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🌍 Madagascar Coastal Pilgrimage — October 8–15, 2025
Theme: Waters of Mercy & Thresholds of Fire — Sailing off East Africa’s shores (Coordinates: –23.36166 S / 43.63000 E)
🐚 Day 1: October 8 — Offshore Nosy Be
• Sunrise Rosary on deck, invoking Our Lady of the Isles
• Symbolic Meal: Grilled barracuda with ylang-ylang rice and passionfruit glaze
• Evening Ritual: Anointing with vanilla and vetiver oils, Psalm 104: “You make the winds your messengers, flames of fire your servants.”
🌿 Day 2: October 9 — Sailing toward Antsiranana
• Fast-before-Feast: Silent morning in honor of guardian angels
• Reflection: The Little Prince — innocence, exile, and return
• Meal: Coconut-lentil curry with starfruit and angel cake
• Hospitality Arc: Write a letter to your guardian angel; seal with wax and prayer
🕌 Day 3: October 10 — Offshore Île Sainte-Marie
• Pilgrimage Imaginarium: Envision a Marian shrine at the estuary
• Meal: Zebu steak with green pepper sauce, lychee wine
• Evening Ritual: Fire circle with Malagasy hymn and Psalm 42: “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls…”
🌊 Day 4: October 11 — Approaching Fort Dauphin (Tolagnaro)
• Feast Reflection: Canticle of the Creatures — praise for water, wind, and fire
• Symbolic Meal: Breadfruit stew with tamarind and wild greens
• Sunset Ritual: Blessing of the sea with salt and rose petals
🕯️ Day 5: October 12 — Crossing the Mozambique Channel
• Vigil: Night-watch prayer, asking Mary for guidance through open waters
• Meal: Crab coconut curry, Eucharistic rice, mango wine
• Reflection: “Hospitality is the courage to welcome the stranger as Christ”
🍃 Day 6: October 13 — Near the Glorieuses Islands
• Sunrise Anointing: Oils of lemongrass and coconut for ecological blessing
• Meal: Smoked eggplant with ginger, honey, and goat cheese
• Hospitality Arc: Share stories of healing—physical, emotional, spiritual
• Evening Psalm: “You turned my mourning into dancing…” (Psalm 30)
🌅 Day 7: October 14 — Offshore Mayotte
• Pilgrimage Station: Threshold of roots and release—prayer at the rail
• Meal: Fish satay with tamarind glaze, vanilla-infused rice
• Reflection: “Mercy doesn’t knock—it unlocks the doors of fear.”
🕊️ Day 8: October 15 — Anchoring near Zanzibar
• Closing Rosary Procession on deck—each decade a threshold crossed
• Final Meal: Swahili feast—coconut rice, grilled tilapia, banana fritters, rosé
• Final Toast: Psalm 27: “One thing I ask… to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.”
· Foodie- Pan-Fried Alaskan Cod and Oven-Roasted Vegetables
· Spirit Hour: The Doctor, a daiquiri-ish drink with Swedish Punsch
Watch “Alien” today is Sigourney Weaver’s birthday.
o Embrace the unknown like Alvin C. York facing the battlefield!
o Next, take charge of your day like it’s Own Business Day. Set goals and make a to-do list. Being organized will help you feel in control and productive.
o Treat yourself to some comfort food on National Pierogi Day. Whether you make them from scratch or buy them frozen, indulge in these delicious dumplings for a cozy meal.
o After all that activity, pamper your feet on International Podiatry Day. Soak them in warm water, trim your nails, and massage them for some well-deserved relaxation.
o End the night by registering a birth announcement to honor International Birth Registration Day. Reflect on the circle of life and the importance of documentation in our world. What famous people were born in Kenya?
o Embrace the uniqueness of World Octopus Day with adaptability and creativity, like the eight arms of this fascinating creature. Remember, every day is what you make of it, so seize the weird and wonderful moments that come your way!
o National Face your Fears Day
🌿 Leafing the World Behind: Day 9
Saint: St. Vincent de Paul
Theme: Responsibility as Relentless Service
Virtue: Mercy
Virtue Connection: Justice
Symbolic Act: Offer a hidden act of kindness
Location: Anywhere—your home, neighborhood, vineyard, or online space
🕊️ Introduction: On Responsibility
To leave the world behind is not to shed responsibility—it is to embrace it with new clarity. Today we do not carry burdens out of obligation, but out of love. Responsibility, in this rhythm, is not a weight—it is a calling. It is the daily yes to mercy, to justice, to service that does not seek applause.
