ICEMANforChrist: Saturday, October 18, 2025

Saturday, October 18, 2025

Vinny’s Corner-Drink Commandaria & eat beef-Thank you St. Luke

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. (1 Corinthians 13:4-6)

· 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

· Catholic Recipe: Beef Bourguignon

· What? Fasting on a Feast Day?

· How to celebrate Oct 18th

o After, enjoy a comforting plate of mashed potatoes for lunch to treat yourself.

o Indulge in a decadent chocolate cupcake for a sweet treat.

· • Bucket Item trip: 🥾 Camino Francés: León → Santiago de Compostela
o A Week of Monastic Heritage and Eucharistic Arrival

· § Oct 18: León → Hospital de Órbigo (~33 km)
• 🏛️ Symbolic Act: “Carbajal Chant” — Begin with morning prayer at Santa María de Carbajal, invoking monastic clarity.
• 🌉 Symbolic Act: “Orbigo Mercy Walk” — Cross the Puente de Órbigo slowly, reciting the Beatitudes.
o 🛏️ Stay: Albergue Verde or Albergue San Miguel

· § Oct 19: Hospital de Órbigo → Astorga (~17 km)
• 🕍 Symbolic Act: “Episcopal Offering” — Pause at Astorga’s Episcopal Palace and offer a prayer for civic leadership.
o 🛏️ Stay: Albergue de Peregrinos Siervas de María or Albergue San Javier

· § Oct 20: Astorga → Rabanal del Camino (~21 km)
• 🌲 Symbolic Act: “Benedictine Silence” — Enter Rabanal in silence, joining evening chant at the Monasterio de San Salvador.
o 🛏️ Stay: Albergue Nuestra Señora del Pilar or Albergue El Pilar

· § Oct 21: Rabanal → El Acebo (~17 km)
• 🪨 Symbolic Act: “Cruz de Ferro Offering” — Leave a stone at Cruz de Ferro, releasing burdens and praying for communal healing.
o 🛏️ Stay: Albergue La Casa del Peregrino

· § Oct 22: El Acebo → Villafranca del Bierzo (~30 km)

• 🏞️ Symbolic Act: “Descent of Mercy” — Descend through Molinesca with prayers for those in sorrow.
• 🕊️ Symbolic Act: “Villafranca Blessing” — At Church of Santiago, offer intercession for pilgrims unable to finish.
o 🛏️ Stay: Albergue Ave Fénix or Albergue San Nicolás

· § Oct 23: Villafranca → O Cebreiro (~28 km)
• 🏔️ Symbolic Act: “Marian Ascent” — Climb toward O Cebreiro with Hail Marys, invoking Our Lady of the Camino.
• 🕍 Symbolic Act: “Eucharistic Vigil” — Visit Santa María la Real and pray before the site of the Eucharistic miracle.
o 🛏️ Stay: Albergue Xunta O Cebreiro

· § Oct 24: O Cebreiro → Arzúa (~40 km via bus or multi-day walk)
• 🌾 Symbolic Act: “Galician Gratitude” — Pause in Melide for a shared meal of pulpo and bread, giving thanks for sustenance.
o 🛏️ Stay: Albergue Ultreia Arzúa or Albergue Don Quijote

· § Oct 25: Arzúa → Santiago de Compostela (~40 km)
• 🕊️ Symbolic Act: “Eucharistic Arrival” — Enter Praza do Obradoiro in silence. Kneel at the Tomb of Saint James and offer a final prayer for civic renewal and communal mercy.
o 🛏️ Stay: Hospedería San Martín Pinario or Albergue Seminario Menor

Here is Day 18: Generosity — St. Nicholas of Myra, choreographed to follow the rhythm of “Leafing the World Behind.” This entry honors Nicholas’s witness and deepens the virtue of generosity as sacramental abundance.

🌊 Leafing the World Behind: Day 19

Witness: St. Nicholas of Myra
Theme: Generosity as Hidden Abundance
Virtue: Generosity
Virtue Connection: Mercy Without Applause
Symbolic Act: Give something anonymously today—money, time, a gift, a prayer. Let it be unseen, unthanked, untracked.
Location: A threshold, a mailbox, a vineyard row—any place where giving becomes grace.

🕊️ Introduction: On Generosity

Generosity is not transaction—it is transformation.
It is not measured by quantity—but by courage.
To leaf the world behind is to give without needing to be seen, known, or praised.

Today, we do not count—we pour.
Generosity, in this rhythm, is not charity—it is Eucharist.
It is the courage to say: “I give because I am free.”

🌺 Witness of the Day: St. Nicholas of Myra

Nicholas was a bishop in 4th-century Myra, known for secret acts of mercy.

When a poor man could not afford dowries for his daughters, Nicholas dropped gold coins through the window at night—three times.
He gave anonymously, sacramentally, abundantly.
He did not wait for thanks.
He gave because mercy is its own reward.

Nicholas reminds us:
Generosity is not performance—it is presence.
It is not applause—it is abundance.
It is not fame—it is freedom.

🛡️ Virtue Connection: Mercy Without Applause

Generosity becomes virtue when it costs something.

When it is hidden.
When it is sacramental.

Nicholas did not give to be remembered.
He gave to remember others.
He reminds us:

Generosity without anonymity becomes transaction.
But generosity with anonymity becomes sanctity.

🕯️ Symbolic Act: Give Without Being Seen

Choose one act of generosity today.
Do it anonymously.
Let it be a sacrament, not a spectacle.

As you act, say:

“Lord, let my generosity be mercy.
Let my mercy be hidden.
Let my hiddenness be holy.”

If you cannot give materially, give time, prayer, or silence.
Let your gift be a window of grace.

🔥 Reflection Prompt

Where have you given to be seen?

