Posts
Dara’s Corner-Try “Jabugo”
- Spirit Hour: Sazerac in honor of St. Joseph
· Bucket List trip: Macao
· Soup
🌍 Dara’s Corner: Aboard The World
March 18–24, 2026
Theme: Integration, Gentleness & the Slow Return to the Human World
Route: Cape Horn → Beagle Channel → Chilean Fjords → Gulf of Penas → Chiloé → North Along Chile
🪨 Wednesday, March 18 | Cape Horn Rounding
Title: The Rock That Reminds Us
Ritual: Touch a stone or railing and name one truth that held firm in the Great South.
Scripture: Matthew 7:25
Meal: Brown bread, salted butter, hot broth
Reflection: “Some truths only reveal their strength when the winds rise.”
Hospitality Arc: Ask someone what truth steadied them in the South.
🌁 Thursday, March 19 | Entering the Beagle Channel
Title: The Narrow Way
Ritual: Walk a straight line on deck, naming one narrow path you’re being invited to walk.
Scripture: Matthew 7:14
Meal: Smoked fish, potatoes, warm tea
Reflection: “Narrow places teach us to move with intention.”
Hospitality Arc: Share a path you’re learning to walk with care.
🌲 Friday, March 20 | Chilean Fjords
Title: The Walls That Hold Wonder
Ritual: Stand between two structures—masts, walls, cliffs—and name one place where God is holding you.
Scripture: Psalm 139:5
Meal: Vegetable stew, crusty bread, berry tea
Reflection: “Being held is not confinement—it is care.”
Hospitality Arc: Ask someone where they feel held right now.
🌧️ Saturday, March 21 | Fjord Rainfall
Title: The Rain That Softens
Ritual: Let a few drops of rain or water touch your hand, naming one place that needs softening.
Scripture: Hosea 6:3
Meal: Warm rice, sautéed greens, lemon water
Reflection: “Softening is not weakness; it is readiness.”
Hospitality Arc: Invite someone to share what is softening in them.
🌬️ Sunday, March 22 | Gulf of Penas
Title: The Crossing of Courage
Ritual: Take three deep breaths, naming one fear you’re willing to cross through.
Scripture: Joshua 1:9
Meal: Light soup, crackers, ginger tea
Reflection: “Courage is rarely loud; it is usually a quiet decision.”
Hospitality Arc: Check on someone who may be navigating inner waves.
🌅 Monday, March 23 | Approaching Chiloé
Title: The Islands of Memory
Ritual: Write down one memory from Antarctica you want to keep alive. Fold it and keep it with you.
Scripture: Deuteronomy 4:9
Meal: Fresh fruit, soft cheese, warm bread
Reflection: “Memory is the island where grace lands first.”
Hospitality Arc: Share one memory that refuses to fade.
🕊️ Tuesday, March 24 | Sailing North Along Chile
Title: The Gentle Return
Ritual: Sit for two minutes with your hand over your heart, naming one grace returning with you.
Scripture: Isaiah 30:15
Meal: Herb omelet, roasted vegetables, mint tea
Reflection: “Return is not undoing—it is unfolding.”
Hospitality Arc: Ask someone what grace is accompanying them homeward.
MARCH 18 Wednesday of the
Fourth Week of Lent
Psalm 19, Verse 10-11
The FEAR of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The statutes of the
LORD are true, all of them just, more desirable than gold,
than a hoard of purest gold, Sweeter also than honey or drippings from the
comb.
Our Lord showed no fear of the money changers or the priests when He overturned the tables in holy zeal for the statutes of the Lord. Is the Holy Spirit moving you to make a real change today? Are you being called to be holier, stronger, more committed to God and better prepared for the trials and persecution of our world? Consider the message of The Holy League.[1]
History-Pope St. Pius V formed the original Holy League in response to the dire situation in which Christian Europe found itself in 1571. Small bands of Catholic men and remnant armies from various nations came together under the spiritual leadership of the saintly pontiff and the military leadership of Don John of Austria. By prayer and fasting, they implored the help of God’s grace, through the intercession of the Mother of God, and, by the grace of Almighty God, on October 7, 1571, at the Battle of Lepanto, the Christian fleet won a crushing victory over the OttomanTurks, saving Christendom and western civilization.
