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Claire’s Corner Try “Challah”
· Colic Awareness Month-Get some Gripe Water
o I was a Colic baby Mom and Dad found Gripe Water when my parents were in Bermuda as my Day was in the Navy Seabees overlaying the runway where I was born.
· Today in honor of the Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving your day to God. To honor God REST: no shopping after 6 pm Saturday till Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
- Spirit hour: The Hart cocktail in honor of St. Catherine
- Bucket Item trip: Etu Moana, Cook Islands
· Endometriosis Awareness Month
· 30 Days with St. Joseph Day 3
🇨🇾 Week 12 — Paphos, Cyprus
“From Storm to Stillness”
March 22–28, 2026
Base: Paphos — Apostolic Coastline & Gentle Spring Light
Retirement Budget Edition
🌦️ Overview
Late March in Paphos brings early‑week rain and a warm, bright finish. Highs run 58–68°F, with long Mediterranean light. It’s a natural Lenten rhythm: storm → perseverance → clarity.
Theme: trust, endurance, and the peace that follows the storm.
📅 Daily Outline (Budget‑Friendly)
📌 Mar 22 — Arrival
Weather: Rain showers
Flight: Larnaca → Paphos (budget bus transfer)
Mass: Agia Kyriaki Chrysopolitissa
Lodging: Pyramos Hotel ($55–$70/night)
Meals: ~$30/day (simple tavernas + bakery breakfasts)
Symbolic Act: “Entering the Storm” — offer the week to God as the rain falls
Fun: Explore Old Town cafés (warm, inexpensive)
📌 Mar 23 — Paphos Archaeological Park (Monday — Rainy)
Visit: Archaeological Park (low‑cost ticket)
Walk: Lighthouse path with umbrella
Mass: Agia Kyriaki
Symbolic Act: “Holding Fast” — pray among ancient mosaics
Fun: Try loukoumades ($3–$4)
📌 Mar 24 — Tombs of the Kings (Tuesday — Showers)
Visit: Tombs of the Kings (excellent in light rain)
Walk: Coastal path toward Coral Bay
Mass: Local Catholic community
Symbolic Act: “Shelter in God” — reflect on God’s protection
Fun: Lunch at a family‑run taverna ($10–$12)
📌 Mar 25 — Annunciation Day Indoors (Wednesday — Rainy)
Visit: Paphos Ethnographic Museum
Walk: Covered arcades of Ktima Paphos
Mass: Feast of the Annunciation — Agia Kyriaki
Symbolic Act: “Let It Be Done” — pray Mary’s fiat
Fun: Tea + pastry ($5–$7)
📌 Mar 26 — Polis & Latchi (Thursday — Light Rain → Clearing)
Visit: Baths of Aphrodite viewpoint (bus ride)
Walk: Nature trail when clouds lift
Mass: Evening Mass in Paphos
Symbolic Act: “Emerging from Trial” — journal on what the rain has washed away
Fun: Quiet harbor stroll (free)
📌 Mar 27 — Sunshine Returns: Petra tou Romiou (Friday — Partly Sunny)
Visit: Petra tou Romiou (bus + short walk)
Walk: Coastal cliffs
Mass: Evening Mass in Paphos
Symbolic Act: “Clarity After the Storm” — pray a thanksgiving litany
Fun: Sunset photos (free)
📌 Mar 28 — Akamas Light Day (Saturday — Partly Sunny)
Visit: Akamas Peninsula (bus to trailhead)
Walk: Sea cliffs → Avakas Gorge entrance
Mass: Evening Mass
Symbolic Act: “Walking in New Light” — reflect on the week’s transformation
Fun: Simple seaside dinner ($12–$15)
💰 Cost Snapshot (Retirement Budget)
Lodging (6 nights): ~$330–$420
Meals (7 days): ~$210–$260
Tickets/Activities: ~$40–$80
Local Transport: ~$40–$70
Flight/Transfers: ~$40–$90
➡️ Total: $660–$920
A full week under $1,000, with comfort, beauty, and spiritual depth intact.
