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Smoke in This Life and Not the Next
Sunday, May 3
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Virtue Under the Knife: Fidelity & Purification
Tonight’s Pairing
Cigar: Broadleaf Maduro — earth, char, slow heavy smoke; the weight of consequence without despair
Drink: Old Forester 1920 — high‑proof discipline, dark fruit and oak, a long stern finish
Reason: today is about standing firm at the borderland where mercy burns hot
The Reflection
“He is there,” said her angel, “and he suffers much. Would you be willing to endure some pain in order to diminish his?”
“Certainly,” she replied. “I am ready to suffer anything to assist him.”
Instantly she was taken into a place of frightful torture.
She trembled.
“Is this hell, my brother?”
“No, sister,” the angel answered,
“but this part of purgatory is bordering upon hell.”
That is the line every man must face:
the border where God’s mercy is still mercy,
but no longer gentle.
Purgatory is not punishment — it is precision.
It is the soul stripped of excuses.
It is the place where every tolerated fault becomes flame,
every neglected duty becomes iron,
every small compromise becomes weight.
The Broadleaf Maduro fits the moment:
dark, honest, unadorned —
the taste of a man who refuses to hide from his own unfinished work.
The 1920 matches it:
fire without rage,
heat without chaos,
the kind of burn that clarifies a man’s loyalties.
Christ says in today’s Gospel, “Remain in me.”
Not visit.
Not drift.
Remain.
The borderland teaches the same lesson:
A man who refuses discipline now
will learn it later under a harsher light.
Guard the soul.
Guard the habits.
Guard the small choices that build or break fidelity.
Purgatory Note
The souls she saw were not crushed by a single furnace but by many small ones,
because their faults were scattered across the whole field of life.
Their purification was relentless, not violent —
the slow correction of men who never learned to say no to themselves.
Better to take the strong smoke now.
Better to taste the high‑proof fire now.
Better to practice fidelity now —
and not the next.
MAY 3 Fifth Sunday of Easter
St. Philip and James-Finding of The Holy Cross
1 Samuel, Chapter 18, Verse 15
Seeing
how he prospered, Saul FEARED David.
Insecure
people spend a lot of time on job justification.
Think
about it how much time do you or people you know spend in justifying rather
than striving to break free of fears and be all God has envisioned them to be?
Often insecure people are trapped in a cycle of fear
that retards their ability to give power and grace to others.
The law of Empowerment[1]
Saul
was insecure.
The Law
of Empowerment says that only secure leaders give power to others.
But
what does it mean to be secure?
Using
the analogy of personal finance, let’s look at what’s missing from the lives of
insecure leaders. This will help us better understand where security comes from
and why it matters.
Paupers,
debtors, and hoarders lack the real or perceived financial security necessary
to give generously to others.
Paupers have no source of income aside
from the financial assistance they receive from someone else. Penniless and
dependent, they’re clearly unable to help others financially.
Leaders without purpose are like paupers. They have no passion, low energy,
and little drive to grow in influence. Usually, their only source of power is
the position they have been given by somebody else. In terms of personal
authority, they’re impoverished.
Debtors
may have nice
salaries, but their expenses exceed their income. They’ve maxed out credit
cards and taken out hefty loans. Consequently, they’re stuck paying exorbitant
interest rates on the amounts they have borrowed. In an upside-down financial
situation, they’re in no position to give generously to others.
Leaders without authenticity are like debtors. Someone deeply in debt may appear
wealthy, even though they’re secretly on the verge of bankruptcy. The closer
you inspect their life, the more signs of dysfunction you see. Similarly,
inauthentic leaders may seem to have all the tools to lead with excellence.
However, they are missing the crucial component of moral authority. They do not
practice the values they preach, and they prefer to keep others at arm’s length
to hide their shortcomings.
Hoarders are sitting on a pile of wealth,
but they think only of protecting it rather than of sharing it with others.
They have plentiful resources but are unwilling to part with them.
Leaders without humility
resemble hoarders.
Having put their talents to work, they enjoy a significant amount of power.
However, they’re worried about others taking it from them or gaining more of it
than they have. So, instead of using their influence to empower others, they
keep it for their own benefit.
As
leaders, we can only lift others up when we’re standing on a firm foundation.
Purpose, authenticity, and humility give us a secure, stable base from which to
lead.
