Monday, April 20, 2026

Smoke in This Life and Not the Next

Mon, Apr 20 – Earth Day (observed)

Virtue: Stewardship & Reverence
Cigar: Earthy, rooted (Sumatra)
Bourbon: Wilderness Trail – grounded, clean
Reflection: “How do I tend the garden of mercy?”

✨ The Hour That Rose from the Earth (Short, Sharp, True)
St. Magdalen de Pazzi once saw the soul of a deceased sister rise from the earth during prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. She appeared wrapped in purifying fire, yet beneath the flames shone a robe of dazzling white, the sign that grace had already claimed her. She knelt for one final hour of silent adoration before the Hidden God. When that hour was complete, she rose and ascended to Heaven.

Purgatory is not punishment for its own sake.
It is the completion of love, the final cleansing of what grace has already begun.
It is the soul returning to right order—adoration before ascent.

National “Weed Day” — A Necessary Clarification

April 20 is widely associated with marijuana culture, but your ritual framework is not about recreational intoxication. It is about purification, stewardship, and symbolic smoke—the rising of the soul toward God, not the dulling of the mind. The contrast actually strengthens the entry:

One kind of smoke numbs.
The other kind of smoke awakens.
One escapes responsibility.
The other accepts purification.
One drifts.
The other ascends.

Your Sumatra cigar becomes the counter‑sign:
rooted, disciplined, earthy, reverent—a smoke that teaches rather than distracts.

An earthy Sumatra and a clean Wilderness Trail bourbon preach the same truth:
Stewardship begins in humility,
reverence begins in purification,
and every garden—soil or soul—must be tended
in this life and not the next.

Monday Night at the Movies

🔸 April 2026 – Resurrection & Marian Vision

Apr 6 – King of Kings (1927)
Apr 13 – Lady for a Day (1933)
Apr 20 – The Song of Bernadette (1943)
Apr 27 – The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)

Across these four films, Resurrection appears not only as an event but as a pattern: Christ rises, dignity rises, vision rises, vocation rises. King of Kings opens the month with the Resurrection as cosmic rupture — light breaking into darkness, Magdalene restored, and Mary standing as the quiet axis of fidelity. One week later, Lady for a Day translates that same rising into human terms: a woman the world overlooks is lifted into honor, revealing a Marian truth that the lowly are never invisible to God. What Christ does in glory, grace echoes in the lives of the poor.

The movement deepens with The Song of Bernadette, where Marian vision becomes the lens through which Resurrection continues in history. Heaven touches earth through humility, purity, and suffering — the same virtues that shaped Mary’s own discipleship. And the month concludes with The Keys of the Kingdom, where Resurrection becomes mission: a long obedience marked by Marian endurance, hidden fruitfulness, and the quiet courage to love in obscurity. Together, these films trace a single arc — from the empty tomb to the human heart, from glory revealed to glory lived — showing how the light of Easter becomes the shape of a life.

The Song of Bernadette (1943)
Jennifer Jones & William Eythe

A luminous meditation on innocence, suffering, and the quiet ferocity of grace. This is not a film about spectacle but about truth borne silently, a peasant girl whose purity unsettles the powerful and consoles the broken. Bernadette’s visions do not elevate her socially—they crucify her gently, shaping her into a vessel of obedience, humility, and hidden sanctity.

🎬 Production Snapshot

Studio: 20th Century Fox
Director: Henry King

Release: 1943
Screenplay: George Seaton (from Franz Werfel’s novel)
Stars:

Jennifer Jones (Bernadette Soubirous)
William Eythe (Antoine Nicolau)
Charles Bickford (Father Peyramale)
Vincent Price (Prosecutor Vital Dutour)
Gladys Cooper (Sister Marie Thérèse Vauzous)
Genre: Religious Drama / Hagiographic Epic
Notable: Jennifer Jones won the Academy Award for Best Actress; Alfred Newman’s score remains one of Hollywood’s great sacred compositions.

🧭 Story Summary

Bernadette Soubirous is a poor, asthmatic miller’s daughter in Lourdes, unnoticed and unremarkable—until she sees a Lady in the grotto at Massabielle. What follows is not triumph but trial:

The civil authorities interrogate her.
The clergy doubt her.
The crowds overwhelm her.
The jealous resent her.
The sick cling to her.

Yet Bernadette remains steady, gentle, and unshaken. She does not argue, embellish, or defend herself. She simply repeats what she saw: “I saw her. I saw the Lady.”

