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First Wednesday[1]
2. Receive Holy Communion - in union with the love St. Joseph had for Jesus the first time and each time he held him - his son, his God and Savior - in his arms.
In the approved apparitions of Our Lady of America, St. Joseph revealed:
Dara’s Corner-Try “Jewish Moroccan fish chraime”
· Bucket List trip: Inside Passage & Glacier Bay
· Spirit Hour: Gin Fizz
· How to celebrate Mar 4th
· Start your day with a hearty breakfast of pancakes to celebrate the delicious National Pancake Day. Get moving and dance your way through the day in honor of National Dance The Waltz Day, whether it’s in your living room or along the sidewalk. Share some love and appreciation for the sons in your life on National Sons Day by reaching out with a thoughtful message or spending quality time together.
· As you continue your day, consider the importance of brain health on Brain Injury Awareness Day. Take a moment to engage in activities that stimulate your mind, such as puzzles or learning something new. Embrace sportsmanship and fair play on National Sportsmanship Day by participating in a friendly game or competition with friends or family.
· Indulge in a delicious snack to celebrate National Snack Day, trying out new and unique flavors you haven’t experienced before. Explore the great outdoors on National Backcountry Ski Day, even if it just means taking a walk in a nearby park or nature reserve. Get creative and preserve your memories on International Scrapbooking Industry Day by gathering old photos and mementos to create a scrapbook.
· Show gratitude and support for those who have served in the military on National Hug a G.I. Day by sending a care package or donating to a veteran’s organization. Take a moment to appreciate the diverse names people have on Unique Names Day by sharing the story behind your own name or learning about the meanings of different names.
· As the day comes to a close, end it on a sweet note with a slice of pound cake in celebration of National Pound Cake Day. Reflect on the history and significance of town meetings on National Town Meeting Day by familiarizing yourself with local government processes and attending a community meeting if possible.
· Overall, mix and match these holiday themes to create a day filled with movement, creativity, appreciation, and reflection. Let the spirit of each holiday guide your activities and interactions, making the most of this eclectic combination of celebrations.
🌍 Dara’s Corner: Aboard The World
Ordinary Time | March 4 – March 10, 2026
Theme: Awe, Reverence & the Grace of the Great South
Coordinates: Eastern Ross Sea → Amundsen Sea → Bellingshausen Sea → Drake Passage → Approaching Cape Horn
❄️ March 4 | Eastern Ross Sea
Title: Where the Ice Teaches Patience
• Ritual: Hold a piece of ice until it melts, naming one place in your life where patience is forming
• Scripture: Psalm 27:14 — “Wait for the Lord…”
• Meal: Hot oats with honey, black tea
• Reflection: “Patience is the slow thaw that makes truth livable.”
• Hospitality Arc: Ask someone where patience has surprised them
🌬️ March 5 | Entering the Amundsen Sea
Title: The Wind That Remembers
• Ritual: Face the wind and let it carry one old burden away
• Scripture: John 3:8 — “The wind blows where it chooses…”
• Meal: Root‑vegetable soup, rye crackers, ginger water
• Reflection: “The winds of the South remember what we forget.”
• Hospitality Arc: Invite someone to name a burden they’re ready to release
🌊 March 6 | Amundsen Sea Drift
Title: The Long Quiet
• Ritual: Five minutes of stillness with eyes closed, listening for the quiet beneath the quiet
• Scripture: Psalm 131:2 — “I have calmed and quieted my soul.”
• Meal: Steamed fish, soft rice, herbal tea
• Reflection: “Quiet is not the absence of sound but the presence of peace.”
• Hospitality Arc: Offer someone a moment of shared silence
🕯️ March 7 | Bellingshausen Sea
Title: The Hidden Currents
• Ritual: Write one hidden current in your life—something moving beneath the surface—and fold it away
• Scripture: Proverbs 20:5 — “The purposes of the human heart are deep waters…”
• Meal: Lentils, roasted squash, warm citrus water
• Reflection: “What moves beneath us often guides us more than what we see.”
• Hospitality Arc: Share a hidden current with someone you trust
🌄 March 8 | Turning North Toward Cape Horn
Title: The Great Turning
• Ritual: Turn your body slowly northward, naming one turning your life is making
• Scripture: Ezekiel 36:26 — “I will give you a new heart…”
• Meal: Tomato broth, toasted bread, peppermint tea
• Reflection: “Every turning is a kind of conversion.”