What fear keeps you from giving anonymously?
Can you name one person whose hidden generosity changed your life?

Write, walk, or pray with these questions.
Let St. Nicholas remind you:

Generosity is not weakness—it is witness.
It is the strength to give unseen, the grace to give freely, the love to give always.

OCTOBER 18 Saturday-Feast of Saint Luke, Evangelist

Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 15-17

Their feet are quick to shed blood; ruin and misery are in their ways, and the way of PEACE they know not.

On this Feast of Saint Luke, Evangelist, we are confronted by Paul’s stark words in Romans 3:15–17: “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery lie in their path, and the way of peace they do not know.” It is a sobering diagnosis of the human condition—one marked not by innocence, but by estrangement, captivity, and decay. Sin is not merely a personal failing; it is a power that enslaves and sickens, leaving no one untouched. Yet Luke, the physician of souls, offers a counter-narrative: a Gospel of healing, mercy, and restored communion. His witness reminds us that Christ does not come to condemn, but to walk with us, to heal what is broken, and to lead us into the way of peace we have forgotten. On this day, we are invited to acknowledge our need for grace and to receive the remedy offered in Christ—a remedy that transforms ruin into renewal and misery into mercy.

Feast of Saint Luke[1]

This day celebrates the life of St. Luke, one of Jesus' disciples. Luke was thought to be an educated Gentile, or non-Jew, and may have even been a physician. Some biblical historians believe he may have even been a slave. Luke wrote two books in the New Testament -- the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. The Gospel of Luke focuses on converting non-Jews to Christianity.

St Luke Facts

· Luke worked with the apostle Paul, and traveled with him throughout Asia Minor, proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ.

· The Gospel of Luke describes a popular passage referred to as the 'The Parable of the Good Samaritan'. In it a traveling man is attacked by robbers who strip and beat him. A priest and a Levite pass by without helping him. A Samaritan stops and cares for him, taking him to an inn where the Samaritan pays for his care. (Luke 10:25-37)

· What became of Luke is unclear. Some accounts say he was martyred, while others say that he lived to an old age and died in Greece.

· The feast Day for St. Luke is held on October 18 in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Church and some Protestant churches. The Orthodox Church refers to this day as the Feast of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke.

St Luke Top Events and Things to Do

· Read the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke. This is the story that is most often read at Christmas time about the birth of Jesus Christ.

· Read the popular 'Parable of the Good Samaritan'. Use this to inspire you to go out of your comfort zone to help someone in need.

· Some traditions believe that St. Luke, in addition to being a writer and physician, was a painter. Do a little artwork today to honor the saint.

· Go get a checkup. Luke was a physician. Take care of your body in honor of St. Luke.

· Pray for doctors and those who care for the sick through the intercession of St. Luke, patron of physicians.

· Foods this day to honor St. Luke would include some beef dish, as he is known as the "ox" and is the patron of butchers. For dessert, bake some raisin Banbury Tarts to evoke the festivals of England on this day, or a cake in the shape of a book with decorations of a calf or ox for this evangelist.

· Today is also known as "Sour Cakes Day" in Scotland, because baked cakes were eaten with sour cream in Rutherglen.

St. Luke’s Little Summer

Lovely, summerlike days that occur around October 18 are called Saint Luke’s Little Summer in honor of the saint’s feast day. Around this time, Saint Luke’s feast day, there is a period brief period of calm, dry weather. Of course, it’s difficult to generalize today across the vast continent of North America, but the temperature is usually mild, and the leaf colors are turning a gorgeous color. It’s a good time for a brief vacation or visit to a park. In Venice, Italy, they say: “San Luca, El ton va te la zuca” (Pumpkins go stale on St Luke’s Day), but here in North America, pumpkins are enjoying their finest hour. Saint Luke is the patron saint of physicians and surgeons, so it seems only fitting that the good doctor give us these calm days. In olden days, St. Luke’s Day did not receive as much attention in the secular world as St. John’s Day (June 24) and Michaelmas (September 29), so it was to keep from being forgotten that St. Luke presented us with some golden days to cherish before the coming of winter, or so the story goes. Some folks call this Indian Summer, but that officially occurs between November 11 and November 20.

Cyprus’s Painted Churches[2]

Above seaside Lemosos and on the eastern flank of 6,500-foot Mt. Olympus, you’ll also find ten magnificent medieval churches and monasteries, whose modest exteriors stand in contrast to their rich interiors, embellished with some of the finest Byzantine frescoes and icons in the Mediterranean. At the ornate 11th-century Kykkos Monastery, even the cloisters are richly frescoed, and a golden icon of the Virgin ascribed to St. Luke is said to work miracles. Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis (St. Nicholas of the Roof) is covered entirely in wall paintings. The monks who lived here were not only gifted artists but also master vintners, following a 5,500-year-old wine-making tradition in Cyprus. Stop at Chrysorrogiatissa Monastery for a visit to the region’s oldest wine-making site. The dark amber– colored Commandaria, a sweet wine that was a favorite elixir of medieval crusaders, is thought to be the world’s oldest appellation and is made from centuries-old vines in the Troodos foothills. For something with a little more kick, stop in any village bar for a glass of zivania, a centuries-old Cypriot beverage produced from the residue of grapes. With 45 percent (and up) alcohol content, it is also used to treat wounds and sore throats.

Bible in a Year Day 105 It Is Finished

In our final reading from the Gospel of John, we hear about the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Fr. Mike points out the connection between the Paschal lamb and Jesus, and also the connection between the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. Today's readings are John 19-21 and Proverbs 6:16-22.

Daily Devotions

· Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast:

· Religion in the Home for Preschool: October

· Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

· Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

· Drops of Christ’s Blood

· Universal Man Plan

· Rosary