Posts
Candace’s Corner
· Spirit hour[2]: Today is St. Hilary who is known as the “Hammer of the Ariens” have a “Velvet Hammer” during your spirit hour.
· Religion in the Home for Preschool: January
·
Pray Day 8 of
the Novena for our Pope and Bishops
·
Tuesday:
Litany
of St. Michael the Archangel
· Carnival Time begins in Catholic Countries.
· Bucket List trip[3]: The Iditarod-Alaska
· Plan winter fun:
o Soak in hot springs
o Hit the snow slopes
o Ride a snowmobile
o Go for a dog sled ride
o Ride a hot air balloon
· How to celebrate Jan 13th
o Ready for a day filled with unexpected fun? Start by embracing creativity with a vision board. Gather old magazines, newspapers, and glue.
o Cut out images and words that inspire you. Place them on a board to create a visual representation of your goals and dreams.
o Next up, indulge in a peachy treat like Peach Melba. Grab canned peaches, vanilla ice cream, and raspberry sauce. Layer them up for a fruity delight. Feeling musical?
o Celebrate Public Radio Broadcasting Day by tuning in to your favorite station.
o If you’re feeling crafty, make a sticker collage. Collect stickers from around the house and decorate a notebook or your laptop.
o Take a break with a bubble bath featuring a rubber ducky.
o For dinner, cook up a Korean American fusion dish.
o Combine flavors for a unique meal. Cap off your day by remembering Stephen Foster with a sing-along or concert of his classic songs.
🍇 Candace’s Worldwide Vineyard Tour
Week 10: Georgia — Kakheti Region
Theme: Cradle of the Vine, Fire of the Ancients
Dates: January 13–19, 2026
Base: Sighnaghi • Telavi • Alazani Valley
Seasonal Note: Winter qvevri season — cellars warm, earth breathing, ancient fires glowing beneath the hills.
🗓️ Tuesday, January 13 – Arrival in Tbilisi → Sighnaghi
✈️ Travel: Arrive at Tbilisi International Airport
🚐 Transfer: 1.5–2 hours to Sighnaghi ($35 taxi or $8 marshrutka)
🏨 Lodging: Kabadoni Boutique Hotel ($95/night)
🌙 Evening: Walk Sighnaghi’s walled city overlooking the Alazani Valley
🔥 Symbolic Act — “Ancient Fire”
Light a candle at the nearby Bodbe Monastery, asking for the courage to carry ancient wisdom into modern life.
🗓️ Wednesday, January 14 – Pheasant’s Tears & Qvevri Immersion
🍷 Visit: Pheasant’s Tears Winery (qvevri tasting ~$30)
🧱 Cellar Tour: Learn the 8,000‑year-old clay‑vessel method
🍽️ Lunch: Pheasant’s Tears restaurant (farm-to-table, ~$20)
🌱 Symbolic Act — “Qvevri Covenant”
Touch the warm clay of a qvevri and name one truth you want sealed into your life.
🗓️ Thursday, January 15 – Tsinandali Estate & Garden Walk
🏛️ Visit: Tsinandali Estate (museum + tasting ~$25)
🌳 Garden Walk: 19th‑century Romantic gardens
🍷 Tasting: Classic Rkatsiteli & Saperavi
✨ Symbolic Act — “Vine of the Nations”
Write a short blessing for unity among peoples, inspired by Georgia’s crossroads history.
🗓️ Friday, January 16 – Alaverdi Cathedral & Monastic Cellars
⛪ Visit: Alaverdi Monastery & Cathedral
🍷 Monastic Wine Cellar: Ancient qvevri tradition maintained by monks
🧺 Picnic: Local bread, cheese, churchkhela (~$12)
🌄 Symbolic Act — “Ancient Benediction”
Offer a silent prayer in the cathedral for generational healing and continuity.
