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๐ฅ Tue, Mar 24 – Tuesday Reflection
Better to Smoke in This Life Than the Next
Virtue: Triumph & Light
Cigar: Bright, celebratory (Candela)
Bourbon: Blanton’s – refined, radiant
Reflection: “What glory rises from the tomb?”
๐ซ️ The Taste of Purgatory — A Short Story for Tonight
He was a quiet man in life, the kind who never made a scene but always postponed the hard conversations with himself. When he died, he expected darkness. Instead, he found light — too bright to bear.
It wasn’t punishment.
It was truth.
The fire that met him wasn’t angry; it was honest. It burned away the excuses he had carried for decades. Every forgotten kindness, every avoided duty, every half‑lived virtue rose before him like smoke. He realized, with a clarity he had never allowed himself on earth, that the fire was not God’s wrath but God’s love — a love so pure it could not tolerate anything false.
And in that moment he whispered the line he had heard once but never understood:
“Better to smoke in this life than the next.”
Because the small ember of self‑examination — the quiet burn of humility, the gentle sting of truth — would have spared him the greater fire of love that now purified him.
But even in the flames, he felt something rising within him:
glory, not shame.
The glory that rises from the tomb.
The glory that waits on the other side of surrender.
The glory that comes when a man finally lets God finish what he began.
๐ฅ Why Candela & Blanton’s Fit Tonight
- Candela is bright, green‑leafed, almost springlike — a cigar that tastes like resurrection before resurrection arrives.
- Blanton’s carries that radiant, polished warmth that mirrors the triumph of light over shadow.
Together they become a vigil:
a man sitting with the small fire now,
so the great fire later feels like home.
✨ Closing Line
Lord, let the ember I hold tonight prepare me for the glory that rises from the tomb.
Candace’s Corner
· Spirit Hour: Liebfraumilch in honor of St. Grabriel’s feast the day before the Feast of the Annunciation tomorrow.
· Bucket List trip[3]: Northern Mariana Islands
· Developmental Disability Awareness Month
· Try[4]: Have a Cheesesteak sandwich.
· 30 Days with St. Joseph Day 5
Candace’s Worldwide Vineyard Tour — Yakima Valley, Washington
Theme: Expansion, Confidence, and Walking Forward in the Light
๐ฟ OVERVIEW
The Yakima Valley
opens like a long breath—broad skies, warm days, and vineyards that stretch toward the horizon.
After the ascent of the Okanagan, this week invites you to walk forward with confidence, letting the clarity you gained become movement, direction, and purpose.
This is a landscape of expansion:
rows that run long and straight,
sunlight that sharpens edges,
wines that carry warmth, structure, and grounded strength.
This week is about living the courage you found, not just feeling it.
It is about stepping into the light with the steadiness of someone who knows where God is leading.
The wines—Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Merlot, and sun‑ripened whites—mirror that grounded confidence.
๐ DAILY OUTLINE
TUESDAY • MAR 24
Location: Treveri Cellars
(trevericellars.com)
Focus: Lightness after ascent
Act: Sip a sparkling wine outdoors and feel the openness around you.
Prompt: Where is God inviting me to breathe more freely?
WEDNESDAY • MAR 25 — THE ANNUNCIATION
Location: St. Paul Cathedral, Yakima
(yakimadiocese.org)
Vineyard: Owen Roe
(owenroe.com)
Focus: Fiat and holy readiness
Act: Whisper Mary’s “yes” once, slowly, with intention.
Prompt: What new beginning is God announcing in my life?
THURSDAY • MAR 26
Location: Two Mountain Winery
(twomountainwinery.com)
Focus: Steadiness and rootedness
Act: Stand at the edge of the vineyard and look toward the twin peaks.
Prompt: What foundation is God strengthening beneath my feet?
FRIDAY • MAR 27
Location: Cรดte Bonneville / DuBrul Vineyard
(cotebonneville.com)
Focus: Reparation through truth
Act: Taste a structured red and let its firmness speak to you.
