Monday, March 2, 2026

US Premier of the Movie "King Kong" 1933

🔸 March 2026 – Lent: Priesthood & Sacrifice

Mar 2 – Diary of a Country Priest (1951)
Mar 9 – The Nun’s Story (1959)
Mar 16 – The Cardinal (1963)
Mar 23 – The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
Mar 30 – Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)

Diary of a Country Priest (1951)

A cinematic lectio divina on grace, hidden suffering, and the priesthood

Basic Film Details

Director: Robert Bresson
Source: Georges Bernanos’ 1936 novel
Starring: Claude Laydu
Country: France
Style: Ascetic realism, minimalism, spiritual interiority
Catholic Landscape: Rural France between the wars; a parish marked by spiritual indifference, grief, and quiet hostility

Plot Summary (Clean & Concise)

A young, unnamed priest arrives in the small parish of Ambricourt. He is physically frail, socially awkward, and spiritually earnest. His parishioners mock him, misunderstand him, or ignore him. He keeps a diary to make sense of his vocation, his suffering, and the silence of God.

He becomes entangled in the grief of the Count’s family—especially the Countess, who has lost a child and closed her heart to God. In a single luminous pastoral encounter, he helps her surrender her bitterness before she dies.

The priest’s own health collapses. He travels to a friend’s home, where he dies quietly, seemingly forgotten. His final words—“All is grace”—become the key to the entire film.

Catholic Moral & Spiritual Resonance

1. The Hidden Priesthood

Bresson gives us a priest who is:

mocked
misunderstood
physically broken
spiritually dry

Yet he remains faithful. His priesthood is not measured by success but by availability to grace. This is the priesthood of the Curé d’Ars, of Padre Pio, of every parish priest who labors unseen.

Lesson: Holiness is often invisible, unglamorous, and misunderstood—even by the holy person himself.

2. The Diary as Confession and Lectio

The priest’s diary is not self‑indulgence; it is:

a spiritual examen
a record of temptations
a search for God’s voice in desolation

It models the Catholic conviction that God speaks in the interior life, even when He seems silent.

3. The Countess Scene — A Masterclass in Pastoral Care

This is the film’s spiritual summit.

The priest, trembling and unsure, speaks with the Countess about her grief and bitterness. What unfolds is:

a spiritual breakthrough
a surrender of resentment
a return to trust in God

It is one of cinema’s greatest depictions of accompaniment, showing that grace often works through weakness, not strength.

4. Suffering as Participation in Christ

The priest’s stomach illness, exhaustion, and humiliation are not romanticized. They are simply there, like the Cross.

His suffering:

strips him of illusions
purifies his motives
unites him to Christ’s hidden life

Bresson refuses sentimentality. He shows the Catholic truth that grace does not remove suffering; it transfigures it.

5. “All is grace.”

The final line is the film’s theology in miniature.

It is not naïve optimism. It is:

a recognition that God wastes nothing
a surrender of self-judgment
a trust that even failure can be fertile soil

This is the spirituality of Thérèse of Lisieux, Bernanos, and the French school of holiness.

Catholic Landscape Notes

this film offers a rich French Catholic atmosphere:

rural parish life
the tension between faith and secular modernity
the legacy of French spiritual giants (Thérèse, Vianney, Bernanos)
the quiet endurance of the Church in a skeptical age

It’s a portrait of a Church wounded but alive, fragile but faithful.

Hospitality Pairing

Meal: A simple bowl of soup, a crust of bread, and a small glass of table wine

Why:
The priest’s ascetic diet—often just bread soaked in wine—becomes a symbol of:

poverty
humility
Eucharistic longing

A simple meal honors the film’s spirit: nothing wasted, nothing extravagant, everything offered.

Conversation Starter:
“How do we recognize grace when it comes disguised as failure?”

