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Smoke in This Life and Not the Next
Thursday, May 7
The Virtue: Discernment Under Fire
Tonight’s Pairing
Cigar: A plain Dominican corona — nothing ornate, nothing posturing; the kind of honest leaf a working priest or a tired Dominican reformer would have recognized
Drink: A simple red table wine — unpretentious, dry, the drink of men who prefer truth to ornament
Reason: tonight is about ignorance purified, not malice punished—how even a holy man can burn for choosing the wrong side, and how God’s justice is precise, not theatrical.
The Reflection
Pope St. Pius V lived with the memory of Paschasius,
the deacon whose charity was legendary,
whose doctrine was sound,
whose sanctity was confirmed by miracles—
and who still found himself laboring in the baths after death,
performing menial work in a place of heat and humility.
His fault was not corruption.
Not ambition.
Not malice.
It was discernment gone soft—
backing the wrong party in a papal election,
aligning with men the bishops themselves judged unsound.
When he appeared to Germain of Capua,
he did not rage, excuse, or defend.
He simply said:
“I here expiate the wrong I did by adhering to the wrong party.”
No drama.
No self‑pity.
Just the truth spoken by a soul under purification.
St. Gregory’s judgment is surgical:
he sinned through ignorance, not malice—
and so his punishment was temporary.
This is the fire Pius V understood:
the fire that burns not the wicked
but the well‑intentioned man who chose poorly,
the man whose loyalty outran his judgment,
the man who mistook zeal for clarity.
The plain corona fits the lesson:
no sweetness to hide behind,
no complexity to flatter the palate—
just the steady smoke of a man
who lets the truth correct him.
The table wine matches it:
simple, dry, penitential—
the drink of a soul that wants to be clean
more than it wants to be right.
The law is the same for every man:
God purifies even our good intentions
when they were aimed in the wrong direction.
Better to let the small fire do its work now.
Purgatory Note
Paschasius was not crushed by a furnace
but humbled by service—
the quiet, repetitive heat
that burns away self‑trust
and restores right judgment.
His purification ended
the moment Germain’s prayer completed the work.
No spectacle.
No thunder.
Just absence—
the silence of a soul finally free.
Better to take the plain smoke now.
Better to drink the dry wine now.
Better to let discernment be corrected now—
and not the next.
MAY 7 Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter
National Day of Prayer- New Orleans Founded-Cosmo Day
1 Samuel, Chapter 21, Verse 13
David
took note of these remarks and became very much AFRAID of Achish, king of Gath.
One
wonders why David was so afraid. According to David Roper this was David’s
testing.
Just
about the time I think I've got it all together, some unsightly emotional
display, some inappropriate reaction, some other embarrassing behavior blows my
cover and I have that horrible experience of being found out. It's humiliating!
But humiliation is good for the soul. Through it God deals with our
self-admiration and pride. Without it we could never make the most of our
lives. The trouble with us is that we want to be tremendously important. It's a
terrible trait, the essential vice, the utmost evil. It's the sin that turned
the devil into the demon he became. Obscurity
and humility, on the other hand, release God's greatness. It is the basis
of our life with God and our usefulness in this world. Thomas à Kempis wrote,
"The more humble a man is in himself, and the more subject unto God; so
much more prudent shall he be in all his affairs, and enjoy greater peace and
quietness of heart." Because ambition and pride is the center of our
resistance to God and the source of so much unhappiness, "God opposes the
proud" (James 4:6); he brings us to our knees, where He can then begin to
do something with us.
David
fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said
to him,
"Isn't
this David, the king of the land?
Isn't
he the one they sing about in their dances: 'Saul has slain his thousands, and
David his tens of thousands'?"
David took these words to heart and was very much
afraid of Achish king of Gath. So, he pretended to be insane in their presence;
and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the
doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his
servants, "Look at the man! He is insane!
Why
bring him to me?
Am
I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like
this in front of me?
Must
this [mad] man come into my house?"
