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NIC’s Corner[11]
And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
(Luke 2:12)
The Rosary is a treasure to be discovered by everyone, at any age, at any time in history.
Just START!
When families pray the Rosary together regularly, children learn about Jesus’s life and how much he loves them. It also models for our children how to lean on and trust in God during difficult times.
Your family doesn’t have to do it perfectly or resemble a gathering of monks. Just grab a rosary and gather your children. If you imagine your children sitting like angels with hands folded together reverently with their rosaries dangling between their palms, you have probably seen one too many Catholic stock photos!
It’s okay if your kids are wiggly, ask questions in the middle of the prayers, or suddenly remember a story about your dog in between decades. This is life with children. You have to live in the moment, not in a fantasy. If you expect too much of your kids in the beginning, you may never start – and that would be a shame.
So, my big message to you is JUST START. Start where you are and where your kids are.
· Religion in the Home for Elementary School: March
· Religion in the Home for Preschool: March
· Bucket List trip: Mount Sinai and the Red Sea
· Spirit Hour: Lenten Bock Beer
· Try “Barramundi[12]”
Nic’s Rich/Poor Tour
💎 North Macedonia vs Morocco
Crossroads of Identity / Gate of the Maghreb
North Macedonia and Morocco sit just outside the second ring of the global middle — nations shaped by crossroads, contested identities, and spiritual endurance. North Macedonia is a Balkan mosaic balancing ancient Christian roots with modern political tensions. Morocco is the western gate of the Islamic world, where a small but steady Catholic presence survives through hospitality, migration, and service. Together they reveal the world where cultures meet and faith persists quietly at the edges.
🇲🇰 North Macedonia — Fragmented, Ancient, and Searching for Stability
GDP per capita (PPP): ~$17,000 (2024)
🧮 Why North Macedonia Sits Just Above This Ring
Post‑Yugoslav transition economy
High unemployment but steady reforms
EU‑aspiring but slowed by identity disputes
Tourism tied to lakes, monasteries, and mountains
✝️ Catholic Landscape
Small Catholic minority (Latin and Byzantine rites)
Deep Christian heritage through St. Clement and St. Naum
Ohrid — ancient center of Slavic Christianity
Church active in education and charity
Interfaith coexistence with Orthodox and Muslim communities
⚠️ Challenges
Political instability
Emigration of youth
Identity disputes with neighbors
Limited economic diversification
🌿 Pilgrimage Cue
North Macedonia
is a crossroads of identity — a land where ancient Christian memory meets modern uncertainty, and where the Church endures through quiet fidelity.
🇲🇦 Morocco — Hospitable, Historic, and Quietly Catholic
GDP per capita (PPP): ~$10,000 (2024)
🧮 Why Morocco Sits Just Below This Ring
Agriculture‑heavy economy vulnerable to drought
Tourism and trade as major drivers
Strong monarchy shaping stability
Large migrant workforce
Gateway between Africa and Europe
✝️ Catholic Landscape
Tiny Catholic minority, mostly expatriates and migrants
Church known for schools, hospitals, and social outreach
Franciscan and Jesuit presence
Interfaith dialogue encouraged by the monarchy
Pope Francis’ 2019 visit strengthened visibility
⚠️ Challenges
Limited religious freedom for converts
Economic inequality
Rural poverty
Migration pressures
🌿 Pilgrimage Cue
Morocco is a gate of the Maghreb — a land where the Church survives through hospitality, service, and the witness of those who love quietly.
🕊️ Editorial Reflection
North Macedonia and Morocco
reveal the world just beyond the middle — nations shaped by crossroads, migrations, and contested identities.
North Macedonia carries ancient Christian memory through political uncertainty.
Morocco shelters a quiet Catholic presence within a vast Islamic landscape.
One wrestles with who it is.
The other protects who it welcomes.
Both show that the Church often thrives not in dominance but in dialogue, service, and steadfastness.
MARCH 13 Friday of the third week of Lent
World Kidney Day
Joshua, Chapter 2,
Verse 24
They assured Joshua, “The LORD has given all this land into our power; indeed, all the inhabitants of the land tremble with FEAR because of us.”
Secularist
and pagans still tremble with fear because of God.
Why?
People
fear what they do not understand or have to compete with. Every person is born
with the spirit of God within them; it is the spirit of truth which they have
lost or suppressed. Christ referred to this when he told the parable of the
Sower. The seed is the spirit of truth (spirit of God) that the Sower sows.