Purpose is the answer to the question: why
do you want to lead? The best leaders have a purpose that is greater than they
are. Their “why” involves more than accumulating money or seeking
self-actualization. They see leadership as a calling rather than a career,
relishing the opportunity to use their unique talents to accomplish something
significant that will outlive them.
Authenticity means being comfortable in your
own skin. Authentic leaders have self-awareness, self-respect, self-confidence,
and emotional maturity. They prize integrity above image, and they seek to
build trust with others on the basis of their personal character.
Humility is often wrongly associated with
depreciating and downgrading ourselves. However, true humility flows out of
gratitude and comes when we credit God for our blessings and others for our
successes. As Rick Warren teaches, a humble leader doesn’t deny his strengths;
he’s simply honest about his limitations. Humble leaders feel no need to
trumpet their status, are unthreatened by criticism, and revel in the
accomplishments of others. They put their pride aside so that others have room
to shine.
Modern man at times out of an inability to cope with the stress of everyday life seeks relief via the vices of sex, drugs and rock and roll. I wonder what would happen to our world if instead of dealing with stress with the distractions of pleasure and entertainment; we acknowledged our dependence on the grace of God; found our purpose and had true gratitude for our blessings.
Copilot’s Take
The Catechism teaches that evil gains its first
foothold not in the battlefield but in the interior disorder of the human
heart. “The whole of man’s history has been the story of dour combat with
the powers of evil” (CCC 409). Saul is a case study in this truth. His
collapse did not begin with David’s victories—it began with the disordered fear
that replaced his fear of God. Once a man fears losing his own throne more than
he fears offending the Lord, he becomes vulnerable to every spiritual
distortion: envy, suspicion, resentment, and finally violence. Evil does not need
to overthrow such a man; it only needs to amplify what is already broken inside
him.
The Catechism also warns that sin darkens the intellect
and weakens the will (CCC 1865). That is exactly what happens to Saul. His
judgment becomes clouded. His discernment collapses. He interprets David’s
faithfulness as a threat and God’s blessing as a danger. This is the spiritual
blindness that accompanies insecurity: a man begins to misread reality because
he is no longer anchored in truth. Evil exploits this confusion. It whispers
that others are rivals, that success is scarce, that honor must be defended
rather than received from God. A leader who listens to these lies becomes a
danger to the very people he was meant to protect.
Confronting evil, then, begins with confronting the
interior disorder that gives evil room to operate. The Catechism calls this the
work of ongoing conversion (CCC 1428). It is not dramatic. It is not
public. It is the daily discipline of returning to God as the center of one’s
identity. A man who practices this conversion becomes resistant to the
corrosive effects of comparison and fear. He can celebrate the rise of others
because his worth is not measured by their success. He can empower others
because his authority is rooted in God, not in insecurity. This is why David
could wait for God’s timing while Saul could not.
The Catechism also teaches that courage—fortitude—is
the virtue that enables a man to stand firm in the face of difficulty (CCC
1808). Fortitude is not bravado; it is stability. It is the interior strength
that keeps a man from collapsing inward when pressure mounts. Saul lacked this
virtue because he lacked the foundation that produces it. David possessed it
because he feared God more than men. Evil cannot dominate a man who stands in
fortitude. It can tempt him, pressure him, and wound him, but it cannot rule
him. A secure leader is ungoverned by fear.
Finally, the Catechism insists that the Christian
confronts evil not with panic but with fidelity. “Do not be overcome by
evil, but overcome evil with good” (CCC 2848). This is the pattern David
lived. He refused to retaliate. He refused to seize the throne. He refused to
let Saul’s insecurity shape his own soul. He overcame Saul’s evil not by
mirroring it but by remaining faithful to God. This is the deepest mark of a
secure leader: he does not let another man’s disorder become his own.
Saul’s story is a warning. David’s story is a
blueprint. Evil advances wherever insecurity reigns, but it retreats wherever a
man stands on the unshakable foundation of purpose, authenticity, humility, and
fear of the Lord. That is the ground on which real leadership—and real
holiness—are built..
ON KEEPING THE LORD'S DAY HOLY[2]
CHAPTER III
DIES ECCLESIAE
The Eucharistic Assembly:
Heart of Sunday
A
pilgrim people.
37.