🕯️ Christopher’s Corner

· Bucket List trip[5]:

· Spirit hour[6]

· Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels

· Monday: Litany of Humility

· Try[7]:

· Drops of Christ’s Blood

· How to celebrate Mar 2^nd

o Dr. Seuss Day

Cat in the hat

National Egg McMuffin Day

o Father of the American Cavalry-Casimir Pulaski

o Queen Esther Fast

o British Pie Week

Part 19: USA 70 Degree Year Journey

Dates: March 2–9, 2026
Theme: Mississippi Gulf Coast Ordinary Time – Restoration, Rhythm & the Gentle Mercy of God
Route: Key West → Biloxi → Ocean Springs → Gulfport → Bay St. Louis
Style: Coastal contemplative pilgrimage, slow rhythms, Eucharistic mercy
Climate Alignment: Daily highs 70–73°F (Mississippi Gulf Coast)

💰 Estimated Cost Overview

Category	Estimated Cost
Lodging (7 nights)	~$720 (mid‑range coastal inns)
Food (daily meals)	~$260
Transit (flight + rental car)	~$340 (EYW → GPT + compact rental)
Symbolic extras	~$70
Total Estimate	~$1,390

🛏️ Lodging Options

Biloxi: White House Hotel
Bay St. Louis: Pearl Hotel

🌠 Day 1 – Monday, March 2

Location: Biloxi – Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Symbol: Mercy Begins Again
Ritual Prompt: “Let God begin restoring what has worn thin.”
Arrive from Key West; quiet cathedral visit + evening coastal walk.
🥗 Foodie Stop: Half Shell Oyster House (~$24)

🌊 Day 2 – Tuesday, March 3

Location: Ocean Springs – Front Beach
Symbol: Rhythm
Ritual Prompt: “Walk at the pace of grace.”
Unhurried shoreline walk; journal on restoring healthy rhythms.
🍲 Foodie Stop: The Tatonut Donut Shop (~$12)

🌿 Day 3 – Wednesday, March 4

Location: Gulf Islands National Seashore – Davis Bayou
Symbol: Renewal
Ritual Prompt: “Let creation renew what the world has drained.”
Boardwalk trails, marsh stillness, quiet prayer under the pines.
🥘 Foodie Stop: Aunt Jenny’s Catfish Restaurant (~$22)

🕊️ Day 4 – Thursday, March 5

Location: Biloxi – St. Michael the Archangel Church
Symbol: Protection
Ritual Prompt: “Stand under the wings of the Defender.”
Visit the iconic fishermen’s church; pray the Prayer to St. Michael.
🍷 Foodie Stop: Mary Mahoney’s Old French House (~$32)

🌅 Day 5 – Friday, March 6

Location: Gulfport – Jones Park Pier
Symbol: Steadfastness
Ritual Prompt: “Hold steady in the winds of ordinary life.”
Pier walk + Stations of the Cross in the open air.
🧺 Foodie Stop: Shaggy’s Gulfport Beach (~$20)

🌴 Day 6 – Saturday, March 7

Location: Bay St. Louis – Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church
Symbol: Healing
Ritual Prompt: “Let the Lord heal what you bring into the light.”
Holy Hour + confession; quiet time in the church’s coastal garden.
🍽️ Foodie Stop: The Blind Tiger (~$26)

🌠 Day 7 – Sunday, March 8 (Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Location: Bay St. Louis – Our Lady of the Gulf (Sunday Mass)
Symbol: Blessing
Ritual Prompt: “Receive the blessing that prepares you for the next stretch.”
Sunday Mass + blog reflection: “Gulf Coast Mercy & the Restoration of Rhythm.”
🍷 Foodie Stop: 200 North Beach Restaurant (~$34)

MARCH 2 Monday of the Second Week of Lent

Blessed Charles the Good-Purim

Deuteronomy, Chapter 5, Verse 29

Would that they might always be of such a mind, to FEAR me and to keep all my commandments! Then they and their descendants would prosper forever.

Our loving God knew Israel would become full of hubris and haughtiness and forget the commandments that He enjoined them, and they needed a savior. Let us not be like the Angels of God who fell from heaven by an act of pride and rebellion by refusing to honor Mary the Mother of God. Let us be like unto Gabriel who on announcing the conception of Christ said to Mary:

"Hail" "Full of Grace" "The Lord is with you"[1]

Let us this day emulate Christ’s mother and ours: Mary and never weary of union with Christ through the most Holy Eucharist. This day try to spend some time in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel.

