday, October 11, 2025

Vinny’s Corner

Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free. (John 8:31-36)

· Saturday Litany of the Hours Invoking the Aid of Mother Mary

· Foodie Food on the Camino de Santiago

· Spirit hour: 15 Traditional Spanish Drinks

· 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.

o Arizona State Fair

Spooky Spooky Soupy Soupy

· Friday Soup: EASY CROCKPOT RECIPES for COZY FALL MEALS

o –––Brodo Apostolorum

§ National Sausage Pizza Day

· I wonder if you can make a sausage pizza soup

· Hotel Monte Vista – Flagstaff, Arizona

o Flagstaff’s Hotel Monte Vista has its fair share of paranormal guests who have seriously overstayed their welcome. Some of the most popular ghouls include a long-term boarder who had a habit of hanging raw meat from the chandelier in room 210, and two women who were thrown from the third floor and now attempt to asphyxiate male guests in their sleep. There’s also reportedly an infant whose disturbing cries have sent staff members running upstairs from the basement. (Actor John Wayne even once had a paranormal encounter here.) Book your stay today!

· How to celebrate Oct 11th

o Start your day with a nutritious breakfast featuring eggs. Get creative with your cooking, try a new recipe like a spicy Shakshuka or fluffy Japanese rolled omelet.

§ Throw a spontaneous party for yourself or with a few close friends. It doesn’t have to be elaborate; a simple get-together with music and snacks can lift your spirits.

· Explore the rich culinary heritage of the American South by preparing a traditional Southern dish. Think fried chicken, collard greens, or cornbread for a taste of Southern comfort

· Bucket Item trip: 🥾 Camino Francés: Santo Domingo → León

o A Week of Bridges, Chant, and Civic Memory

§ Oct 11: Santo Domingo → Belorado (~23 km)

· 🌉 Symbolic Act: “Bridge Blessing” at the exit of Santo Domingo—recall the saint’s legacy of repair.

o 🛏️ Stay: Albergue Caminante or Albergue Cuatro Cantones

§ Oct 12: Belorado → San Juan de Ortega (~24 km)

· 🌲 Symbolic Act: “Forest Silence” in Montes de Oca—walk in quiet for one hour, listening for grace.

o 🛏️ Stay: Albergue San Juan de Ortega

§ Oct 13: San Juan de Ortega → Burgos (~26 km)

o 🕍 Symbolic Act: “Civic Chant” in Burgos Cathedral—chant a psalm in the Gothic nave as a pilgrim offering.

§ 🛏️ Stay: Albergue Municipal de Burgos or Hostal Lar

§ Oct 14: Burgos → Hornillos del Camino (~21 km)

· 🌾 Symbolic Act: “Meseta Offering”—place a stone or prayer in the wide fields as a sign of surrender.

o 🛏️ Stay: Albergue El Alfar

§ Oct 15: Hornillos → Castrojeriz (~20 km)

o 🏚️ Symbolic Act: “Hidden Grace” in Hontanas—pause at the village entrance and offer a silent prayer.

§ 🛏️ Stay: Albergue Ultreia

§ Oct 16: Castrojeriz → Frómista (~25 km)

o 🌉 Symbolic Act: “Itero Bridge Blessing”—recite the Beatitudes while crossing the medieval bridge.

§ 🛏️ Stay: Albergue Estrella del Camino

§ Oct 17: Frómista → Carrión de los Condes (~20 km)

· 🕊️ Symbolic Act: “Canal Reflection”—walk beside the Canal de Castilla in silence, reflecting on flow and grace.

o 🛏️ Stay: Albergue Santa María

§ Oct 18: Carrión → León (via Sahagún, bus/train or multi-day walk)

· 🏛️ Symbolic Act: “Monastic Arrival”—enter León with a prayer of integration and chant at Santa María de Carbajal.

o 🛏️ Stay: Albergue Santo Tomás de Canterbury or Hospedería Monástica Pax

🌿 Leafing the World Behind: Day 11 (Alternate Path)
Saint: St. Francis of Assisi
Theme: Cooperation Through Humility and Brotherhood
Virtue: Simplicity
Virtue Connection: Communion
Symbolic Act: Share food with another creature—human or animal
Location: A table, trail, vineyard, or garden—anywhere life gathers

🕊️ Introduction: On Cooperation
To leave the world behind is not to isolate—it is to reconnect. Today we do not assert dominance; we practice kinship. Cooperation, in this rhythm, is not strategy—it is sacrament. It is the humble recognition that we belong to one another.

This pilgrimage is not a solo ascent—it is a communal descent into love. Each day, we leaf behind pride and separation, so that what remains is brotherhood: gentle, joyful, and shared.