·
Encourages consecration to the
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Purest Heart
of Joseph;
·
Promotes the Precepts and
Sacraments of the Church; especially through devotion to the Most Blessed
Sacrament and the praying of the Most Holy Rosary;
·
Creates a unified front, made up
of members of the Church Militant, for spiritual combat;
·
Strives to have a regular monthly
Holy League Holy Hour available to men in every Roman Catholic parish.
The Vision of the Holy League is to develop a network of parish based regular monthly Holy Hours with confession and fraternity for men.
Our Mission
The Holy League, in a Spirit of Marian Chivalry, under the patronage of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Joseph, seeks to provide opportunities for the faithful to unite in prayer, especially monthly Eucharistic Holy Hours, for purification from sin and predisposition to Supernatural Grace for the fuller exercise of the threefold offices of Priest, Prophet, and King received at Baptism. The particular prayer of the Holy League is the monthly Eucharistic Holy Hour.
Copilot’s
Take
Confronting
evil begins with the willingness to let God confront you first. The fear
of the Lord purifies the heart so that a man becomes clear‑sighted, steady, and
unmanipulable. Evil thrives in confusion, noise, and self‑deception, but
holiness grows in the quiet interior places where a man allows Christ to
overturn the hidden tables—resentments, compromises, secret sins, and the
subtle ways we protect ourselves from grace. The real battleground is not “out
there” in the culture but in the conscience, where a man decides whether he
will live in truth, purity, and obedience. Only a heart already surrendered can
stand firm when darkness presses in.
Christ
shows that confronting evil is not about aggression but about alignment. He
rebukes demons with a word, exposes hypocrisy without hatred, and enters His
Passion not as a victim but as a King who lays down His life freely. His
strength is His purity. The Holy League understood this: their victory at
Lepanto was the fruit of men who had already allowed God to conquer their
hearts through fasting, confession, the Rosary, and Eucharistic devotion. The
same pattern holds today. Evil is confronted by men who are purified,
disciplined, and rooted in grace.
The
question that remains is simple: what interior place is Christ asking you to
surrender so that He can make you ready for the battles ahead?
Wednesday
Of the Fourth Week of Lent[2]
Prayer.
O
God, Who grantest to the just the reward of their merits, and to sinners
pardon, by means of fasting, have mercy on Thy supplicants, that the confession
of our guilt may enable us to receive the forgiveness of our sins. Amen.
EPISTLE. Isaias i. 16-19.
Thus,
saith the Lord God: Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your
devices from My eyes: cease to do perversely, learn to do well: seek judgment,
relieve the oppressed, judge for the fatherless, defend the widow. And then
come, and accuse Me, saith the Lord: if your sins be as scarlet, they shall be
made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as
wool. If you be willing, and will hearken to Me, you shall eat the good things
of the land, saith the Lord Almighty.
GOSPEL. John ix. 1-38.
At
that time: Jesus passing by, saw a man who was blind from his birth: and His
disciples asked Him: Rabbi, who hath sinned, this man or his parents, that he
should be born blind? Jesus answered: Neither hath this man sinned, nor his
parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work
the works of Him that sent Me, whilst it is day: the night cometh when no man
can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When He
had said these things, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and
spread the clay upon his eyes, and said to him: Go, wash in the pool of Siloe,
which is interpreted, Sent. He went therefore, and washed, and he came seeing.
The neighbors, therefore, and they who had seen him before that he was a
beggar, said: Is not this he that sat, and begged? Some said: This is he. But
others said: No, but he is like him. But he said: I am he. They said therefore
to him: How were thy eyes opened? He answered: That man that is called Jesus,
made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me: Go to the pool of Siloe, and
wash. And I went, I washed, and I see. And they said to him: Where is He? He
saith, I know not. They bring him that had been blind to the Pharisees. Now it
was the Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Again, therefore
the Pharisees asked him how he had received his sight. But he said to them: He
put clay upon my eyes, and I washed, and I see. Some therefore of the Pharisees
said: This man is not of God, Who keepeth not the Sabbath. But others said: How
can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among
them. They say therefore to the blind man again: What sayest thou of Him that
hath opened thy eyes? And he said: He is a prophet. The Jews then did not
believe concerning him, that he had been blind and had received his sight,
until they called the parents of him that had received his sight, and asked
them, saying: Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then doth he
now see? His parents answered them and said: We know that this is our son, and
that he was born blind; but how he now seeth, we know not: or who hath opened
his eyes, we know not: ask himself; he is of age, let him speak for himself.