David [then] left Gath and escaped to the cave of
Adullam (1 Samuel 21:10-22:1). David fled south from Nob — with Saul in hot
pursuit — and he made his way across the Judean hills and through the Valley of
Elah where a few years before he had engaged Goliath in combat. It was to Gath
— the home of his enemies — that David now turned for shelter from Saul. I
don't know what possessed David to flee to Gath. Perhaps he thought he wouldn't
be recognized, since this was several years after his encounter with Goliath,
and he had grown to manhood. Perhaps he disguised himself in some way. But
David was instantly recognized, and his presence was reported to king Achish of
Gath:
"Isn't
this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one they sing about in their
dances: 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?"
The phrase "they sing" could be translated,
"they still sing," suggesting a popular tune. David's fame was
celebrated everywhere — even in Philistia. You have to understand the
implications of this song. David had slain his ten thousands of Philistines;
his fame had been established at the expense of bereaved Philistine women and
children. Here was an opportunity to take vengeance. Furthermore, he was
considered "the king of the land [of Israel]." By some means David
became aware that he had been found out, and that he was facing imprisonment
and death, so David lost his nerve (see Psalm 34 and 56). Motivated by sheer
terror, David pretended to go mad, foaming at the mouth and scrawling crazy
slogans on the walls. According to the title of Psalm 56 the Philistines
"seized him" and brought him to Achish, who dismissed him with the
contemptuous remark: "Behold, you see a madman!
Why
have you brought him to me? Am I lacking madmen that you have brought this to
ply his madness against me? Must this come into my house?"
The word translated "mad man" (21:15), used
three times by Achish, suggests something other than insanity. The word in
other Near Eastern languages means "highly aggressive" — violent and
dangerous — which gives added force to the king's remark: ". . .
you
have brought this to ply his madness [ravings] against me?"
Achish was afraid of David. The title to Psalm 34
supplies the conclusion of the matter: Achish "drove him away," out
of his court and out of town — David, run out of town on a rail, utterly
humiliated. David, the tough guy, the hero of Israel, the man they celebrated
in song and dance had wimped out in the face of physical danger and made an
utter fool of himself. With no place else to go, unwelcome in both Israel and
Philistia, David fled into a labyrinth of broken ridges and rimrock about three
miles from Gath and crept into a cave. The cavern in which he found refuge was
called the Cave of Adullum (Adullam means refuge). It can't be located with
certainty, but the traditional site is a dark vault located on a shelf at the
top of a near-perpendicular cliff. In that dark place — humiliated, crushed,
alone — he wrote Psalm 34 and Psalm
56. He was at his
nadir. In that dark place David cried out to God: "This poor [humiliated]
man called, and the LORD heard him." There he learned that "The LORD
is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit"
(34:6, 18). Lord Byron wrote from Reading Jail,
"How
else but through a broken heart can Lord Christ enter in?"
Furthermore, David learned to boast in the Lord rather
than in his own ability (34:2). Through shame and disgrace he became a more
modest man — one whom God could shape and use.[1]
What is the significance of Gath in
the Bible?
Copilot’s Take
The modern
world confronts evil the same way David confronted Gath: with discernment gone
soft. Our age is marked by speed, noise, and self‑confidence—conditions that
erode the interior clarity required to recognize evil before it matures. The
Catechism teaches that evil begins when man “lets his trust in his Creator die
in his heart” (CCC 397). That is the modern condition: a culture that trusts
technique, emotion, and autonomy more than God. The result is predictable—fear
bends judgment, judgment bends identity, and identity bends the moral order.
The CCC
insists that evil is not primarily external but interior. “The heart is the
seat of moral personality” (CCC 2517), and the modern heart is overstimulated,
under‑formed, and allergic to silence. Without interior discipline, a man
becomes reactive, not discerning; anxious, not anchored. This is David before
Gath—running into danger because fear has replaced prayer. The modern world’s
greatest vulnerability is not the scale of evil but the absence of interior
resistance. Evil thrives where men refuse to examine themselves.
