Posts
Candace’s Corner
o It’s funny that as child my dad was in the military in Germany and Belgium (for over 6 years) and both places were about a 2 hour drive from Paris and we never went.
§ My Dad said that it was because it was too dangerous to do with a large family (seven children).
· 30 Days with St. Joseph Day 12-Spouse of Our Lady of Sorrows
· Pray Day 8 of the Novena for our Pope and Bishops
· Tuesday: Litany of St. Michael the Archangel
· Developmental Disability Awareness Month
· Try[15]: Artichauts à la Barigoule
· Spirit Hour: National Après Day
· Bucket List trip[16]: Eiffel Tower
Candace’s Worldwide Vineyard Tour — Walla Walla Valley, Washington
Theme: Fullness, Maturity, and Walking in the Strength God Has Built
🌿 OVERVIEW
Walla Walla is where the journey gathers weight—
not heaviness, but substance,
the kind of maturity that comes after courage has been lived, not merely imagined.
The valley is a bowl of abundance:
rolling wheat fields, deep soils, old vines, and wines that speak with confidence and depth.
After Yakima’s forward stride, this week invites you to stand tall in the strength God has already formed in you.
This is a landscape of fullness:
• reds with depth and muscle,
• whites with richness and poise,
• vineyards that feel seasoned, rooted, and sure of themselves.
This week is about owning the maturity God has cultivated in you—
walking without shrinking,
speaking without hesitation,
and living as someone who has been shaped by grace and fire.
The wines—Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Sangiovese, and expressive blends—carry that same seasoned confidence.
🍇 DAILY OUTLINE
TUESDAY • MAR 31
Location: L’Ecole No. 41 (lecole.com)
Focus: Maturity and depth
Act: Taste a heritage red and notice how age brings harmony, not fragility.
Prompt: Where has God matured me in ways I didn’t notice until now?
WEDNESDAY • APR 1
Location: Pepper Bridge Winery (pepperbridge.com)
Focus: Strength with gentleness
Act: Stand among the estate vines and feel the quiet power of rootedness.
Prompt: What strength in me is becoming more gentle, more controlled, more Christlike?
THURSDAY • APR 2
Location: Woodward Canyon (woodwardcanyon.com)
Focus: Honesty that refines
Act: Taste a structured Cabernet and let its clarity challenge you.
Prompt: What truth is God sharpening so I can walk more cleanly?
FRIDAY • APR 3
Location: Seven Hills Winery (sevenhillswinery.com)
Focus: Legacy and long vision
Act: Walk slowly through the historic district and feel the weight of time.
Prompt: What legacy is God asking me to build with intention?
SATURDAY • APR 4
Location: Reininger Winery (reiningerwinery.com)
Focus: Integration of past and present
Act: Hold a glass to the light and notice how layers coexist without conflict.
Prompt: What parts of my story is God weaving together into something whole?
SUNDAY • APR 5 — PALM SUNDAY
Mass: St. Patrick Catholic Church, Walla Walla (stpatrickww.org)
Vineyard: Doubleback (doubleback.com)
Focus: Entering the Passion with dignity
Act: Write one place where you feel Christ inviting you to walk with Him into holy courage.
Word: Hosanna.
MONDAY • APR 6
Location: Gramercy Cellars (gramercycellars.com)
Focus: Discipline and spiritual precision
Act: Taste a focused Syrah and reflect on the discipline God is restoring in you.
Prompt: What practice is God calling me to reclaim with seriousness and joy?
MARCH 31 Tuesday of Holy Week
Trans Day of Visibility-Rene Descartes
Judges, Chapter 4, Verse 18
Jael went out to meet
Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside with me; do not
be AFRAID.” So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a
rug.
This story doesn’t turn out well for Mr. Evil “Sisera” as God protects Israel from their enemies via women. We are now in the final stages of God’s covenant that is going to be completed via another woman, the mother of Christ.
Girl Power
Luckily for them, God raises up an awesome judge: Deborah, a prophetess and the only female judge in the book. Girl power! Deborah tells Barak, an Israelite general, that God commands him to take 10,000 soldiers from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun and attack Jabin's army. She promises that God will give them victory.
Barak says he'll only go
to battle if Deborah comes, and she does, but lets him know that it won't be
him who kills Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army—it'll be a woman! Barak leads
his 10,000 men against Sisera's army, including 900 chariots of iron. Barak's
army kills every last one of Sisera's men—except for Sisera. He's hiding at his
friend Heber's tent. Looks like things are about to get really in-tents.
Aids in Battle [1] pegging the Devil.
The Devil and I do
struggle [God said to St. Bridget], in that we both desire souls as bridegrooms
desire their brides. For I desire souls in order to give them eternal joy and
honor.
The Devil desires souls
to give them eternal horror and sorrow.
Great courage is
required in spiritual warfare. ST. TERESA OF ÁVILA
Draw near to God,
and Satan will flee from you. ST. EPHRAEM THE SYRIAN
To sin is human,
but to persist in sin is devilish. ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA
Repentance is
returning from the unnatural to the natural state, from the Devil to God,
through discipline and effort. ST. JOHN THE DAMASCENE
Hence the Lord has
said that he who has faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain by a
word of command; that is, he can destroy the Devil’s dominion over us and
remove it from its foundation. ST. MAXIMUS THE CONFESSOR
Do not oppose
head-on the thoughts that the Enemy sows in your mind. Instead, cut off all
conversation with them by prayer to God. ST. ISAAK OF SYRIA
Copilot’s Take
The Book of Judges opens with a
nation caught between promise and compromise, still surrounded by the very
enemies they failed to drive out. Into this landscape of half‑obedience and
recurring infidelity, God raises leaders—not magistrates, but deliverers—who
embody His determination to rescue His people even when they drift. Deborah and
Jael stand out in this cycle as luminous figures, women who step into the
breach when courage among the men has thinned. Their story unfolds like a
solstice: light reaching its longest stretch, exposing everything that hides in
the shadows.