The spring emerges. The healings begin. The world descends on Lourdes. But Bernadette’s path bends not toward glory but toward the convent, where hidden suffering becomes her final vocation. Her physical pain—kept secret for years—reveals the depth of her sanctity. She dies young, unseen by the world, but radiant in the eyes of Heaven.

🕰 Historical & Cultural Context

Released during World War II, the film offered a wounded world a vision of:

Innocence resisting brutality
Faith surviving interrogation
Suffering transfigured into meaning
A poor girl becoming a global sign of hope

Hollywood rarely treats sanctity with reverence; this film does. It stands as one of the great religious epics of the studio era, alongside The Keys of the Kingdom and A Man for All Seasons.

✝️ Catholic Moral Resonances

Purity as Strength
Bernadette’s simplicity disarms every worldly power.
Insight: Holiness is not naivety—it is clarity.
Suffering as Hidden Vocation
Her final illness reveals the depth of her offering.
Insight: The holiest sacrifices are often unseen.
Authority Purified by Humility
Father Peyramale’s skepticism becomes reverence.
Insight: True authority bows before truth.
The Poor as Bearers of Revelation
Heaven chooses the lowly, not the learned.
Insight: God’s logic overturns human hierarchies.
Miracle as Invitation, Not Proof
The spring heals bodies, but Bernadette’s life heals souls.
Insight: Signs point beyond themselves.

🍷 Hospitality Pairing

Drink: “The Grotto Candle”
A quiet, contemplative drink:

Light Irish whiskey
Warm water
Honey
A thin slice of lemon

Symbolism:
Warmth = consolation
Honey = gentleness
Lemon = purity cutting through doubt

Snack: Simple Almond Biscuit
The food of pilgrimage—plain, sustaining, humble.

Atmosphere:
Dim light, a single candle, a bowl of water on the table—Lourdes reduced to essence.

🪞 Reflection Prompt

Where is God asking you to accept a hidden vocation—quiet, unseen, but radiant with obedience?

Introduction to the Book of Ruth

The Book of Ruth is one of Scripture’s most understated meditations on courage. It never uses the language of fear, yet fear sits behind every scene—famine, widowhood, displacement, and the vulnerability of two women with no protection.

Ruth answers that fear not with bravado but with covenant loyalty. She binds herself to Naomi at the very moment when self‑preservation would have been the sensible path. Her courage is quiet, steady, and embodied.

Boaz confronts the fear-driven chaos of the Judges era by choosing integrity over exploitation. His righteousness becomes a shelter for Ruth and a rebuke to the culture around him.

Naomi’s courage is slower. She names her bitterness honestly, yet she keeps moving, planning, and hoping. She refuses to let grief become her final identity.

The book begins in emptiness and ends in a genealogy, revealing a God who works beneath the surface—turning ordinary acts of fidelity into the architecture of redemption. Ruth shows that courage is not the absence of fear but the refusal to let fear dictate the next step.

Introduction to 1 Samuel[1]

Welcome to 1 Samuel, the original Game of Thrones (cue awesome theme here). Oh, yes, that's right. As much as you've probably heard that the story of 1 Samuel is about the little guy (David) fighting the big guy (Goliath), that's actually not the whole point of the book. We're here to tell you that the plot of 1 Samuel is really about control of the throne of Israel.

Written at about 1000 B.C. by the Deuteronomists, the book starts off with a man named Eli serving as God's priest. But God decides that a young man named Samuel should be in charge, so when Eli eventually dies, Samuel takes over as priest and prophet. Everything's coming up Samuel. Hence the title.

The people of Israel decide they need a king, so God makes Samuel appoint a man named Saul, who's kind of the worst. To make a long story short, Saul is a terrible king, so Samuel has to go find someone else.

After a long search, Samuel ends up in Bethlehem (way before Jesus was born there), where he meets an adorable young shepherd named David, he anoints David on the spot.

Fast-forward a good long while, and the Israelite army is ready to fight the Philistines. Every Israelite soldier is too scared to fight Goliath, the Philistine champion, so David steps forward like a champ. Overly confident, Goliath is defeated by a stone being flung through his skull by David. Boom. Now everyone loves David. Even Saul... sort of. Well, maybe not so much Saul.

Now that David has gone from zero to hero, everyone has the David fever except for Saul. He tries to kill David several times out of jealousy for his new found fame and power. And the Game of Thrones has begun. What follows until the end of 1 Samuel is a series of plot twists, battles, more plot twists, and more battles until (spoiler alert) Saul is killed on the battlefield. 1 Samuel ends on a cliffhanger, but don't worry, as with all good action adventures, there's a sequel.