Prompt: What truth do I need to face with courage and humility?
SATURDAY • MAR 28
Location: Hedges Family Estate (Red Mountain)
(hedgesfamilyestate.com)
Focus: Integrity and wholeness
Act: Walk the biodynamic blocks and notice what feels whole and what feels divided.
Prompt: Where is God integrating what has been fragmented in me?
SUNDAY • MAR 29 — 5TH SUNDAY OF LENT (PASSIONTIDE BEGINS)
Mass: Holy Family Catholic Church, Yakima
(hfcyakima.org)
Vineyard: Kiona Vineyards
(kionawine.com)
Focus: Turning toward the Cross
Act: Write one place where you feel Christ strengthening your resolve.
Word: Forward.
MONDAY • MAR 30
Location: Sheridan Vineyard
(sheridanvineyard.com)
Focus: Mission and clarity
Act: Taste their bold reds and reflect on the mission God is sharpening in you.
Prompt: What direction is becoming unmistakably clear?
MARCH 24 Tuesday
in Passion Week
World Tuberculosis Day-St. Gabriel-Litany of Trust
Joshua, Chapter 10, Verse 8
The LORD said to Joshua: Do not FEAR them,
for I have delivered them into your power. Not one of them will be able to
withstand you.
God was stronger than Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem and his posse. God is stronger than the Devil
and his entire posse. God is stronger than all the communists, atheists,
politicians, and propaganda ministers of our age. Our Lady tells us to not fear
them, but fear God and pray.
The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness. For what can be known about God is evident to them, because God made it evident to them. Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse; for although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened. While claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes. Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Rom. 1:18-25)
Copilot’s Take
Joshua’s
command not to fear rests entirely on God’s prior action, not Israel’s
strength; the victory is already secured because the Lord has moved first. That
same truth exposes the hollowness of modern powers, which appear formidable but
collapse before the sovereignty of God. Courage is not drawn from cultural
dominance but from the certainty that God has already delivered the enemies of
truth into His hands.
The
Catechism stands as a fortress against the confusion of the age, grounding the
Church in objective truth, divine Revelation, and the supernatural order. It
rejects the modern temptation to treat doctrine as fluid or symbolic, insisting
instead that dogma develops without distortion and that the Church remains the
visible, hierarchical body founded by Christ. In a world of shifting
narratives, the CCC is the Church’s unshakable anchor.
Modernism,
condemned as the synthesis of all heresies, denies objective truth and reduces
faith to subjective experience. It treats dogma as malleable, Revelation as
mythic, and the supernatural as embarrassment. By enthroning human autonomy and
dethroning God, it absorbs rationalism, relativism, sentimentalism, and
secularism into one corrosive worldview. Modernism is not merely an error but
the spiritual bloodstream of the contemporary world.
Romans
1 reads like a prophetic diagnosis of our age, describing a culture that
suppresses truth, worships creation, and descends into confusion while claiming
enlightenment. The modern world’s obsessions—self‑definition, pleasure as
identity, politics as salvation—are not innovations but ancient errors dressed
in new technology. Paul’s warning is not historical commentary but a mirror
held up to every society that exchanges the Creator for the creature.
Our Lady enters this battlefield not as a gentle ornament but as the woman of Revelation 12, the one who crushes the serpent’s head. Her message across centuries is unwavering: fear God alone, return to prayer, repent, and trust. She does not ask us to tremble before the powers of the age but to stand firm in the grace that outlasts every empire and ideology. Her voice cuts through the noise with the clarity of heaven.
The
Litany of Trust becomes a weapon precisely because it confronts the lies of
modernism at their root. Each petition dismantles a core falsehood: that we are
alone, that we must save ourselves, that surrender is weakness, that our worth
is earned. To pray “Jesus, I trust in You” is to reject the entire modern
project of self‑creation and to anchor identity in the mercy and fidelity of
God. Trust becomes resistance.