Deborah’s leadership is not an
anomaly but a divine intervention. She listens when others hesitate, speaks
when others stall, and calls Barak into a mission he is reluctant to embrace
alone. Her presence becomes the catalyst for Israel’s movement, a reminder that
God’s authority is not constrained by human expectations. The Catechism’s
teaching on providence—God guiding all things toward their appointed end—echoes
through her role. She is the voice of clarity in a season of confusion, the
prophetic light that breaks through Israel’s spiritual cloud cover.
Jael, by contrast, is the quiet
force of decisive action. She does not command armies or sit beneath a palm
tree dispensing judgments. She simply recognizes evil when it collapses at her
doorstep and refuses to let it survive the night. Her tent becomes the unlikely
battleground where Sisera’s tyranny ends. The saints speak with one voice about
this kind of courage: fortitude that resists evil, prayer that cuts off the
enemy’s whisper, repentance that returns the soul to its natural state. Jael
embodies all of it without fanfare. She acts not out of vengeance but out of
fidelity to the covenant people.
Together, Deborah and Jael reveal a
pattern for confronting evil that is both ancient and urgently relevant. God
speaks through Deborah, Israel moves through Barak, and deliverance arrives
through Jael. Revelation, obedience, and decisive action—three movements of the
same divine symphony. Judges 4 is not a celebration of human violence but a
portrait of moral clarity. Evil is not negotiated with. It is not entertained.
It is not allowed to linger. It is confronted, exposed, and ended by those who
are willing to stand in the light God provides.
On the summer solstice, the longest
day of the year, this story reads like a spiritual mirror. God gives maximum
light for maximum clarity. He exposes what hides, strengthens what trembles,
and empowers whoever is willing to act with courage. Deborah listens, Barak
moves, Jael finishes. The invitation is the same today: listen with clarity,
move with obedience, and act with courage. Evil is real, but its power is
limited. God’s light is stronger, and He wastes none of it.
Tuesday of Holy Week
Traditionally the account of
Christ's Passion according to St. Mark is read today and most
people continue with spring cleaning. Also today marks the bargaining of Judas
with the Sanhedrin as the Jewish way of tracking time makes Tuesday evening
Wednesday as days changed after sunset and not at midnight following the Roman
time keeping method.[2]
We learned yesterday from St. John
that Judas was a thief. He robbed from Christ, from the other apostles, from
the incipient Church. Jesus, for him, had become merely an excuse to seek after
his own interests. Jesus was not the one thing necessary, as he was for Mary of
Bethany. Jesus wasn't even an end, but merely a means for Judas to satisfy his
own greed. Judas supposedly had serious qualms of conscience about the failure
to sell the years’ worth of aromatic nard with which Mary had anointed Jesus' feet,
but he thought nothing about selling Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Judas had
been a disciple merely in his body, not in his heart. Judas had been called
personally by the Lord, had lived with him for about 1,000 days, had followed
him for three years, had heard him preach and teach, had seen him walk on
water, still stormy seas, feed thousands with a five rolls and two sardines,
raise three people from the dead, heal on countless occasions the sick, blind
and lame and have mercy on countless sinners, had even received from the Lord
the power to do many of these same things himself, and had been entrusted by
him with the money bag for the Twelve. But he tragically had never gotten to
know Jesus, and even more tragically had never gotten to love him. He remained
just a follower of Jesus on the outside, not on the inside. In betraying Jesus,
Judas valued him less than a handful of coins, forgetting that it would profit
him nothing to gain the whole world and forfeit his life.[3]
Goffine’s
Devout Instructions (1896) for Tuesday in Holy Week
Prayer. O ALMIGHTY and everlasting God grant us so to celebrate the mysteries
of Our Lord s passion that we may deserve to obtain pardon.
EPISTLE. Jeremias xi. 18-20.
In those days Jeremias said: Thou, O Lord, hast showed me, and I have known then Thou showedst me their doings. And I was as a meek lamb that is carried to be a victim: and I knew not that they had devised counsels against me, saying: Let us put wood on his bread, and cut him off from the land of the living, and let his name be remembered no more. But Thou, O Lord of Sabbath, Who judgest justly, and triest the reins and the hearts, let me see Thy revenge on them: for to Thee have I revealed my cause, O Lord my God.
Instead of the gospel the Church reads to-day:
THE PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST,
According to St. Mark xiv. and xv.
At that time: The feast of the Pasch, and of the Azymes was after two days: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might by some wile lay hold on Him, and kill Him. But they said: Not on the festival- day, lest there should be a tumult among the people. And when He was in Bethania in the house of Simon the leper, and was at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of precious spikenard: and breaking the alabaster box she poured it out upon His head. Now there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said:
Why was this waste of the ointment made?
For this
ointment might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and given to
the poor. And they murmured against her. But Jesus said:
Let her alone, why do you molest her?
She hath wrought a good work upon Me. For the poor you have always with you: and whensoever you will, you may do them good; but Me you have not always. What she had, she hath done she is come beforehand to anoint My body for the burial. Amen I say to you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which she hath done, shall be told for a memorial of her. And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them.
Who hearing it were glad: and they promised him they would give him money?