As the Church journeys through time, the reference to Christ's Resurrection and
the weekly recurrence of this solemn memorial help to remind us of the
pilgrim and eschatological character of the People of God. Sunday after
Sunday the Church moves towards the final "Lord's Day", that Sunday
which knows no end. The expectation of Christ's coming is inscribed in the very
mystery of the Church and is evidenced in every Eucharistic celebration. But,
with its specific remembrance of the glory of the Risen Christ, the Lord's Day
recalls with greater intensity the future glory of his "return". This
makes Sunday the day on which the Church, showing forth more clearly her
identity as "Bride", anticipates in some sense the eschatological
reality of the heavenly Jerusalem. Gathering her children into the Eucharistic
assembly and teaching them to wait for the "divine Bridegroom", she
engages in a kind of "exercise of desire", receiving a foretaste of
the joy of the new heavens and new earth, when the holy city, the new
Jerusalem, will come down from God, "prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband" (Rev 21:2).
Fifth Sunday of Easter
The
liberty of the New Covenant and its perfection in prayer and the Spirit
The introit of the Mass is again a joyful thanksgiving for our redemption. " Declare the voice of joy, and let it be heard, alleluia; declare it even to the ends of the earth; the Lord hath delivered His people, alleluia, alleluia" (Isaias xlviii. 20). " Shout with joy to God, all the earth, sing ye a psalm to His name, give glory to His praise.
GOSPEL. John xvi. 23-30
At that time Jesus said to His disciples: Amen, amen
I say to you: if you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it you.
Hitherto you have not asked anything in My name: ask, and you shall receive,
that your joy may be full. These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. The
hour cometh when I will no more speak to you in proverbs, but will show you
plainly of the Father: in that day you shall ask in My name: and I say not to
you, that I will ask the Father for you: for the Father Himself loveth you,
because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came
forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again I leave the world and
I go to the Father. His disciples say to Him: Behold now Thou speakest plainly,
and speakest no proverb; now we know that Thou knowest all things, and Thou
needest not that any man should ask Thee. By this we believe that Thou comest
forth from God.
The most effective means of acquiring true Christian
spirituality is through participation in the Mass.[3]
Saints Philip and James[4]
PHILIP, born at Bethsaida, was one of the first followers of Our Lord. After receiving the Holy Ghost he preached the Gospel in Scythia and Phrygia (Turkey, Syria and Iran), converting great numbers to the faith, and was finally crucified and then stoned at Hierapolis, in Phrygia.
JAMES, the son of Cleophas, called the Less, and on account of his sanctity surnamed the Just, and for his kinship with Christ known as His brother, was, with his brother Judas Thaddeus, chosen an apostle in the second year of Christ’s ministry. St. James was the first Bishop of Jerusalem. One day, being requested to preach against Christ, he publicly proclaimed Him to be the Messiah, in Whom men were bound to believe, at which the Jewish priests became so enraged that they threw him down from a pinnacle of the temple, cast stones upon him, and finally killed him outright with a fuller’s rod (tool used in wool making)
The Introit of the Mass is as follows: "In the time of their tribulation they cried to Thee, O Lord, and Thou heardest them from heaven. Rejoice in the Lord, ye just; praise becometh the upright."
Prayer.
O God, Who givest us joy by the annual solemnity of Thy apostles Philip and James, grant, we beseech Thee, that we may be instructed by the example of those in whose merits we rejoice. Amen
Prayer to St. Philip.
O St. Philip, chosen disciple of the Lord, who brought Nathaniel to Christ, who most zealously preached thy Lord, Jesus Christ, and out of love to Him willingly gave thyself to be nailed to the cross, and put to death, obtain, I beseech thee, for me, and for all men, grace with zeal to bring others to the practice of good works, to have a great desire after God and His truths, and, in hope of the eternal blissful contemplation of God, to bear patiently the adversities and miseries of this life. Amen.
Prayer to St. James.
O St.
James, who lived so temperately and strictly, who, like thy master, prayed so
earnestly and constantly for thy tormentors, I beseech thee that thou wouldst
procure us from Jesus’ grace, after thy example, to live sober and penitential
lives, and to worship God in spirit and in truth. Obtain for us, therefore, the
spirit with which thou didst write thine epistle, that we may follow thy
doctrine, be diligent in good works, and, like thee, love and pray for our
enemies. Amen.
St James TL / St Philip Facts &
Quotes[5]
·
The
mother of St James, Mary was either a sister or a close relative of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, and for that reason, according to Jewish custom, he was sometimes
called the brother of Jesus.
·
In
the Orthodox Church, St. James is commemorated on October 22. St. Philip
is revered on November 14.
·
The
Roman Catholic feast day of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles, is held May 3.