The
enemies of God change their costumes but not their nature; today’s Amorite
kings appear as ideologies, technocracies, and self‑worship, yet the spiritual
battle remains the same. The Church confronts evil not with panic or political
frenzy but with fidelity, clarity, sacramental life, and fearless trust. The
modern world is loud, but it is not strong. God has already delivered its false
powers into His hands, and the faithful walk forward without fear.
Tuesday in Passion
Week
MAY our fasts be acceptable to Thee, O Lord, and, by expiating our grace, sins, may they make us and conduct us to eternal salvation.
And the angel of the Lord said to Habacuc: Carry the dinner which thou hast into Babylon to Daniel, who is in the lions' den. And Habacuc said: Lord, I never saw Babylon, nor do I know the den. And the angel of the Lord took him by the top of his head, and carried him by the hair of his head, and set him in Babylon over the den in the force of his spirit. And Habacuc cried, saying: O Daniel, thou servant of God, take the dinner that God hath sent thee. And Daniel said: Thou hast remembered me, O God, and Thou hast not forsaken them that love Thee. And Daniel arose and ate. And the angel of the Lord presently set Habacuc again in his own place. And upon the seventh day the king came to bewail Daniel: and he came to the den, and looked in, and behold Daniel was sitting in the midst of the lions. And the king cried out with a loud voice, saying: Great art Thou, O Lord the God of Daniel. And he drew him out of the lions' den. But those that had been the cause of his destruction, he cast into the den, and they were devoured in a moment before him. Then the king said: Let all the inhabitants of the whole earth fear the God of Daniel: for He is the Savior, working signs, and wonders in the earth: Who hath delivered Daniel out of the lions' den.
Bible in a year Day 265 Sins of Omission
Fr. Mike explains sins of omission,
and how these are some of the biggest deciding factors of who goes to heaven
and who goes to hell: whether or not we did good works God called us to. He
also reminds us that not all of the New Testament parables are universally
relevant, recalling the parable of the talents and the parable of the wise and
foolish maidens. Today's readings are Matthew 25-26 and Proverbs 19:21-24.
World Tuberculosis Day[1]
World
Tuberculosis Day, also known as World TB Day, seeks to raise awareness for
Tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a bacterial infectious disease that affects the
lungs. It is estimated that in 2014, 9.6 million people fell ill with
Tuberculosis and 1.5 million died from the disease. World Tuberculosis Day is a
World Health Organization holiday that is observed annually on March 24. The
celebratory date commemorates the discovery of Tuberculosis bacteria by Dr.
Koch in 1882.
World
Tuberculosis Day Facts & Quotes
·
Tuberculosis
is the leading killer of HIV/AIDS-positive people.
·
The
tuberculosis death rate dropped 47% between 1990 and 2015. The disease is
treatable with a six-month course of antibiotics.
·
Tuberculosis
occurs in every part of the world. The largest number of cases in the world
occur in India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, China and South Africa.
·
The
biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of
being unwanted. - Mother Theresa
"Imagination is more important than knowledge..."[2]
Spoken by Albert Einstein but proven by Boyce Luther Gully.
The reality of dying was thrust upon Boyce Gully in his prime. Choosing not to live a life of quiet desperation awaiting the end, he ran away from home, family and friends. Those were sad but wondrous times of soul searching and physical creativity. In his heart was permanently etched the vision of those precious moments when he and his little girl, Mary Lou, built sandcastles on the beach in Seattle. How she would cry when the tide washed them away. “Please, Daddy, build me a big and strong castle someday that I can live in. Maybe you ought to build it on the desert where there is no water.” He would just smile. Perhaps, it wasn’t a coincidence that he migrated to Arizona. He built Mary Lou a native stone castle - eighteen rooms, thirteen fireplaces, parapets and many charming nooks and crannies, then furnished it with southwestern antiques. Boyce Gully died in 1945 before he could send for his family. His “princess” was an adult when she moved into her “castle” and began living her fairy tale, perpetuating her dream. She shared her “home” by giving guided tours of her beloved Mystery Castle until her death in 2010.