MARCH 22 Fifth Sunday
of Lent-First
Passion
Sunday
August
Von Galen-World
Water Day
Now
when Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had captured Ai and put
it under the ban, and had done to that city and its king as he had done to
Jericho and its king, and that the
inhabitants of Gibeon had made their peace with Israel, remaining among them,
there was great FEAR abroad, because Gibeon was a great
city, like one of the royal cities, greater even than Ai, and all its men were
warriors.
Gibeon was going to get a beat down
by the Canaanite Kings because it had aligned with Israel. Joshua showed he was
a man of virtue by coming to the aid of Gibeon even if the treaty was by
trickery. Often you can tell the character of a person by how they treat their
past enemies and how they respond to overwhelming odds. Israel the smallest of
nations came to the defense of Gibeon to fight an enemy five times larger but
the faith of Joshua and his army multiplied their numbers. Faith is always a
great multiplier in overcoming odds take the story of Glen Cunningham who beat
the odds to go on to compete at the Olympics.
Glenn
Verniss Cunningham (August 4, 1909 – March 10, 1988)
was an American distance runner and athlete considered by many the greatest
American miler of all time. Cunningham was nicknamed the "Kansas
Flyer", the "Elkhart Express" and the "Iron Horse of Kansas".
Cunningham's legs were very badly burned in an explosion caused when someone accidentally put gasoline instead of kerosene in the can at his schoolhouse when he was eight and his brother Floyd was thirteen. Floyd died in the fire. When the doctors recommended amputating Glenn's legs, he was so distressed his parents would not allow it. The doctors predicted he might never walk normally again. He had lost all the flesh on his knees and shins and all the toes on his left foot. Also, his transverse arch was practically destroyed. However, his great determination, coupled with hours upon hours of a new type of therapy, enabled him to gradually regain the ability to walk and to proceed to run. It was in the early summer of 1919 when he first tried to walk again, roughly two years after the accident. He had a positive attitude as well as a strong religious faith. His favorite Bible verse was Isaiah 40:31: "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."
He
competed in both the 1932 Summer Olympics as well as the 1936 Summer Olympics.
While on the ship traveling from the U.S. to Germany, he was voted "Most
Popular Athlete" by his fellow Olympians.
In
1934, he set the world record for the mile run at 4:06.8, which stood for three
years.[1]
Become this Easter an Iron Horse
for the Lord!
Aids in Battle[2] The Power of Christ’s Blood
This Blood, if rightly received, drives away demons and keeps them
far away from us, while it calls to us both angels and the Lord of angels. For
wherever they see the Lord’s Blood, demons flee and angels run to gather
together. For this Blood, poured forth, washed clean all the world. .
. . Those who share this Blood stand with angels and
archangels and the heavenly powers above, clothed in
Christ’s own kingly robe, and having the armor of the Spirit. In fact, greater
than everything I have yet described is this: Those who share this Blood are
clothed with the King Himself. ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
Copilot’s Take
Joshua’s defense of Gibeon shows that fear may shake
nations, but faith steadies a man. The Catechism teaches that fortitude gives
firmness in difficulty, and Joshua embodies this by keeping covenant even with
those who deceived him. His fidelity reveals a deeper truth: a man’s character
is exposed in how he treats former enemies and how he stands when the odds are
overwhelming. Israel marched uphill through the night to face five kings
because covenant demanded it, and God multiplied their courage.
Glenn Cunningham lived the same pattern in modern form. Burned, broken, and told he would never walk, he rose through relentless effort and a faith rooted in Isaiah’s promise that those who wait on the Lord will run and not grow weary. His life became a witness to grace elevating human virtue, proof that faith multiplies strength when the world says the battle is unwinnable.
St. John Chrysostom then reveals the deepest source
of this courage: the Precious Blood of Christ. The Catechism teaches that this
Blood ransoms, strengthens, and unites us to Christ Himself. Chrysostom
describes its effects with clarity—where the Blood is, demons flee; where the
Blood is, angels gather; where the Blood is, a man becomes clothed in Christ.
