ICEMANforChrist: Wednesday, November 12, 2025

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

Indian Summer

Dara’s Corner

start of Indian Summer

· How to celebrate Nov 12th

o Head to the kitchen, whip up a comforting pot of chicken soup. Indulge in a warm bowl to soothe your soul on National Chicken Soup for the Soul Day.

§ As lunchtime rolls around, order a pizza loaded with all your favorite toppings minus the controversial anchovies. Dive into a slice on National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day.

· For dinner, savor a delicious French dip sandwich from a local deli or try your hand at making one yourself. Toast to resilience and strength on National Survivors’ Day.

o Take a moment to raise awareness about pneumonia and its prevention. Educate yourself and others on World Pneumonia Day.

o Tanya Harding’s Birthday 1970

🌍 Dara’s Corner: Aboard The World

· Revelation & Radiance | November 12–18, 2025
Theme: Prophetic Clarity & the Luminous Edge
Coordinates: Sailing from Muscat toward Sohar, Khasab, and the Strait of Hormuz

· 🕊️ Day 1 — November 12 | Offshore Muscat

o Threshold of Light
Pilgrims begin the week with a sunrise invocation—each receives a candle and a verse from Revelation. The flame is lit in silence.
📖 Revelation 1:16 — “His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.”
Meal: Saffron rice with dried lime and golden raisins
Reflection: “Radiance is not spectacle—it is presence.”
Hospitality Arc: Offer a light—literal or symbolic—to someone who needs clarity.

· 🪨 Day 2 — November 13 | Sailing toward Sohar

o Salt of the Prophets
A midday ritual invites pilgrims to taste salt from three regions—coastal, desert, and mountain. Each reflects on the flavor of truth.
📖 Matthew 5:13 — “You are the salt of the earth…”
Meal: Grilled fish with za’atar crust and lemon tahini
Reflection: “Truth is not bitter—it is bracing.”
Hospitality Arc: Speak a truth gently to someone who needs it.

· 🕯️ Day 3 — November 14 | Docked in Sohar

o City of Origins
Pilgrims walk the ancient port of Sohar, once linked to Sindbad and early trade. At sunset, each writes a letter to their spiritual origin.
📖 Isaiah 51:1 — “Look to the rock from which you were hewn…”
Meal: Omani beef kabobs (mishkak) with date chutney
Reflection: “To remember your origin is to reclaim your voice.”
Hospitality Arc: Share a story of where your faith began.

· 🌄 Day 4 — November 15 | Sailing the Musandam Coast

o Cliffs of Clarity
As the ship passes dramatic fjords, pilgrims gather for a midday reading of prophetic texts. Each chooses one to carry for the week.
📖 Amos 3:7 — “The Lord does nothing without revealing His plan…”
Meal: Spiced lentil stew with coriander flatbread
Reflection: “Prophecy is not prediction—it is invitation.”
Hospitality Arc: Offer a verse or vision that has guided you.

· 🌬️ Day 5 — November 16 | Docked in Khasab

o Wind of the Watchmen
Pilgrims climb a coastal ridge at dawn. At the summit, each calls aloud one thing they are watching for.
📖 Ezekiel 3:17 — “I have made you a watchman…”
Meal: Goat stew with cinnamon rice and yogurt
Reflection: “To watch is to wait with wisdom.”
Hospitality Arc: Ask someone what they are hoping for—and listen fully.

· 🕊️ Day 6 — November 17 | Sailing the Strait of Hormuz

o Radiance of the Edge
As the ship enters the narrow strait, pilgrims gather for a twilight vigil. Each receives a small mirror etched with a word of light.
📖 Daniel 12:3 — “Those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars…”
Meal: Coconut rice with saffron shrimp and rosewater tea
Reflection: “Radiance is not perfection—it is reflection.”
Hospitality Arc: Reflect someone’s goodness back to them—name what you see.

· 🌅 Day 7 — November 18 | Offshore Qeshm Island

o Eucharist of the Horizon
The week closes with a sunrise Eucharist. Each pilgrim receives a scroll inscribed with a prophetic phrase for the next voyage.
📖 Habakkuk 2:3 — “Though it linger, wait for it…”
Meal: Persian-inspired lamb stew with pomegranate and mint
Reflection: “The horizon is not the end—it is the beginning seen from afar.”
Hospitality Arc: Share aloud one vision you carry into the next crossing.

· 🥘 7-Course Pilgrimage Meal: Revelation & Radiance

o Theme: Prophetic Clarity & the Luminous Edge

o 🌿 1. Aperitif — Saffron & Rose Sparkler

o A golden tonic of saffron threads, rosewater, citrus, and sparkling water.
Symbolic Arc: Light before the word—awakening the senses to divine presence.

