Posts
Dinkwad’s Corner
“For a child* is born to us, a son is given to us, upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:5)
· National Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C.
o The nation’s capital comes abloom every spring with the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival. See the famed cherry blossom trees, lining the Tidal Basin, while strolling by iconic sites like the Jefferson and Martin Luther King memorials.
· Spirit Hour: Wine in honor of St. John of Capistrano
· Religion in the Home for Preschool: March
· Motivating Children to Perform Good Deeds
· 30 Days with St. Joseph Day 9
· Bucket List trip: Patagonia
Rich vs. Poor Tour
💎 Serbia vs India
River of Memory / Subcontinent of Seeking
Serbia and India sit just beyond the fourth ring of the global middle — nations shaped by ancient civilizations, religious depth, and the long shadow of empire. Serbia is a Balkan crossroads where Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and history intertwine through conflict and resilience. India is a vast, rising subcontinent where Catholicism survives as a small but ancient flame amid a billion‑soul mosaic of faiths. Together they reveal the world where memory and seeking meet.
🇷🇸 Serbia — Proud, Historic, and Spiritually Layered
GDP per capita (PPP): ~$20,000 (2024)
🧮 Why Serbia Sits Just Above This Ring
Post‑Yugoslav transition economy
Strong manufacturing and IT growth
High diaspora remittances
Political balancing between East and West
Tourism tied to monasteries, rivers, and history
✝️ Catholic Landscape
Catholic minority (mostly Croats and Hungarians)
Historic monasteries and pilgrimage sites
Church active in reconciliation and youth outreach
Interfaith coexistence with Orthodox majority
Quiet but steady parish life
⚠️ Challenges
Emigration of young professionals
Political polarization
Rural depopulation
Slow EU integration
🌿 Pilgrimage Cue
Serbia is a river of memory — a land where the Church navigates history’s wounds with patience, fidelity, and the slow work of reconciliation.
🇮🇳 India — Vast, Ancient, and Spiritually Searching
GDP per capita (PPP): ~$9,000 (2024)
🧮 Why India Sits Just Below This Ring
Rapid economic growth but uneven distribution
Massive population diluting per‑capita wealth
Strong tech and service sectors
Rural poverty and urban expansion
Complex federal and religious landscape
✝️ Catholic Landscape
~20 million Catholics — ancient and diverse
St. Thomas Christian heritage in Kerala
Vibrant youth, charismatic, and Marian movements
Church active in education, healthcare, and social justice
Occasional pressure but strong internal vitality
⚠️ Challenges
Inequality and caste dynamics
Religious tensions
Rural poverty
Urban overcrowding
🌿 Pilgrimage Cue
India is a subcontinent of seeking — a Church that lives as leaven in a vast spiritual landscape, witnessing through service, education, and quiet holiness.
🕊️ Editorial Reflection
Serbia and India reveal the world where memory and seeking converge.
Serbia carries centuries of conflict, culture, and Christian identity.
India holds millennia of spiritual searching, diversity, and quiet Catholic witness.
One remembers.
The other quests.
Both show that the Church thrives not only in stability or suffering, but in the vast, complex middle where identity is shaped by history and hope.
Rich/Poor Tour — Center Ring Wrap‑Up
Standing at the World’s Hinge
As March closes, we pause at the very center of the world’s economic ladder — the hinge where the global story turns. These past weeks have taken us through the middle ring of the Rich/Poor Tour, where nations are neither wealthy nor destitute, but suspended in the tension between memory and possibility.
This center ring has revealed something essential:
the middle of the world is not mediocrity — it is balance.
It is where wounds and resilience meet, where ancient faith and modern struggle coexist, where the Church survives not by power but by presence.
Here is the ground we have covered:
Jordan & Sri Lanka — The Exact Middle
Crossroads of Covenant / Island of Resilience
Two nations holding steady in the world’s center:
Jordan, a desert of covenant and hospitality
Sri Lanka, an island of wounds and resurrection
Together they form the global hinge — the midpoint between wealth and poverty.
Albania & El Salvador — Just Beyond the Center
Mountains of Memory / Valleys of Mercy
Albania rising from enforced atheism
El Salvador carrying the courage of martyrs
Both nations show faith fought for, not inherited.
North Macedonia & Morocco — The Crossroads Ring
Crossroads of Identity / Gate of the Maghreb
North Macedonia balancing ancient Christian memory with modern uncertainty
Morocco sheltering a quiet Catholic presence through hospitality and service
Here the Church thrives in dialogue, not dominance.