These things his parents said, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had
already agreed among themselves, that if any man should confess Him to be
Christ he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore, did his parents say:
He is of age, ask him. They therefore called the man again that had been blind
and said to him: Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner. He said
therefore to them: If He be a sinner, I know not: one thing I know, that
whereas I was blind, now I see. They said then to him: What did He to thee? How
did He open thy eyes? He answered them: I have told you already, and you have
heard: why would you hear it again? will you also become His disciples? They
reviled him therefore and said: Be thou His disciple; but we are the disciples
of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses: but as to this man, we know not from
whence He is. The man answered, and said to them: Why, herein is a wonderful
thing that you know not from whence He is, and He hath opened my eyes. Now we
know that God doth not hear sinners: but if a man be a server of God, and doth
His will, him He heareth. From the beginning of the world, it hath not been
heard, that any man hath opened the eyes of one born blind. Unless this man
were of God, He could not do anything. They answered and said to him: Thou wast
wholly born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard
that they had cast him out: and when He had found him, He said to him: Dost
thou believe in the Son of God? He answered, and said: Who is He, Lord, that I
may believe in Him? And Jesus said to him: Thou hast both seen Him, and it is
He that talketh with thee. And he said: I believe, Lord. And falling down he
adored.
As a
faithful catholic in the modern world, you may feel shaken with fear at the
evils the new world order has taken, and you may expect to perish yourself but
know that we can trust in Divine Mercy.
John Paul II Entrusted the World to Divine Mercy[3]
On
Aug. 17, 2002, twenty years ago today, Pope John Paul II entrusted the world to
Divine Mercy as he consecrated the International Shrine of The Divine Mercy in
Lagiewniki, Poland.
Standing
before the image of Divine Mercy, the Pope said, “I wish solemnly to entrust
the world to Divine Mercy. I do so with the burning desire that the message of
God’s merciful love, proclaimed here through Saint Faustina, may be made known
to all the peoples of the earth and fill their hearts with hope.”
He
finished his homily with this prayer:
God, merciful Father, in your Son, Jesus
Christ, you have revealed your love and poured it out upon us in the Holy
Spirit, the Comforter, we entrust to you today the destiny of the world and of
every man and woman. Bend down to us sinners, heal our weakness, conquer all
evil, and grant that all the peoples of the earth may experience your mercy. In
You, the Triune God, may they ever find the source of hope. Eternal Father, by
the Passion and Resurrection of your Son, have mercy on us and upon the whole world!
The
consecration and entrustment of the world to Divine Mercy represented the
fulfillment of a mission for Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938). Faustina, a
poor, young Polish nun experienced visions of Jesus in which he asked her to
make his message of infinite love and mercy known to the world. At the request
of her spiritual director, she made a record of the visions in her diary.
In
his visitations, Jesus asked her to have a painting made portraying him as he
appeared to her. In her diary she recorded the vision:
“Paint an image according to the pattern you
see, with the signature: ‘Jesus, I trust in You.’ I desire that this image be
venerated, first in your chapel, and then throughout the world. I promise that
the soul that will venerate this image will not perish.”
In
another visitation, he asked the nun that she help establish Divine Mercy
Sunday on the first Sunday after Easter, to offer the world salvation.
Faustina
recorded Jesus’ words:
“This Feast emerged from the very depths of My
mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of my tender mercies. Every soul
believing and trusting in My mercy will obtain it.”
It
was the mission that Pope John Paul II also felt called to help complete.
If
St. Faustina was the initial receptacle for the message of Divine Mercy, her
Polish compatriot saw to it that the requests Jesus made of the nun were
fulfilled, and the devotion spread throughout the world.
As
a young seminarian in Krakow in 1940, Karol Wojtyla first learned of St.
Faustina’s revelations and the message of Divine Mercy. Later as a priest, he
was a frequent visitor to the convent where Faustina lived, stopping by to
pray, and hold retreats. When he became Archbishop of Krakow, he led the effort
to put Faustina’s name before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and
defended her when the validity of her claims was questioned in Rome.
As
pope, he published his second encyclical, Dives in misericordia (Rich
in mercy), on Nov. 30, 1980.
The
following year, while recovering from an assassination attempt, Pope John Paul
II traveled to The Shrine of Merciful Love in Collevalenza, Italy, where he
revealed that he felt spreading the message of Divine mercy to be his greatest
calling.