Christ
tells us, “A Sower went out to sow. and as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and
ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little
soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and
when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked
it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a
hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to
hear.” (Mt. 13:3-9)
What
do you think would have happened to the pagan inhabitants of Jericho if it had
responded to the truth of God and had opened the gates to Israel before the
fall?
I
would think it would have been spared like the city of Nineveh when it listened
to the spirit of truth.
Jonah then left the city for a place to the east of it, where he built himself a hut and waited under it in the shade, to see what would happen to the city. And when the LORD God provided a gourd plant that grew up over Jonah’s head, giving shade that relieved him of any discomfort, Jonah was very happy over the plant. But the next morning at dawn God sent a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. And when the sun arose, God sent a burning east wind; and the sun beat upon Jonah’s head till he became faint. Then Jonah asked for death, saying, “I would be better off dead than alive.” But God said to Jonah, “Have you reason to be angry over the plant?” “I have reason to be angry,” Jonah answered, “angry enough to die.” Then the LORD said,
“You are concerned over the plant which cost you no
labor and which you did not raise; it came up in one night and in one night it
perished. And should I not be concerned over Nineveh, the great city, in which
there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot
distinguish their right hand from their left, not to mention the many cattle?”
(Jon 4:5-11)
Let
us remember that we are Sowers of the Lord’s truth and not be angered but take
on the spirit of Christ at the crucifixion when he said, “Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk: 23:34)
Copilot’s Take
The evil of this day sharpens the biblical pattern rather than overturning it. When a society experiences government paralysis, foreign agitation, extremist threats, or the rise of leaders who promise control through ideological uniformity, it mirrors the spiritual condition of Jericho: walls rising higher because hearts are growing harder. These pressures do not create evil; they expose it. They reveal a people who have lost confidence in truth, who fear instability more than they fear sin, and who grasp at any force—political, ideological, or authoritarian—that promises order without repentance. Scripture shows that when a nation forgets God, it does not become neutral; it becomes vulnerable. It becomes a field where fear grows faster than faith, and where the soil of the heart becomes rocky, thorn‑choked, or hardened by anxiety.
Yet the biblical witness also shows that moments like this
are precisely when God calls His people to clarity and courage.
For the disciple, the task in such a moment is not panic but
fidelity. The Sower does not stop sowing because the field is stressed. He
knows that even in a collapsing city, Rahab can still open her door. Christ’s
words from the Cross—“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are
doing”—become the posture of the believer in a time of confusion, fear, and
political turmoil. Not naïve, not passive, but rooted in the conviction that
mercy is stronger than fear and truth is stronger than ideology. On this Lenten
Friday, the call is to sow truth without anger, endure evil without despair,
and stand firm in the knowledge that God’s mercy remains the decisive force in
history.
Friday of the third week of Lent
Prayer.
LOOK down on our fasts, we
beseech Thee, O Lord, with merciful favor, that, as we abstain from food in
body, so we may fast from vice in mind. Amen.
EPISTLE. Numbers xx. 2-13.
In those days, the children of Israel came together against Moses and Aaron: and making a sedition, they said: Would God we had perished among our brethren before the Lord. Why have you brought out the Church of the Lord into the wilderness, that both we and our cattle should die? Why have you made us come up out of Egypt, and have brought us into this wretched place which cannot be sowed, nor bringeth forth figs, nor vines, nor pomegranates, neither is there any water to drink? And Moses and Aaron leaving the multitude, went into the tabernacle of the covenant, and fell flat upon the ground, and cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord God, hear the cry of this people, and open to them Thy treasure, a fountain of living water, that being satisfied they may cease to murmur. And the glory of the Lord appeared over them. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Take the rod, and assemble the people together, thon and Aaron thy brother, and speak to the rock before them, and it shall yield waters. And when thou hast brought forth water out of the rock, all the multitude and their cattle shall drink.
Moses therefore took the rod, which was before the Lord, as He had commanded him. And having gathered together the multitude before the rock, he said to them: Hear, ye rebellious and incredulous: Can we bring you forth water out of this rock? And when Moses had lifted up his hand, and struck the rock twice with the rod, there came forth water in great abundance, so that the people and their cattle drank. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Because you have not believed Me, to sanctify
Me before the children of Israel, you shall not bring these
people into the land which I will give them. This is the water of
contradiction, where the children of Israel strove with words against the Lord,
and He was sanctified in them.
GOSPEL. John iv. 5-42.