Bosnia & Herzegovina & Vietnam — Wounds and Rising Light
Valley of Wounds / River of Rising Light
Bosnia tending to trauma with Marian tenderness
Vietnam glowing with youthful Catholic energy
This ring reveals the world where suffering and hope coexist.
Serbia & India — Memory and Seeking
River of Memory / Subcontinent of Seeking
Serbia navigating history’s fractures
India carrying an ancient Christian flame within a billion‑soul mosaic
Here the Church lives through identity, service, and quiet courage.
What the Center Ring Teaches
Across these nations, a pattern emerges:
Faith survives in the middle not through power, but through perseverance.
The Church grows where wounds are tended, not ignored.
Identity is shaped by memory, migration, and mercy.
The middle of the world is where the extremes meet — and where the pilgrimage begins.
This center ring is the spiritual fulcrum of the entire Rich/Poor Tour.
From here, the journey will widen — outward toward wealth, outward toward poverty, outward toward the edges where the world’s contrasts sharpen.
But before we move on, we honor this middle ground:
the place where the world holds its breath, remembers its wounds, and prepares to rise.
MARCH 27 Friday in
Passion Week
Feast of the Seven Dolor’s of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The
LORD said to Joshua, “Do not FEAR
them, for by this time tomorrow I will present them slain to Israel. You must
hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.”
The
enemy was defeated; why destroy their horses and chariots?
Horses and chariots were the tanks of that time. God knows the human heart we tend to trust in our human strength, or our clout, or our wealth, or weapons. God knows and He wants us to trust in Him not any of these things. Even to this very day we have not learned this lesson we in America have learned to trust in the strength of our Army, which is the greatest Army in the world and have forgotten the true basis of our strength which is printed on our money: In God We Trust. Many people in high offices like to play the prophet: but “A wise person is superior to a prophet” (Bava Basra 12a) Think a prophet can see the future but a wise person can see the present. God asks us to be present to each other every day. Live in the Present!
Words
of wisdom Saint Teresa of Avila:
“I am
afraid that if we begin to put our trust in human help, some of our Divine help
will fail us.”
“The most
potent and acceptable prayer is the prayer that leaves the best effects. I
don’t mean it must immediately fill the soul with desire . . . The best effects
[are] those that are followed up by actions—–when the soul not only desires the
honor of God, but really strives for it. “
“You pay
God a compliment by asking great things of Him.”[1]
Copilot’s
Take
The
Catechism teaches that humanity lives within a “dramatic struggle between good
and evil” (CCC 409), a battle that runs not only through history but through
every human heart. When the news overwhelms us with corruption, violence, and
political hostility, and when the Church herself bears the wounds of scandal or
division, the temptation is either to rage or to retreat. But the Church
insists that evil is never confronted by matching its fury; it is confronted by
fidelity. Politics can shape laws, but only grace can shape hearts. News can
expose darkness, but only holiness can dispel it. The Christian confronts evil
not by choosing a side in the world’s shouting match, but by choosing the side
of truth, mercy, and conversion. The Catechism calls this the “work of justice
and charity” (CCC 1928–1933): refusing lies, resisting fear, protecting the
vulnerable, and purifying our own hearts before demanding purification from
others. In an age of outrage, the Church’s task is not to mirror the world’s
anger but to reveal a different power—the quiet, courageous light of those who
trust God more than headlines, grace more than politics, and Christ more than
any earthly institution.
(FRIDAY
IN PASSION WEEK.)
Feast of
the Seven Dolor’s of the Blessed Virgin Mary
THE part which the Blessed Virgin took in the sufferings and death of her beloved Son has induced the Church to give her the glorious title of Queen of Martyrs. The feast of the Seven Dolors was first instituted by the Council of Cologne, in the year 1423, in order to make amends for what the Hussites had done against the veneration of the Blessed Virgin, whom they, like all heretics, had assailed with many calumnies and insults; in particular, rejecting the image of the Mother of Dolors with the body of her dead Son resting upon her lap.
This feast was originally called the feast of the Compassion of
the Blessed Virgin.
At the presentation of Jesus in the temple Simeon had predicted
that the suffering of the Son would be the suffering of the Mother also: Behold
this child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and
for a sign which shall be contradicted; and thy own soul a sword shall pierce
(Luke ii. 34, 35). The ignominy, insults, and cruelties inflicted on Him were
to be so many swords piercing her heart. Remember, therefore, on this day the
seven dolors which the Blessed Virgin experienced:
1. At the circumcision of her Son.
2. At her flight into Egypt with Him.
3. On losing Him for three days in the temple.
4. At the sight of Him carrying the cross.
5. At His death.
6. When beholding His side pierced with a spear, and His body
taken down from the cross.