Cooperation, in this rhythm, is not control—it is communion. It is the courage to walk together.

🌺 Saint of the Day: St. Francis of Assisi
Born into wealth, Francis chose poverty. Born into privilege, he chose kinship. He kissed lepers, preached to birds, and called the sun his brother. His humility was not weakness—it was wonder.

He founded the Franciscan order, rebuilt the Church, and lived with radical simplicity. His cooperation was cosmic: he saw all creation as family. He did not dominate—he danced.

He once said, “What we are looking for is what is looking.” His life was a mirror of divine humility—a brother to all, a servant of joy.

Francis’s witness reminds us: cooperation is not compromise—it is communion.

🛡️ Virtue Connection: Communion
Communion is the virtue that sees unity in diversity. It is not uniformity—it is harmony. Francis’s simplicity made space for others. He did not need to be first—he needed to be faithful.

Like St. Clare of Assisi and Bl. Carlo Acutis, Francis lived in joyful interdependence. He did not fear weakness—he embraced it as a doorway to love.

Let his witness remind you: cooperation without humility becomes control. But cooperation with humility becomes brotherhood.

🍞 Symbolic Act: Share Food with Another Creature
Prepare or offer food—simple, real, and shared. Give it to a neighbor, a friend, a bird, a dog, or even the soil. Let it be a gesture of kinship, not charity.

As you share, pray: “Lord, let me live as brother. Let my humility be joy. Let my cooperation be communion.”

If no creature is nearby, imagine the act in prayer. The gesture is the same: sharing as sacrament.

🔥 Reflection Prompt
Where have you resisted cooperation out of pride?
What creature has taught you humility?
Can you name one person whose brotherhood has healed your isolation?

Write, walk, or pray with these questions. Let St. Francis’s witness remind you: cooperation is not weakness—it is wonder. It is the humility to belong, the simplicity to share, the joy of being one among many.

OCTOBER 11 Saturday

FEAST DIVINE MATERNITY-Day of the Girl

Acts, Chapter 10, Verse 36-38

You know the word [that] he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed PEACE through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

With the election cycle upon us let us take these verses to heart.

Why should I fear evil in the future or the injustice of our nation on the faithful?

Instead, we should look seriously at the candidates for their faith in God and their virtues. Look and see which of the candidates have the virtues of our Lady:

humility, generosity, chastity, patience, temperance and love of fellow man.

It is not the economy in coin; but the bankruptcy of our cultural heart that is killing this nation that sacrifices the future of children for the future of the mother. No amount of future happiness or gain in liberty is worth the life of an innocent. Know that life is greater than liberty and liberty is greater than wealth.

Beloved: Teach and urge these things. Whoever teaches something different and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the religious teaching is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes. From these come envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds, who are deprived of the truth, supposing religion to be a means of gain. Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that. Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains. But you, man of God, avoid all this. Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses. (Tm. 6:2-12)

If we truly wish to make our nation great again; we ourselves must grow in holiness and then in turn our families will, which in turn our communities will; and thus, our nation will have a rebirth.

Copilot’s Take

October 11: Divine Maternity, Day of the Girl, and the Race That Matters

On October 11, the calendar marks a striking convergence: the Feast of the Divine Maternity of Mary, the International Day of the Girl, and the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona. Each event honors a form of strength—maternal, youthful, and athletic—but only one offers the path to lasting renewal: the fiat of Mary, who bore the Prince of Peace.

Acts 10:36–38 reminds the faithful that Jesus, anointed with the Holy Spirit and power, went about healing and proclaiming peace. In a time of political tension and cultural unrest, this passage offers a clear directive: do not fear the future or the injustice that threatens the faithful. Instead, discern wisely. Look to candidates not for their charisma or economic promises, but for their embodiment of virtue—especially the virtues of Our Lady: humility, generosity, chastity, patience, temperance, and love of neighbor.

The International Day of the Girl invites a deeper examination of national priorities. The cultural narrative often sacrifices the future of children for the fleeting desires of adults. Life is greater than liberty, and liberty is greater than wealth. The true bankruptcy of the nation is not economic, but moral—a loss of heart that cannot be repaired by policy alone.

1 Timothy 6:2–12 offers a sobering exhortation: reject the traps of greed and conceit and instead pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. The Ironman athletes in Hawaii may compete for a fading crown, but Christians are called to a race of eternal consequence. Competing well for the faith means rising each day with gentleness, speaking truth without venom, and protecting the innocent without compromise.

October 11 becomes a liturgical hinge—a civic novena, a spiritual checkpoint. If the nation is to be made great again, it must begin with holiness. Holiness in the individual leads to holiness in the home, which leads to holiness in the community. Only then can the nation experience true rebirth—not through slogans or wealth, but through sanctity and conscience.