Political intrigue? Check. Power plays? Check. Epic battles? Check. Seriously, 1 Samuel has all the makings of every awesome R-rated movie or rated Mature TV show to grace the HBO airwaves. And our man David's the star.

So here is the real question: if the book is really about David, why is the book titled Samuel?

Any guesses?

Fine, we'll just tell you. Although the book has got David fever along with the rest of the Israelites, as Prophet-in-Residence, Samuel's there every step of the way. In fact, it's because of Samuel that most of the events transpire. He's the Gandalf to David's Bilbo. The Dumbledore to his Harry. Without the old gray wizard to guide, there is no unexpected journey and adventure. Without Samuel, there's no Game of Thrones for Israel.

Why Should I Care?

Because you loved The Mighty Ducks, Rudy, and Star Wars. Because no one—and we mean no one—has ever said no to a good underdog story, and 1 Samuel is a classic.

Some of our greatest tales are based on the old little-dude-defeats-big-dude plot, and this one's no exception. From his very humble beginnings as a shepherd boy, David has to contend with all kinds of Big Bads every step of the way. See, 1 Samuel is one of the original underdog stories and it's not just about one big foe. David is constantly struggling to be the bigger man, whether it's against Goliath, Saul, or even himself at times.

Think of 1 Samuel as a precursor to all those people-pleasing blockbuster franchises making the big bucks in theaters these days. It's got all the awesome elements that pack people in those seats: violence, romance, power struggles, dashing heroes, and even a soundtrack (David's got a bit of a musical knack).

And yes—it even has a sequel.

APRIL 20 Monday of the Third Week of Easter

4/20 Weed Day

1 Samuel, Chapter 4, Verse 20

She was about to die when the women standing around her said to her, “Do not be AFRAID, you have given birth to a son.” Yet she neither answered nor paid any attention.

The Ark of the Covenant was the glory of Israel who had by this time had become no better than their neighbors and they worshiped the gods of their neighbors. Additionally, as they descended, they warred with each other rather than the nations opposed to them. The Ark was now considered a powerful talisman in war and when the Israelites bring it into battle with the Philistines it is captured, and the glory of Israel departs. The cause was the corruption of the priestly family of Eli who forgot the way of God. God would call another Priest: Samuel and the house of Eli was brought down.

Humpty Dumpty Had a Great Fall[2]

The Israelites lost a battle against the Philistine army. The Philistines are a sea people and a superior fighting force. The Israelites rarely stand a chance against them (1-2).

The Israelites decide to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the camp with them so they might win the battle the next day. Everyone gets so excited when the Ark makes its way into camp, the echoes of joy reach all the way to the Philistine camp and they become afraid.

The next day, the Philistines fight even harder and they steal the Ark for themselves. So much for that plan, Israelites. Oh, and Hophni and Phinehas die just as prophesied (3-11).

A messenger comes to deliver the news of Israel's defeat. Eli, sitting in his place of power on the outer wall, receives the news of the defeat, the loss of the Ark, and the death of his sons.

He promptly falls backwards from his seat, breaks his neck, and dies. Little known fact: Humpty Dumpty is based on Eli. Little known fact: that was a lie (14-18).

Phinehas' pregnant wife, upon hearing of his demise, goes into labor and gives birth to a son. She is so sad, she names the child Ichabod, which means the glory has departed from Israel. Sorry kid, you're stuck with it (19-22).

Copilot’s Take

Israel’s collapse in 1 Samuel 4 is not a story of military misfortune but of spiritual erosion. The Ark of the Covenant—once the throne of the Living God—had been reduced to a battlefield charm, a sacred object treated like a weapon rather than a presence. Eli’s sons consumed the sacrifices, corrupted the priesthood, and hollowed out the nation from within. When the Philistines struck, they did not defeat a faithful people; they merely exposed a people who had already defeated themselves. The glory did not “depart” in a single moment. It had been leaking for years.

The women surrounding Phinehas’ wife speak the ancient blessing—“Do not be afraid, you have given birth to a son”—but she cannot hear it. Her silence is the silence of a nation that has forgotten how to listen to God. She names the child Ichabod, not out of despair alone, but out of clarity: a people who treat holy things as tools cannot expect holy protection. The Catechism warns against this very drift—superstition, ritual without conversion, leaders who refuse correction, and communities that want God’s power without God’s demands. Israel’s fear is not the fear of enemies; it is the fear that comes when obedience has been replaced by presumption.