• Hospitality Arc: Ask someone what direction their heart is turning
🌤️ March 9 | Drake Passage
Title: The Waters That Test Us
• Ritual: Hold the rail and breathe through whatever the sea is doing—calm or storm
• Scripture: Mark 4:39 — “Peace! Be still!”
• Meal: Simple crackers, broth, ginger tea
• Reflection: “Testing waters reveal the strength we forgot we had.”
• Hospitality Arc: Check on someone who may be struggling with the motion
🕊️ March 10 | Approaching Cape Horn / Ushuaia
Title: The First Light of Return
• Ritual: Watch for the first sight of land and name one grace Antarctica has given you
• Scripture: Psalm 90:14 — “Satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love…”
• Meal: Fresh fruit, warm pastries, strong coffee
• Reflection: “Return is not the end of the journey but the beginning of understanding.”
• Hospitality Arc: Share with someone the grace you’re carrying home
March 4 Wednesday in the Second Week of Lent
Deuteronomy, Chapter 6, Verse 13
The LORD, your God, shall you FEAR; him shall you serve, and by his name shall you swear.
I
will not serve. Non serviam is Latin
for "I will not serve". The phrase is traditionally attributed to Satan, who
is thought to have spoken these words as a refusal to serve God in heaven.[1]
Whom do you serve?[2]
What is meant by serving God?
Doing the will
of God in all things which He requires of us, in whatever state of life we may
be placed, and doing this with fidelity, with unwearied zeal, and out of love
for Him.
Who are the two master’s whom we
cannot serve at the same time?
God and an inordinate desire for worldly gain. One
cannot serve both, because they demand things that are contradictory.
Who are they that serve mammon, or worldly
wealth?
The avaricious, who, impelled by their longing for
riches, offend God by manifold transgressions of His commandments.
Why does Christ refer us to the
birds of the air and the lilies of the field?
To awaken in us
confidence in Divine Providence. If God feeds the young ravens (Ps. cxlvi. 9)
and the birds of the air if He decks so beautifully the flowers of the field,
how much more will He not care for men, whom He has created after His own
image, and adopted as His children.
Are we, then, to use no care or
labor?
That by no means follows from what has been said. The Savior forbids only that anxiety, proceeding from little faith, which, in striving for maintenance, neglects God s honor and commandments, and the good of one’s soul. For the rest, God Himself has commanded man to labor (Gen. iii. 17-19); and St. Paul says, “If any man will not work, neither let him eat” (n. Thess. iii. 10).
What should preserve us from
excessive anxiety?
A firm and living faith that God can and will help us.
That He can is clear, because He is almighty; that He will is certain, for the
reason that He is love that He has promised it to us, more than once, most
expressly, and that He is faithful in keeping His promises.
Let
us, then, trust in God, and daily renew our confidence in Him, particularly
when we say the Creed, or when, in the Our Father, we pray, Give us this day
our daily bread.
Consolation
in Poverty
In
your misery and poverty, say often, with Job: “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath
taken away; as it hath pleased the Lord so it is done; blessed be the name of
the Lord (Job i. 21). Or seek comfort in these words: “We lead indeed a poor
life, but we shall have many good things if we fear God and depart from all sin
and do that which is good” (Job iv. 23).
Warning
against Usury
Usury
is that mortal sin which takes advantage of our neighbor’s poverty and need to
extort from him what is justly his own. Would that usurers might bear in mind
what the Lord says: “What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and
suffer the loss of his own soul?” (Matt. xvi. 26.)
Copilot’s Take
The
ancient command of Deuteronomy—“The LORD your God shall you fear; Him shall
you serve”—lands with fresh force in an age that has forgotten what service
even means. The first rebellion, non serviam, was not a dramatic tantrum
but a refusal to receive reality as gift. That same refusal animates our
culture today, where self‑sovereignty is treated as the highest virtue and any
external claim on the human will is seen as oppression. The modern person does
not shout “I will not serve”; he simply constructs a life in which service is
unnecessary, inconvenient, or beneath him.
Christ’s warning about the two masters remains painfully relevant.
Mammon today is not merely money but the entire ecosystem of self‑creation, self‑promotion, and self‑preservation. It promises freedom while quietly demanding total allegiance. The avaricious of our time are not only those who hoard wealth but those who hoard autonomy, comfort, and control. They sacrifice integrity, relationships, and even their own peace of soul to maintain the illusion that they answer to no one. In this sense, the worship of mammon is the worship of the self—an altar that always consumes more than it gives.