The Castle will
not be open to tourists. Vandalism and
summer storms have taken a toll. We will
not reopen until we have a resolution.
Thank you for your support for all these years.
Feast of St. Gabriel the Archangel — March 24 (Traditional)
St. Gabriel stands at the very
threshold of the Incarnation. In the older Roman calendar, the Church placed
his feast deliberately on March 24 so that the herald would appear on the eve
of the Annunciation, just as he once appeared at Nazareth on the eve of the
world’s redemption. Gabriel is the final messenger of the Old Covenant and the
first witness of the New. His presence on this day teaches us that God’s
greatest works are always preceded by a word, a summons, a preparation of the
heart. Before the Word becomes flesh, the messenger arrives.
Gabriel’s mission reveals the virtues required to receive Christ. He embodies humility, for he does not speak of himself but only of the One who sends him. He models clarity, delivering God’s message without distortion or fear. And he shows perfect obedience, carrying out his task with exact fidelity. Honoring Gabriel on March 24 is a way of entering the vigil of the Annunciation with the right posture: listening before speaking, bowing before acting, preparing before receiving.
Thus the feast of St. Gabriel
becomes a quiet school of readiness. On this night, the Church pauses with the
angel who once knocked at Mary’s door. We stand beside him in the stillness,
learning his humility, his clarity, and his obedience, so that when the dawn of
March 25 breaks, our hearts are prepared to echo Mary’s Fiat and welcome the
Word made flesh.
Litany of Trust — Tuesday,
March 24
From
the fear that I will not hear or recognize God’s voice,
deliver me, Jesus.
Reflection
On the eve of the Annunciation,
the Church once placed St. Gabriel like a sentinel at the threshold of the
Incarnation. His presence teaches us that God’s greatest works begin with a
word spoken into the quiet. Before Mary offers her Fiat, Gabriel offers God’s
message. Before the Word becomes flesh, the messenger prepares the heart. We
fear missing God’s voice because we imagine it will come as thunder, but
Gabriel reminds us that heaven often speaks with clarity, simplicity, and
peace. The angel does not overwhelm Mary; he invites her into the mystery with
a word that is both firm and gentle.
Gabriel’s mission reveals the
posture that makes us capable of hearing God. He embodies humility, announcing
not himself but the One who sends him. He models purity of message, speaking
only what is given, nothing more and nothing less. And he shows perfect
obedience, delivering God’s word with exact fidelity. To stand with Gabriel on
March 24 is to enter the vigil of the Annunciation with a listening heart—to
let the noise of fear fall silent, to let the clutter of self‑protection loosen
its grip, and to trust that the God who sent His messenger to Mary knows how to
reach us as well. The same God who prepared Nazareth prepares us; the same
voice that spoke to Mary can speak into our lives with the same clarity and
peace.
Scripture
“I am Gabriel, who stand in attendance before God; I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news.”
— Luke 1:19
Prayer
Jesus, quiet my heart on this
vigil of Your Incarnation. Teach me to listen with the humility of Gabriel and
the openness of Mary. Let Your word find me, steady me, and shape me. Free me
from the fear of missing Your voice, and draw me into the same trust that made
Nazareth ready for Your coming.
Reflection Question
Where do you fear that you
cannot hear God—and what would it mean to let Gabriel’s clarity and Mary’s
openness shape your listening today?
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.
