Monday, March 30, 2026

🔸 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)

Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)

Director: Michael Anderson
Studio: MGM
Stars: Anthony Quinn, Laurence Olivier, Oskar Werner, David Janssen, Vittorio De Sica
Release Year: 1968
Genre: Political‑spiritual drama
Runtime: 162 minutes

Story Summary

A Ukrainian archbishop, Kiril Lakota, is unexpectedly released after twenty years in a Siberian labor camp. Sent to Rome, he is quietly elevated to cardinal and soon finds himself at the center of a global crisis: famine in China, nuclear brinkmanship, and the Church’s own internal fractures. When the pope dies, Lakota is elected to the Chair of Peter — a man formed by suffering, silence, and obedience suddenly placed at the helm of a world on fire. His final act is a gesture of radical charity that shocks the world and redefines papal leadership.

Cast Highlights

Anthony Quinn — Kiril Lakota
A performance of restrained gravitas: a man who has no ambition except obedience, and no power except the authority of suffering.
Oskar Werner — Fr. David Telemond
A Jesuit theologian whose brilliance and torment echo the Church’s own intellectual tensions of the era.
Laurence Olivier — Piotr Ilyich Kamenev
A Soviet premier whose conversations with Lakota form the film’s moral and geopolitical spine.
David Janssen — George Faber
A journalist whose personal unraveling mirrors the world’s instability.

Historical & Cultural Context

Released during the Cold War, Vatican II, and global famine anxieties.
Based on Morris West’s novel, which anticipated a Slavic pope a decade before John Paul II.
The film reflects the Church’s emerging global conscience: the papacy as a moral counterweight to nuclear powers.
Its final act — a pope emptying the Vatican treasury to feed a starving nation — is both prophetic and cinematic.

Catholic Moral & Spiritual Themes

1. The Authority of Suffering

Lakota’s papacy is not built on intellect, charisma, or politics.
It is built on twenty years of unjust imprisonment — a formation deeper than any seminary.

Lesson:
True authority in the Church is cruciform.
Leadership flows from wounds offered, not power seized.

2. Obedience Without Illusion

Lakota never romanticizes the Church or the world.
His obedience is clear‑eyed, forged in hardship, and free of clerical ambition.

Lesson:
Obedience is not naïveté; it is the discipline of trusting God more than one’s own survival instincts.

3. The Papacy as Global Fatherhood

The film portrays the pope not as a monarch but as a father whose responsibility extends to every suffering people.

Lesson:
Spiritual fatherhood demands sacrificial generosity, even when the world calls it impractical.

4. The Church as Bridge‑Builder

Lakota’s conversations with Kamenev show the Church’s unique role:
neither capitalist nor communist, but a moral mediator.

Lesson:
The Church’s diplomacy is not political maneuvering — it is the pursuit of peace rooted in human dignity.

5. The Cost of Intellectual Brilliance

Fr. Telemond’s arc is a meditation on the tension between theological creativity and ecclesial obedience.

Lesson:
Genius without humility becomes fragmentation; humility without courage becomes silence.
The Church needs both — but ordered.

Hospitality Pairing

To match the film’s global, ascetic, and ecclesial tone:

Drink:

Austere Red Table Wine — something simple, unadorned, almost monastic.
A wine that tastes like stone, earth, and discipline.

Atmosphere:

Dim lighting, like a Vatican study at night.
A single candle or lamp.
A wooden table or desk, uncluttered.
Silence before and after the film — a contemplative frame.

Food:

A peasant bread with olive oil and salt.
The kind of meal a man formed in a labor camp would not take for granted.

Closing Reflection

Shoes of the Fisherman is not about papal politics.
It is about the weight of spiritual responsibility in a world that prefers spectacle to sacrifice.

Lakota’s final act — giving away everything — is the film’s thesis:

The Church leads when she bleeds.
She teaches when she empties herself.
She fathers when she feeds the world.

This is a film for anyone discerning leadership, obedience, or the cost of being entrusted with souls.