Faithful Friendship Trusts[2]

As human beings, we long for connection with others, a sense that we belong to each other. The greatest obstacle to this, many times, is that we have difficulty trusting others. Embracing trust comes when we trust in God. Not only are we called to trust in God, but as stewards of God’s mysteries, we are called to be found trustworthy (1 Cor. 4:2).

How do we navigate this course?

How do we protect our hearts from the fears and anxieties that threaten to close them?

St. Francis de Sales would say, “We shall steer safely through every storm, so long as our heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage steadfast, and our trust fixed on God.”

Copilot’s Take

The lesson from Deuteronomy — that a people lose their way when reverence fades — applies far beyond ancient Israel. Whenever a society forgets humility before God, it inevitably forgets how to honor one another. The fallen angels fell through pride; Israel stumbled through forgetfulness; and today we see similar fractures in our civic life. The gestures we witness in public — including leaders choosing not to participate in shared national moments — are not the root problem but the symptom of a deeper spiritual drift. When reverence collapses, unity collapses with it. When fear of the Lord diminishes, fear of one another grows. The cultural atmosphere begins to mirror the interior disorder of a people who no longer stand together before something greater than themselves.

This is why Lent presses us back into humility, Eucharistic union, and trustworthy friendship. Evil isolates; grace gathers. Pride fractures; reverence heals. The way forward is not outrage or analysis but conversion — beginning with our own hearts. A nation cannot be healed by political attendance but by spiritual alignment. When we return to the fear of the Lord, honor Mary as Gabriel did, and anchor ourselves in the quiet strength of the Eucharist, we become the kind of people who can rebuild trust, restore communion, and confront evil not with noise but with holiness. The public sphere will always reflect the spiritual condition of its people; therefore, the most powerful civic act is the interior one: a heart right with God.

Monday of the Second Week of Lent

GRANT, we beseech Thee, O Almighty God, that Thy family, who, afflicting their flesh, abstain from food, by following justice may fast from sin. Through Jesus. Amen.

EPISTLE. Daniel ix. 15-19.

In those days Daniel prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord our God, Who hast brought forth Thy people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and hast made Thee a name as at this day : we have sinned, we have committed iniquity, Lord, against all Thy justice : let Thy wrath and Thy indignation be turned away, I beseech Thee, from Thy city Jerusalem, and from Thy holy mountain. For by reason of our sins, and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem, and Thy people are a reproach to all that are round about us. Now, therefore, O our God, hear the supplication of Thy servant, and his prayers: and show Thy face upon Thy sanctuary which is desolate, for Thy own sake. Incline, O my God, Thy ear and hear open Thy eyes, and see our desolation, and the city upon which Thy name is called: for it is not for our justifications that we present our prayers before Thy face, but for the multitude of Thy tender mercies. O Lord, hear: O Lord, be appeased: hearken and do:delay not for Thy own sake, O my God: because Thy name is invoked upon Thy city, and upon Thy people.

GOSPEL. At John viii. 21-29.

AT that time Jesus said to the multitude of the Jews: I go, and you shall seek Me, and you shall die in your sin. Whither 1 go, you cannot come. The Jews therefore said: Will He kill Himself, because He said: Whither I go, you cannot come? And He said to them: You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore, I said to you, that you shall die in your sins. For if you believe not that I am He, you shall die in your sin. They said therefore to Him: "Who art Thou? Jesus said to them: The beginning, Who also speak unto you. Many things I have to speak and to judge of you. But He that sent Me is true : and the things I have heard of Him, these same I speak in the world. And they understood not that He called God His Father. Jesus therefore said to them : When you shall have lifted up the Son of man, then shall you know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself, but as the Father hath taught Me, these things I speak : and He that sent Me is with Me, and He hath not left Me alone : for I do always the things that please Him.