7. At His burial. Make an act of contrition for your sins, which
helped so much to cause the sufferings and death of Jesus, and resolve firmly
that you will no more grieve the hearts of Jesus and Mary by sin. Ask her to
assist you at your death by her powerful intercession, that then she may show
herself to you as a mother, and obtain from her beloved Son grace for you.
The Introit of the Mass is as follows: “There stood by the cross of Jesus His Mother, and His Mother s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen” (John xix.). “Woman, behold thy son,” said Jesus, and to the disciple: “Behold thy mother.” Glory be to the Father…
Prayer. O Lord, in Whose passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, a
sword of sorrow pierced the most sweet soul of Mary, mother and virgin, grant,
in Thy mercy, that we may call to mind with veneration her transfixion and
sufferings; and by the glorious merits and prayers of all the saints, who stood
faithfully by the cross, interceding for us, may experience the happy effects
of Thy passion. Amen.
EPISTLE. Judith xiii. 23-25.
The Lord hath blessed thee by His power, because by thee He hath
brought our enemies to naught. And Ozias, the prince of the people of Israel,
said to her, Blessed art thou, O daughter, by the Lord the most high God, above
all women upon the earth. Blessed be the Lord Who made heaven and earth, Who hath
directed thee to the cutting off the head of the prince of our enemies. Because
He hath so magnified thy name this day, that thy praise shall not depart out of
the mouth of men who shall be mindful of the power of the Lord forever, for
that thou hast not spared thy life, by reason of the distress and tribulation
of thy people, but hast prevented our ruin in the presence of our God.
GOSPEL. John xix.
25-27.
At that time: There stood by the cross of Jesus His Mother, and
His Mother s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore
had seen His Mother and the disciple standing whom He loved, He saith to His
Mother: Woman, behold thy
son. After that, He saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that
hour the disciple took her to his own.
Friday of Sorrows[2]
A special commemoration, one week
before Good Friday, of Mary's compassion for (literally, "suffering
with") Her innocent son.
The Friday of Sorrows is a solemn pious remembrance of the sorrowful Blessed Virgin Mary on the Friday before Palm Sunday held in the fifth week of Lent (formerly called "Passion Week").
In Divine Worship: The Missal it is called Saint Mary in Passiontide and sometimes it is traditionally known as Our Lady in Passiontide.
In certain Catholic
countries, especially in Mexico, Guatemala, Italy, Peru, Brazil, Spain, Malta,
Nicaragua and the Philippines, it is seen as the beginning of the Holy Week celebrations and termed as Viernes
de Dolores (Friday of Sorrows). It takes place exactly one week before Good
Friday, and concentrates on the emotional pain that the Passion of Jesus Christ
caused to his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is venerated under the title
Our
Lady of Sorrows. In
certain Spanish-speaking countries, the day is also referred to as Council
Friday, because of the choice of John
11:47-54 as the
Gospel passage read in the Tridentine Mass on that day (which is now read in
slightly expanded form on Saturday of the fifth week of Lent), which recounts
the conciliar meeting of the Sanhedrin priests to discuss what to do with
Jesus. Like all Fridays in Lent, this Friday is a day of abstinence from meat,
unless the national episcopal conference has indicated alternative forms of
penance. A similar commemoration in sympathy with the Virgin Mary under the
title of Our
Lady of Solitude
is held on Black
Saturday.
Prayers for the Dead[3]
Relationships never end and neither should our prayers for the dead. In addition to PRAYERS, we should also offer up Masses for them and offer indulgences for their benefit. The dead cannot pray for themselves but they can pray for us and we in turn should pray for them.
Fasting
and Mortification[4]
Modern man and the media often portray persons that fast as deranged, passé or even ignorant.
However, fasting and bodily discipline are truly the marks of a man or woman of mature intellect which has mastery over not only the mind but also the body and spirit. St. Paul put it in stronger terms, “put to death therefore what is earthly in you (Col. 3:5).” Jesus has also said, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Christ knew we become attached to created things and to the pleasure they bring us. St. Augustine said that sin begins as a turning away from God and a turning toward lesser goods. When we sin, we don’t choose evil. We choose something less than God and His will. Our bodies want more than they need, so we must give them less than they want. Our bodies must be subject to our reason—or our reason will soon be subjected to our bodies. St. Paul went even further. “I pommel my body and subdue it” (1 Cor. 9:27). Nevertheless, our goal should be to let our reason/soul cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
Chassidic philosophy[5] demonstrates three ways in which
the body and soul can interact:
Ø
The
soul can try and mitigate the urges of the body. Things that look good, taste
good and feel good are stimulating and addictive. Most of us live life with our
body in the driver’s seat. The soul just can’t compete. And so, the soul tries
to negotiate reasonably, and encourages moderation.