At that time Jesus came to a city of
Samaria which is called Sichar; near the land which Jacob gave to his son
Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore being wearied with His
journey, sat thus on the well. It was about the sixth hour. There cometh a
woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus Him: saith to her: Give Me to drink. For
His disciples were gone into the city to buy meats. Then that Samaritan woman
saith to How dost Thou, being a Jew, ask of me to drink, who am a Samaritan
woman? For the Jews do not communicate with the Samaritans. Jesus answered, and
said to her: If thou didst know the gift of God, and Who He is that saith to
thee, Give Me to drink; thou perhaps wouldst have asked of Him, and He would
have given thee living water. The woman saith to Him: Sir, Thou hast nothing
wherein to draw, and the well is deep:
I have no husband: for thou hast had five husbands: and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband. This thou hast said truly. The woman saith to him: Sir, I perceive that Thou art a prophet. Our fathers adored on this mountain, and you say that at Jerusalem is the place where men must adore. Jesus saith to her: Woman, believe Me, that the hour cometh when you shall neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem adore the Father. You adore that which you know not: we adore that which we know; for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeketh such to adore Him. God is a spirit, and they that adore Him must adore Him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith to Him: I know that the Messias cometh (Who is called Christ): therefore when He is come, He will tell us all things. Jesus saith to her: I am He Who am speaking with thee. And immediately His disciples came: and they wondered that He talked with the woman. Yet no man said: What seekest Thou, or why talkest Thou with her? The woman therefore left her water-pot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men there: Come, and see a man Who has told me all things whatsoever I have done. Is not He the Christ? They went therefore out of the city, and came unto Him. In the meantime, the disciples prayed Him, saying: Rabbi, eat. But He said to them: I have meat to eat which you know not. The disciples therefore said one to another: Hath any man brought Him to eat? Jesus saith to them: My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, that I may perfect His work. Do not you say. there are yet four months, and then the harvest cometh? Behold I say to you, lift up your eyes, and see the countries, for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life everlasting: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. For in this is the saying true: that it is one man that soweth, and it is another that reapeth. I have sent you to reap that in which you did not labor, others have labored, and you have entered into their Now of that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him, for the word of the woman giving testimony: He told me all things whatsoever I have done. So when the Samaritans were come to Him, they desired Him that He would tarry there. And He abode there two days. And many more believed in Him because of His own word. And they said to the woman: We now believe, not for thy saying: for we ourselves have heard Him, and know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.
Friday Stations[1]
Most Churches have Stations of the Cross and Soup suppers following.
Bible in a year Day 254 Judgment of Nations
Fr. Mike continues reading from the book of Jeremiah and emphasizes God’s
judgment against the nations surrounding Israel. Fr. Mike also invites us to
meditate on the words of the prophets and repent for our own failures and
shortcomings. Today’s readings are Jeremiah 47-48, Lamentations 2, and Proverbs
18:1-4.
World Kidney Day[2]
Kidney Day was first
celebrated in 2006 asking – Are Your Kidneys, Ok?
The
idea that there is great need to educate the world about the importance of
kidney health and reduce the impact of kidney disease and other health
conditions associated with them, is what pushed the ISN and IFKF to team up and
make a difference.
The goal that was established was to raise awareness of what our kidneys do and what can happen when they are not working properly. They strive to teach the risk factors and bring screening to those at risk for chronic kidney disease
(CKD). Prevention is the main overall goal by teaching communities how to keep their risk factors as low as possible.
Respectfully, Kidney Day
is also about donation. Transplant professionals use the day to educate people
on the need for organ donation. This is a decision that if left until the last
moment can be difficult and painful for families. But individuals can easily
make their wishes known and in the United States can identify this on their
identification. These donations can bring the joy of life back to someone who
is suffering from kidney disease.
How
to celebrate Kidney Day
Across the world,
celebrations take different forms, from free screenings to Zumba marathons! Is
your community planning an event? Celebrate by attending and learning more!
Do you know what your
personal risk for chronic kidney disease is?
If
not, use this reminder to make an appointment to see your physician and find
out.
According to worldkidneyday.org,
there are 8 golden rules for kidney health.
- Keep regular
control of your blood sugar. About 50% of people with
Diabetes will develop kidney damage. Make sure you are doing all you can
to stay in control!
- Keep fit and
active. Staying active helps in many areas to keep your
kidneys healthy as well as promotes positive mood and weight loss.
- Eat healthy and
keep your weight in check. Making good food choices will go
hand in hand with staying active to reduce weight and encourage good
health.
- Water, water,
water! Keeping hydrated is good for your skin as well as your
kidneys. Staying hydrated flushes, the toxins out of the kidneys and
reduces the chance of kidney stones.
