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Smoke in This Life and Not the Next
Pick Your Preference — Smoke & Drink
Pick your smoke — whatever you reach for without thinking.
Pick your drink — whatever burns just enough to remind you you’re alive.
The point isn’t the label.
The point is the lesson:
the small fire you choose now teaches you how to face the great fire later.
✨ Purgatory in the Divine Plan (Short, Sharp, True)
There is another “Hell,” not of the damned, but of Purgatory’s fire —
where the souls of the just suffer for a time so they may be entirely purified before entering their heavenly fatherland,
for nothing defiled can enter the presence of God.
And there was a third Hell:
the place where the souls of the saints who died before Christ were held —
not in torment,
but in peaceful repose,
consoled by the hope of redemption.
These were the holy souls in Abraham’s bosom,
delivered when Christ descended into Hell and shattered its gates.
A man with a cigar in one hand and a drink in the other can understand this better than he thinks:
there are fires of punishment,
fires of purification,
and fires of waiting —
but only one fire leads to glory.
Grace’s Corner Try Catholic Recipe: Judases
· Easter is a 50-day feasting AND CELEBRATION season.
o 50 Fun Things to do in Arizona
§ Persistent light, enduring strength, unwavering spirit, an anchor in uncertainty, a beacon through challenges, resilient optimism.
· do a personal eucharistic stations of the cross.
· Spirit hour: Bernadette’s Craft Cocktails
· Bucket List Trip: Begnas Lake resort
Thursday Feast
Thursday is the day of the week that our Lord gave himself up for consumption. Thursday commemorates the last supper. Some theologians believe after Sunday Thursday is the holiest day of the week. We should then try to make this day special by making a visit to the blessed sacrament chapel, Mass or even stopping by the grave of a loved one. Why not plan to count the blessing of the week and thank our Lord. Plan a special meal. Be at Peace.
According to Mary Agreda[3] in her visions it was on a Thursday at six o'clock in the evening and at the approach of night that the Angel Gabriel approached and announced her as Mother of God and she gave her fiat.
Today’s Menu is The Family Meal at Holy Thursday
Best Places to Visit in April
San Diego, California[4]
This month is a great time to visit San Diego as it’s much less crowded, there is still plenty of sun.
Most people flock to “Beach City” for family fun on the beaches. Mission Beach is a good swimming beach, with a boardwalk and rollercoaster, but I recommend checking out the tidal pools at La Jolla, when the tide is low, and snorkeling at La Jolla Cove, part of the Underwater Park.
If you’ve had too much sun, I would suggest heading for Balboa Park, where you would need at least a week to explore, taking in the 18 diverse museums or some cultural events. The Air and Space Museum is affiliated with the Smithsonian and has something for kids of all ages.
I would suggest tasting some Baja cuisine, dancing the night away in one of the nightclubs, or viewing one of the many shows on offer.
- Visitor’s Centre Address: 996 N Harbor Dr, San Diego, Phone: (619) 236-1242
My favorite highlights…
- Having fun at Belmont Park is filled with exciting rides and adrenaline-pumping rollercoasters.
- Catching one of San Diego’s best sunsets at La Jolla Cove, a perfect spot for Instagrammable shots.
- Exploring the vibrant nightlife scene at Gaslamp Quarter, filled with bars, lounges, and music venues.
- San Diego (Southern California): Basilica Mission San Diego de Alcala
Weekend Events
Welcome to Arizona Tiki Oasis (April 16th-18th, 2026), an island lifestyle meet-up held in the middle of the desert at one of the best-preserved Mid-Century hotels in America — Hotel Valley Ho (est.1956). Wear your most festive aloha wear; sip crafted tropical cocktails crafted by top mixologists; browse the pop-up Art Show; relax in a cabana by the pool; learn about mid-century style, design, and lifestyle from experts; shop the outdoor marketplace with a variety of artists, makers, and traders; and, of course, enjoy the overall island-in-the-desert vibe.
Arizona Tiki Oasis benefits The Arizona Preservation Foundation.
APRIL 16 Thursday of the Second Week of
Easter
Saint Bernadette
Judges, Chapter 9, Verse 21
Then Jotham fled and
escaped to Beer, where he remained for FEAR
of his brother Abimelech.
A
lot of people seem to escape to Beer!
That’s a joke but unfortunately it is a common response to fear. Liquid courage we use to call it in the military.