This reflection is not a retreat from civic engagement, but a call to deeper participation. The race worth running is not for power, but for mercy. And the strength worth cultivating is not in the body alone, but in the soul that says yes to God, as Mary did, and in doing so, says yes to the world.

Feast of the Divine Maternity[1]

“On this occasion the heavenly Lady was full of the Holy Ghost and moreover bore within Her, as His Mother, the Divine Word, who proceeds from the Father and the Holy Ghost. Saint Joseph received special enlightenment and the plenitude of divine graces, and altogether renewed in fervor of spirit he said:

“Blessed art Thou, Lady, among all women, fortunate and preferred before all nations and generations. May the Creator of heaven and earth be extolled with eternal praise, since from his exalted kingly throne He has looked upon Thee and chosen Thee for his dwelling place and in Thee alone has fulfilled the ancient promises made to the Patriarchs and Prophets. Let all generations bless Him: for in no one has He magnified his name as He has done in thy humility; and me, the most insignificant of the living, He has in his divine condescension selected for thy servant.” In these words of praise and benediction Saint Joseph was enlightened by the Holy Ghost, in the same manner as Saint Elizabeth, when she responded to the salutation of Our Queen and Mistress. The light and inspiration received by the most holy spouse was wonderfully adapted to his dignity and office. The heavenly Lady, upon hearing the words of the holy man, answered in the words of the Magnificat, as She had done on her visit to Saint Elizabeth, and She added other canticles. She was all aflame in ecstasy and was raised from the earth in a globe of light, which surrounded Her and transfigured Her with the gifts of glory. At this heavenly vision Saint Joseph was filled with admiration and unspeakable delight; for never had he seen his most blessed Spouse in such eminence of glory and perfection. Now he beheld Her with a full and clear understanding, since all the integrity and purity of the Princess of heaven and mystery of her dignity manifested themselves to him. He saw and recognized in her virginal womb the humanity of the infant God and the union of the two natures of the Word. With profound humility and reverence, he adored Him and recognized Him as his Redeemer, offering himself to his majesty. The Lord looked upon him in benevolence and kindness as upon no other man, for He accepted him as his foster-father and conferred upon him that title. In accordance with this dignity, He gifted him with that plenitude of science and heavenly gifts which Christian piety can and must acknowledge.

Bible in a Year Day 98 Israel asks for a King

Fr. Mike draws our attention to Samuel's sons who turned away from God as they ruled over Israel and how the people of Israel rejected God from being their king. Today's readings are 1 Samuel 6-8 and Psalm 86.

International Day of the Girl

International Day of the Girl aims to recognize girls' rights and the unique challenges that they face around the world. Every day, young girls everywhere face challenges involving their rights, access to education, inequality, discrimination, domestic violence and child marriage. Gender inequality is so prevalent in the world that the United Nations introduced a Gender Inequality Index (GII) to measure gender disparity in countries.

Day of the Girl Facts & Quotes

· It is estimated that over 100 million women from the world are missing. Female infanticide and selective abortion are still commonly practiced in Asia and have led to uneven ratios of men and women all over Asia.

· In India, there are laws that prevent expecting mothers from finding out the sex of the baby due to selective abortions and discrimination against baby girls.

· One-third of girls in the developing world are married before the age of 18, increasing the risk of HIV, unwanted pregnancy and discontinued education.

· To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man's injustice to woman. If by strength is meant brute strength, then, indeed, is woman less brute than man. If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man's superior. Has she not greater intuition, is she not more self-sacrificing, has she not greater powers of endurance, has she not greater courage? Without her, man could not be. If nonviolence is the law of our being, the future is with woman. Who can make a more effective appeal to the heart than woman? - Mahatma Ghandi

Day of the Girl Top Events and Things to Do

· Get active for girls on social media. Use one of UNICEF's recommended social networking hashtags: #dayofthe girl, #mylifeat15, #girl4president and #girlhero!

· Take out a girl in your life (your daughter, niece, granddaughter, family friend). Take her out to do her favorite activity on her special day.

· Watch movies that empower young girls and portray strong female characters.
1) Brave (2012)
2) Bend it like Beckham (2002)
3) Anne of Green Gables (1985)
4) Mulan (1998)

· Attend one of many events held nationally and internationally. Look for an event organized in your local community by schools and girl clubs, if not attend the online event. The online event involves sharing baby photos of yourself (if you're a girl), or daughters, sisters and other girl family members and discuss your/their dreams while growing up.

October 11---Ironman World Championship (Kailua-Kona, HI)