Evil
in our era is rarely theatrical. It is efficient, polite, and algorithmic. It
does not persecute the saints; it distracts them. It does not demand open
rebellion; it whispers that prayer can wait, that virtue is optional, that
boundaries are unkind, that sin is outdated language for personal preference.
This is why Christ points us to the birds of the air and the lilies of the
field: not to romanticize nature, but to expose the absurdity of our anxieties.
The one who sustains creation is not incapable of sustaining us. Excessive
worry is not prudence—it is a subtle form of unbelief.
To
confront evil today is to reclaim the simplicity of ordered service. It means
doing the will of God in the concrete duties of our state in life, with
fidelity and without theatrics. It means laboring without anxiety, giving
without calculation, and refusing to exploit the vulnerable in any
form—financial, emotional, or spiritual. It means trusting God enough to obey
Him, even when obedience costs us comfort, reputation, or the approval of the
age. This is the quiet heroism that breaks the spell of non serviam and
exposes the devil’s rebellion as small, tired, and ultimately joyless.
And
finally, it means embracing the poverty of spirit that Job models so clearly: “The
Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
True poverty—material or spiritual—strips away illusions and forces us to
confront the only question that matters: Whom do you serve? The one who fears
God, departs from sin, and does good will never be abandoned. In a world that
worships autonomy, the Christian who serves with humility becomes a sign of
contradiction, a living reminder that freedom is not found in refusing to
serve, but in serving the One whose will is life.
Wednesday in the Second Week of
Lent[3]
Prayer. regard Thy people, O Lord, we beseech Thee, and grant that we, whom Thou commandath to abstain from carnal food, may also cease from hurtful vices.
EPISTLE. Esther xiii.
9-17.
In
those days Mardochai prayed to the Lord, saying: Oh, Lord, Almighty King, for
all things are in Thy power, and there is none that can resist Thy will, if
Thou determine to save Israel. Thou hast made heaven and earth, and all things
that are under the cope of heaven. Thou art Lord of all, and there is none that
can resist Thy majesty. Thou knowest all things, and Thou knowest that it was
not out of pride and contempt, or any desire of glory, that I refused to
worship the proud Arnan. (For I would willingly and readily for the salvation
of Israel have kissed even the steps of his feet.) But I feared lest I should
transfer the honor of my God to a man, and lest I should adore anyone except my
God. And now, O Lord, O King, O God of Abraham, have mercy on Thy people,
because our enemies resolve to destroy us, and extinguish Thy inheritance.
Despise not Thy portion, which Thou hast redeemed for Thy self out of Egypt.
Hear my supplication, and be merciful to Thy lot and inheritance, and turn our
mourning into joy, that we may live and praise Thy name, O Lord, and shut not
the mouths of them that sing to Thee, O Lord our God.
GOSPEL. Matt. xx.
17-28.
At that
time: Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart, and said
to them: Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be betrayed to
the chief priests and the scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death. And
they shall deliver Him to the gentiles to be mocked, and scourged, and
crucified, and the third day He shall rise again. Then came to Him the mother
of the sons of Zebedee with her sons, adoring and asking something of Him. Who
said to her: What wilt thou?
She
saith to Him: Say that these my two sons may sit, the one on Thy right hand,
and the other on Thy left, in Thy kingdom. But Jesus answering, said: You know
not what you ask. Can you drink the chalice that I shall drink?
They say to Him: We can. He saith to them: My chalice indeed you shall drink but to sit on My right or left hand, is not Mine to give to you, but to them for whom it is prepared by My Father. And the ten hearing it, were moved with indignation against the two brethren. But Jesus called them to Him and said: You know that the princes of the gentile’s lord it over them: and they that are the greater exercise power upon them. It shall not be so among you, but whosoever will be the greater among you, let him be your minister. And he that will be first among you, shall be your servant. Even as the Son of man is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a redemption for many.
Lenten Calendar
Read: During Lent, it is important
for us to remember the corporal
works of mercy, which are found in the teachings of Jesus and give us a
model for how we should treat all others: as if they were Christ in
disguise.
Reflect: What small changes would
allow you to perform corporal works of mercy: Can you allocate your time
differently, so you have a couple extra hours to volunteer? Do you discard food
that could instead be donated to a local soup kitchen? When was the last time
you participated in a blood drive?
Pray: With mercy on your mind.
Act: Pick one of the seven
corporal works of mercy and do it this week!