However, today I would like to change the subject to that of the family.
Jotham
was raised in a large family of 70 brothers, and we do not know how many
sisters. Families are the breeding ground of either love or hate, of either
evil or good and finally of either excellence or apathy. A great family,
whether large or small, is the seedbed of either greatness or smallness. This
is the reason there is such a focus on the family in the church now. Families
are the factories of a person’s character and character determines a person’s
destiny.
Copilot’s
Take
Jotham’s
flight to Beer exposes what the Catechism calls disordered fear—fear
that has lost its anchor in truth and no longer serves the good. Fortitude
is the virtue that orders fear (CCC 1808), enabling a man to stand firm in
difficulty rather than flee into distraction, addiction, or avoidance. Jotham
didn’t just run from Abimelech; he ran from the formation his family failed to
give him. When the home becomes a place of rivalry instead of refuge, fear
becomes a tyrant, and escape becomes a habit.
The
Catechism teaches that the family is the “original cell of social life” (CCC
2207), the first school where a person learns truth, justice, self‑mastery, and
sacrificial love. When a family refuses truth, refuses correction, or refuses
to confront its own patterns of sin, it quietly trains its children to flee
rather than to stand. This is why the Church insists that parents are the
primary educators of character (CCC 2221–2223). A home that forms courage
produces adults who confront evil; a home that forms avoidance produces adults
who hide from it.
Saint
Bernadette reveals the opposite pattern. Her family was poor and humiliated,
yet it became the crucible where humility, purity, and endurance were forged.
She confronted suffering with clarity because her soul had been trained—through
poverty, obedience, and grace—to trust God more than fear. The Catechism says
truth must be witnessed even when costly (CCC 2471–2474), and Bernadette lived
that witness without flinching. Where Jotham escaped to Beer, Bernadette knelt
before the Lady. Where one ran from fear, the other let grace reorder it.
The
question that remains is simple and unavoidable: Is your home forming the
kind of character that confronts evil, or the kind that flees from it?
St. Bernadette[1]
Marie
Bernarde ('Bernadette') Soubirous was the eldest child of an impoverished
miller. At the age of fourteen she was ailing and undersized, sensitive and of
pleasant disposition but accounted backward and slow. Between 11 February and
16 July 1858, in a shallow cave on the bank of the river Gave, she had a series
of remarkable experiences. On eighteen occasions she saw a very young and
beautiful lady, who made various requests and communications to her, pointing
out a forgotten spring of water and enjoining prayer and penitence. The lady
eventually identified herself as the Virgin Mary, under the title of 'the
Immaculate Conception'. Some of these happenings took place in the presence of
many people, but no one besides Bernadette claimed to see or hear 'the Lady',
and there was no disorder or emotional extravagance. After the appearances
ceased, however, there was an epidemic of false visionaries and morbid
religiosity in the district, which increased the reserved attitude of the
church authorities towards Bernadette's experiences. For some years she
suffered greatly from the suspicious disbelief of some and the tactless
enthusiasm and insensitive attentions of others; these trials she bore with
impressive patience and dignity. In 1866 she was admitted to the convent of the
Sisters of Charity at Nevers. Here she was more sheltered from trying
publicity, but not from the 'stuffiness' of the convent superiors nor from the
tightening grip of asthma. 'I am getting on with my job,' she would say. 'What
is that?' someone asked. 'Being ill,' was the reply. Thus, she lived out her
self-effacing life, dying at the age of thirty-five. The events of 1858
resulted in Lourdes becoming one of the greatest pilgrim shrines in the history
of Christendom. But St Bernadette took no part in these developments; nor was
it for her visions that she was canonized, but for the humble simplicity and
religious trustingness that characterized her whole life.
Patron: Bodily ills; illness; Lourdes,
France; people ridiculed for their piety; poverty; shepherdesses; shepherds;
sick people; sickness
St. Bernadette Catholic Church
Bible in a
year Day 286 The
Battle to Choose God
Fr. Mike walks us through the current battles of Judas
Maccabeus and the Israelite people, emphasizing that while war is violent,
freedom to belong to God and worship him is worth fighting for. He also
discusses the importance of spending time with virtuous people to acquire their
positive qualities and the need to seek good rather than evil to attain the
riches of heaven. Today’s readings are from 1 Maccabees 5, Sirach 13-15, and
Proverbs 22:13-16.