“Right
from the beginning of my ministry in St. Peter's See in Rome, I considered this
message my special task. Providence has assigned it to me in the present
situation of man, the Church, and the world. It could be said that precisely
this situation assigned that message to me as my task before God,” he said.
At
the beatification of Saint Faustina on April 18, 1993, the pope spoke of his
delight at witnessing the popularity of the devotion to Divine Mercy.
“Her
mission continues and is yielding astonishing fruit. It is truly marvelous how
her devotion to the merciful Jesus is spreading in our contemporary world and
gaining so many human hearts!” said the pope.
Yet
there was more to be done. On Divine Mercy Sunday, April 30, 2000, Pope John
Paul II canonized Saint Faustina Kowalska, and declared the Second Sunday of
Easter as "Divine Mercy Sunday.”
Twenty
years ago today, when Pope John Paul II entrusted the world to Divine Mercy, he
shared his hope that the world would hear the message that God is merciful.
Quoting from Faustina's diary, he said:
“May
this message radiate from this place to our beloved homeland and throughout the
world. May the binding promise of the Lord Jesus be fulfilled: from here there
must go forth ‘the spark which will prepare the world for his final coming (cf.
Diary, 1732)’.”
“This
spark needs to be lighted by the grace of God. This fire of mercy needs to be
passed on to the world. In the mercy of God the world will find peace and
mankind will find happiness! I entrust this task to you, dear Brothers and
Sisters, to the Church in Kraków and Poland, and to all the votaries of Divine
Mercy who will come here from Poland and from throughout the world. May you be
witnesses to mercy!” he said.
Today,
devotion to Divine Mercy is popular among Catholics around the world. Churches
and shrines and religious orders have dedicated themselves to sharing the
message received by St. Faustina and which St. Pope John Paul II considered his
“task before God."
To
learn more about the Divine Mercy devotion, visit the website for the Divine Mercy shrine in
Poland or the National
Divine Mercy Shrine
in Stockton, Massachusetts.
St. Joseph-Tomorrow is the Feast of St. Joseph
These words were spoken to Sister on the eve of St.
Joseph’s feast day, March 18, 1958:
·
My
child, I desire a day to be set aside to honor my fatherhood.
·
The
privilege of being chosen by God to be the Virgin-Father of His Son was mine
alone, and no honor, excluding that bestowed upon my Holy Spouse, was ever, or
will ever, be as sublime or as high as this.
·
The Holy
Trinity desires thus to honor me that in my unique fatherhood all fatherhood
might be blessed.
·
Dear
child, I was king in the little home of Nazareth, for I sheltered within it the
Prince of Peace and the Queen of Heaven. To me they looked for protection and
sustenance, and I did not fail them.
·
I
received from them the deepest love and reverence, for in me they saw Him Whose
place I took over them.
·
So, the
head of the family must be loved, obeyed, and respected, and in return be a
true father and protector to those under his care.
·
In
honoring in a special way my fatherhood, you also honor Jesus and Mary. The
Divine Trinity has placed into our keeping the peace of the world.
·
The
imitation of the Holy Family, my child, of the virtues we practiced in our
little home at Nazareth is the way for all souls to that peace which comes from
God alone and which none other can give.
St. Joseph appeared to Sister again to explain the
First Wednesday devotion God wishes to establish in his honor. Sister states:
His requests were similar to those of Our Lady and the
First Saturday. The Sacred Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph have been chosen
by the Most Holy Trinity to bring peace to the world; hence, their request for
special love and honor, also, in particular, reparation and imitation.
These are the words of St. Joseph as recorded on March
30, 1958:
“I am the protector of the Church and the home, as I
was the protector of Christ and His Mother while I lived upon earth. Jesus and
Mary desire that my pure heart, so long hidden and unknown, be now honored in a
special way.
1.
Let my children honor my most pure heart in a special
manner on the First Wednesday of the month by reciting the Joyful Mysteries
of the rosary in memory of my life with Jesus and Mary and the love I bore
them, the sorrow I suffered with them.
2.
Let them receive Holy Communion in union with the love
with which I received the Savior for the first time and each time I held Him in
my arms.
Those who honor me in this way will be consoled by my
presence at their death, and I myself will conduct them safely into the
presence of Jesus and Mary.
I will come again, little
child of my most
pure heart. Until then, continue in patience and humility, which is so pleasing
to God.”