Bible in a
year Day 245 The
Faithfulness of Daniel
Fr. Mike takes us through the last chapter of Daniel
and explains how Daniel models for us on how to live in exile and still be
faithful to the Lord. We also see in Jeremiah the Lord promise a new covenant
that will ultimately be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Today’s readings are
Jeremiah 31, Daniel 14, and Proverbs 16:21-24.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: An
increase of the faithful
·
Religion in the Home for
Preschool: March
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
House of Secrets (1936) — Mystery
Basic Film Details
- Director: Roland D. Reed
- Starring: Leslie Fenton (Barry Wilding), Muriel Evans (Julie Kenmore), Noel Madison (Dan Wharton)
- Studio: Chesterfield Pictures
- Release: October 28, 1936
- Runtime: 70 minutes
- Source Material: The House of Secrets (1926 novel) by Sydney Horler
bing.com
Plot Summary
American heir Barry Wilding meets the charming Julie Kenmore on a ship bound for England. Upon arrival, he learns he has inherited an ancestral estate. But when he visits the house, he finds it already occupied—by an old man and Julie herself.
Strange figures lurk around the property, shadowy forces seek control of the house, and Barry is drawn into a web of hidden identities, secret experiments, and criminal schemes. As the mystery deepens, Barry must discern whom to trust, expose the darkness operating within his own inheritance, and reclaim what is rightfully his.
Wikipedia
Cast Highlights
- Leslie Fenton — Barry Wilding, the unsuspecting heir drawn into danger
- Muriel Evans — Julie Kenmore, the mysterious woman with divided loyalties
- Noel Madison — Dan Wharton, a figure tied to the criminal undercurrent
- Sidney Blackmer — Tom Starr, Barry’s ally
Wikipedia
Themes & Moral Resonance
1. Inheritance and Identity
Barry inherits not just a house but a moral responsibility. The film uses the “haunted inheritance” trope to explore:
- What do we do with the burdens we didn’t choose?
- How do we respond when our past contains hidden corruption?
2. Truth vs. Deception
The house is full of false occupants, secret motives, and hidden rooms—a visual metaphor for:
- The layers of self-deception
- The danger of letting evil occupy what belongs to the good
- The necessity of bringing hidden things into the light
3. Courage in the Face of Intrigue
Barry’s refusal to abandon the house mirrors the Christian call to:
- Stand firm when evil tries to intimidate
- Reclaim territory that darkness has unlawfully seized
- Persevere even when the path is confusing or frightening
1. Evil thrives in secrecy; holiness exposes it.
The villains operate through:
- Hidden experiments
- Secretive occupation
- Manipulation and misdirection
IMDb
Barry’s task is not brute force but revelation—to uncover what is hidden.
This mirrors the holy pattern:
- “Everything hidden will be made manifest.”
- Evil collapses when brought into the light.
2. Evil isolates; holiness restores communion.
Barry repeatedly seeks allies—Tom Starr, the authorities, and eventually Julie.
The holy way is never solitary:
- Truth is discerned in community
- Courage is strengthened by companionship
- Evil is confronted by a people, not a lone hero
3. Evil manipulates fear; holiness acts with clarity.
The house is designed to intimidate—strange noises, shadowy figures, and threats.
Barry’s response is the Christian pattern:
- Step forward rather than retreat
- Ask direct questions
- Refuse to be ruled by fear
- Claim the ground that is rightfully his
4. Evil hides behind false authority; holiness reclaims rightful authority.
The criminals pretend to be the legitimate occupants of the house.
Barry’s insistence on his true inheritance mirrors:
- Christ reclaiming the world from the “prince of this world”
- The believer reclaiming their vocation from sin’s counterfeit claims
5. Evil fragments; holiness integrates.
The film’s mystery is a tangle of:
- False identities
- Conflicting motives
- Disjointed clues
Barry’s perseverance brings unity and coherence—a symbol of how grace restores order where sin creates chaos.
Hospitality Pairing
For a film built on secrecy, inheritance, and revelation:
Menu
- Shepherd’s Pie — a humble, English comfort dish grounding the story’s London setting
- Brown Bread & Butter — simple, honest food contrasting the house’s duplicity
- Hot Black Tea — the classic companion for unraveling mysteries
Atmosphere
- Dim lighting with one bright lamp—symbolizing the single beam of truth cutting through confusion
- A small table with keys, old letters, or a pocket watch as props—evoking the inheritance theme
Closing Reflection
House of Secrets shows that evil is not defeated by panic, bravado, or cleverness but by persistent truth‑seeking, courageous presence, and rightful authority reclaimed.
Barry’s journey becomes a parable:
Stand your ground, expose the darkness, gather your allies, and reclaim what God has entrusted to you.
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