🗓️ Saturday, January 17 – Khareba Tunnel Winery
🕳️ Visit: Khareba Tunnel Winery (~$30 tasting + tunnel tour)
🚶 Walk: Through 7.7 km of carved mountain tunnels
🍇 Tasting: Saperavi, Kisi, Mtsvane
✍️ Reflection: Write about the “hidden places” where God works in silence
🔥 Symbolic Act — “Fire Beneath the Mountain”
Hold a moment of stillness in the tunnel, acknowledging the unseen work of grace.
🗓️ Sunday, January 18 – Telavi Market & Vineyard Benediction
🛍️ Morning: Telavi Market — spices, honey, walnuts
🍷 Visit: Shumi Winery (~$25 tasting)
✍️ Writing: Compose a blessing for the next vineyard traveler
🥂 Evening: Toast with Saperavi reserve
🌄 Symbolic Act — “Kakheti Benediction”
Bless the Alazani Valley, cradle of the world’s vine.
⛪ Mass Option (Latin Rite):
· Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Tbilisi
(1.5 hours from Kakheti — best attended in Tbilisi before or after the week)
🗓️ Monday, January 19 – Departure
🚐 Return: Sighnaghi/Telavi → Tbilisi
✈️ Depart: Tbilisi International Airport
💰 Estimated Total Cost: ~$680 USD
Includes:
· 6 nights lodging
· 4–5 vineyard tastings
· Monastic cellar visit
· Tunnel winery tour
· Local meals + market
· Transfers between Tbilisi and Kakheti
JANUARY 13 Tuesday
Genesis, Chapter
42, Verse 18
On the third day Joseph said to them: “Do this, and you shall live;
for I am a God-FEARING man.
Joseph (coat of many
colors) is a God-fearing man, even when he was in prison, he was free because
he never esteemed anything above God; never forgetting God’s love and goodness.
Knowing that a person becomes as great or small and inferior as the things he
loves and values. When a person looks only for worldly satisfactions, they
become blind to the gentle loving presence of the creator. One who seeks only
pleasure, ease honor or profit is a worldling, that is, he lives only for this
life. Gradually he becomes a slave of his earthly desires, so that he cannot
even think of God. He will believe in Heaven to late—when he finds its gates
forever closed to him.[1]
Copilot’s Take
Joseph’s fear of God reveals the fundamental truth that freedom is an interior reality: a person is liberated or enslaved not by circumstance but by what he esteems.
When God holds first place, the soul stays clear‑sighted, able to recognize His presence even in hardship; when lesser goods take that place, the heart contracts until it can no longer perceive anything beyond its own appetites. Holy fear protects a person from that shrinking, because it keeps love rightly ordered and desire rightly disciplined. It is the virtue that prevents the slow drift into worldliness—the quiet erosion in which pleasure, ease, honor, or profit become substitutes for God and eventually masters in their own right. Joseph stands as a witness that reverence enlarges the soul, while disordered desire diminishes it; that Heaven is seen by those who seek God now, not later; and that the true danger is not suffering but allowing anything temporal to eclipse the One who alone gives life.
Bible in a
Year Day 196 The Destruction of Israel
Fr. Mike talks about the destruction of Israel and explains how
Jesus becoming man is the fulfillment of this prophecy we hear in Isaiah. He
also points out the importance of God's anger with the Assyrians destroying
Israel, even though he will bring the greatest blessings out of the worst
circumstances. Today's readings are Isaiah 9-10, Tobit 10-12, and Proverbs
10:9-12.
Litany
of Trust-January 13 — Epiphany Season
“Deliver me, Jesus, from the fear that I will never be
forgiven.”
This
petition reaches into one of the most persistent human anxieties—the belief
that our past mistakes are too heavy, too repeated, or too defining to be
healed. It is the fear that mercy has limits, that grace has an expiration
date, that forgiveness is for others but not for us.
Epiphany
answers this fear with revelation. The God who reveals Himself does not reveal
judgment; He reveals compassion.
Christ enters the world not to expose us to shame but to free us from it. His
light does not humiliate—it heals.