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
[3] Schultz, Patricia. 1,000 Places to See Before You
Die: A Traveler's Life List Workman Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
[4] Sheraton, Mimi. 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A
Food Lover's Life List (p. 800). Workman Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
She Wouldn t Say Yes |1945 Comedy Film | Rosalind Russell | Lee Bowman
๐ฌ Production Snapshot
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Director: Alexander Hall
Release: November 29, 1945 bing.com
Screenplay: Virginia Van Upp, Hans (John) Jacoby, Sarett Tobias Wikipedia
Stars: Rosalind Russell, Lee Bowman, Adele Jergens, Charles Winninger, Harry Davenport Wikipedia
Genre: Screwball comedy / Romantic farce
Notable: A post‑WWII comedy built around Russell’s signature blend of intelligence and exasperated charm. The film plays with the era’s fascination with psychiatry, impulse, and the tension between professional women and romantic pursuit. It also reflects the Production Code’s moral boundaries, shaping a story where desire must pass through propriety before fulfillment. Obscure Hollywood
๐งญ Story Summary
Dr. Susan Lane (Rosalind Russell), a disciplined psychiatrist fresh from work at a military hospital, believes firmly in suppressing impulsive behavior. On her way home, she is literally knocked off her feet by comic‑strip creator Michael Kent (Lee Bowman), whose mischievous “Nixie” character encourages people to follow their whims. Wikipedia
A series of accidental encounters—train tickets switched by an impulsive clerk, shared compartments, and repeated collisions—forces the two into each other’s orbit. Kent is instantly smitten; Susan is instantly irritated. His pursuit is persistent, playful, and increasingly elaborate, culminating in a trick marriage that she spends much of the film trying to undo. Wikipedia
The comedy unfolds through misunderstandings, psychological banter, and the contrast between Susan’s rigid self‑control and Kent’s breezy spontaneity. By the final reel, her defenses soften, his antics settle, and the two meet in a middle ground where affection triumphs over analysis.
๐ฐ Historical and Cultural Context
- Postwar romantic comedies often explored the re‑entry of women into domestic life after wartime independence. Susan Lane’s professional authority—and the film’s insistence that she must eventually yield to romance—reflects that cultural tension.
- The Production Code shaped the film’s boundaries: flirtation is allowed, but sexual innuendo is muted, and marriage becomes the moral gatekeeper for intimacy. This stands in sharp contrast to pre‑Code films like She Had to Say Yes (1933), where desire was depicted more frankly. Obscure Hollywood
- Rosalind Russell’s persona—fast‑talking, competent, slightly neurotic—was at its peak. This film sits between her sharper comedies (His Girl Friday) and her later, more polished roles (Auntie Mame).
- Train‑set comedies were a 1940s staple, using confined spaces to heighten romantic friction. The film’s best sequences—ticket counters, berths, bar cars—capture that era’s cinematic charm. IMDb
✝️ Catholic Moral Resonances
Though lighter and less overtly moral than the dramas you’ve been exploring, the film still carries subtle resonances:
The Dance Between Reason and Impulse
Susan’s profession represents order; Kent represents spontaneity. The film suggests that virtue lies not in suppressing desire but in integrating it—echoing the Catholic understanding that reason and passion are meant to be harmonized, not opposed.
Marriage as the Moral Horizon
The Production Code’s insistence on marriage before intimacy mirrors the Church’s teaching that romantic desire finds its proper fulfillment within covenant rather than impulse.
Humility as Conversion
Susan’s journey is one of softening—recognizing that her self‑sufficiency is tinged with pride. Kent’s journey is one of grounding—learning that love requires more than whim. Their union becomes a small parable of mutual refinement.
The Comic as a Gentle Corrective
Comedy here functions as a moral teacher: it exposes rigidity, mocks vanity, and invites the characters (and the audience) to laugh themselves into a more humane posture.
๐ท Hospitality Pairing
Drink: Champagne Cocktail — light, effervescent, playful, matching the film’s screwball energy and train‑car flirtations.
Snack: Buttered Popcorn with a dash of smoked salt — simple, nostalgic, and perfectly suited to a 1940s comedy that leans on charm rather than spectacle.
Atmosphere:
- Soft big‑band or swing music to evoke the postwar mood.
- A small lamp or warm light to echo the cozy train compartments.
- A relaxed, laughter‑ready posture—this film is meant to delight, not to instruct.
๐ช Reflection Prompt
Where might a little levity or loosened self‑protection open space for grace in your own daily rhythm—especially in places where seriousness has become a shield rather than a strength?
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