Bible in a
year Day 259 Sermon
on the Mount
Fr. Mike reads
the Sermon on the Mount and explains how Jesus' teachings powerfully fulfill
the old testament law, and identify the broken human heart as the source of our
sinful actions. We learn that Jesus himself is the remedy to our sins, and that
the secret to holiness is living in the perfect will of God. Today's readings
are Matthew 5-7, and Proverbs 18:21-24.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Conversion
of Sinners
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945) is one of those rare films that feels like a warm chapel on a cold morning—gentle, humorous, and quietly profound. Let’s shape it in your devotional‑film format, with the same clarity, cadence, and pastoral resonance you’ve been cultivating.
🎬 Film Details
- Title: The Bells of St. Mary’s
- Year: 1945
- Director: Leo McCarey
- Stars: Bing Crosby (Father O’Malley), Ingrid Bergman (Sister Mary Benedict)
- Studio: RKO Radio Pictures
- Genre: Drama / Comedy
- Sequel Context: Follows McCarey’s earlier Going My Way (1944), but stands fully on its own.
🕯️ Story Summary
Father O’Malley arrives at St. Mary’s, a struggling parochial school run by a devoted community of Sisters. His easygoing pastoral style immediately contrasts with the disciplined, idealistic approach of Sister Mary Benedict. Their shared mission—to save the school—draws them into a series of tender, humorous, and spiritually charged encounters.
A wealthy businessman, Horace Bogardus, plans to demolish the school to expand his office complex. The Sisters pray instead that he will give them the new building. Meanwhile, Father O’Malley navigates the needs of the students, including a shy boy who needs confidence and a young woman whose home life requires delicate pastoral care.
The film culminates in a quiet miracle of providence, a reconciliation of wills, and a parting between O’Malley and Sister Benedict that is as moving as it is understated.
🕊️ Historical & Cultural Notes
- Released just months after WWII, the film’s tone of healing, rebuilding, and gentle authority resonated deeply with American audiences.
- Ingrid Bergman’s portrayal of a nun was groundbreaking—dignified, strong, and deeply human.
- The film’s depiction of Catholic life is idealized but respectful, reflecting McCarey’s own Catholic upbringing.
- Its themes of institutional survival, vocational fidelity, and the tension between obedience and personal conviction mirror the Church’s post‑war challenges.
✝️ Catholic Themes & Moral Resonances
1. Obedience as Love, Not Subservience
Sister Benedict’s obedience is not passive; it is a chosen, intelligent offering. Her tension with Father O’Malley reveals obedience as a dialogue of charity, not a hierarchy of power.
2. Providence Through Ordinary Means
The Sisters pray for a miracle, but the miracle comes through human conversion—Bogardus’s softened heart. Grace works through the cracks of ordinary life.
3. Pastoral Care as Accompaniment
Father O’Malley embodies a pastoral style rooted in presence, humor, and gentle redirection. He never forces outcomes; he shepherds people toward them.
4. The Dignity of Formation
The school’s mission is not merely academic. It forms souls—teaching courage, humility, and hope. The boxing lesson scene, humorous as it is, becomes a parable of confidence and self‑respect.
5. Sacrifice Without Recognition
Sister Benedict’s tuberculosis diagnosis and her removal from the school echo the hidden sacrifices of religious life. She leaves quietly, trusting God with the fruit of her labor.
🍞 Hospitality Pairing
A simple, comforting meal that mirrors the film’s warmth and humility:
- Creamy potato soup — humble, nourishing, reminiscent of parish kitchens and convent tables.
- Fresh bread with butter — the daily bread of community life.
- A light, crisp white wine (e.g., a Riesling or Pinot Grigio) — gentle, bright, echoing the film’s hopeful tone.
- Dessert: A small slice of angel food cake — airy, celebratory, fitting for a film about unseen grace.
Set the table with soft light—perhaps a single candle—to evoke the quiet holiness of St. Mary’s chapel.
🧭 Reflection
- Where do I resist God’s invitations because they come through people whose style differs from mine?
- What “school” in my life is God asking me to protect or rebuild—family, vocation, community, interior life?
- How do I practice obedience as an act of love rather than compliance?
- Where have I seen providence arrive through ordinary, even humorous, circumstances?
- What hidden sacrifices am I being asked to make, and can I offer them without seeking recognition?
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