And he sought how he might conveniently betray Him. Now on the first day of the unleavened bread when they sacrificed the Pasch, the disciples say to Him: Whither wilt Thou that we go, and prepare for Thee to eat the Pasch. And He sendeth two of His disciples, and saith to them:
Go ye into the city; and there shall meet you a man carrying a pitcher of water, follow him; and whithersoever he shall go in, say to the master of the house, The Master saith, where is My refectory, where I may eat the Pasch with My disciples?
And he will show you a large dining-room furnished; and there prepare ye for us. And His disciples went their way, and came into the city; and they found as He had told them, and they prepared the Pasch. And when evening was come, He cometh with the twelve. And when they were at table and eating, Jesus saith: Amen I say to you, one of you that eateth with Me shall betray Me. But they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one:
Is it I?
Who saith to them:
One of the twelve, who dippeth with Me his hand in the dish?
And the Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of Him: but wo to that man by whom the Son of man shall be betrayed. It were better for him, if that man had not been born. And whilst they were eating, Jesus took bread: and blessing broke, and gave to them, and said: Take ye, this is My body. And having taken the chalice, giving thanks He gave it to them. And they all drank of it. And He said to them: This is My blood of the New Testament, which shall be shed for many. Amen I say to you, that I will drink no more of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall drink it new in the kingdom of God. And when they had said a hymn, they went forth to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus saith to them: You will all be scandalized in My regard this night; for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep shall be dispersed. But after I shall be risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter saith to Him: Although all shall be scandalized in Thee, yet not I. And Jesus saith to him: Amen I say to thee, to-day even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice. But he spoke the more vehemently: Although I should die together with Thee, I will not deny Thee. And in like manner also said they all. And they come to a farm called Gethsemani. And He saith to His disciples: Sit you here, while I pray. And He taketh Peter and James and John with Him; and He began to fear and to be heavy. And He saith to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto death; stay you here, and watch. And when He was gone forward a little He fell flat on the ground; and He prayed that if it might be, the hour might pass from Him: and He saith: Abba, Father, all things are possible to Thee, remove this chalice from Me, but not what I will, but what Thou wilt. And He cometh, and findeth them sleeping. And He saith to Peter:
Simon, sleepest thou? couldst thou not watch one hour?
Watch ye, and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. And going away again, He prayed, saying the same words. And when he returned, He found them again asleep (for their eyes were heavy) and they knew not what to answer Him. And He cometh the third time, and saith to them: Sleep ye now, and take your rest. It is enough: the hour is come behold the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners. rise, let us go. Behold, he that will betray Me, is at hand. And while He was yet speaking, cometh Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the ancients. And he that betrayed Him had given them a sign, saying: Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is He, lay hold on Him, and lead Him away carefully. And when he was come, immediately going up to Him, he saith: Hail, Rabbi: and he kissed Him. But they laid hands on Him, and held Him. And one of them that stood by drawing a sword, struck a servant of the chief priest, and cut off his ear. And Jesus answering, said to them:
Are you come out as to a robber with swords and staves to apprehend Me?
I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not lay hands on Me. But that the Scriptures may be fulfilled. Then His disciples leaving Him all fled away. And a certain young man followed Him having a linen cloth cast about his naked body: and they laid hold on him. But he, casting off the linen cloth, fled from them naked. And they brought Jesus to the high priest: and all the priests and the scribes and the ancients assembled together. And Peter followed Him afar off, even into the court of the high priest: and he sat with the servants at the fire, and warmed himself. And the chief priests and all the council sought for evidence against Jesus that they might put Him to death, and found none. For many bore false witness against Him, and their evidences were not agreeing. And some rising up, bore false witness against Him, saying: We heard Him say, I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another, not made with hands. And their witness did not agree. And the high priest rising up in the midst, asked Jesus, saying:
Answerest Thou nothing to the things that are laid to Thy charge by these men?
But He held His peace and answered nothing. Again, the high priest asked Him, and said to Him:
Art Thou the Christ, the Son of the blessed God?
And Jesus said to him: I am. And you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of God, and coming with the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rending his garments saith:
What need we any farther witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What think you?
Who all condemned Him to be guilty of death. And some began to spit on Him, and to cover His face, and to buffet Him, and to say unto Him: Prophesy: and the servants struck Him with the palms of their hands. Now when Peter was in the court below, there cometh one of the maidservants of the high priest. And when she had seen Peter warming himself, looking on him she saith: Thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied, saying I neither know nor understand what thou sayest. And he went forth before the court, and the cock crew. And again, a maid servant seeing him, began to say to the standers-by: This is one of them. But he denied again. And after a while they that stood by said again to Peter: Surely, thou art one of them: for thou art also a Galilean. But he began to curse and to swear, saying I know not this man of Whom you speak. And immediately the cock crew again. And Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said unto him: Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt thrice deny Me. And he began to weep. And straightway in the morning the chief priests holding a consultation with the ancients and the scribes and the whole council, binding Jesus, led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate.
And Pilate asked Him: Art Thou the King of the Jews?
But He answering, saith to him: Thou sayest it. And the chief priests accused Him in many things. And Pilate again asked Him, saying:
Answerest Thou nothing?
behold in how many things they accuse Thee. But Jesus still answered nothing: so that Pilate wondered. Now on the festival-day he was wont to release unto them one of the prisoners, whomsoever they demanded. And there was one called Barabbas, who was put in prison with some seditious men, who in, the sedition had committed murder. And when the multitude was come up, they began to desire that he would do, as he had ever done unto them.
And Pilate answered them, and said: Will you that I release to you the King of the Jews?
For he knew that the chief priests had delivered Him up out of envy. But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas to them. And Pilate again answering, saith to them:
What will you then that I do to the King of the Jews?
But they again cried out: Crucify Him. And Pilate saith to them:
Why, what evil hath He done?