· 🥗 2. Appetizer — Golden Beet & Pomegranate Salad

o Roasted golden beets, pomegranate seeds, mint, and citrus vinaigrette.
Symbolic Arc: Radiance in remembrance—truth layered in sweetness.

· 🥣 3. Soup — Persian Lentil & Lime Soup (Adasi)

o Lentils simmered with dried lime, turmeric, and fresh herbs.
Symbolic Arc: Prophetic endurance—bitterness softened by grace.

· 🥬 4. Salad — Cucumber & Yogurt with Za’atar Oil

o Crisp cucumber ribbons in yogurt, drizzled with za’atar-infused olive oil.
Symbolic Arc: Clarity and coolness—discernment in restraint.

· 🍽️ 5. Main Course — Saffron Shrimp with Coconut Rice

o Gulf shrimp sautéed in saffron and garlic, served over fragrant coconut rice.
Symbolic Arc: Provision at the edge—radiance in motion.

· 🧀 6. Cheese Course — Goat Cheese with Pistachio & Honey

o Creamy goat cheese rolled in crushed pistachios, drizzled with honey and served with dried apricots.
Symbolic Arc: Delight in the wilderness—sweetness revealed through contrast.

· 🍰 7. Dessert — Pomegranate Lamb Stew Tartlets

o Mini tartlets filled with slow-cooked lamb, pomegranate molasses, and herbs.
Symbolic Arc: Revelation and return—the mystery made edible.

NOVEMBER 12 -Wednesday-Saint Josaphat, Bishop Martyr

French Dip Day

John, Chapter 14, Verse 15 “If you LOVE me, you will keep my commandments.

What are Christ’s commandments?

Man’s Need for God’s Commandments[1]

God created Man with free will to choose between good and evil (CCC 1732) and gives consequences for those choices (CCC 1008). From the beginning, God gave “commandments” to help Man choose to enter into the “sheer goodness” of union with God and other men (CCC 1). At Eden (Gen 3:1-24), Man abused his freedom by disobeying God’s commandment and breaking harmony with God in the Fall (CCC 400, 416, 1707, 1739). After liberating Man from slavery in Egypt, God offered the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:1-17; Deut 5:6-22) to help guide Man to peace and happiness. Man continues to be accountable to keep God’s commandments (CCC 1745; 2072).

· Modern Man has however increasingly rejected God and His Commandments, accepting instead the soggy cowardice of “tolerance” where there are no rights and wrongs.

· Like ancient Israel where “every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25), modern culture is falling into chaos and decay: the denial of God,

· the viral expansion of a Culture of Death which embraces contraception (literally, against life), abortion and euthanasia,

· the abuse of the sacredness of sexuality with the “hook up culture”,

o the bearing children out of wedlock and the abandonment of fatherhood,

o the pornography epidemic among men,

o the celebration of homosexual acts and “marriages”,

· the brainwashing of 24×7 personal media that distracts and drives obsessive materialism and the narcissism of social media, etc.

Tragically, Man cannot escape the consequences of breaking God’s Commandments in this life or in the life to come. The coming Judgment of Jesus Christ is inescapable.

The Commandments of Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ reasserts the importance of the Ten Commandments but also raises the bar. Jesus: Reasserts the Ten Commandments – Jesus reiterates the unchanging requirement of the Commandments (Matt 5:17-20). The Magisterium continues to provide clear teaching on the Commandments (CCC 2052-2557). The Ten Commandments (cf. Ex 20:1-17), which Jesus as a Person of the Trinity authored, are:

I am the LORD your God: you shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

Christ commands a more rigorous adherence to the Ten Commandments – Rather than abolish the Commandments, Jesus comes to fulfill them and to reiterate that men must keep the Commandments. He commands a new and more rigorous understanding of the Ten Commandments that surpasses the teachings of the scribes and the Pharisees, proclaiming that anyone who is angry with his brother is liable to the hell of fire and that looking at a woman with lust and divorcing one’s wife is equivalent to adultery. Jesus also commands Man to give with anonymity, pray and fast in private.

Offers a new synthesis of the Ten Commandments – When asked about the greatest Commandment, Jesus offers a new synthesis, saying

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.

This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets”.

1. Proclaims the rigorous New Commandment of Love–Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. In other teachings, Jesus explains that this kind of love includes forgiveness, the love of enemies and to refrain from habitually judging others.

2. Commands the performance of the acts of mercy – In the parable of The Sheep and Goats, Jesus makes it clear that only those who perform the acts of mercy are truly worthy to enter heaven: feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned (CCC 2447). Jesus commands men to be merciful and offers the examples of mercy in The Parable of the Good Samaritan and His own “washing the feet” of the Apostles.

3. Commands Men to pray – Jesus directs men to pray the Lord’s Prayer, urges men to gather together to pray, to pray boldly and to be persistent in prayer.