It honors James, traditionally considered to be the brother of Jesus, and
Philip, considered by scripture to be one of Jesus' earliest disciples (John:
1:43).
·
Philip
teaches us ... to let ourselves be won over by Jesus, to be with him and also
to invite others to share in this indispensable company; and in seeing, finding
God, to find true life. - St. Benedict XVI
St James TL/St Philip Top Events
and Things to Do
·
Read
the Epistle of James. This is a letter that addresses several problems
occurring in the early church involving the rich, lack of humility, and other
issues.
·
Read
the first chapter of the Gospel of John. Philip invites others to come
and see what Jesus was teaching, a common theme in the Gospel of John.
·
Bake
a pastry in honor of St. Philip since he is the patron saint of bakers.
·
Say
a prayer for the dying in honor of St. James, who is the patron saint of those
living their last days of mortal life.
Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross
MAY 3
Why is this day so called?
Because on this day the Church celebrates the
finding by St. Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine, of the cross on which
Christ died, after it had been for a long time lost.
Where had the holy cross been up to the time that it
was thus found again?
At Jerusalem, near the holy sepulcher, hidden under
a mass of rubbish. For the Emperor Adrian endeavored not only to desecrate the
holy places of the death and burial of Jesus Christ, but also to hide the very
knowledge of them. The cave of the holy sepulcher was filled up, and by the
erection of a temple of Venus, built over the spot, came to be quite lost sight
of.
Prayer.
O God, "Who, in the miraculous finding of the
saving cross, didst revive the miracles of Thy passion, grant that, by the
ransom paid on the wood of life, we may obtain the suffrages of life eternal.
Amen
Salutation of the Church to
the Holy Cross.
O glorious and venerable cross! O precious wood! O
wonderful sign, by which sin, the devil, and hell were overcome, and the world
redeemed through the blood of Christ, thou art exalted above all the cedars of
the forest, for on thee hung the life of the world! On thee Christ gained the
victory, and by His dying overcame death forever. Alleluia. O Lord Jesus
Christ, we adore and bless Thee; for through Thy cross Thou hast redeemed the
world.
ON THE SIGN OF THE CROSS.
Why do we sign ourselves with the sign of the cross?
1.
To testify that we are Christians and worshippers of
the Crucified.
2.
To profess our faith in the Most Holy Trinity.
3.
In honor and thankful remembrance of the sufferings
and death of Christ.
4.
In order to overcome the devil and his temptations,
inasmuch as he is by nothing more easily driven away than by the sign of the
cross.
Is it an old custom to make the sign of the cross?
The earliest fathers of the Church make mention of
this custom and say that it came to them from the apostles; nay, they charge
Christians to make the sign of the cross at eating and drinking, at walking and
rising, at sitting and speaking, and, in a word, before every undertaking.
Why do the priests at divine service make the sign
of the cross over the people?
That therewith there may be imparted to Christians
the abundant blessing of grace which Christ has obtained for us by His cross,
as St. Paul says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who
hath blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ"
(Eph. i. 3). This custom is of great antiquity in the Church. The Council of
Agde, for example, in the year 506, directed that after prayers the people
should be dismissed by the priest with a blessing.
Bible
in a year Day 303 Eleazar's Martyrdom
Fr. Mike offers a recap of Eleazar's martyrdom and marvels at
Eleazar's courage to avoid both sin, and the temptation to lead others into
sin. As we begin reading the book of Wisdom today, we also learn three valuable
lessons; God did not create death, death entered the world through sin, and we
are wise when we walk in the truth but foolish when we walk in evil. Today's
readings are 2 Maccabees 6, Wisdom 1-2, and Proverbs 24:21-26.
PRAYERS AND TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Hail Holy Queen[6]
Hail,
Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do
we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, O most gracious
Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto
us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin
Mary.
Lead: Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
Response: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Around
the Corner
·
Today in honor of the Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving
your day to God. To honor God REST: no shopping after 6 pm Saturday till
Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
·
·
Try Water
On Sundays Pray:
O Glorious Queen of Heaven and Earth, Virgin Most
Powerful, thou who hast the power to crush the head of the ancient serpent with
thy heel, come and exercise this power flowing from the grace of thine
Immaculate Conception. Shield us under the mantle of thy purity and love, draw
us into the sweet abode of thy heart and annihilate and render impotent the
forces bent on destroying us. Come Most Sovereign Mistress of the Holy Angels
and Mistress of the Most Holy Rosary, thou who from the very beginning hast received
from God the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan. Send forth thy
holy legions, we humbly beseech thee, that under thy command and by thy power
they may pursue the evil spirits, counter them on every side, resist their bold
attacks and drive them far from us, harming no one on the way, binding
them to the foot of the Cross to be judged and sentenced by Jesus Christ Thy
Son and to be disposed of by Him as He wills.