But they cried out the more: Crucify Him. And so, Pilate being willing to satisfy the people, released to them Barabbas, and delivered up Jesus, when he had scourged Him, to be crucified. And the soldiers led Him into the court of the palace, and they call together the whole band: and they clothe Him with purple, and platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon Him. And they began to salute Him: Hail, King of the Jews. And they struck His head with a reed: and they did spit on Him. And bowing their knees, they adored Him. And after they had mocked Him, they took off the purple from Him, and put His own garments on Him, and they led Him out to crucify Him. And they forced one Simon a Cyrenian who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and of Rufus, to take up His cross. And they bring Him into the place called Golgotha, which being interpreted is, the place of Calvary. And they gave Him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but He took it not. And crucifying Him, they divided His garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. And the inscription of His cause was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. And with Him they crucify two thieves, the one on His right hand, and the other on His left. And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith: And with the wicked He was reputed. And they that passed by, blasphemed Him, wagging their heads, and saying: Vah, thou that destroyest the temple of God, and in three days buildest it up again, save Thyself, coming down from the cross. In like manner also the chief priests mocking, said with the scribes one to another: He saved others, Himself He cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with Him, reviled Him. And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole earth until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying:
Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabacthani?Which is, being interpreted, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?
And some of the standers-by hearing, said: Be hold He calleth Elias. And one running and filling a sponge with vinegar, and putting it upon a reed, gave Him to drink, saying: Stay, let us see if Elias come to take Him down. And Jesus having cried out with a loud voice gave up the ghost.
[Here all kneel.]
And the veil of the temple was rent in two, from the top to the bottom. And the centurion who stood over against Him, seeing that crying out in this manner He had given up the ghost, said: Indeed, this man was the Son of God. And there were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalen, and Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joseph, and Salome: who also when He was in Galilee, followed Him, and ministered to Him, and many other women that came up with Him to Jerusalem. And when evening was now come (because it was the Parasceve, that is, the day before the Sabbath), Joseph of Arimathea, a noble counsellor, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, came and went in boldly to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. But Pilate wondered that He should be already dead. And sending for the centurion, he asked him if He were already dead. And when he had understood it by the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And Joseph buying fine linen and taking Him down, wrapped Him up in the fine linen, and laid Him in a sepulcher which was hewed out of a rock. And he rolled a stone to the door of the sepulcher.
The Physical Death of Jesus Christ[4]
Jesus of Nazareth underwent Jewish and Roman trials, was flogged, and was sentenced to death by crucifixion. The scourging produced deep stripe like lacerations and appreciable blood loss, and it probably set the stage for hypovolemic shock, as evidenced by the fact that Jesus was too weakened to carry the crossbar (patibulum) to Golgotha. At the site of crucifixion, his wrists were nailed to the patibulum and, after the patibulum was lifted onto the upright post (stipes), his feet were nailed to the stipes. The major pathophysiologic effect of crucifixion was an interference with normal respirations. Accordingly, death resulted primarily from hypovolemic shock and exhaustion asphyxia. Jesus' death was ensured by the thrust of a soldier's spear into his side. Modern medical interpretation of the historical evidence indicate that Jesus was dead when taken down from the cross.
GETHSEMANE
After Jesus and his disciples had observed the
Passover meal in an upper room in a home in southwest Jerusalem, they traveled
to the Mount of Olives, northeast of the city. (Owing to various adjustments in
the calendar, the years of Jesus' birth and death remain controversial. However, it is likely that Jesus was born in
either 4 or 6 BC and died in 30 AD.
During the Passover observance in 30 AD, the last Supper would have been
observed on Thursday, April 6 [Nisan 13], and Jesus would have been crucified on
Friday, April 7 [Nisan 14].) At nearby Gethsemane, Jesus, apparently knowing
that the time of his death was near, suffered great mental anguish, and, as
described by the physician Luke, his sweat became like blood.
Although this is a very rare phenomenon, bloody
sweat (hematidrosis or hemohidrosis) may occur in highly emotional states or in
persons with bleeding disorders. As a result of hemorrhage into the sweat
glands, the skin becomes fragile and tender. Luke's descriptions supports the
diagnosis of hematidrosis rather than eccrine chromidrosis (brown or
yellow-green sweat) or stigmatization (blood oozing from the palms or
elsewhere). Although some authors have suggested that hematidrosis produced
hypovolemia, we agree with Bucklin that Jesus' actual blood loss probably was
minimal However, in the cold night air, it may have produced chills.
Stations of the Cross[5]
Though technically only the last fourteen days of Lent explicitly consider the sufferings of our Lord, the Stations of the Cross (a.k.a. the Way of the Cross) have long been a popular Lenten devotion for any or all of the forty days (though they tend to be done on Fridays). These fourteen scenes from the via dolorosa, the sorrowful path that Christ took while carrying His cross to Golgotha, help direct one's heart to the mysterium fidei of our Lord's selfless sacrifice.
Other
Forms of Asceticism[6]
Since Lent recapitulates time spent in the desert, other forms of asceticism have accrued to its observance. Unessential travel and diversion are discouraged. In former times, certain forms of entertainment, such as live theatre and secular music, were banned, as was the holding of court. Weddings were also forbidden in the early Church; even after this changed, the Solemn Nuptial Blessing could not be given during a Lenten wedding. Finally, married couples were once admonished to abstain from conjugal relations during this time (as they were admonished to do during all solemn fasts and feasts). Again, the principle is the same: withdrawal from the preoccupations of the flesh in order to focus on the spirit.
Today, plan to do at least one Novena for the calendar year for yourself and for your Family. I always plan to do the Divine Mercy Novena by hiking for nine Saturdays starting on the Friday before Divine Mercy Sunday.