This is not metaphor but the Church’s understanding of the Eucharist as armor,
identity, and power.
Joshua’s fidelity, Cunningham’s endurance, and
Chrysostom’s theology converge into a single Easter summons: become an Iron
Horse for the Lord. Let covenant shape your decisions, let faith multiply your
strength, and let the Blood of Christ clothe you in the armor of heaven.
Where is Christ asking you to step into overwhelming
odds with this kind of courage?
ON KEEPING THE LORD'S
DAY HOLY[3]
CHAPTER II
DIES CHRISTI
The Day of the
Risen Lord
and of the Gift
of the Holy Spirit
An indispensable day!
30. It is clear then why, even in our own difficult times, the identity of this day must be protected and above all must be lived in all its depth. An Eastern writer of the beginning of the third century recounts that as early as then the faithful in every region were keeping Sunday holy on a regular basis. What began as a spontaneous practice later became a juridically sanctioned norm. The Lord's Day has structured the history of the Church through two thousand years: how could we think that it will not continue to shape her future? The pressures of today can make it harder to fulfil the Sunday obligation; and, with a mother's sensitivity, the Church looks to the circumstances of each of her children.
In particular, she feels herself called to a new catechetical and pastoral commitment, in order to ensure that, in the normal course of life, none of her children are deprived of the rich outpouring of grace which the celebration of the Lord's Day brings. It was in this spirit that the Second Vatican Council, making a pronouncement on the possibility of reforming the Church calendar to match different civil calendars, declared that the Church "is prepared to accept only those arrangements which preserve a week of seven days with a Sunday". Given its many meanings and aspects, and its link to the very foundations of the faith, the celebration of the Christian Sunday remains, on the threshold of the Third Millennium, an indispensable element of our Christian identity.
Fifth
Sunday of Lent-First Passion Sunday
The
Jews' growing hatred of Christ recorded in today's Gospel makes plain His
imminent death.
Passion Week[4]
FROM this day, called Passion
Sunday, until Easter the Church--gives herself up entirely to meditation on the
passion of Jesus. Today the crucifixes are covered, in remembrance that from
this time until His entrance into Jerusalem Jesus walked no more openly among
the Jews. From to-day the Glory Be to the Father is omitted in the Mass,
because in the person of Jesus Christ the Most Holy Trinity was dishonored. As
on this day the high priests held council about Our Lord, the Church says, at
the Introit of the Mass, in the name of the suffering Jesus, the words of the
psalmist: Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not
holy; deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man, for Thou art God, my
strength. Send forth Thy light and Thy truth, they have conducted me and
brought me unto Thy holy hill, and into Thy tabernacles (Ps. xlii. 1-3). Prayer. We beseech Thee, Almighty God,
mercifully look upon Thy family, that by Thy bounty it may be governed in body,
and by Thy preservation be kept in mind.
EPISTLE. Heb. ix. 11-15.
Brethren: Christ, being come a high priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation: neither by the blood of goats, nor of calves, but by His own blood, entered once into the holies, having obtained eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and of oxen, and the ashes
of a heifer being sprinkled, sanctify such as are defiled, to the cleansing of
the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, Who by the Holy Ghost
offered Himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to
serve the living God?
And therefore, He is the mediator
of the New Testament: that by means of His death, for the redemption of those
transgressions, which were under the former testament, they that are called may
receive the promise of eternal inheritance, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Explanation.
St. Paul here teaches that Jesus
Christ has given full satisfaction for the sins of men and opened to all the
entrance into the sanctuary. The Church proposes this epistle to us in order
that we may thank God for the great mercy of the redemption, love and praise
Him, and be encouraged to share in His sufferings by fasting, prayer, and
penitential works.
Aspiration.
Give us Thy grace,
O meekest Jesus, that by true sorrow for our sins, and by the practice of good
works, we may become partakers of Thy bitter sufferings, and obtain the
promised in heritance of eternal life. Amen.
GOSPEL.
John viii. 46-59.
At
that time Jesus said to the multitudes of the Jews:
Which of you shall convince Me of sin?
If I say the truth to you, why do you not believe Me?