- No Smoking! Smoking
is bad in many ways, but for the kidneys, the chance of developing cancer
in them increases by 50% for smokers.
- Stay away from over-the-counter medicine for chronic issues. Many over-the-counter medicines such as ibuprofen can harm your kidneys if taken regularly.
It is ok to take for emergencies, but see a physician if you are having chronic pain for options that will not cause harm.
Celebrate Kidney Day by
learning more about your kidneys and how to keep them healthy and happy for
years to come!
chronic kidney disease
I Just found out from my doctor that I have
chronic kidney disease. So here is my plan.
·
Exercise. Focus on daily exercise which includes 20
minutes of cardio followed by 20 minutes resistance training using a modified
Universal Man Plan.
o The
morbidity and mortality associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are
primarily caused by atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, which may be in
part caused by inflammation and oxidative stress. Aerobic exercise and
resistance training have been proposed as measures to combat obesity,
inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress, insulin resistance,
and progression of CKD.[3]
·
Cold Therapy. Inflammatory cytokines
play a pivotal role in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and innovative
non-pharmacological therapies aimed at limiting cytokine production are highly
warranted. Recently, our group showed that healthy volunteers trained in an
intervention developed by 'Iceman' Wim Hof were able to voluntarily attenuate
the pro-inflammatory response during experimental human endotoxemia (a model of
systemic inflammation elicited by administration of lipopolysaccharide [LPS] in
healthy volunteers). Subjects trained in the intervention exhibited profound
increases in plasma adrenaline levels, a rapid increase of an anti-inflammatory
cytokine and subsequent attenuation of the pro-inflammatory response.[4]
o Wim Hof Method-Free Mini
Course
· Eat less Meat. Plan to eat 60/20/20. 60% fruits and vegetables.
20% fats. 20% protein. (Note: protein is hard on kidneys)[5]
o Eat Fish[6]
o Make Soup[7]Catholic Recipe: Monastery Soup
·
Have a
drink. The link between the
quantity consumed per drinking day and getting CKD was U-shaped. Those who had
about five or more drinks per drinking day had risk levels about as high
non-drinkers. Similar categories of quantity per drinking day were examined.
The risks of CKD were lower in the four to seven drinking days per week group
than in the one to three drinking days per week group.[8]
·
Daily
Rosary. Prayer can provide multiple
beneficial effects, such as reduction of mortality in patients with bloodstream
infections, reduction of anxiety, and depression and better physical
functioning.[9]
·
Sleep 7-8
hours. "Short sleep and
fragmented sleep are significant yet unappreciated risk factors for chronic
kidney disease progression," said study author Dr. Ana Ricardo, of the
University of Illinois at Chicago.[10]
Plan ahead for:
·
Bird Watching- With about 10,000 species of birds
and only a handful of people who can claim having seen over 7000 of them, bird
watching is become a popular recreation activity. It’s believed that bird
watching is an expression of the male hunting instinct while others links it
with the male tendency for “systemizing”. Either way, bird watching is a great,
safe way to enjoy nature.
Fitness Friday the Daniel Fast
The Daniel Fast, in Christianity, is a partial fast that, in which meat,
lacticinia, wine, and other rich foods are avoided in favor of vegetables and
water in order to be more sensitive to God. The fast is based on the
lifelong kosher diet of the Jewish hero Daniel in the biblical Book of Daniel and the three-week mourning fast
in which Daniel abstained from all meat and wine.
Among Catholic and Mainline Protestant Christians, the Daniel Fast has been practiced by some during the 40-day season of Lent, though the Daniel Fast can variously be set at three weeks, or even ten days. As such, evangelical Christian churches such as those of the Baptist tradition, have partaken in the fast at various times of the year. The passage in Chapter 1 refers to a 10-day test wherein Daniel and others with him were permitted to eat vegetables and water to avoid the Babylonian king's food and wine. After remaining healthy at the end of the 10-day period, they continued the vegetable diet for the three years of their education. The passage in Chapter 10 refers to a three-week fast of no meat, wine, or rich food. In addition to the practices of fasting and abstinence undertaken during the Daniel Fast, Christians may also add spiritual disciplines such as daily church attendance, increased prayer, as well as the reading of Sacred Scripture and a daily devotional.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Victims
of clergy sexual abuse
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Total Consecration
to St. Joseph Day 28
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
[1]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2023-02-24
[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18155113/
[4] https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03240497
[5]https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/chronic-kidney-disease-ckd/eating-nutrition
[6]https://www.kidneycoach.com/kidney-nutrients/fish-oil-omega-3-and-its-use-in-kidney-disease/
[7]https://blogs.davita.com/kidney-diet-tips/six-soups-make-season/
[8]https://www.alcoholproblemsandsolutions.org/drinking-alcohol-and-risk-of-chronic-kidney-disease/#:~:text=Chronic%20Kidney%20Disease%20Risk%20Reduced%20by%20Drinking%20Alcohol.,and%20Health.%20Drinking%20Alcohol%20Reduces%20Kidney%20Cancer%20Risk.