Christopher’s Corner

· Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels

· 30 Days with St. Joseph Day 11-The Immaculata

· Spirit Hour: 10 Most Popular Cocktails in March

· Developmental Disability Awareness Month

· Bucket List trip: Orval Abbey, Belgium

· Monday: Litany of Humility

· Try[6]: 20 Belgian Foods

USA 70° Year Journey — Part: March 30–April 5, 2026

Theme: Holy Week on the Move — Following the Lamb Eastward

Route: Ocean Springs → Gautier → Pascagoula → Grand Bay → Mobile → Daphne → Fairhope

Style: Quiet, reverent, forward‑moving pilgrimage

Climate Alignment: Highs 70–74°F (Mississippi → Alabama Gulf Coast)

🛏️ Lodging (One‑Way Only)

Mar 30–31: Ocean Springs — The Roost

Apr 1–4: Mobile — The Battle House Renaissance

Apr 5: Fairhope — Little Point Clear Suites

Daily Pilgrimage Flow

🌤️ Monday, March 30 — Ocean Springs

Location: Front Beach
Symbol: Turning Toward Jerusalem
Ritual: “Set your face like flint.”
A shoreline walk naming what you carry into Holy Week.
Food: The District Coffee Co. (~$12)

🌾 Tuesday, March 31 — Gautier

Location: Shepard State Park
Symbol: Hiddenness
Ritual: “He moved among them unseen.”
Sit under the pines; pray for the grace to be small and faithful.
Food: Delo’s Heavenly House of Coffee (~$10)

🌊 Wednesday, April 1 — Pascagoula (Spy Wednesday)

Location: Riverfront Boardwalk
Symbol: Betrayal
Ritual: “Where have I traded Him for silver?”
Walk the river; pray Psalm 51 slowly.
Food: Brady’s Steak & Seafood (~$22)

🔥 Thursday, April 2 — Grand Bay (Holy Thursday)

Location: St. Margaret Catholic Church
Symbol: The Basin and the Towel
Ritual: “Do this in remembrance of Me.”
Attend Mass of the Lord’s Supper; offer one act of service.
Food: Grand Bay BBQ (~$14)

🌙 Friday, April 3 — Mobile (Good Friday)

Location: Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
Symbol: The Cross
Ritual: “Behold the Man.”
Walk downtown in silence; attend the Good Friday liturgy.
Food: Nova Espresso (~$12)

🌿 Saturday, April 4 — Daphne (Holy Saturday)

Location: Village Point Park Preserve
Symbol: The Great Silence
Ritual: “The King sleeps.”
A day of stillness; no music; no noise.
Write: “What does my soul look like in the silence of Holy Saturday?”
Food: Southwood Kitchen (~$24)

🌴 Sunday, April 5 — Fairhope (Easter Sunday)

Location: St. Lawrence Catholic Church
Symbol: The Rising
Ritual: “He is not here.”
Easter Mass; a harbor walk afterward.
Food: Sunset Pointe (~$38)

march 30 Monday of Holy Week

National Doctors Day

Psalm 27, Verse 3

Though an army encamp against me, my heart does not FEAR; Though war be waged against me, even then do I trust.

Believe and have boundless hope that God will bring rescue you. Long for the presence of God in the tabernacle. God will give you protection from all our enemies. Therefore, believe and trust.

Copilot’s Take

Psalm 27 teaches a posture of the soul that does not collapse when surrounded. David is not imagining a distant threat; he is naming the experience of being hemmed in by forces larger than himself. Yet his heart refuses fear because his trust is anchored in the presence of God, not in the reliability of earthly structures. The Catechism echoes this stance: authority is legitimate only when it serves the dignity of the human person, and when authority fails in that mission, the Christian does not surrender conscience or hope. Instead, he stands in the quiet strength of truth.

The CCC is clear that evil is not always external or foreign. Sometimes it emerges from the very systems meant to protect the people they serve. When institutions drift from justice, when policies wound the vulnerable, or when power becomes detached from the moral order, the believer is not abandoned. The Church teaches that the Christian is never required to cooperate with evil and is always free to resist through fidelity, fortitude, and the unshakable primacy of conscience. This is not rebellion; it is the obedience of the soul to God before all else.

In this light, confronting evil—even when it flows from the machinery of one’s own nation—becomes an act of spiritual clarity. The believer does not lash out, despair, or retreat into cynicism. He returns to the tabernacle, to the presence that cannot be corrupted, and draws strength from the One who sees all things clearly. Fortitude, as the Catechism describes it, is the virtue that enables us to resist fear and to endure trials with courage, even when the pressure is subtle, systemic, or cloaked in official language.

Thus Psalm 27 becomes a map for the modern soul: stand without fear, dwell in the presence of God, and trust that His rescue is not delayed but perfectly timed. Even when the pressure comes from within your own walls, your own institutions, or your own camp, the Lord remains your light and your salvation. The Christian confronts evil not by matching its aggression but by refusing its fear, remaining faithful to truth, and trusting that God Himself will vindicate those who stand in His light.

Monday of Holy Week

Prayer.

GRANT, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we, who fail through our infirmity, in so many adversities may be relieved by the passion of Thy Son, making intercession for us.

EPISTLE. Isaias 1. 5-10.