Timeline of Holy Week[7]
·
Jesus
denounces the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 23:1-36; Mk 12:37-40; Lk 20:4547)
·
Jesus
teaches in the Temple (Lk 21:37-38)
·
Jesus
predicts the destruction of the Temple. (Mt 24:1-3; Mk 13:1-4; Lk 21:5-7
· Returns to Bethany at night.
On Tuesday morning, Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem. They passed the withered fig tree on their way, and Jesus spoke to his companions about the importance of faith. Back at the Temple, religious leaders, upset at Jesus establishing himself as a spiritual authority, organized an ambush with the intent to place Him under arrest. But Jesus evaded their traps and pronounced harsh judgment on them, saying:
"Blind guides! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness...Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?" (Matthew 23:24-33)
Later
that afternoon, Jesus left the city and went with his disciples to the Mount of
Olives, which sits due east of the Temple and overlooks Jerusalem. Here Jesus
gave the Olivet Discourse, an elaborate prophecy about the destruction of
Jerusalem and the end of the age. He speaks, as usual, in parables, using
symbolic language about the end times events, including His Second Coming and
the final judgment. Scripture indicates that this Tuesday was also the day
Judas Iscariot negotiated with the Sanhedrin, the rabbinical court of ancient
Israel, to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16). After a tiring day of confrontation
and warnings about the future, once again, Jesus and the disciples return to
Bethany to stay the night.
Lenten
Calendar[8]
Read: Read these 5 suggestions for Holy Week from USCCB’s www.foryourmarrige.org. . . .
Reflect: Watch a video reflection on the day’s readings.
Pray: As we journey with Jesus through Holy Week, remember all those in our world today who carry heavy crosses of poverty, homelessness, and hunger. Pray for the poor and vulnerable today.
Act: Commit with your family to do at least one of the five suggestions in the article above.
We often learn our doctrine much more deeply and effectively simply by celebrating the feasts and fasts of the Church.
In fact, in Orthodox Judaism the calendar is the catechism of Israel. According to Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, “On the pinions of time which bear us through life, God has inscribed the eternal words of His soul-inspiring doctrine, making days and weeks, months and years the heralds to proclaim His truths. Nothing would seem more fleeting than these elements of time, but to them God has entrusted the care of His holy things, thereby rendering them more imperishable and more accessible.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church
2698 The Tradition of the Church proposes to the faithful certain rhythms of praying intended to nourish continual prayer. Some are daily, such as morning and evening prayer, grace before and after meals, the Liturgy of the Hours. Sundays, centered on the Eucharist, are kept holy primarily by prayer. The cycle of the liturgical year and its great feasts are also basic rhythms of the Christian's life of prayer.
No one knows human nature better than the God who
created it. The book of Genesis tells us that the Lord God made the world in
six days and rested on the seventh. He rested not because he was weary-God does
not tire-but because He wanted to provide a model for human labor and rest. The
Church calendar coincides with the cosmic rhythms of God. The Church calendar
reflects this fact: That Christ rose from
the dead in payment for our sins and is the Jewish Messiah that was hoped for.
Aids in
Battle[10] When in the battle
In
the moments when you are tempted to be careless or halfhearted in the struggle,
let these exhortations stir you to a renewed valor in battle and provide you
with strategies to follow.
·
The
life of man upon the earth is a warfare. Tob 12: 13 DOUAY-RHEIMS
·
God
has not destined us to wrath, but to gain.
·
Fight
the good fight, having faith and a good conscience. 1 Tim 1: 19
·
lay
hold of the life eternal, to which you have been called.
·
Conduct
yourself in work as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
·
Do
not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Rom 12: 21 RSVCE
·
The
unceasing prayer of a just man has great effectiveness.
Bible in a
year Day 272 The
Call of Nehemiah
Fr. Mike
introduces the book of Nehemiah and takes us through Nehemiah’s exemplary
response to the call of God as he does what God asks simply because he asks. He
also encourages us to pray for our enemies and explains the need to refrain
from vengeance in our interactions with others, especially when we are provoked
by their actions. Today’s readings are Nehemiah 1-2, Zechariah 12-13, and
Proverbs 20:20-22.
Today is International Transgender Day
of Visibility.
Another way the
world and the modernist clerics are attempting to put
blinders on us is to bully us into being okay with transgenderism.
·
Note
as of this date the USCCB has made no statement on the Transgender shooter in Tennessee.
·
A
collaborative statement from three communities of women religious seeks to
offer Catholic support for trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people[11]
o
On
Trans Day of Visibility, the church must be ‘a force for good’.
This is what
the catechism of the church states on this subject.[12]
Sexual Identity
(No. 2333)
“Everyone, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity.
Physical, moral, and spiritual difference and complementarity are oriented
toward the goods of marriage and the flourishing of family life. The harmony of
the couple and of society depends in part on the way in which the
complementarity, needs, and mutual support between the sexes are lived out.”
(No. 2393)
“By creating the human being man and woman, God gives personal dignity equally
to the one and the other. Each of them, man and woman, should acknowledge and
accept his sexual identity.”
Body and Soul
(No. 364)
“The human body shares in the dignity of "the image of God": it is a
human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the
whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple
of the Spirit: Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity. Through his very
bodily condition he sums up in himself the elements of the material world.
Through him they are thus brought to their highest perfection and can raise
their voice in praise freely given to the Creator. For this reason man may not
despise his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and to
hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last
day.”
Modesty
(No. 2521)
“Purity requires modesty, an integral part of temperance. Modesty protects the
intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain
hidden. It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it bears witness. It
guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the
dignity of persons and their solidarity.”