He that is of God heareth the words
of God. Therefore, you hear them not because you are not of God. The Jews
therefore answered, and said to Him:
Do not we say well that Thou art a Samaritan, and hast
a devil?
Jesus answered: I have not a devil:
but I honor My Father, and you have dishonored Me. But I seek not My own glory:
there is One that seeketh and judgeth. Amen, amen, I say to you: if any man
keep My word, he shall not see death forever. The Jews therefore said: Now we
know that Thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and Thou
sayest: If any man keep My word, he shall not taste death forever.
Art Thou greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?
and the prophets are dead. Whom dost Thou make Thyself?
Jesus answered: If I glorify
Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father that glorifieth Me, of Whom you
say that He is your God. And you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I
shall say that I know Him not, I shall be like to you, a liar. But I do know
Him, and do keep His word. Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see My
day. He saw it, and was glad. The Jews therefore said to Him:
Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen
Abraham?
Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I
say to you, before Abraham was made, I am. They took up stones therefore to
cast at Him. But Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
Explanation.
When Our Savior said: He that is of God heareth God’s words, He meant to point out to the Jews the cause of their stubborn unbelief. He that is of God hears and loves that which is Godlike. When, therefore, we gladly hear the word of God and strive to do what we have heard, we testify that we are the children of God. Instead of reflecting on Our Savior’s words the Jews poured out their offended pride and abuse, and called Him a Samaritan, and one having a devil. The same thing happens to-day. Instead of listening to the truth; the proud man answers with calumny and contempt. Our Savior hid Himself from the Jews to teach us to forgive and avoid our enemies rather than to oppose them and take revenge on them.
Ponder: Have we advanced
any since Christ’s time? Reflect on our news, social media, and politics. Do
they speak the truth-or say Truth! What is truth.
Consolation under Insults
O friend, what insult can be given
to you which your Savior has not suffered?
He was called a glutton and a
drunkard, a heretic and a rebel, a friend and associate of sinners, and one who
had a devil; He was even told that He cast out devils by the prince of devils
(Matt. ix. 34). He, therefore, comforts His disciples with the words, “If they
have called the good man of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of his
household? (Matt. x. 25)
There is no sorrow so bitter that
He has not borne it, for what was more painful and grievous than the death of
the cross? Christians, “think diligently upon Him that endured such opposition
from sinners against Himself, that you be not wearied, fainting in your minds,
at contempt and insult.” (Heb. xii. 3)
Passiontide Customs[5]
The
main custom for Passiontide is the veiling of all sacred images in home and
church with purple cloth. This custom originated in ancient times, when the
images in the papal chapel of the Vatican were covered after the words of the
Passion Sunday Gospel, "Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple"
(Jn 8.59), were pronounced.
Passiontide:
- (First) Passion Sunday. The Jews' growing hatred of
Christ recorded in today's Gospel makes plain His imminent death.
- Friday after Passion Sunday: Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the
Blessed Virgin Mary. A special commemoration, one week
before Good Friday, of Mary's compassion for (literally, "suffering
with") Her innocent son.
- (Second Passion or) Palm Sunday. Christ's triumphant entrance into Jerusalem and the account of His Passion according to St. Matthew.
Mourning& Veiling[6]
Akin to the asceticism of Lent is
its mournful tone. The Church is traditionally
draped in purple or black, its organ silenced, and its altar bereft of any
flowers. At home medieval Catholics would avoid frivolity or hilarity and would
wear black during either Holy Week or Good Friday.
There is a special mourning custom
that also begins on Passion Sunday (Fifth Sunday of Lent (Passion Sunday) and
ends when the Gloria is sung during the Easter Vigil Mass: covering all sacred images
(crucifixes, statues, etc) with purple cloth in both church and home. This
might seem counterintuitive, since one would expect to gaze at a crucifix more
during the season when the Passion is being considered. Yet the Roman rite
teaches by absence as well as by presence. In an odd way, being denied access
to the sacred images alerts you to their presence all the more, in the same way
that not having the sacrifice of the Mass on the one day you would expect it
the most, i.e., Good Friday, makes one all the more aware of the Sacrifice that
took place on that day. Covering sacred images also adds immensely to the sense
of sorrow and compunction that should naturally accompany this somber period.