Ø
Or,
the soul can choose to reject the body and abhor anything associated with
materialism. The soul-driven person would then rebel against society’s shallow
and false veneers. Simplicity and ascetism become the ultimate goals of the
soul.
Ø
The
third scenario is not a compromise between the first two. It is an entirely new
approach, where the body and soul learn to work together. The soul neither
leans towards the body nor rejects it. It
does not react; it pro-acts. In a proactive position, the soul directs and
channels the body’s inclination in a constructive way. In this last approach,
instead of repressing the body’s needs, the soul views them as an opportunity
to serve God in a whole new way.
Ø Using the third approach we should fast with a purpose like Moses or Elijah for example before going into God’s presence or to strengthen us or for the benefit of others.
Jesus fasted not because He needed to, but as a model for us. We should make self-sacrifices in an effort to make others happy or out of love for our God to share in his plan of salvation.
Lenten Calendar[6]
Read: “Wherefore, we ask, urgently and prayerfully, that we, as people of God,
make of the entire Lenten Season a period of special penitential observance.
Following the instructions of the Holy See, we declare that the obligation both
too fast and to abstain from meat, an obligation observed under a stricter
formality by our fathers in the faith, still binds on Ash Wednesday and Good
Friday. No Catholic Christian will lightly excuse himself from so hallowed an
obligation on the Wednesday which solemnly opens the Lenten season and, on that
Friday, called ‘Good’ because on that day Christ suffered in the flesh and died for our sins.
. .. Gratefully remembering this, Catholic peoples from time immemorial have
set apart Friday for special penitential observance by which they gladly suffer
with Christ that they may one day be glorified with Him. This is the heart of
the tradition of abstinence from meat on Friday where that tradition has been
observed in the holy Catholic Church.”
(1966 USCCB Pastoral Statement on
Penance and Abstinence, no. 12 and no. 18)
Reflect: "If you have fasted two or three
days, do not think of yourself better than others who do not fast. You fast and
are angry; another eats and wears a smiling face."
—St. Jerome, Letters, 22.37
Pray: Pray that abstinence from some of your
favorite things this Lenten season will help bring you closer to God long after
the season is over.
Act: Take note of the meatless meals you have enjoyed this Lent. Add your favorites to your family’s regular meal rotation once Lent is over.
·
Indulgence: Visit to Jesus in the
Blessed Sacrament duing the solemn exposition on Holy Thursday and Good Friday
Bible in a year Day 268 Rebuilding the Temple
Fr. Mike continues to take us through the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, and the importance of moving on from the past to see what God is doing in our lives right now. He also gives some context on the Samaritans and what was happening across Jerusalem, post return. Today's readings are Ezra 3-4, Zechariah 1-3, and Proverbs 20:4-7.
Fitness Friday-Cardio[1]
Recognizing that God, the Father created man on Friday the 6th day
I propose in this blog to have an entry that shares on how to recreate and
renew yourself in strength, mind, soul and heart.
Is interval training more effective than steady-state cardio
training for fat loss?
·
Exercise combined with diet modifications has been shown to
be more effective than either alone for promoting weight loss.
·
Establishing exercise habits during the weight loss phase can help
prevent weight regain and yo-yo dieting down the road. One of the most
common excuses for lack of exercise is a lack of time.
·
These results show that the type of cardio performed for fat loss
(intervals vs. steady state) probably doesn’t matter as much as the number of
calories burned in the exercise session. Moreover, the overall amount of fat
loss is small.
·
Focus should be placed on how the exercise session impacts other
areas of life, such as appetite, food intake, and leisure-time physical
activity.
·
Focus should also be placed on whether you can see yourself
sticking with your chosen exercise modality for the long-term.
·
Exercise may not be all that for fat loss, but it certainly
impacts fitness and health improvement. As such, all forms of exercise should
be encouraged despite their relatively minimal contribution to fat loss.
· Strength training is especially important for developing lean body mass.
·
High-intensity training such as interval endurance training
appears to be more effective at reducing inflammation and increasing insulin
sensitivity than lower-intensity training such as steady-state cardio.
Evidence has shown that exercise has additional benefits on health that warrant its inclusion in daily life, such as reducing inflammation and increasing insulin sensitivity. Moreover, high-intensity exercise appears to be more effective than lower intensity exercise at inducing these beneficial changes, which might be one reason to prefer interval training over steady-state even if fat loss would be similar. Ultimately, though, adherence is key. Thus, enjoyment and personal preferences when it comes to exercise are what’s most important
[1]https://examine.com/nutrition/be-the-tortoise-or-the-hare-it-doesnt-matter-for-fat-loss/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=blog-101717
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Protection
of Life from Conception until natural death.