(No. 2522)
“Modesty protects the mystery of persons and their love… Modesty is decency. It
inspires one's choice of clothing. It keeps silence or reserve where there is
evident risk of unhealthy curiosity. It is discreet.”
(No. 2523)
“There is a modesty of the feelings as well as of the body. It protests, for
example, against the voyeuristic explorations of the human body in certain
advertisements, or against the solicitations of certain media that go too far
in the exhibition of intimate things. Modesty inspires a way of life which
makes it possible to resist the allurements of fashion and the pressures of
prevailing ideologies.” Updated August 7, 2019 2
Privacy
(No. 1907)
“First, the common good presupposes respect for the person as such. In the name
of the common good, public authorities are bound to respect the fundamental and
inalienable rights of the human person. Society should permit each of its
members to fulfill his vocation. In particular, the common good resides in the
conditions for the exercise of the natural freedoms indispensable for the
development of the human vocation, such as ‘the right to act according to a
sound norm of conscience and to safeguard . . . privacy, and rightful freedom
also in matters of religion.’”
Mutilation
(No. 2297)
“Except when performed for strictly therapeutic medical reasons, directly
intended amputations, mutilations, and sterilizations performed on innocent
persons are against the moral law.”
Rene
Descartes[13]
born March 31,
1596
Rene Descartes (1596-1650), founder
of Analytical Geometry and Modern Philosophy
In the beginning of his Meditations (1641) Descartes wrote:
“I have always been of the opinion
that the two questions respecting God and the Soul were the chief of those that
ought to be determined by help of Philosophy rather than of Theology; for
although to us, the faithful, it be sufficient to hold as matters of faith,
that the human soul does not perish with the body, and that God exists, it yet
assuredly seems impossible ever to persuade infidels of the reality of any
religion, or almost even any moral virtue, unless, first of all, those two
things be proved to them by natural reason. And since in this life there are
frequently greater rewards held out to vice than to virtue, few would prefer
the right to the useful, if they were restrained neither by the fear of God nor
the expectation of another life.” (Descartes 1901).
“It is absolutely true that we must
believe in God, because it is also taught by the Holy Scriptures. On the other
hand, we must believe in the Sacred Scriptures because they come from God.”
(Descartes 1950, Letter of Dedication).
“And thus, I very clearly see that the certitude and truth of all science depends on the knowledge alone of the true God, insomuch that, before I knew him, I could have no perfect knowledge of any other thing. And now that I know him, I possess the means of acquiring a perfect knowledge respecting innumerable matters, as well relative to God himself and other intellectual objects as to corporeal nature.” (Descartes 1901, Meditation V).
The Seven Sacraments[14]
The English word "sacrament" comes from Latin sacramentum,
which means "mystery" or "rite" in classical Latin
(although it also came to mean an "obligation" or "oath" in
Medieval Latin).
It is related to the Latin adjective sacra ("holy") and verb sacrare
("to devote, consecrate, make holy"). The Latin Vulgate Bible
uses sacramentum 16 times (8x OT; 8x NT) to translate Greek mystērion.
On the other hand, the Greek word μυστήριον (mystērion, something "secret" or "hidden"; used 28 times in the NT) is translated by several different words in the Latin Vulgate Bible:
- mysterium (19 times in the Vulgate NT:
Matt 13:11; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10; Rom 11:25; 16:25; 1 Cor 2:7; 4:1; 13:2;
14:2; 15:51; Eph 3:4; 6:19; Col 1:26; 2:2; 4:3; 2 Thess 2:7; 1 Tim 3:9;
Rev 10:7; 17:5)
- sacramentum (8 times: Eph 1:9; 3:3, 9;
5:32; Col 1:27; 1 Tim 3:16; Rev 1:20; 17:7)
- testimonium (only once: 1 Cor 2:1)
- All three of these Latin words could be translated "mystery," but mysterium more often connotes the invisible or hidden dimensions, while sacramentum more often refers to the visible or symbolic aspects of a spiritual or divine mystery.
In a sense, Jesus Christ himself can be called
"the mystery of salvation" or "the sacrament of God," since
he, through his incarnation, made visible to us the mystery of the invisible
God.
Similarly, the Church as a whole is sometimes called "the sacrament
of salvation," since it is "the sign and the instrument of the
communion of God and men" (CCC §780;
cf. §§774-776).
The word "sacrament"
most commonly refers to seven particular rites or rituals performed
in and by the Church.
- Many older Catholics will still remember the very
brief definition from the Baltimore Catechism (1941): "A
sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace."
(§304).
- The current official Catechism of the Catholic
Church (1994; 2nd edition 1997), gives a more extended definition:
- "The sacraments are efficacious signs of
grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the church, by which divine
life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are
celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament.
They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required
dispositions." (CCC §1131;
see also "Sacrament" in the CCC's Glossary).
- These sacraments are considered "Sacraments of
Christ," "Sacraments of the Church," "Sacraments of
Faith," "Sacraments of Salvation," and "Sacraments of
Eternal Life" (CCC §§1113-1134).
- The seven sacraments can be subdivided into three
sub-groups:
- three "Sacraments of Christian
Initiation" (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist);
- two "Sacraments of Healing"
(Penance/Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick);
- two "Sacraments of Vocation"
(Holy Orders/Ordination and Matrimony/Marriage; also referred to as
"Sacraments at the Service of Communion").
Litany
of Trust — Tuesday, March 31
From the
fear that my weakness makes me unusable to You, deliver me, Jesus.
