Thursday, October 9, 2025

Rachel’s Corner

· do a personal eucharistic stations of the cross.

· Bucket List: Military Hop

o Seattle-Tacoma International Gateway drive from here to Travis Passenger Service Terminal

§ Things to do

· Foodie: How to eat like a Viking in honor of Leif Erikson

· Spirit Hour: Headless horseman cocktail in honor of St. Denis

John Lennon’s Birthday

Best Place to visit in October: Las Vegas[4]

I’m a huge fan of the entertainment capital of the world which is home with jaw-dropping hotel resorts, entertainment shows, and ultra-crazy nightlife! I love to visit during this month as the temperatures are much more bearable, the worst of the crowds have gone and I always find great hotel prices at this time of year.

As well as all the usual ‘Sin City’ offerings, Halloween is also a big deal in Las Vegas. I always make sure I take a stroll down LINQ Promenade which is very Halloween themed during this month, trying the wild Fetish & Fantasy Halloween Ball and going on a fun ghost tour in the nearby abandoned mining town of Goodsprings – it felt like something out of Scooby-Doo!

Visitors Center Address: 495 S. Main St. Las Vegas, NV 89101
Map Location
Average temperature – 75 to 84

My favorite highlights…

Watching the famous Fountain Display at Bellagio Hotel.
Going for a Grand Buffet at the MGM Grand, the long counters crammed with all kinds of food were incredible! Everyone’s plates were piled sky high!
Watching the fun and frightening Zombie Burlesque show at Planet Hollywood.

Thursday Feast

Thursday is the day of the week that our Lord gave himself up for consumption. Thursday commemorates the last supper. Some theologians believe after Sunday Thursday is the holiest day of the week. We should then try to make this day special by making a visit to the blessed sacrament chapel, Mass or even stopping by the grave of a loved one. Why not plan to count the blessing of the week and thank our Lord. Plan a special meal. Be at Peace.

Colorado Dinner Menu or pick a farmer approve dinner.

Coors Beer
Denver Sandwich
Tomato Soup
French Fries
Melon With Ginger

🌿 Leafing the World Behind: Day 10
Saint: St. John Bosco
Theme: Diligence as Tireless Mission for the Young
Virtue: Zeal
Virtue Connection: Hope
Symbolic Act: Sharpen a pencil or prepare a tool for teaching
Location: A desk, classroom, vineyard shed, or any place of learning and formation

🕊️ Introduction: On Mission
To leave the world behind is not to abandon work—it is to sanctify it. Today we do not labor for prestige or perfection; we labor for love. Diligence, in this rhythm, is not exhaustion—it is devotion. It is the steady, joyful offering of our gifts for the sake of others.

This pilgrimage is not a break from mission—it is a renewal of it. Each day, we leaf behind distraction and discouragement, so that what remains is tireless service: focused, fruitful, and full of hope.

Diligence, in this rhythm, is not drudgery—it is fidelity to the call.

🌺 Saint of the Day: St. John Bosco
Born in 1815 in Italy, John Bosco saw the streets filled with abandoned youth—poor, uneducated, vulnerable. He did not look away. He dreamed of a world where every child was seen, taught, and loved.

He founded the Salesians, created schools and workshops, and pioneered the “preventive system”—education rooted in reason, religion, and kindness. His diligence was playful, prophetic, and persistent. He juggled, told stories, and taught with joy.

He once said, “Run, jump, shout, but do not sin.” His mission was not grim—it was radiant. He believed holiness could be joyful, and that every young person deserved a future.

Bosco’s witness reminds us: diligence is not just hard work—it is holy work.

🛡️ Virtue Connection: Hope
Hope is the virtue that sees beyond the present. It is not naïve—it is resilient. Bosco’s diligence was fueled by hope: hope in the young, hope in grace, hope in transformation.

Like St. Josephine Bakhita and St. Gianna Molla, Bosco did not let suffering define the future. He built schools where there had been prisons. He taught joy where there had been despair.

Let his witness remind you: diligence without hope becomes burnout. But diligence with hope becomes mission.

✏️ Symbolic Act: Sharpen a Pencil or Prepare a Tool for Teaching
Find a pencil, pen, or tool of learning. Sharpen it. Clean it. Ready it. Let this act symbolize your mission: the daily work of forming, teaching, and loving with intention.

As you prepare it, pray: “Lord, let my diligence be joyful. Let my mission be tireless. Let my hope be contagious.”

If no tool is nearby, imagine the act in prayer. The gesture is the same: readiness with love.

🔥 Reflection Prompt
Where have you grown weary in your mission?
What young person has reminded you of hope?
Can you name one person whose diligence has inspired your own?

Write, walk, or pray with these questions. Let St. John Bosco’s witness remind you: diligence is not just effort—it is love in motion. It is the tireless rhythm of hope poured out for the next generation.