In those days Isaias said: The Lord God hath opened my ear, and I do not resist I have not gone back. I have given my body to the strikers, and my cheeks to them that plucked them: I have not turned away my face from them that rebuked me, and spit upon me. The Lord God is my helper, therefore am I not confounded: therefore, have I set my face as a most hard rock, and I know that I shall not be confounded. He is near that justifieth me, who will contend with me? Let us stand together, who is my adversary? let him come near to me. Behold the Lord God is my helper: who is he that shall condemn me?

Lo, they shall all be destroyed as a garment, the moth shall eat them up. Who is there among you that feareth the Lord, that heareth the voice of His servant, that hath walked in darkness, and hath no light? let him hope in the name of the Lord, and lean upon his God.

GOSPEL. John xii. 1-9.

Six days before the Pasch Jesus came to Bethania, where Lazarus had been dead, whom Jesus raised to life. And they made Him a supper there: and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that were at table with Him. Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, he that was about to betray Him, said:

Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor?

Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the purse, carried the things that were put therein. Jesus therefore said: Let her alone, that she may keep it against the day of My burial. For the poor you have always with you: but Me you have not always. A great multitude therefore of the Jews knew that He was there: and they came, not for Jesus’s sake only, but that they might see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.

Meditation—Mary and Judas

Today the liturgy presents two noteworthy characters who play dissimilar roles in the Lord's passion. One fills us with solace and comfort, the other with uneasiness and wholesome fear. Their juxtaposition produces a powerful effect by way of contrast. The two characters are Mary of Bethany and Judas.

Jesus is in the house of Lazarus, at dinner. Mary approaches, anoints the feet of her Savior for His burial and dries them with her hair. Judas resents her action and resolves upon his evil course. These two persons typify man's relation to Christ. He gives His Body to two types of individuals: to Magdalenes to be anointed, to Judases to be kissed; to good persons who repay Him with love and service, to foes who crucify Him. How movingly this is expressed in the Lesson: "I gave My body to those who beat Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked them. I did not turn away My face from those who cursed and spit upon Me."

The same must hold true of His mystical Body. Down through the ages Christ is enduring an endless round of suffering, giving His body to other Mary’s for anointing and to other Judases to be kissed, beaten, and mistreated. Augustine explains how we can anoint Christ's body:

Anoint Jesus' feet by a life pleasing to God. Follow in His footsteps; if you have an abundance, give it to the poor. In this way you can wipe the feet of the Lord.

The poor are, as it were, the feet of the mystical Christ. By aiding them we can comfort our Lord in His mystical life, where He receives Judas' kisses on all sides-the sins of Christians.

The Gospel account may be understood in a very personal way. In everyone's heart, in my own too, there dwell two souls: a Judas-soul and a Mary-soul. The former is the cause of Jesus' suffering, it is always ready to apostatize, always ready to give the traitor's kiss. Are you full master over this Judas-soul within you? Your Magdalen-soul is a source of comfort to Christ in His sufferings. May the holy season of Lent, which with God's help we are about to bring to a successful conclusion, bring victory over the Judas-soul and strengthen the Magdalen-soul within our breasts.

—Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Monday of Holy Week[1]

The Gospel for the Mass gives an account of Judas' character, foreshadowing his act of betrayal.

Spring Cleaning Just as the Hebrews cleaned and swept the whole house in preparation for the Pasch (Passover), so too is there an ancient custom in Christianity that the first three weekdays of Holy Week be a time for the year's most thorough cleaning. Everything is to be scrubbed and polished, and all work is to be completed by Wednesday evening (in time for Tenebrae).

Tenebrae consists of the divine office of Matins and Lauds for Maundy Thursday. It is generally held on the night of "Spy Wednesday" of Holy Week, so-called because it is believed to be the night on which Judas Iscariot betrayed our Lord.

Timeline of Holy Week[2]

· Jesus curses the fig tree. (Mt 21:18-19; Mk 11:12-14)

· Jesus cleanses the temple. (Mt 21:10-17; Mk 11:11; Lk 19:45-46; Jn 2:13-25)

· Parable of the wicked tenants (Mt 21:33-46; Mk 12:1-12; Lk 20:9-19)

· Returns to Bethany at night.

On Monday[3], Jesus returned with his disciples to Jerusalem. Along the way, He cursed a fig tree because it had failed to bear fruit. Some scholars believe this cursing of the fig tree represented God's judgment on the spiritually dead religious leaders of Israel. Others believe the symbolism extended to all believers, demonstrating that genuine faith is more than just outward religiosity. True, living faith must bear spiritual fruit in a person's life. When Jesus arrived at the Temple he found the courts full of corrupt money changers. He began overturning their tables and clearing the Temple, saying, "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be a house of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves." (Luke 19:46) On Monday evening Jesus stayed in Bethany again, probably in the home of his friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

Aids in Battle[4] The Devil fears those who pray.