The modern
world also confronts evil the way Pilate confronted Jesus: with power but no
truth. Pilate represents the state, the institution, the machinery of public
order—yet he is the one who trembles. He asks,
“What is
truth?”
not
because he seeks it, but because he has lost the capacity to recognize it. The
CCC warns that relativism is a form of blindness (CCC 1790–1791). When truth
becomes negotiable, evil becomes manageable, and once evil becomes manageable,
it becomes acceptable. Pilate’s courtroom is the modern world’s courtroom.
The CCC
teaches that evil is confronted not by outrage but by ordered virtue. Fortitude
“ensures firmness in difficulties” (CCC 1808), prudence “discerns our true
good” (CCC 1806), and justice “gives to each his due” (CCC 1807). These are not
abstractions; they are the architecture of resistance. The modern world prefers
sentiment to structure, activism to asceticism, expression to obedience. But
evil is not defeated by emotion. It is defeated by men whose interior lives are
governed by truth, not impulse.
The modern
world’s greatest danger is the collapse of discernment. The CCC warns that sin
darkens the intellect (CCC 1865), and a darkened intellect cannot recognize
evil even when it stands in front of it. This is why modern men confuse
compassion with permissiveness, tolerance with surrender, and unity with the
abandonment of truth. Evil advances not because it is strong but because
discernment is weak. The battle is not primarily cultural; it is ascetical. The
man who cannot govern himself cannot confront evil outside himself.
The path
forward is the movement from David’s panic to Christ’s composure. Every man
must pass through Gath—his moment of collapse, fear, and exposure. But
he must not remain there. Christ before Pilate reveals the antidote:
identity rooted in the Father, truth held without negotiation, and authority
exercised without fear. The modern world does not need louder men; it needs
ordered men. Men whose discernment is sharp, whose interior life is governed,
and whose courage is anchored in God. This is how evil is confronted in any
age—by men who refuse to let their trust in the Creator die in their hearts.
National Day of Prayer[2]
National
Day of Prayer is an annual holiday that serves to encourage Americans to pray,
meditate and repent. It is also used to draw awareness to prayer and religious
beliefs. The origins of National Day of Prayer date back to 1787. Benjamin
Franklin asked President George Washington to open each day with prayer, and to
realize that prayer is deeply intertwined in the fabric of the United States.
However, it was not until February 1952 during the Korean War that
Reverend Billy Graham petitioned support of Representative Percy Priest to
observe a National Day of Prayer. On April 17, 1952, President Harry Truman
signed a bill proclaiming National Day of Prayer, to encourage Americans to
turn to God in prayer and meditation. National Prayer Day is celebrated every
year on the first Thursday of May.
National
Day of Prayer Facts & Quotes
·
According
to the Pew Research Center's Religious Landscape Study of 2015, 23% of
Americans have indicated that they are not part of any religion. The
survey is based on responses of more than 35,000 Americans.
·
On
October 3, 2008, The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) sued President
George W. Bush and staff to challenge the designation of a National Day of
Prayer. On April 14, 2011, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled
that the National Day of Prayer did not cause harm and a feeling of alienation
cannot suffice as injury.
·
According
to the Pew Research Center, more than 55% of Americans pray every day.
60% of older Americans are likely to pray every day, compared to 45% of
young Americans.
·
Prayer
is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's
weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words
without a heart. - Mahatma Gandhi, Civil Rights and Freedom Activist
National
Day of Prayer Top Events and Things to Do
·
Attend
a religious service at your place of worship on the National Day of Prayer.
·
Offer
a prayer for your loved ones and for those who are serving at the frontlines to
protect America.
·
Attend
a spiritual retreat that appeals to your beliefs.
·
Attend
a prayer event on Prayer Day. There are many local events, some religious
based, others meditation oriented.