Reflection
As
the Church approaches the solemn days of the Passion, the Gospel places before
us not the strength of the disciples but their frailty. Peter boasts of loyalty
and collapses. James and John fall asleep in the garden. Judas trades intimacy
for silver. Even the crowds who once cried “Hosanna” will soon shout “Crucify
Him.” Holy Week is not a parade of human competence—it is a revelation of
divine mercy moving through human weakness. We fear that our failures
disqualify us, that our inconsistencies make us unworthy instruments of grace.
Yet Christ enters His Passion surrounded not by heroes but by the hesitant, the
fearful, and the flawed.
Jesus
does not abandon them. He does not replace them. He carries them. The Passion
reveals a God who does not wait for perfect disciples but forms saints out of
those who stumble toward Him. In Gethsemane, Jesus asks His friends to stay
awake, knowing they will fall asleep. At the trial, He looks at Peter with
tenderness, not condemnation. On the Cross, He entrusts His Mother and His
Church to a disciple who had fled only hours before. To stand with Christ on
March 31 is to let this truth settle into the heart: God does not need our
strength to accomplish His work—He asks only for our surrender. Our weakness is
not a barrier to His grace but the very place where His mercy takes root.
Scripture
“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is
made perfect in weakness.”
— 2 Corinthians 12:9
Prayer
Jesus,
meet me in the places where I feel small, inconsistent, or unworthy. Teach me
to trust that Your strength is not hindered by my weakness but revealed through
it. Free me from the fear that I must be perfect before I can serve You. Let my
limitations become openings for Your mercy, and shape my heart to walk with You
through the mysteries of Your Passion.
Reflection
Question
Where do you fear that your weakness disqualifies you—and how might Jesus be inviting you to let His strength be revealed precisely there?
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: An End to Addictions
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
[1] Thigpen, Paul. Manual for Spiritual Warfare. TAN
Books.
[9] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic Customs
and their biblical roots. Chap. 6. The Church Calendar.
[10]Thigpen, Paul. Manual for Spiritual Warfare. TAN
Books.
[11] https://uscatholic.org/articles/202303/on-trans-day-of-visibility-the-church-must-be-a-force-for-good/
[12]https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/marriage/promotion-and-defense-of-marriage/upload/Gender-Ideology-Select-Teaching-Resources.pdf
[15] Sheraton, Mimi. 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A
Food Lover's Life List (p. 800). Workman Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
[16] Schultz, Patricia. 1,000 Places to See Before You
Die: A Traveler's Life List Workman Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
APRIL
Lush and blooming vistas beckon us to take to the road and
to explore. As we itch to go out and travel more in springtime, let us reflect
on the mixed blessings. Interconnected communities and beautiful scenery are
often coupled with air pollution, consumption of scarce petroleum, congestion,
excessive mobility, and noise.
Overview
of April[1]
The
first nineteen days of the month fall during the season of Lent which is represented by the liturgical color
violet or purple — a symbol of penance, mortification and the sorrow of a
contrite heart.
April
20th is Easter Sunday and the beginning of the Easter season. The liturgical color is white — the color of
light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence (absolute or restored).
As
our Lenten journey comes to a close we prepare to follow Christ all the way to
the cross and to witness His glorious Resurrection. Hopefully we have
sacrificed and prayed so that we are now able to more fully reap the fruits of
a well spent Lent. After our solemn commemoration of the last days and death of
Our Lord we will spend the remainder of the month of April celebrating. As
Spring breaks forth even nature will join us as buds and blooms begin to
surface and we spend this month basking in the joy of the Resurrection. We
continue throughout the entire month our cry, "Christ is risen, Christ is
truly risen."
The
Feast of Divine Mercy offers us the opportunity to begin again as though we
were newly baptized. The unfathomable mercy of God is made manifest today if we
but accept His most gracious offer. Easter is the feast of feasts, the
unalloyed joy and gladness of all Christians. This truly is "the day that
the Lord has made." From Sunday to Sunday, from year to year, the Easters
of this earth will lead us to that blessed day on which Christ has promised
that He will come again with glory to take us with Him into the kingdom of His
Father.
April
is also:[2]
·
Jazz
Appreciation Month
·
Month
of the Military Child
APRIL TIMETABLE
April Travel?[3]
·
Masters Golf Tournament--April
6-12--Tee up for the granddaddy of all golf tournaments. The Masters Tournament kicks
off the first of 4 major championships, with plenty of betting odds. Head to
Augusta, GA!
·
Scarborough Renaissance
Festival--April 4-May 25th --Travel
back to the 16th century at the Scarborough Renaissance Festival. This annual
fest in Waxahachie, TX, kicks off the first weekend in April, drawing crowds
upwards of 200,000 to view some 200 performances.
·
Coachella--April
10-12 & 17-19--Get your music fill at the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The annual
2-weekend, 3-day fest kicks off in Indio, CA, with more than 150 performances.
·
Boston Marathon--April
20--Show your Boston pride and find something for everyone to enjoy. The
annual Boston Marathon kicks
off with a fitness expo featuring more than 200 exhibitors, followed by a 5K
set to draw an estimated 10,000 participants as well as a relay challenge --
all topped by the grand celebration of city spirit.
·
King’s
Day in Amsterdam--April 27--Enjoy a ride
along Amsterdam’s canals, and
don your brightest orange, for the Netherlands’ annual King’s Day. The national
holiday celebrates the Dutch royal house (and current King Willem-Alexander)
with plenty of “orange madness,” in keeping with the Dutch national colors.
·
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival--April
23-May 3--Love jazz? Join fellow music lovers at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Held every year since
1970, the annual Jazz Fest, as it’s called, showcases nearly every music genre,
from blues to R&B, and everything else in between. It’s all performed
across 12 stages during the last weekend in April.