Eli’s fall from his seat is more than an old man’s accident. It is the collapse of authority that refused to discipline its own house. The priest who once recognized Hannah’s prayer now cannot restrain his sons. His backward fall is the physical sign of a spiritual truth: when shepherds fail, the flock scatters. When leaders tolerate corruption, the people inherit catastrophe. Evil does not first triumph on the battlefield but in the sanctuary, in the quiet places where compromise becomes habit and habit becomes culture.

The Philistines, for all their strength, are not the true villains of the chapter. They are the instrument that reveals the deeper enemy—Israel’s own infidelity. The Catechism names this pattern with precision: sin creates structures, cultures, and momentum. Once a people begins to treat God as an accessory rather than Lord, the outcome is inevitable. The Ark cannot save a nation that refuses repentance. God does not abandon His people; His people abandon the posture that allows them to receive His glory.

Yet even in this dark chapter, the Easter season reframes the story. The child named Ichabod is born into a moment of collapse, but God is already preparing Samuel, already rebuilding the priesthood, already restoring what Israel squandered. The glory of God does not depend on human strength but on human surrender. The path back is always the same: obedience, repentance, and the courage to confront the evil within before confronting the evil without.

From the fear that God’s glory depends on my success rather than my obedience—deliver me, Jesus.

Bible in a year Day 290 Judas Maccabeus Dies

Fr. Mike guides us through Judas Maccabeus' last battle, his death, and his succession. We learn that part of Judas and Jonathan's victory involved fighting fellow Jews living in the land who were not living according to God's laws. Fr. Mike points out that when the enemy is in the inside, it is especially heartbreaking. Today's readings are 1 Maccabees 9, Sirach 24-25, and Proverbs 23:1-4.

Weed Day[3]

April 20 has become a counterculture holiday in North America, where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis.Some events have a political nature to them, advocating for the legalization of cannabis. North American observances have been held at Hippie Hill in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park near the Haight-Ashbury district, the University of Colorado's Boulder campus,Ottawa, Ontario, at Parliament Hill and Major's Hill Park, Montreal, Quebec at Mount Royal monument, Edmonton, Alberta at the Alberta Legislature Building,as well as Vancouver, British Columbia at the Vancouver Art Gallery.The growing size of the unofficial event at UC Santa Cruz caused the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs to send an e-mail to parents in 2009 stating: "The growth in scale of this activity has become a concern for both the university and surrounding community."

Up in Smoke[4]

Q: I have a question regarding the use of marijuana and whether it is considered a sin to smoke it recreationally now that it is legal in Washington state. I have a Catholic friend who smokes it and doesn’t seem to think that there is anything wrong with doing so. What does the church teach about using marijuana recreationally — is it a sin?

A: During the period of continuing formation following my ordination, I was introduced to Stephen Covey’s well-known book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The second habit has always stuck with me: “Begin with the end in mind.” It means that before we start something, we need to think it out and make sure our present actions will help us toward our future goals.

Covey’s second habit can be applied to the spiritual life. The goal of our spiritual lives is ultimately to love God and others to the fullest possible extent, and ultimately to make it to heaven. What we do in the present should assist us in these spiritual goals.

So, to your question, with the understanding that marijuana is a legally prescribed therapeutic drug for certain mental and physical conditions: Does recreational marijuana use help or hinder us in reaching this goal of our Christian life?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, quoting Vatican II, says the following: “God willed that man should be ‘left in the hand of his own counsel,’ so that he might of his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him.” (1730) God doesn’t force us to seek and love him; it is something that he has left us free to do.

Marijuana affects the limbic system of the brain, which deals with emotion, behavior, motivation, long-term memory, and sense of smell and time. Using this substance, as many studies show, causes both physical and psychological effects in the user, including heightened heart rates, short-term memory loss, delayed reaction, depression and even anxiety. When a person smokes marijuana, they are placing chemicals in their nervous system that alter their consciousness and have the potential to produce future emotional and physical damage.

Marijuana certainly is not beneficial to the spiritual life, and if it becomes a serious impediment to growth in the spiritual life and drawing closer to God and our ultimate goal, heaven, the church would consider its recreational use a sin. It’s important to remember that there is a big difference between recreational and therapeutic drug use and this understanding does not apply only to marijuana.