Bible in a
year Day 306 Wisdom
Is Beautiful
Fr. Mike draws our attention to the descriptions of wisdom found
in our readings for today and reflects on the beauty of wisdom’s feminine
nature. He also discusses the death of Antiochus Epiphanes and offers two
perspectives on reconciling God’s role in suffering. Today’s readings are from
2 Maccabees 9, Wisdom 7-8, and Proverbs 25:1-3.
New Orleans Founded May 7, 1718[3]
St. Louis
Cathedral, the country’s oldest continuously operating cathedral, faces Jackson
Square. Melding French, Spanish, Italian, and Afro-Caribbean cultures, New
Orleans is a city that is at once elegant and debauched. And while it was
gravely impacted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Big Easy has shown
formidable resilience. Many of the city’s myriad pleasures are packed within
the lively grid of streets that make up the Vieux Carré (aka the French
Quarter). It is New Orleans’s most touristy area, yet also its heart. The
French laid out the Quarter’s 90 blocks of narrow streets in the 1720s, and the
Spanish—who ruled during the mid- to late 18th century—further developed it.
Indeed, despite its name, the neighborhood looks more Spanish than French. Wherever
you stroll, you risk sensory overload, from jazz on boisterous Bourbon Street
to the smell of café au lait and beignets (deep-fried dough dusted with
powdered sugar) wafting from Café du Monde in Jackson Square. Decatur Street
offers souvenir stands, offbeat boutiques, and charming restaurants. It’s also
home to Central Grocery, an old-fashioned Italian deli whose claim to fame is
having perfected (some say invented) one of the city’s classic sandwiches, the
muffuletta. Royal and Chartres streets are your best bets for upscale shopping.
Be sure to pop into the tacky but fun Pat O’Brien’s to sample their Hurricane,
a fruity—and potent—rum cocktail in a glass shaped like a hurricane lamp.
Charming Soniat House is comprised of 30 antiques-filled rooms in a cluster of
three 19th-century Creole town houses overlooking an interior courtyard garden
where guests breakfast on warm biscuits and homemade preserves. For a big-hotel
experience, and a big dose of history, it’s hard to beat the lavish 600-room
1886 Hotel Monteleone. Stop by its revolving circus-themed Carousel Bar for a
Sazerac cocktail before dinner. The Windsor Court, arguably the finest hotel in
the Big Easy, is known for its palatial accommodations, award-winning
restaurant, the Grill Room, and museum-quality art collection—yes, that’s a
Gainsborough.
Visitor info: www.neworleansonline.com.
Cosmo Day[4]
Cosmopolitans
are probably one of the most famous cocktails out there, where people can go
out at night and enjoy and fun night dancing, laughing, and singing in clubs.
If you love cosmos, then you’ll
love Cosmopolitan Day. This drink has been making the rounds for a while, and
it highlights the 90’s as one of the best drinks of its time. Let’s check out Cosmopolitan Day! Although
the day itself is coined by freelancer writer, Jace Shoemaker-Galloway, who
writes about non-traditional holidays, the history of the Cosmo itself is very
murky. According to Vinepair.com, the first tracked origins of the cosmo go
back to the late nineteenth century, where a cocktail known as the Daisy
emerged as a drink with a recipe that called for spirit, sweetener and citrus.
Although this isn’t
exactly a cosmo, a more direct line for its origins comes from 1968, when Ocean
Spray wanted to advertise cranberry juice to adults. They named the drink “The Harpoon” and it called for an ounce of
vodka, an ounce of cranberry and a squeeze of lime, which was close to the
Cosmo recipe but missed the Cointreau and/or Triple Sec.
Although
legends differ that the Cosmo came from the gay subculture of Miami Beach,
Florida and Provincetown, Massachusetts, the formal invention of the drink is
credited to a bartender named Toby Cecchini, who made the drink while working
at the famous Odeon in Manhattan’s
Tribeca neighborhood in 1987. Its
popularity spread into celebrity culture, where it ended up in The Rainbow
Room, where Madonna is pictured drinking it at a Grammy after party. However,
it was brought into mainstream culture by the famous Tv Show Sex and the City,
where it appeared multiple times throughout the show, creating a cultural
impact on the U.S.