Iceman’s Calendar
·
Apr 1st MASS
First Wednesday
o
The Service of Shadows-Spy
Wednesday
§
Passover begins at Sundown
·
All Fool’s Day
·
Apr 2nd Maundy
Thursday
·
Apr 3rd Good
Friday
§
Divine Mercy Novena Day 1 All sinners
·
Apr 4th Saturday, Easter
Vigil
§
Divine Mercy Novena Day 2 Priest and
Religious
·
Little Horse & Chapel
Trails
·
Apr 5th Easter
§
Divine Mercy Novena Day 3 Devout and Faithful
Persons
·
Apr 6th Easter
Monday
§
Divine Mercy Novena Day 4 Those who do not
believe in Jesus and those who do not yet know him
·
Apr 7th Easter Tuesday
§
Divine Mercy Novena Day 5 Heritics
·
Apr 8th Easter Wednesday
§
Divine Mercy Novena Day 6 Meek and Humble and
of Children
·
Apr 9th Easter Thursday
§
Divine Mercy Novena Day 7 Persons who
especially venerate and glorify my mercy
·
Apr 10th Easter Friday
§
Divine Mercy Novena Day 8 Person who are
detained in Purgatory
·
Soldiers Trail/Seven
Sacred Pools
·
Apr 11th Easter Saturday
§
Divine Mercy Novena Day 9 Souls of Persons
who have become Lukewarm
·
Apr 12th Divine
Mercy Sunday
·
Apr 19th Third Sunday of Easter
·
Apr 23rd Thursday-Feast of
St. George
·
Apr 25th Saturday-Feast of
St. Mark
·
Apr 26th Fourth
Sunday of Easter
Tormented (1960)
🎬 Production Snapshot
Studio: Allied Artists Pictures
Director: Bert I. Gordon
Release: 1960
Screenplay: George Worthing Yates & Bert I. Gordon
Stars: Richard Carlson, Susan Gordon, Lugene Sanders, Juli Reding
Genre: Supernatural thriller / psychological horror / guilt‑haunting morality tale
Notable: A seaside ghost story that plays like a moral parable. Beneath its B‑movie surface lies a sharp meditation on conscience, omission, and the slow corrosion of the soul.
🧭 Story Summary
Jazz pianist Tom Stewart is preparing for marriage on a quiet island. His former lover, Vi Mason, returns and threatens to expose their past. At the lighthouse, she slips and clings to the railing, begging for help.
Tom chooses not to save her.
This silent refusal becomes the film’s hinge.
After Vi’s death, Tom’s life begins to unravel. Her ghost appears in subtle, unnerving ways:
- A wristwatch washing ashore
- Footprints where no one walks
- A disembodied hand stealing the wedding ring
- Her voice whispering the truth
- Her face appearing in photographs
- Her presence disrupting the wedding rehearsal
Tom’s attempts to hide the truth lead him deeper into darkness. A ferryman discovers his secret and tries to blackmail him; Tom kills again. A young girl, Sandy, witnesses his actions, becoming the final threat to his collapsing façade.
At the lighthouse—where the first sin occurred—Tom tries to silence the child. Vi’s ghost intervenes. Tom falls to his death, and the haunting ends only when the truth is restored.
🕰 Historical and Cultural Context
- Part of the late‑1950s/early‑1960s wave of supernatural thrillers where ghosts represent conscience rather than monsters.
- Director Bert I. Gordon, known for creature features, turns inward toward psychological and moral horror.
- The seaside setting reflects postwar anxieties about reputation, hidden sin, and the fragility of public respectability.
- The film’s ghost effects, though modest, serve the story’s moral clarity rather than spectacle.
- The narrative echoes mid‑century fears of scandal and the cost of maintaining a lie.
✝️ Catholic Moral Resonances
The Sin of Omission as the First Betrayal
Tom’s refusal to save Vi is not an act of violence but an act of withholding—a betrayal born in silence.
It echoes the Catechism’s teaching that sins of omission can be as grave as active wrongdoing.
The Ghost as Conscience Made Visible
Vi’s haunting is not malevolent; it is revelatory.
She is the truth Tom refuses to face—persistent, unyielding, and ultimately merciful.
The Multiplication of Lies
Tom’s descent illustrates how sin darkens the intellect and weakens the will.
One refusal becomes a pattern.
One death becomes two.
The soul collapses under the weight of its evasions.
The Innocent as the Final Test
Sandy, the child who sees clearly, becomes the target of Tom’s desperation.
Evil, when cornered, always turns on innocence.
A Hint of Judas on Tuesday of Holy Week
Tuesday is the day Christ exposes hidden intentions.
It is the day Judas’s interior fracture becomes visible.
Tom’s story mirrors this pattern:
a quiet betrayal, a concealed truth, a conscience that refuses to stay silent.
The haunting becomes a cinematic echo of the Gospel’s warning—
that the heart’s secret choices eventually step into the light.
🍷 Hospitality Pairing
Drink:
Dark Roast Coffee with a Dash of Sea Salt
Bracing, coastal, slightly bitter—like the taste of a conscience awakening.
Snack:
Salted Caramel Popcorn
A nod to the film’s B‑movie roots: simple, nostalgic, perfect for a late‑night thriller.
Atmosphere:
- A dim lamp or candle, echoing the lighthouse’s lonely glow
- Soft jazz playing quietly, recalling Tom’s profession
- A sense of moral tension—truth pressing gently but firmly toward the surface
🪞 Reflection Prompt
Where in your life is there a temptation to “look away” rather than act—and how might God be inviting you to choose courage over concealment?
What truth is quietly knocking, asking to be faced before it grows heavier?
And in this Tuesday of Holy Week, where Judas’s hidden intentions come into the light, what small act of honesty could keep your heart free, clear, and steady?
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