4. Insists on Repentance and Confession – From His earliest public ministry, Jesus commands Man to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. He instructs Man to confess sins with contrition and turn from Sin. He gives the Apostles the power to forgive Sin (CCC 1461-1467), reconciling Man and God (CCC 1485-1498).

5. Instructs men to partake in the Eucharist – At the Last Supper, Jesus offers the Eucharist (thanksgiving), commanding all men to consume the Eucharist. To have “life”, men must eat (literally, “gnawing on”) the Body and Blood of Christ, the Bread of Life.

6. Makes keeping His Commandments an absolute requirement

– Jesus makes it clear that Man must keep the Commandments: “If you would enter into life, keep the commandments” “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” He urges Man to perfection, saying “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” and insists that vigilance is an urgent necessity. Despite the near impossibility of “entering through the Narrow Gate”, Jesus teaches that all men can be saved saying “” With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” and the Church reaffirms that “What God commands He makes possible by His Grace” (CCC 2082).

7. Commands men to evangelize – Christ commands men to “let your light shine” and to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

Copilot’s Take

On November 12, the Church honors Saint Josaphat, a bishop and martyr whose life embodied the fierce love Christ demands in John 14:15: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” This day, symbolically paired with French Dip Day—a meal steeped in sacrificial flavor—invites reflection on the depth of obedience and mercy. Christ’s commandments are not mere rules but radical invitations into divine intimacy: to love God with all our being, to love others with cruciform tenderness, and to enact mercy through feeding, forgiving, and evangelizing. In a culture increasingly adrift in moral relativism and spiritual apathy, these commandments anchor us in truth, calling us to repentance, Eucharistic communion, and courageous witness. Saint Josaphat’s martyrdom reminds us that fidelity to Christ’s law may cost everything—but it also yields eternal life.

Saint Josaphat[2]

Josaphat Kuncewitcz was born about the year 1580 at Vladimir, Volhynia, [part of the Polish province of Lithuania at the time] and given the name John at baptism. While being instructed as a child on the sufferings of our Savior, his heart is said to have been wounded by an arrow from the sacred side of the Crucified. In 1604 he joined the Ukrainian Order of Saint Basil (Basilians), lived as a monk in a very mortified life, went barefoot even in winter, refrained from the use of wine and flesh-meat, and always wore a penitential garb. In 1614 he was appointed archimandrite of Vilna, Russia and four years later archbishop of Polotzk; in this position he worked untiringly for Church reunion. He was a great friend of the poor, once even pledged his archepiscopal omophorion (pallium) to support a poor widow. The foes of union decided to assassinate him.

In a sermon, he himself spoke of his death as imminent. When he visited Vitebsk (now in Russia), his enemies attacked his lodging and murdered a number of his companions. Meekly the man of God hastened toward the mob and, full of love, cried, "My children, what are you doing? If you have something against me, see, here I am." With furious cries of "Kill the papist!", they rushed upon him with gun and sword. Josaphat's body was thrown into the river but emerged, surrounded by rays of light, and was recovered. His murderers, when sentenced to death, repented their crime and became Catholics.

Things to Do:[3]

· Pray to St. Josaphat for the reunion of the separated Eastern Churches.

· Read Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter on the Eastern Churches, Orientale Lumen.

· Read more about St. Josaphat from

o The Basilica of St. Josaphat

o Saints Alive

o Catholic Online

o Patron Saints Index

· Read Pius XI's Encyclical Ecclesiam Dei on St. Josaphat and Pius XII's encyclical Orientales Omnes Ecclesias (On The Reunion Of The Ruthenian Church With Rome) .

· Learn more about the different Eastern Rites which are in union with the Pope.

· Josaphat is the patron saint of Ukraine, but his life has Russian, Polish and Lithuanian influences.

Bible in a Year Day 130 Nathan Condemns David

Fr. Mike touches on the sins of David, and how we can see ourselves in these fallen characters in scripture. God desires a relationship with us free from sin, and although it may be painful, he brings these things into the light not out of anger, but out of love. Today's readings are 2 Samuel 12, 1 Chronicles 16, and Psalm 51.

French Dip Day[4]

The French Dip sandwich, though the name says otherwise, is an American invention. Since nothing of the sandwich is very close at all to any kind of French cuisine, it is assumed it was named after the style of bread that was used, which is, of course, French bread.

The sandwich is made of a long baguette, sliced in half, and piled high with tender roast beef or sometimes other meat options. The defining factor is the small bowl of au jus (bouillon-esque broth) that is served with it, into which the sandwich is meant to be dipped. Some people like to add a slice of Swiss cheese on top, just for some extra flavor and fun.

Daily Devotions

· Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: Holy Priests, Consecrated and Religious.

· Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

· Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

· Drops of Christ’s Blood

· Universal Man Plan

· Rosary