My dear brothers and sisters not only is prayer very powerful; even more, it’s of the utmost necessity for overcoming the enemies of our salvation. Look at all the saints: They weren’t content with watching and fighting to overcome the enemies of their salvation and with keeping well away from all that could offer them temptation. They passed their whole lives in prayer, not only the day, but very often the whole night as well. Yes, my dear children, we watch over ourselves and all the motions of our hearts in vain, and in vain we avoid temptation, if we don’t pray. If we don’t continually resort to prayer, all our other ways will be of no use at all to us, and we’ll be overcome. We won’t find any sinner converted without turning to prayer. We won’t find one persevering without depending heavily on prayer. Nor will we ever find a Christian who ends up damned whose downfall didn’t begin with a lack of prayer. We can see, too, how much the Devil fears those who pray, since there’s not a moment of the day when he tempts us more than when we’re at prayer. He does everything he possibly can to prevent us from praying. When the Devil wants to make someone lose his soul, he starts out by inspiring in him a profound distaste for prayer. However good a Christian he may be, if the Devil succeeds in making him either say his prayers badly or neglect them altogether, he’s certain to have that person for himself. Yes, my dear brothers and sisters, from the moment that we neglect to pray, we move with big steps towards hell. We’ll never return to God if we don’t resort to prayer.

ST. JOHN VIANNEY

Bible in a year Day 271 Israel's Foreign Wives

Fr. Mike discusses God’s instruction to the people of Israel not to marry women from foreign lands. He explains why God would provide this instruction and how Ezra reacted when he discovered that many prominent Israelites had not obeyed it. He also identifies the prophecies of Palm Sunday and the thirty pieces of silver found in Zechariah. Today’s readings are Ezra 9-10, Zechariah 9-11, and Proverbs 20:16-19.

National Doctor's Day[5]

National Doctor's Day commemorates the nation's doctors, who have dedicated themselves to public service by helping to ensure the good health of US citizens. Doctors are qualified and licensed individuals who practice medicine of all forms. They include many types such as physicians, surgeons, specialists, anesthesiologists and pediatricians, who dedicate their lives to helping, healing and curing the sick and needy. President George W. Bush designated March 30th as National Doctor's Day on October 30, 1990, in an effort to celebrate the sacrifices and contributions made by our nation's doctors. National Doctor's Day is observed on March 30th every year in the US.

National Doctor's Day Facts & Quotes

· The red carnation is the symbolic flower used for this holiday. It is often placed on the gravesites of deceased physicians.

· Eudora Almond, wife of Dr. Charles Almond, celebrated the first Doctor's Day in Winder, Georgia on March 30, 1933.

· According to a study by AAMC, the average cost of attending a US Medical school as a nonresident is about $50,000 per year.

· People pay the doctor for his trouble; for his kindness-they still remain in his debt. - Seneca, ancient Roman philosopher.

· A good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease. - William Osler, Canadian physician and founder of John Hopkins Hospital

National Doctor's Day Top Events and Things to Do

· Order a gift for your doctor. Find something related to medicine such as a spine keychain or even a basket of fruits shaped like bones.

· Send a personal Thank You Note to your doctor letting them know you appreciate him/her.

· Place a red carnation on a deceased physician’s grave.

· Drop by your doctor's office with a free lunch or a snack in appreciation of their dedication to your health.

· If you haven't been for a checkup in a while, get one. Your doctor will be happy that you came in.

THIS WE BELIEVE

PRAYERS AND TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

What is a Sacrament?

A sacrament is an external sign, given to us by Jesus Christ, that point to an internal change or conversion. It is a visible sign of God's grace. Sacraments and faith are linked together in that sacraments pre-suppose, nourish, fortify and express faith. They build up the body of Christ, the Church.

It is a ritual that has been codified and evolved over time; coming from both the Bible (scripture) and lived experience (tradition).

In 1215 at the 4th Lateran Council the Church names the seven sacraments, using this definition "Something is properly called a sacrament because it is a sign of God's grace and is such an image of invisible grace that it bears its likeness and exists as its cause. (Peter Lombard)

Vatican II called the Church to ref-focus on the community aspect of the sacraments, reminding us that each sacrament communicates God's grace to the world. The Church itself is a sacrament.

Daily Devotions

· Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: The lonely and destitute

· Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

· Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

· Make reparations to the Holy Face

· Drops of Christ’s Blood

· Universal Man Plan