Passion Fruit Cheesecake for
Passion Sunday[7]
Since
the 3rd Century, today (5th Sunday in Lent) has been known as Passion Sunday.
Passion
Fruit Cheesecake
Ingredients:
Crust
1
1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4
cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons nuts, finely chopped
6
ounces butter, melted
Cheesecake
Filling
1
1/2 pound cream cheese
1
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2
tablespoons corn starch
1/2
vanilla bean, scraped
3
eggs
3/4
cup sour cream
3/4
cup passion fruit puree.
Directions:
Make crust by combining dry
ingredients in a large bowl. Melt butter and add to dry ingredients. Mix
thoroughly. When incorporated, press evenly into nine-inch springform pan. Bake
at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Combine cream cheese
and sugar until smooth. Add corn starch and blend. Add eggs and mix thoroughly,
scraping the sides of the bowl. Add vanilla and sour cream. Mix until smooth
and fold in passion fruit puree. Pour batter into a springform pan and bake at
300 degrees for approximately one hour and thirty minutes, or until set. Cool
slowly and completely refrigerate for several hours.
Aids
in Battle[8] Help from Saints
Saints are veterans of the spiritual war
that continues to rage in this world. Their insights, born of long experience
in combat with the Enemy, can make us wise and strong in battle.
·
God has fashioned and shaped only one enmity, and that an
irreconcilable one, which will endure and even increase, until the end: It is
that between the Virgin Mary and the Devil, between the children and servants
of the Blessed Virgin and the children and accomplices of Satan; so that the
most terrible of the enemies of Satan created by God is Mary, his Blessed
Mother. ST. LOUIS DE MONTFORT
·
Men do not fear a powerful, hostile army as much as
the powers of hell fear the name and protection of Mary. ST. BONAVENTURE
·
You, O Lady, by the simple invocation of your most powerful name,
give security to your servants against all the assaults of the Enemy. ST.
GERMANUS
·
By invoking the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under
Pontius Pilate, Satan is driven out of men. ST. IRENAEUS
·
We are all inclined to sin, my children; we are idle, greedy,
sensual, given to the pleasures of the flesh. We want to know everything, to
learn everything, to see everything. We must watch over our mind, over our
heart, and over our senses, for these are the gates by which the Devil
penetrates. See, he prowls round us incessantly; his only occupation in
this world is to seek companions for himself. All our
life he will lay snares for us; he will try to make us yield to temptations. We
must, on our side, do all we can to defeat and resist him. We can do nothing by
ourselves, children. But we can do everything with the help of the good God.
Let us pray Him to deliver us from this enemy of our salvation, or to give
strength to fight against him. With the Name of Jesus, we shall overcome the
demons; we shall put them to flight. With this name, though they may sometimes
dare to attack us, our battles will be victories, and our victories will be
crowns for heaven, all brilliant with precious stones. ST. JOHN VIANNEY
Clemens August
von Galen, Bishop of Münster
(16 March 1878 – 22 March 1946)[9]
In the summer of 1941, in answer to unwarranted
attacks by the National Socialists, Bishop von Galen delivered three admonitory
sermons between July and August. He spoke in his old parish Church of St
Lambert and in Liebfrauen-Ueberlassen Church, since the diocesan cathedral had
been bombed. In his famous speeches, Bishop von Galen spoke out against the
State confiscation of Church property and the programmatic euthanasia carried
out by the regime. The clarity and incisiveness of his words and the unshakable
fidelity of Catholics in the Diocese of Münster embarrassed the Nazi regime,
and on 10 October 1943 the bishop’s residence was bombed. Bishop von Galen was
forced to take refuge in nearby Borromeo College. From 12 September 1944 on, he
could no longer remain in the city of Münster, destroyed by the war; he left
for the zone of Sendenhorst. In 1945, Vatican Radio announced that Pope Pius
XII was to hold a Consistory and that the Bishop of Münster was also to be
present.