How to Celebrate
Cosmopolitan Day
Want a Cosmo?
Here’s an
amazing recipe you can easily make at home. In a cocktail shaker, mix 1 1/2
ounces vodka (or citrus vodka), 1-ounce Cointreau orange liqueur, 1/2-ounce
lime juice (fresh), and 1/4-ounce cranberry juice. Strain into a chilled
cocktail glass dipped in sugar, then garnish with an orange peel and voila!
Cosmo’s can be
as strong or tame as you like it, but because it has vodka in it, it isn’t exactly the most innocent drink
out there as far as cocktails go. You can also hashtag #CosmopolitanDay on your
social media and share you drinking your fancy cocktail with your friends.
Around the Corner
A Scar, a Shrine, and a Second Life
When Rachel was a child,
her life narrowed to a single terrifying point: a grand‑mal seizure, a
diagnosis of a brain tumor, and the sudden awareness that the world can tilt
without warning. Her father did what fathers do when the ground gives way—he
reached for God. He called Father Paul Wolff, General Patton’s
Belgian guide, and asked for prayers at the shrine of Our Lady of
Beauraing, the Virgin who appeared to children with the simple
message: “Do you love My Son?”
A week later, the tumor
vanished. Not metaphorically. Not gradually. It disappeared. The doctors still
saw the scar on the brain—evidence that something had been there, something
real, something dangerous—but the mass itself was gone. The seizures remained
for years, controlled by medicine, a reminder that miracles do not erase the
body’s history; they redirect it.
Eventually, through the
work of a surgeon at the Barrow Neurological Institute, Rachel
received a world‑class procedure that ended the seizures entirely. The scar
remained, but the threat did not. Healing came through prayer, then medicine,
then the long obedience of recovery. Grace and nature, not in competition, but
in sequence.
This is the architecture
of God’s interventions:
He saves. Then He strengthens. Then He sends.
The miracle removes the immediate danger; the discipline builds the long-term
resilience. The scar becomes the proof that God acted, not the proof that He
abandoned.
Brain Tumor Awareness
Month is not a sentimental observance for your family. It is a reminder that
the world is fragile, that children suffer, that fathers intercede, and that
God answers in ways that leave marks. The scar is not a defect; it is a seal. It
says: “You were nearly lost. You were held. You were given back.”
Around the corner is the
same truth for every man: the places where you were nearly destroyed become the
places where God writes His signature. The scar is not the end of the story. It
is the beginning of the mission.
·
do
a personal eucharistic stations of the cross.
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[5] 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.
Dinner Menu
Best Places to Visit in May- Las Vegas and
Grand Canyon[6]
Often referred
to as the ‘Entertainment Capital of the World’, Las Vegas is the ultimate
playground of adventures, cuisines, and nightlife scenes, and when you visit,
you’ll see why!
While Sin City
sees an influx of visitors during winters and scorching summers, I honestly
think the best time to visit the city is from March to this month and from
September to November.
It’s still one
of the warmest states to visit this month, but temperatures are much more
manageable and hover around 89.6 degrees during the day.
You’ll find
various events, hot (but not unbearable) daily temperatures, and fewer crowds.
Nearby the city is the Grand Canyon, and I highly suggest a visit here—it’s a
once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Spring and fall
make for an ideal trip to the canyon for hiking, sky walking, and discovering
the wildflower blooms, but I would also highly recommend just enjoying the
scenic vistas.
Visitors Center Address: 495 S. Main St.
Las Vegas, NV 89101
Average temperatures – 89.6 degrees
Location Map and Directions
My highlights…
·
Capturing
an unbelievable Instagrammable shot overlooking the Grand Canyon after hiking
around the area.
·
Checking
out a fun show at MGM Grand.
·
Take
a road trip drive from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon.
Religion in the Home for
Preschool: May
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Holy
Bishops and Cardinals
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
[1] http://www.ccel.us/mountain.chap9.html
[3]Schultz, Patricia. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die:
Revised Second Edition
[4] https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/cosmopolitan-day/
[5] Venerable Mary of Agreda. The Mystical City of God:
Complete Edition Containing all Four Volumes with Illustrations (p. 770).
Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition
ME AND MY GAL (1932)
Spencer Tracy • Joan Bennett • Marion Burns
A pre‑Code waterfront romance‑crime comedy where a beat cop and a sharp‑tongued waitress fall into love, danger, and rapid‑fire banter on the New York docks. Raoul Walsh mixes humor, grit, and Depression‑era realism, giving Tracy and Bennett one of the most natural, modern-feeling pairings of the early ’30s.
1. Production & Historical Setting
Released in 1932, directed by Raoul Walsh, and produced by Fox Film Corporation, Me and My Gal stands at the crossroads of:
- Pre‑Code looseness — sexual frankness, class tension, and moral ambiguity before the 1934 clampdown
- Depression‑era realism — waterfront bars, cramped apartments, and working‑class survival
- The rise of naturalistic acting — Spencer Tracy’s grounded, unforced style emerging years before Hollywood caught up
- Joan Bennett’s early phase — blonde, quick, playful, long before her noir transformation under Fritz Lang
Walsh shoots the docks with a mix of grit and comedy—longshoremen, cheap cafés, police beats, and the constant hum of the river. The film feels lived‑in, unvarnished, and unmistakably urban.
The cultural backdrop:
- Economic collapse shaping romance and crime alike
- Working‑class heroism replacing aristocratic melodrama
- Women with agency—Bennett’s Helen is witty, skeptical, and unafraid to spar
- Crime as proximity, not abstraction—gangsters are neighbors, not mythic figures
Tracy’s Danny Dolan is the prototype of the modern American cop: decent, streetwise, allergic to pretension. Bennett matches him line for line, giving the film its electricity.
2. Story Summary
Danny Dolan, a wisecracking New York beat cop, meets Helen Riley, a waterfront waitress with a sharp tongue and no patience for charm. Their flirtation is fast, combative, and unmistakably mutual.
But beneath the comedy runs a crime thread:
- Helen’s sister Kate is entangled with Duke Castenega, a small‑time gangster
- A robbery and shooting pull the family into danger
- Danny must navigate duty, affection, and the messy loyalties of the docks
The film unfolds through:
- Banter that borders on screwball
- Domestic tension as Kate is manipulated by Duke
- Police work grounded in neighborhood reality
- A final confrontation where Danny’s steadiness and Helen’s courage converge
The tone is light but never frivolous—Walsh keeps one foot in romance and the other in the hard edges of Depression‑era life.
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. Love as Mutual Correction
Danny and Helen sharpen each other—humor as honesty, affection as accountability.
B. The Working‑Class Moral Universe
Right and wrong are not abstractions; they are lived in cramped rooms, family loyalties, and the pressure of survival.
C. The Danger of Charming Evil
Duke is not a mastermind—he is the everyday seducer of the weak, the man who thrives on confusion and emotional vulnerability.
D. Constancy Over Flash
Danny’s virtue is not brilliance but steadiness—showing how ordinary fidelity outperforms charisma.
E. The Dignity of Small Places
The docks, diners, and tenements become the stage where courage, loyalty, and sacrifice are tested.
4. Hospitality Pairing — The Waterfront Table
- A shot of rye — straightforward, warming, unpretentious
- Fried fish or oysters — the working meal of the docks
- Black coffee — the drink of night shifts, early mornings, and men who don’t dramatize fatigue
- A wooden table and a draft from the river — the atmosphere of Walsh’s New York
A setting for nights when you want to reflect on loyalty, vocation, and the moral weight of ordinary life.
5. Reflection Prompts
- Where am I relying on charm instead of constancy?
- Who in my life needs the kind of honest banter that sharpens rather than flatters?
- Where am I tempted by the “Duke” option—easy, exciting, but corrosive?
- What small, unglamorous duties form the backbone of my character?
- How do I live fidelity in the cramped, unromantic spaces of daily life?
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