This pilgrimage is not a retreat from duty—it is a reawakening to vocation. Each day, we leaf behind avoidance and self-protection, so that what remains is relentless service: humble, hidden, and holy.
Responsibility, in this rhythm, is not control—it is care. It is the courage to serve without being seen.
🌺 Saint of the Day: St. Vincent de Paul
Vincent’s life was a slow conversion—from ambition to mercy, from prestige to service. He began as a priest seeking comfort, but grace interrupted him. He encountered Christ in the poor, and he never looked away.
His response was relentless: founding missions, reforming seminaries, organizing care for the sick, imprisoned, and abandoned. He did not serve occasionally—he built systems of mercy. He did not wait for ideal conditions—he responded with what he had.
Vincent’s responsibility was not reactive—it was proactive. He saw suffering and asked, “What can I do?” Then he did it. Again and again.
His witness reminds us: responsibility is not a burden—it is a rhythm of love.
🛡️ Virtue Connection: Justice
Justice is not just about fairness—it is about fidelity. Vincent’s mercy was not random—it was structured. He created networks of care, trained clergy, and empowered laypeople to serve.
Like Catherine Doherty and Dorothy Day, Vincent understood that justice must be embodied. It must touch the wound, not just theorize about it.
His relentless service was not heroic—it was habitual. He did not wait for recognition. He responded to need. That is justice with a human face.
Let his witness remind you: responsibility without mercy becomes cold. But responsibility with mercy becomes justice incarnate.
🍞 Symbolic Act: Offer a Hidden Act of Kindness
Choose one act of mercy today—quiet, hidden, and real. Leave food for someone. Send a note. Forgive a debt. Offer help without being asked.
Do not announce it. Do not seek credit. Let it be a seed of justice, planted in mercy.
Pray as you act: “Lord, let my service be relentless. Let my responsibility be love.”
🔥 Reflection Prompt
Where have you resisted responsibility out of fear or fatigue?
What hidden act of service has shaped your life?
Can you name one person whose relentless mercy has stirred your own vocation?
Write, walk, or pray with these questions. Let St. Vincent’s witness remind you: responsibility is not drudgery—it is dignity. It is the daily rhythm of love poured out, again and again.
Our Lady
of Good Remedy
John 20, Verse 19
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “PEACE be with you.”
The
doors were lock they were afraid, very afraid; they had no peace.
From cowards to bold witnesses[1]
How could one explain the transformation in
Jesus’ followers?
One day they are
cowering in fear, hiding themselves from the public, the next they are all
boldly proclaiming that Jesus is alive!
What happened?
At his arrest, all of
his disciples fled away and were scared for their lives: Mark 14:50 “Then
everyone deserted him and fled.” Matt 26:56 “Then all the disciples deserted
him and fled.” The day of Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples were still hiding
for fear of the Jews. Jesus’ disciples were clearly cowards and were trying to
preserve their lives. However, look what happens a few weeks later: Acts 4:31,
33 “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they
were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly…With
great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus.” They all of a sudden were not scared for their lives any longer and
risked imprisonment, persecution and certain death for testifying about the
risen Saviour.
Eleven of the twelve apostles died a martyr’s death!
Look at the way the following followers of Jesus died:
Andrew was crucified.
Bartholomew was crucified.
James, brother of Jesus was stoned.
James, son of Alphaeus was crucified.
James, son of Zebedee was killed by the sword.
John died naturally.
Matthew was crucified.
Peter was crucified upside down.
Philip was crucified.
Simon was crucified.
Thaddeus was killed by arrows.
Thomas died of a spear thrust.
Who in their right mind would die for a
lie?
Maybe if that person
was a lunatic.
But how can one explain a group of people
being willing to die for a lie?