T4:
The Nazis' Euthanasia Solution[10]
He who is bodily and mentally not sound and
deserving may not perpetuate this misfortune in the bodies of his children. —
Hitler, Mein Kampf.
Beginning in 1939, the National Socialist regime
begin systematically killing disabled children in "specially designated
pediatric clinics" via starvation and overdose. By the end of World War
II, an estimated 5,000 infants and children had been murdered by the Nazis. The
program, code-named T4, was extended to adults beginning in 1940. Physicians
working for the T4 program examined medical files (seldom the institutionalized
patients themselves) and marked for death disabled and mentally ill adults, in
most cases without the knowledge or consent of family members. Those selected
for extermination were rounded up, processed, and directed into a facility for
a "disinfecting shower." Instead, the victims were gassed to death
via carbon monoxide. Their bodies were cremated, and the ashes sent to families
with an official death certificate listing a fictitious cause of death.
By 1941 the program had become public knowledge,
in part because of the opposition from German clergymen, including Bishop von
Galen. Hitler officially halted the adult killings, but the child program
continued. In 1942 adult killings resumed in secret and continued until the end
of the war, with an ever-expanding range of victims, including the elderly,
hospitalized war victims, and foreign laborers. In all, an estimated 200,000
people were executed as part of the Nazi "mercy killing" agenda.
Bible in a year Day 263 The
Father's Generosity
Fr.
Mike takes us through various parables in Matthew such the parable of the lost
sheep, the merciful servant, and the laborers in the vineyard. He invites us
not to be envious when others are blessed, but to allow the Father to be
generous. Todays readings are Matthew 18-21, and Proverbs 19:13-16.
World Water Day[11]
World
Water Day serves to raise awareness about water issues such as sanitation
problems and water shortages in many parts of the world. Today, 1 in 10 people
lack access to safe and clean water, a problem which has a direct impact on the
economy, health of the population and well-being of women and children
worldwide. In 1992, World Water Day was proposed at the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development. The United Nations General
Assembly responded to the proposition in 1993 by declaring March 22 as World
Water Day. Each year, the UN-Water agency allocates a theme corresponding to a
current or potential challenge for World Water Day.
World Water Day Facts & Quotes
·
In
developing nations, nearly 80% of illnesses can be linked to poor water and
sanitation conditions.
·
Russia's
Lake Baikal and North America's Great Lakes hold about 40% of the world's fresh
water supply, the large remainder of the freshwater supply is in the form of
icecaps and glaciers.
·
According
to UNICEF, diarrhea is the second leading cause of death among children under
the age of 5 in the world.
·
You
ain't gonna miss your water until your well runs dry. - Bob Marley
World Water Day Top Events and
Things to Do
·
Don't
waste water!!! Make a conscious effort to use less water on World Water Day and
on other days. Some ways to reduce water consumption include showers instead of
baths, washing full loads of clothing only and turning off the tap while
washing dishes and brushing teeth.
·
Donate
to a charity or organization that supports
water issues in developing nations. WaterAid
is an organization that works in poor countries to set up and maintain water
sources, UNICEF and UNCHR also provide support and relief
efforts to improve water sanitation and hygiene globally.
·
Volunteer
to help clean up trash and other debris along a beach or shore. This garbage
and debris pollute the water that we need in our daily lives.
·
Watch
documentaries about water-related issues such as pollution, contamination and
diseases. Our top picks are Troubled Water, The Fight for Water, Flow
for the Love of Water, Tapped, Thirst and Dhaka's Cholera
Wars.
· Take part in a local World Water Day celebration, such as a film screening or a water conservation event. One of the largest events, the White House Water Summit in Washington DC, will be live streamed.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Increase
of Vocations to the Holy Priesthood.
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
[2] Thigpen, Paul. Manual for Spiritual Warfare. TAN
Books.
[4] Goffine’s Divine Instructions, 1896.
[8] Thigpen, Paul. Manual for Spiritual Warfare. TAN
Books.