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
[3] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic Customs
and their biblical roots. Chap. 40. Prayers for the Dead.
[4] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic Customs
and their biblical roots. Chap. 27. Fasting and Mortification.
[7] Sheraton, Mimi. 1,000 Foods
To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (p. 892). Workman Publishing
Company. Kindle Edition.
Heidi (1937)
🎬 Production Snapshot
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Director: Allan Dwan
Release: 1937
Screenplay: Walter Ferris (adaptation), based on Johanna Spyri’s 1881 novel
Stars: Shirley Temple, Jean Hersholt, Arthur Treacher, Mary Nash
Genre: Family drama / Alpine fairy‑tale realism
Notable: One of Shirley Temple’s most beloved roles, blending pastoral innocence with melodrama. Though often remembered as a children’s classic, the film carries a surprisingly mature emotional architecture—loss, exile, forgiveness, and the healing power of belonging.
🧭 Story Summary
Heidi, an orphaned Swiss girl, is taken by her stern but tender‑hearted grandfather, Alm‑Oncle (Jean Hersholt), to live in his mountain hut. Their life is simple, joyful, and rooted in the rhythms of nature—goats, meadows, and the quiet restoration of a wounded man learning to love again.
This peace is shattered when Heidi’s aunt sells her into service with a wealthy Frankfurt family. There she becomes companion to Klara, a lonely, wheelchair‑bound girl whose illness is as much emotional as physical. Heidi’s presence—her joy, her honesty, her mountain‑shaped freedom—begins to heal Klara, even as Heidi herself suffers from homesickness so severe it borders on spiritual exile.
A cruel governess (Mary Nash) tries to keep Heidi captive for her own ambitions, but the truth eventually surfaces. Klara’s father intervenes, Klara finds the courage to walk, and Heidi is returned to her grandfather. The film closes with restored relationships, renewed trust, and the sense that grace has flowed through a child’s innocence to heal an entire household.
🕰 Historical and Cultural Context
- Released at the height of Shirley Temple’s stardom, the film offered Depression‑era audiences a vision of innocence that felt medicinal.
- The Alpine setting—though largely studio‑constructed—tapped into American fascination with European pastoral purity.
- The story’s themes of exile, restoration, and the healing of the father‑child bond resonated deeply with families fractured by economic hardship.
- Allan Dwan, a veteran of silent cinema, brought a gentle, almost fairy‑tale pacing that softened the harsher edges of Spyri’s novel.
- The film helped cement the “child redeemer” archetype in American cinema: the idea that a child’s purity can restore adult hearts.
✝️ Catholic Moral Resonances
The film’s emotional core aligns naturally with Catholic themes of providence, mercy, and the healing power of innocence.
The Child as Icon of Grace
Heidi embodies the Gospel’s teaching that a child’s trust reveals the Kingdom. Her joy is not naïve—it is a spiritual force that softens hardened adults and restores broken relationships.
Providence in Exile
Heidi’s forced removal from the mountain echoes biblical patterns of exile: suffering that becomes the seedbed of grace. Her presence in Frankfurt is not an accident but a mission—Klara’s healing depends on her.
Restoration of the Father
Alm‑Oncle’s transformation from bitterness to tenderness mirrors the Catholic conviction that fatherhood is healed through love freely given, not earned. Heidi becomes the instrument of his conversion.
Mercy Against Manipulation
The governess represents the misuse of authority—control, fear, and ambition. Heidi’s forgiveness and Klara’s eventual courage reveal the triumph of mercy over domination.
Healing as Communion
Klara’s recovery is not merely physical; it is relational. She walks because she is loved, encouraged, and believed in. Catholic anthropology sees healing as communal, not individualistic.
🍷 Hospitality Pairing
Drink: Hot Milk with Honey
Simple, comforting, and childlike—something Heidi herself might have been given after a long day in the mountains. It carries the film’s warmth and innocence.
Snack: Rustic Alpine Bread with Butter and Jam
Unpretentious, pastoral, and rooted in the film’s Swiss setting. It evokes the mountain hut, the goats, and the sense of home restored.
Atmosphere:
- Soft lamplight, like a mountain cottage at dusk.
- Gentle classical or Swiss folk melodies.
- A sense of quiet domestic peace—something being mended, something being welcomed home.
🪞 Reflection Prompt
Where might God be inviting you to recover Heidi’s childlike trust—believing that exile can become mission, that innocence can heal, and that the Father’s house is always open for your return?
No comments:
Post a Comment