This is just
impossible. What compelled these disciples to preach the message of a
risen Saviour is the fact that they had witnessed with their own eyes that
Jesus had been risen indeed! Their changed lives provide a solid testimony that
Jesus is alive! BE AT PEACE
Today
if you have time today would be a good day to read Saint John Paul II’s
encyclical letter-“Rich in Mercy”.[2]
Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon those who fear him, upon those
who count on his mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them
alive through famine.
Copilot’s Take
On
October 8, the Church honors Our Lady of Good Remedy, a Marian title born from
mercy in action. In the 12th century, when Christians were being sold into
slavery, St. John of Matha founded the Trinitarian Order to rescue them—and
entrusted the fundraising to the Virgin Mary. Her intercession was so effective
that she became known as Our Lady of Good Remedy, a patroness of impossible
situations and urgent needs. This feast day invites us to reflect on the locked
doors of fear that once held the apostles captive. As John 20:19 recounts, they
were hiding in terror when Jesus entered and said, “Peace be with you.” That
peace was not just a greeting—it was a remedy. The disciples, once cowards
fleeing arrest, became bold witnesses willing to die for the truth they had
seen with their own eyes: the risen Christ. Eleven of the twelve apostles were
martyred, not for a myth, but for a Person they had touched and known. Their
transformation was not psychological—it was spiritual, ignited by the Holy
Spirit and sustained by mercy. Today, we are invited to ask: where are our own
doors locked? What fears keep us from bold witness, creative hospitality, or
civic renewal? Our Lady of Good Remedy reminds us that mercy is not passive—it
acts, heals, and unlocks. For those seeking deeper reflection, Saint John Paul
II’s encyclical Rich in Mercy offers a luminous guide to how divine
mercy transforms individuals and societies. As Psalm 33 declares, “Behold, the
eye of the LORD is upon those who fear him… to deliver their soul from death.”
May this feast stir us to open the doors of our hearts, receive peace, and
become remedies in a wounded world.
Our Lady of Good
Remedy[3]
In
1519 Cortez brought with him a famous little statue to participate in the
conquest of Mexico. The statue was first set up in a temporary chapel in one of
the rooms of Montezuma’s palace where the Spanish officers made their
devotions. On the terrible night when the Indians rose against the Spanish
conquerors, the Night of Sorrows, one of the officers rescued the statue before
fighting his way out of the palace. He did not get far when he was cut down by
Aztec arrows and died at the foot of a Maguey tree. The tiny statue was either
pushed or fell into the roots of the tree where it was overlooked by the
Indians.
Some
twenty years later, an Aztec convert, Prince John the Eagle, was walking near
the tree when he heard a sweet voice calling him. Puzzled, he went to the
nearby mission of the Franciscan Fathers and told them about it. They thought
it was his imagination. Some days later John met with an accident, a large
pillar of a church under construction fell on him. Badly crushed, he was given
the Last Sacraments.
During
the night when he was thought to be dying, the memory of the sweet voice kept
returning to him. He prayed to Our Lady to help him. Very early in the morning
the Virgin Mary appeared to him and gave him a sash to wear which cured him. A
few days later he passed the tree again, and heard the sweet voice; curiously,
he looked carefully around the roots of the tree; half buried in the sand, he
found the tiny statue of Our Lady.
The Aztec
convert thought he should do something about it. “Come home with me, gracious
Lady,” he said, “I will see that you have a good home and are cared for.” He
brought the little statue home wrapped in his cape and placed it on a rough
altar.
Here Mary
reigned as queen in the humble home for ten or twelve years. John kept the
little shrine supplied with flowers, and occasionally with fruit and pretty
stones. Gradually people came to pray at the shrine, their number increasing so
that they were underfoot day and night. John took up the local schoolmaster’s
suggestion to build a little chapel. He set about building a shrine and
enthroned Mary, Our Lady of Good Remedies, there.
—Excerpted from Roman
Catholic Saints
Bible in a Year Day 94 The Sin of
Benjamin
As we conclude the book of Judges, we hear about the horrifying events that occurred among the tribes of Israel in the days when "every man did what was right in his own eyes". The readings for today are Judges 19-21 and Psalm 148.
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Protection of
Traditional Marriages
·
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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