OCTOBER 9 Thursday

St Denis (the saint who carried his own head)-Leif Erikson Day

John 20, Verse 21

[Jesus] said to them again, “PEACE be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

Christ then breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.” This is the peace of Christ. This is the renewal of man. Just as God the father breathed the breath of life in Adam now Christ breathes the breath of life in his church via the apostles and to all mankind through the sacrament of confession. This is why the Sanhedrin killed Christ because He forgave sins; seek his face; seek his peace through this sacrament.

In fact the angels plead the cause of humans against the devils, by offering the precious Blood of Jesus. This ministry is especially exercised by the Seraphim, Cherubim and the Thrones as they are nearest to God in the celestial realm. In addition to the angels seeking to gain the peace of Christ in our behalf; we also have His mother Mary whom the angels welcomed into heaven at her assumption who pleads our cause. We can be at peace upon our death knowing that it is she that will welcome us saying, “My Son calls thee.” We can only be at peace when we know we can never find true contentment here, because no earthly object or goods can meet the yearnings of the human heart. Only the vision of God, the Infinite Good, can bring peace.[1]

Feast of St. Denis[2]

St. Denis was born in Italy. In 250 he was sent to France with six other missionary bishops by Pope Fabian. Denis became the first bishop of Paris. He was beheaded in 258 with the priest Rusticus and the deacon Eleutherius at Catulliacum, now Saint-Denis. One of the many legends about his torture and death was that his body carried his severed head some distance from his execution site. St. Denis is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers who was invoked particularly in the Middle Ages against the Black Plague.

Patron: against frenzy; against strife; headaches; against diabolical possession; France; Paris, France.

Symbols: beheaded bishop carrying his head — sometimes a vine growing over his neck; mitered head in his hand or on book; white chasuble; tree or stake; sword; Our Lord with chalice and host.

Things to Do:

Learn more about the Fourteen Holy Helpers and their historical context.
Bake a French (or Parisian) pastry. Cooking with the Saints by Ernst Schuegraf has 3 recipes for St. Denis — St. Denis Turnovers, Saint Denis Tartlets and Brioche Saint-Denis (Praline Cake).
Read in The Golden Legend for some of the legends or stories about St. Denis.

Leif Erikson Day[3]

Leif Erikson Day serves to honor Viking Explorer Leif Erikson and celebrate Nordic-American Heritage. Erikson is believed to have been the first European to set foot on the North American continent, having done so nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus. He established a settlement called Vinland and although its exact location is not known, it is believed that it is near L'anse aux Meadows, in Newfoundland, Canada, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1925, Leif Erikson was officially recognized by President Calvin Coolidge as the first explorer to discover the continent. It took another four decades for the day to become official when, in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared October 9th as Leif Erikson Day. In 2015, President Barack Obama reproclaimed the day and called upon Americans to celebrate the day appropriately in honor of Nordic-American heritage and the explorers that embarked on the expeditions that led to the creation of the United States.

Leif Erikson Day Facts & Quotes

· Leif Erikson was actually born in Iceland, but his family was Norwegian. He died in Greenland in the year 1020.

· On October 9, 1825, the first wave of Norwegian immigrants arrived on US soil in New York City. Between 1825 and 1925, nearly one-third of Norway's population immigrated to the US.

· Erikson named his settlement Vinland or Wineland due to the many grape vines that he discovered there.

· There are more than 4.5 million Americans with Norwegian ancestry living in the US today, of which 55% live in the Upper Midwest states.

· Histories have been written and more will be written of the Norwegians in America, but no man can tell adequately of the tearing asunder of tender ties, the hardships and dangers crossing the deep, the work and worry, the hopes and fears, the laughter and tears, of men and women who with bare hands carved out of a wilderness a new kingdom. - Rønning, N. N., from the book Fifty Years in America

Leif Erikson Day Top Events and Things to Do

· Purchase a Leif Ericson Millennium Commemorative Coin from the US Mint. The coins were released at the beginning of the century however you can purchase some from collectors online or even try to find them in public circulation.

· Visit one of the many Leif Erikson statues in the United States. There are statues in Boston, Milwaukee, Chicago, Cleveland, Virginia, Seattle, Minnesota and North Dakota.

· Take a trip to Iceland, Norway or Greenland and visit the homelands of Leif Erikson.

· Take a trip to UNESCO site of L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada. This is believed to be the site of Erikson's first New World settlement.

· Watch a movie about Vikings and Leif Erikson. Some movies include Leif Ericson (2000) and The Vikings (1958), The Viking Sagas (1995) and the 13th Warrior (1999).

· Have Beer and Pizza while watching a Viking movie.

· Note: It was a Norwegian who discovered America and it was also a Norwegian who was the first to get to the South Pole and back.

Bible in a Year Day 95 Hannah's Prayer

As we begin to read the first book of Samuel, Fr. Mike highlights the miraculous birth of Samuel and how Hannah's deep longing for a son never became an idol in her heart. Today's readings are 1 Samuel 1-2 and Psalm 149.

Daily Devotions

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

· 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