Blessed Charles the Good[3]

Count Charles of Flanders was called "the good" by the people of his kingdom. They named him for what they found him to truly be. He was the son of St. Canute, king of Denmark. Charles was just five years old when his father was murdered in 1086. When Charles grew up, he married a good young woman named Margaret. Charles was a mild and fair ruler. The people trusted him and his laws. He tried to be an example of what he expected the people to be.

Some nobles accused Charles of unjustly favoring the poor over the rich. He answered kindly, "It is because I am so aware of the needs of the poor and the pride of the rich." The poor of his realm were fed daily at his castles.

Charles ordered the abundant planting of crops so that the people would have plenty to eat at reasonable prices. Some wealthy men tried to hoard grain to sell at very high prices. Charles the Good found out and forced them to sell immediately and at fair prices. An influential father and his sons had been reprimanded by Charles for their violent tactics. They joined the little group of enemies who now wanted to kill him.

The count walked every morning barefoot to Mass and arrived early at the Church of St. Donatian. He did this in a spirit of penance. He longed to deepen his own spiritual life with God. His enemies knew that he walked to church and also that he prayed often alone before Mass. Many people who loved Charles feared for his life. They warned him that his walks to St. Donatian could lead to his death. He replied, "We are always in the middle of dangers, but we belong to God." One morning, as he prayed alone before the statue of Mary, his attackers killed him. Charles was martyred in 1127.

—Excerpted from Holy Spirit Interactive

Patronage: counts; Crusaders; diocese of Burges, Belgium

Symbols and Representation: nobleman with a purse and a sword; depicted after his martyrdom in the cathedral; sword

Highlights and Things to Do:

Read more about Bl. Charles:

His remains are in the Sint-Salvatorskathedraal or Saint-Salvator Cathedral of Bruges, Flanders, in present-day Belgium.

I went to Bruges with my family when I was stationed in Belgium, I believe I was in this church.

Bible in a year Day 243 The Lord’s Plans

Fr. Mike highlights verse 11 from Jeremiah 29: "I know the plans I have for you...plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Since we know God is a good Father, we too can count on this promise and know that God has a plan for each of us. The reading are Jeremiah 28-29, Daniel 10-11, and Proverbs 16:13-16.

Purim[4]

A Jewish Holiday which commemorates Jewish people being saved from extermination in Persia. The story of Purim comes from the Biblical book of Esther. In it, Haman a high-ranking advisor to King Ahasuerus sought to kil all Jews in ancient Persia. He is motivated by an incident in which Mordechai, a Jewish leader, defied the king's orders and refused to bow to Haman. Haman is stopped through the actions of Mordechai and his niece Esther, a beautiful and courageous Jewish woman. Esther initially disguises her Jewish Identity and eventually becomes Queen. Through their actions the King becomes aware of Haman's plot and is persuaded to have him hanged.

Purim Facts & Quotes

· Purim is considered to be a joyous Holiday often accompanied by celebrations, plays, festive food and costume parties.

· Purim holiday is often preceded by fast, referred to as the Fast of Esther. This fast commemorates Esther's three days of fasting in preparation for her meeting with the king. The fast is observed from dawn until dusk on the eve of Purim.

· The story of Purim is told in the book of Esther, which is also known as "the Scroll" (Megillah in Hebrew).

· If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life - this is my petition, and the life of my people - this is my request. (Esther 7:3)

Purim Top Events and Things to Do

· Make a Mishloach Manot (also known as mishloach manos or shalach manos). This is a gift of at least two kinds of food that are ready to eat. Give them out to neighbors, friends and associates.

· Make Hamantaschen cookies. These are pocket triangle shaped cookies that are often made with fruit, poppy seed or cheese filling.

· Attend a Purim Carnival or Festival. Some of the more popular ones are the Carnival at Mamilla (Jerusalem) and Cirque Du Purim in Minneapolis.

o Phoenix

· Donate to the poor. It is customary and part of tradition to give at least two gifts to two poor people on Purim.

· Visit a Jewish Museum. Many put on special activities for kids such as plays, performances, and costume parties

Daily Devotions

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

· Total Consecration to St. Joseph Day 17

· Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

· Make reparations to the Holy Face

· Drops of Christ’s Blood

· Universal Man Plan