YouCat, the youth catechism of the Catholic Church, says: “Every time a person loses or forgets himself by becoming intoxicated, which can also include excessive eating and drinking, indulgence in sexual activity, or speeding with an automobile, he loses some of his human dignity and freedom and therefore sins against God. This should be distinguished from the reasonable, conscious, and moderate use of enjoyable things.” (389)

When we forget ourselves in this way through “intoxication” of any kind, we run the risk of forgetting what the purpose and goal of our lives are, and certainly are not considering this ultimate goal in the present.

St. Paul says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19) We were created to be good and responsible stewards of God’s creation, including our bodies, which are sacred. Recreational marijuana use can be an impediment to the fullness of life that God wants to share with us and so can become a hindrance to being a good steward of what God has created. Do you want to be a Dude or a Dud?

Is it weed or Lipton’s?[5]

While trapped in the hut some of the guys there were talking, and they mentioned that Lipton’s tea when it was burnt smells just like marijuana. I could not believe it; the next thing you know I was running back to my footlocker. I knew I had a pipe in there somewhere. Yes! I loaded it up with Lipton’s and lit it. Tasted like pure shit but yes it did smell just like marijuana. Brillo and I were going to have some fun with this. At lunch, we took my pipe with us over to the galley and we were eating slowly waiting for our victim. Then he came in, Mr. Winterover. You know the guy with his head shaved who wintered over stares at walls and things like that. He sat a few spaces down from us. Brillo and I watched him as he was eating soup like an “animal.” Staring at the wall with his face about four inches from the bowl and eating quickly, one spoon after another; just staring at the wall. I pulled the pipe out, lit it, and took a big drag; held it in my lungs then let the smoke out. Then, I passed the pipe over to Brillo, who did the same. The smoke drifted over to Mr. Winterover, all the sudden he stopped in mid stroke with the soup, sniffed, and then sniffed again. Slowly his head turned our way, and he sniffed one more time. Then he dropped his spoon, jumped up and ran over to us like a kid. He said to me,

“Hey, man is that shit.”

I said, “Yah it’s some Maui Wowi.”

He said, “Holy crap man how did you get it here, with customs and all.”

I quickly said, “Brillo here just hid it in his jacket.”

He was rubbing his hands together and prancing. “Hey man you don’t mind if I take a hit.” “Like man I ain’t had any shit for 18 months.”

I said, “Sure, here you go.”

I handed the pipe to Mr. Winterover, he greedily grabbed it, put the pipe to his lips taking a draw bending his whole body backwards with the draw, then he took two more deep draws rolling his eyes back in his head, breathed out and said to me and Brillo, “Man, that was the best shit I have ever had!” Brillo and I could hardly contain our laughter. After lunch we decided that it would also be fun to walk through the officer’s quarter’s area on the way back to the hut. It was interesting to note doors would open people would sniff through the crack in the door, but nobody came out of their rooms.

THIS WE BELIEVE

PRAYERS AND TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Consecration to the Blessed Mother[8]

O Mary, Virgin most powerful and Mother of mercy, Queen of Heaven and Refuge of sinners, we consecrate ourselves to thine Immaculate Heart.

We consecrate to thee our very being and our whole life; all that we have, all that we love, all that we are. To thee we give our bodies, our hearts and our souls; to thee we give our homes, our families, our country.

We desire that all that is in us and around us may belong to thee, and may share in the benefits of thy motherly benediction. And that this act of consecration may be truly efficacious and lasting, we renew this day at thy feet the promises of our Baptism and our first Holy Communion.

We pledge ourselves to profess courageously and at all times the truths of our holy Faith, and to live as befits Catholics who are duly submissive to all the directions of the Pope and the Bishops in communion with him.

We pledge ourselves to keep the commandments of God and His Church, in particular to keep holy the Lord's Day.

We likewise pledge ourselves to make the consoling practices of the Christian religion, and above all, Holy Communion, an integral part of our lives, in so far as we shall be able so to do.

Finally, we promise thee, O glorious Mother of God and loving Mother of men, to devote ourselves whole-heartedly to the service of thy blessed cult, in order to hasten and assure, through the sovereignty of thine Immaculate Heart, the coming of the kingdom of the Sacred Heart of thine adorable Son, in our own hearts and in those of all men, in our country and in all the world, as in heaven. so, on earth. Amen.

Gabriel’s Corner

· Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels

· Developmental Disability Awareness Month

· Bucket List trip: Ceylon tea trails

· Monday: Litany of Humility

· Spirit Hour: Salome

· Try Cheddar Fries

Daily Devotions

· Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: Reparations for offenses and blasphemies against God and the Blessed Virgin Mary

· Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

· Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

· Make reparations to the Holy Face