[10]https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20161119/poor-sleep-linked-to-worsening-kidney-disease
[12] Sheraton, Mimi. 1,000 Foods
To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (p. 892). Workman Publishing
Company. Kindle Edition.
A Shriek in the Night (1933)
Production Details
Studio: Allied Pictures
Director: Albert Ray
Release: July 22, 1933
Source Material: Original screenplay by Frances Hyland & Kurt Kempler
Genre: Pre‑Code Mystery / Crime / Romance
Runtime: 66 minutes
Cast: Ginger Rogers, Lyle Talbot, Harvey Clark, Purnell Pratt, Lillian Harmer, Arthur Hoyt bing.com
Story Summary
A wealthy philanthropist plunges from the balcony of his penthouse, and what first appears to be an accident quickly reveals itself as murder. Rival newspaper reporters Pat Morgan (Ginger Rogers) and Ted Rand (Lyle Talbot) both arrive on the scene, each determined to outscoop the other. Their competition forces them into an uneasy partnership as more bodies begin to appear—each victim strangled, each death tightening the circle around the building’s residents.
Pat’s sharp instincts and Ted’s streetwise persistence uncover a web of secrets, jealousies, and hidden motives. As the killer grows bolder, the reporters must navigate danger, deception, and their own complicated affection for one another. The climax resolves quickly, in classic Poverty Row fashion, but not before the film delivers a brisk, atmospheric mystery anchored by Rogers’ unexpectedly grounded performance. Wikipedia
Historical and Cultural Influences
Pre‑Code Freedom
The film emerges just before the Production Code crackdown, allowing:
- sharper banter between male and female leads,
- a more cynical view of journalism,
- and a willingness to show moral ambiguity without punishment neatly tied up.
Poverty Row Efficiency
Allied Pictures was a small independent studio, and the film reflects the era’s “fast and lean” production style—tight interiors, quick pacing, and a focus on character interplay rather than spectacle. Yet it remains the studio’s best‑known release. bing.com
Rise of the Reporter‑Hero
Early 1930s cinema often cast journalists as truth‑seekers navigating corruption. Pat and Ted fit this mold: flawed, competitive, but ultimately committed to exposing wrongdoing.
Urban Anxiety of the Depression Era
The confined setting—a single apartment building—mirrors the era’s sense of social compression: people living close together, secrets stacked on top of one another, and danger emerging from the next hallway.
Catholic Themes and Moral Resonances
Truth as a Moral Obligation
Pat and Ted pursue the truth not for glory alone but because lives depend on it. Their vocation becomes a form of service—echoing the Catholic view that truth‑telling is ordered toward justice and the protection of the vulnerable.
Courage in the Ordinary
Unlike noir heroes who brood in shadow, Pat’s courage is practical and unshowy. She walks into danger because the job demands it. This reflects the virtue of fortitude: doing the right thing even when it is neither glamorous nor safe.
Human Dignity in a Cynical World
The film’s setting—a building full of suspects, gossip, and fear—presents a world tempted to treat people as means rather than ends. Pat’s empathy, especially toward the frightened residents, becomes a quiet witness to the dignity of every person.
Light in Confined Spaces
Nearly every scene unfolds in hallways, stairwells, and cramped rooms. Spiritually, it evokes the experience of seeking clarity when life feels narrow or closing in—an image of grace working in tight quarters.
Hospitality Pairing
Drink:
The Reporter’s Highball — rye whiskey with ginger ale (a nod to Rogers), lemon twist. Quick, sharp, and era‑appropriate.
Snack:
Salted peanuts or a simple charcuterie plate—something a 1930s reporter might grab between phone calls.
Atmosphere:
Low light, a desk lamp, maybe a typewriter nearby. This is a film about chasing truth in the late hours.
Reflection Prompt
When the world feels cramped and the path forward unclear, what does it look like to practice courage and truth‑telling in the small, ordinary spaces entrusted to us?
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