St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, come to our
aid in this grave battle against the forces of darkness, repel the attacks of
the devil and free the members of the Auxilium Christianorum, and those for
whom the priests of the Auxilium Christianorum pray, from the strongholds of
the enemy.
St. Michael, summon the entire heavenly court to engage their forces in this fierce battle against the powers of hell. Come O Prince of Heaven with thy mighty sword and thrust into hell Satan and all the other evil spirits. O Guardian Angels, guide and protect us. Amen.
Things to do this Weekend.
·
Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival—Take
in the small-town charm of Winchester, VA, in this 6-day celebration of spring.
First held in 1924, the annual festival packs a wallop of more than 30 events
into its lineup: band competitions, dances, parades, carnival, a 10K race, the
coronation of Queen Shenandoah and so much more, attracting crowds in excess of
250,000.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: The
traditional intentions of the Pope
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
[3]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2022-05-15
[4]Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896
THE ENEMY BELOW (1957)
Robert Mitchum • Curt Jürgens
A taut, ascetical naval duel where two commanders — American and German — confront not only each other but the moral weight of command under fire. bing.com
1. Production & Historical Setting
Released in 1957, directed by Dick Powell, shot in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope, and based on the 1956 novel by British naval officer Denys Rayner. bing.com
The film emerges from a post‑WWII America wrestling with:
- Cold War anxieties and the need to re‑examine wartime leadership
- A shift toward moral complexity in war cinema
- Growing respect for the “professional enemy” — men fighting for duty, not ideology
- Hollywood’s move toward realism in naval and submarine warfare
Robert Mitchum plays Lt. Cmdr. Murrell — wounded, doubted, and forced to command through pain.
Curt Jürgens plays Kapitän von Stolberg — a seasoned officer who despises the Nazi regime but refuses to abandon his post.
The world is steel corridors, sonar rooms, and the claustrophobic geometry of submarine warfare — a perfect crucible for conscience.
2. Story Summary
In the South Atlantic, the American destroyer escort USS Haynes hunts a German U‑boat. Murrell, newly in command and still recovering from injuries after being adrift for 21 days, must earn the trust of a skeptical crew. Wikipedia
Below the surface, von Stolberg commands a disciplined crew while quietly resisting the ideology he serves.
What follows is a cat‑and‑mouse duel:
- depth‑charge attacks
- evasive maneuvers
- psychological feints
- tactical patience
Each captain studies the other’s mind as much as his ship.
Murrell eventually deceives the U‑boat into surfacing, rams it, and both vessels are mortally wounded. In the final moments, Murrell rescues von Stolberg and his dying executive officer — an act of respect between men who have judged each other worthy. Wikipedia
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. Leadership Is Judgment Under Fire
Both commanders act with clarity, not emotion — the mark of mature authority.
B. Honor Can Survive Opposing Flags
Von Stolberg’s decency exposes the difference between a regime and the men trapped within it.
C. Suffering Purifies Motive
Murrell’s injuries strip him of bravado; what remains is duty.
D. War Reveals the Soul, Not Just Strategy
The duel is less about tactics and more about the moral architecture of each man.
E. Mercy Is the Final Victory
The rescue scene is not sentimentality — it is the triumph of character over circumstance.
4. Hospitality Pairing — The Captain’s Table
- Broadleaf Maduro cigar — earth, char, slow burn; the taste of a man who carries weight
- Navy‑strength gin or high‑proof bourbon — clean fire, no sweetness, the discipline of clarity
- Tin cup on a steel table — the austerity of command
- Salted hardtack — the ration of men who endure
- Single lantern light — the narrow beam of conscience in a world of pressure and depth
A setting for nights when you want to examine command, conscience, and the cost of decisions made in silence.
5. Reflection Prompts
- Where am I leading from pain rather than from clarity?
- Do I respect the dignity of those I oppose?
- What predictable patterns in my life allow the enemy to strike?
- Where do I need to act with Murrell’s discipline or Stolberg’s restraint?
- What part of my soul is still underwater — waiting to surface?
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