[9]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2019-03-22
[10]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2019-03-22
Swing High, Swing Low
🎬 Production Snapshot
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: Mitchell Leisen
Release: 1937
Screenplay: Virginia Van Upp, based on the Broadway play Burlesque
Stars: Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, Charles Butterworth, Harvey Stephens
Genre: Romantic comedy / Musical drama
Notable: One of the finest Lombard–MacMurray pairings; a rise‑and‑fall story wrapped in nightclub glamour and emotional realism. The Panama Canal Zone setting gives the film an expatriate, morally humid atmosphere where charm and temptation coexist.
🧭 Story Summary
Maggie King (Carole Lombard), a shipboard hairdresser, is stranded in Panama after a chaotic encounter with Skid Johnson (Fred MacMurray), a trumpet‑playing soldier with more talent than discipline. Thrown together by circumstance, they build a life in the local nightclub scene—she dances, he plays, and their affection grows into marriage.
Skid’s trumpet brilliance draws the attention of New York agents, and success pulls him away from Maggie. Distance, pride, and an opportunistic former flame erode his fidelity. Maggie, wounded but steadfast, watches the man she loves unravel under the weight of fame and self‑indulgence. Only when Skid hits bottom does he recognize the cost of his pride and the depth of Maggie’s loyalty.
The film resolves not with spectacle but with humility: a broken man returning to the woman who never stopped loving him, and a marriage rebuilt on truth rather than charm.
🕰 Historical and Cultural Context
- Paramount in the late 1930s specialized in sophisticated romantic dramas with musical flair, and Leisen was a master of emotional texture.
- Carole Lombard, though famous for screwball comedy, delivers one of her most grounded, emotionally mature performances.
- Fred MacMurray was still early in his career, often cast as the charming but flawed everyman—an archetype he refines here.
- The Panama Canal Zone setting reflects 1930s fascination with exotic, transient spaces where Americans lived outside familiar moral structures.
- The film’s rise‑and‑fall arc mirrors Depression‑era anxieties about ambition, instability, and the fragility of relationships under pressure.
✝️ Catholic Moral Resonances
The film’s nightclub sheen hides a deeply moral story about vocation, fidelity, and the purifying fire of humility.
Fidelity as Covenant, Not Sentiment
Maggie’s love is not naïve; it is covenantal. She remains faithful not because Skid deserves it but because she understands marriage as a promise that endures through disorder. Her fidelity mirrors the Church’s teaching that love is an act of the will, not a mood.
Ambition Without Virtue Leads to Ruin
Skid’s downfall is not caused by talent but by pride. His gifts become destructive when detached from gratitude and discipline. Catholic moral tradition warns that unanchored ambition corrodes the soul and fractures relationships.
Humility as the Doorway to Restoration
Skid’s return is not triumphant—it is penitential. He must face the truth of his failures, accept Maggie’s mercy, and rebuild his life from the ground up. This echoes the sacramental pattern: contrition, confession, restoration.
Mercy That Does Not Excuse Sin
Maggie forgives, but she does not pretend nothing happened. Her mercy is clear‑eyed, rooted in truth. This is the Church’s vision of mercy: not indulgence, but love that heals without lying.
Marriage as Mutual Sanctification
Their reconciliation suggests that marriage is a school of virtue. Maggie’s steadfastness and Skid’s repentance become the means by which both grow in maturity and grace.
🍸 Hospitality Pairing
Drink: The Panama Highball — light rum, lime, and club soda. Bright, tropical, and honest—echoing the film’s early joy before ambition complicates things.
Snack: Plantain chips with a touch of sea salt. Simple, warm, and rooted in the film’s Canal Zone setting.
Atmosphere:
- Soft jazz or trumpet instrumentals playing quietly.
- A dim lamp or candle to evoke the nightclub’s glow without its chaos.
- A small keepsake or memento on the table—a reminder of Maggie’s steadfastness and the way love remembers even when wounded.
🪞 Reflection Prompt
Where has ambition—your own or someone else’s—pulled you away from the relationships that anchor you, and what small act of humility could begin the work of restoration?
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