PRAYERS AND TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
The Lord’s Prayer[2]
Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Will be done,
on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
'The Lord's Prayer 'is truly the summary of the whole
gospel.' 'Since the Lord... after handling over the practice of prayer, said
elsewhere, 'Ask and you will receive, ' and since everyone has petitions which
are peculiar to his circumstances, the regular and appropriate prayer (the
Lord's Prayer) is said first, as the foundation of further desires.'
- Tertullian, De orat.
from the Catechism of the Catholic Church; 2761.
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: For
the Poor and Suffering
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
[3] Venerable Mary of Agreda. The Mystical City of God:
Complete Edition Containing all Four Volumes with Illustrations (p. 770).
Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition
THE MOON IS DOWN (1943)
Henry Travers & Cedric Hardwicke
A parable of conscience, occupation, and the awakening of a people
1. Production & Historical Setting
- Released in 1943, adapted from John Steinbeck’s wartime novel written as a moral weapon for occupied Europe.
- Filmed while the outcome of WWII was still uncertain, giving the story a sober, urgent tone.
- Banned in Nazi‑occupied territories but circulated secretly among resistance groups.
- Shot on a universalized Northern‑European set, making the town feel archetypal rather than local.
This is cinema crafted for moral clarity: simple, direct, and spiritually charged.
2. Story Summary
A quiet Northern town is seized by an invading army.
The occupiers expect compliance; instead they meet a people who refuse to surrender their soul.
- Mayor Orden (Henry Travers) becomes the town’s conscience — calm, fatherly, unbroken.
- Col. Lanser (Cedric Hardwicke) is intelligent and weary, aware that occupation breeds resistance.
- Sabotage begins. Executions follow. Fear spreads — but not the fear the occupiers intended.
- The townspeople discover that resistance is not an act but a condition of the soul.
The film ends not with victory but with inevitability: once a people awaken, they cannot be ruled.
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. The Mayor as a Christ‑figure of Conscience
He refuses to betray his people.
He accepts suffering without hatred.
He speaks truth with serenity.
His dignity becomes the town’s anchor.
B. The Occupiers as Souls in Moral Conflict
Lanser knows the truth but fears its cost.
He is the man who sees clearly but cannot act freely.
C. The Town as the Church Under Persecution
Ordinary people become extraordinary through fidelity.
Martyrdom becomes seed.
Suffering becomes clarity.
This is a Passion‑tide film: quiet endurance, moral awakening, and the first stirrings of resurrection.
4. How This Film Speaks to Iran
This is where the film becomes startlingly contemporary.
A. A People Who Refuse to Collaborate with Lies
Steinbeck’s town survives by refusing to internalize the occupier’s narrative.
This mirrors the Iranian dynamic where many refuse:
- propaganda
- coerced allegiance
- the rewriting of reality
- the surrender of conscience
The film’s thesis — “the people are the enemy because they will not stop being themselves” — echoes the Iranian struggle for truth.
B. Mayor Orden and the Iranian Conscience
He resembles the Iranian mothers, teachers, clerics, and ordinary citizens who:
- speak truth quietly
- shelter the vulnerable
- refuse to betray conscience
- accept suffering without surrender
His calm resistance mirrors the moral backbone of Iran’s awakening.
C. Lanser and the Regime’s Inner Fracture
Lanser is not a monster; he is trapped.
This parallels the many Iranian officials, soldiers, and bureaucrats who:
- know the injustice
- feel the moral weight
- fear the consequences of honesty
His tragedy is the tragedy of every man who sees truth but cannot act on it.
D. Martyrdom as Seed
In the film, executions do not terrify the town — they clarify it.
This mirrors the Iranian pattern where the death of a protester or the silencing of a poet deepens, rather than extinguishes, resistance.
E. The Final Message
You can control bodies, but not souls.
This is the spiritual physics at the heart of Iran’s story.
5. Hospitality Pairing
Northern Resistance Table
- Dark rye bread
- Smoked fish or salted butter
- Hot black tea or barley tea
- A single candle
Austere, winter‑weather, monastic — food that keeps a people alive through occupation.
6. Reflection Prompts
- Where am I being asked to resist quietly rather than dramatically.
- What does moral courage look like when victory is not guaranteed.
- Do I resemble Orden, who stands firm, or Lanser, who knows the truth but fears its cost.
- What “occupation” — fear, vice, resentment — must I refuse to collaborate with.
- How does steadfastness become a form of resurrection.
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