To pray this line is to bring into the open the places we fear are beyond redemption. It is to acknowledge that we sometimes carry old failures like chains, believing they disqualify us from joy, renewal, or a fresh beginning. But the Gospel insists that forgiveness is not a reward for the worthy—it is a gift for the willing.
This
petition invites us to release the belief that our past defines our future. It
calls us to trust that God’s mercy is deeper than our wounds, stronger than our
regrets, and more faithful than our fears.
To pray these words on January 13 is to step into Epiphany’s light and discover that forgiveness is not a distant hope but a present reality—offered freely, fully, and without hesitation.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph
by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: Catholic
Politicians & Leaders
·
Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[1]
Paone, Anthony J., Our Daily Bread, 1954.
[2]Foley,
Michael P... Drinking with the Saints: The Sinner's Guide to a Holy Happy Hour
(p. 370). Regnery History. Kindle Edition.
[3] Schultz,
Patricia. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List (p. 701).
Workman Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
🎭 Lady Behave! (1937)
A Romantic Comedy of Mistaken Identity, Bigamy Panic, and Unexpected Virtue
🎬 Plot Summary (Grounded in Search Results)
The film follows two sisters:
- Clarice, the impulsive, fun‑loving one, returns from Mardi Gras drunk and announces she married wealthy playboy Stephen Cormack during the festivities.
- The problem? She’s already married to a gigolo named Michael Andrews — a fact she conveniently forgot.
To keep Clarice out of prison for bigamy, her responsible sister Paula impersonates her until the first marriage can be annulled. Paula enters Cormack’s New York household, where she must navigate:
- Two mischievous children trying to sabotage the marriage
- A scheming gigolo demanding money
- A confused husband who begins falling for the “wife” he doesn’t remember marrying
Eventually, the real Clarice returns with news that her first marriage is annulled, sues Cormack for divorce, and leaves Paula and Cormack free to be together.
✝️ Catholic Moral Reflection
This film is a goldmine for exploring virtue under pressure — especially since the plot hinges on deception, mistaken identity, and the consequences of reckless living.
1. Temperance vs. Intemperance
Clarice’s drunken Mardi Gras escapade is the catalyst for the entire mess.
- Her lack of temperance endangers her freedom, reputation, and family.
- Paula’s sobriety — literal and moral — becomes the stabilizing force.
Catholic takeaway:
Freedom without virtue becomes chaos; freedom with virtue becomes service.
2. Truthfulness and the Cost of Lies
Paula’s impersonation is well‑intentioned, but it creates moral tension.
- She lies to protect her sister.
- Yet she maintains her personal virtue and refuses to compromise her dignity.
Catholic takeaway:
Sometimes we inherit the consequences of others’ sins — and our task is to navigate them with integrity, not cynicism.
3. The Redemption of the Household
Cormack’s children begin as saboteurs but soften as Paula models patience, kindness, and steadiness.
This is a subtle but beautiful theme:
- A virtuous presence can transform a home more effectively than force.
Catholic takeaway:
Love that is patient and steadfast reforms hearts.
4. Marriage as Covenant, Not Convenience
The film treats marriage lightly — as many 1930s comedies do — but Paula’s seriousness about commitment stands out.
She refuses to exploit the situation for money or advantage.
Catholic takeaway:
Even in a frivolous world, the dignity of marriage shines through those who honor it.
🍸 Hospitality Pairing: A “Paula Kendall” Cocktail
You’ve got a great bar stock, so here’s a pairing that fits the film’s themes of clarity, steadiness, and mistaken identity:
The Paula Kendall
A clean, composed drink for the sister who keeps everything from falling apart.
Ingredients (from your bar):
- Gin
- Lime
- Cointreau
- A splash of white wine (optional, for a New Orleans nod)
Build:
Shake gin, lime, and Cointreau; strain into a coupe; float a teaspoon of white wine on top.
A drink that looks simple but has layers — just like Paula.
Snack Pairing:
Crisp butter crackers with sharp cheddar
— a nod to the film’s sharp wit and buttery 1930s charm.
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