Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Smoke in This Life and Not the Next
Cheap Smoke Night – The Lowest Region
Virtue: Atonement & Honesty
Cigar: Harsh, unrefined (bundle stick)
Whiskey: Bottom-shelf bourbon – sharp, corrective
Reflection: “What fire do I choose now so I do not face the greater one later?”
The Lowest Region of Purgatory
St. Frances of Rome teaches that the lowest region of Purgatory is not Hell, though the fire is just as fierce. It is the place where souls who confessed mortal sins but did not complete their penance undergo purification. They died in God’s friendship, but with the temporal weight of their sins still clinging to them.
She describes this region as:
- A vast burning sea, where the fire is total and unrelenting.
- A temporary state, because salvation is certain, but purification is necessary.
- A place of intelligent flame, where every burn corresponds to what was left unhealed.
- A region marked by the old tradition of “seven years per sin,” not as a stopwatch, but as a symbol of the gravity of forgiven guilt still needing cleansing.
- The first of three ascending regions, each drawing the soul closer to the light of God.
Nothing here is wasted.
Nothing here is arbitrary.
The fire is mercy finishing its work.
Cheap Smoke and Chosen Fire
A harsh cigar and a bottom-shelf bourbon preach the same penitential sermon: a man can choose small fires now—discipline, honesty, penance, self-denial—or he can carry his unfinished business into the fire that God Himself must apply.
Cheap smoke night is not about indulgence.
It is about clarity.
The roughness in your throat is a reminder that purification always costs something. Better to pay in small coins now than in great sums later.
The Holy Face and the Lowest Region
The Holy Face confronts a man with the truth he avoids.
The lowest region of Purgatory is where God confronts the truths we avoided in life—truths we confessed but never repaired, admitted but never atoned for, regretted but never amended.
Purgatory removes every ambiguity we refused to surrender.
The wise man begins that surrender now.
What part of your own unfinished penance do you want tomorrow night’s entry to sharpen?
Hope’s Corner Try Halászlé
· Spirit Hour: 35 Spring Cocktail Recipes
· Bucket List trip: Pamir Highway
Feast of St. George is tomorrow, and on April 25th is the Feast of St. Mark the patron saint of Venice. Perhaps we should indulge in a little fantasy in Las Vegas with a Stay in the Excalibur Hotel followed by a stay in the Venetian with a stay at the Pink Flamingo due to a full pink moon with stop to marvel at the Hoover Dam.
Marvel at the Hoover Dam[2]
The Hoover Dam has been a popular Arizona attraction since it was constructed in 1935. The dam is an engineering marvel on the Colorado River. Visitors can either drive or walk across the dam that stretches across the river for 1,244 feet. Regarded as one of the greatest engineering wonders of the world, Hoover Dam is a popular destination for people visiting Northern Arizona and Las Vegas.
APRIL 22 Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter
Earth Day
1 Samuel, Chapter 12, Verse 14
These
were the word of the Priest Samuel at the coronation of King Saul and just like
Eli Saul and his family did not listen to the voice of the Lord and rebelled.
Our only king was crowned not with gold but with thorns. It was His afflictions
which prepared us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure. Hear His
voice.
“The
gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without
trials—Chinese proverb.”
Copilot’s Take
Samuel’s coronation warning is not political
commentary; it is spiritual physics. Israel wanted a king like the nations, a
visible shield against visible threats. Samuel reminds them that no king—no
structure, no system, no leader—can secure a people who refuse to fear the
Lord. The fall of Eli’s house and the unraveling of Saul’s reign share the same
root: men who stopped listening. The soil of the nation dried out long before
the battles were lost.
Earth Day exposes the same truth. Creation is not a
sentimental backdrop; it is a witness. The world groans, Paul says, not because
it is fragile but because man rebels. Disorder in the land mirrors disorder in
the heart. Stewardship is not environmental activism; it is obedience. It is
the first command given to Adam and the first command broken. Samuel’s words
echo Eden: Fear the Lord. Listen. Do not rebel.
The Catechism names the enemy with precision: sin
fractures creation (CCC 400), darkens the human heart (CCC 407), and creates
structures of evil that outlive the men who built them (CCC 1869). Evil is not
confronted by technique or sentiment but by conversion. The king crowned with
thorns restores what kings crowned with gold destroyed. His obedience—sweat,
blood, and splinters—reorders the world from the inside out.
Earth Day, in the Christian imagination, is not a celebration of nature’s innocence but a summons to man’s responsibility.
The One who calmed the sea now commands the human heart. The One who wore thorns now teaches us how to bear friction without rebellion. As the proverb says, “The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.” Creation itself is the polishing stone. Trials are not interruptions; they are the grinding that reveals glory.
To fear the Lord is to stand in the world with
clarity. To serve Him is to tend the garden—your home, your habits, your
speech, your dominion—with reverence. To listen to His voice is to confront
evil not with superstition or panic but with obedience. When both king and
people bow to the true King, Samuel says, “well and good.” When they do
not, the land itself testifies.
From the rebellion that fractures creation and the
fear that refuses obedience—deliver me, Jesus.
Bible in a
year Day 292 The
Power of Words
As we continue our journey in 1 Maccabees, Fr. Mike explains that
this book of the Bible is unlike others because it narrates stories and events
without providing any interpretation. In Sirach, Fr. Mike stresses the teaching
on the power of our words and the gravity of gossip and slander. Today's
readings are 1 Maccabees 11, Sirach 28-29, and Proverbs 23:9-12.
PRAYERS AND TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH
Prayer before
Meals[1]
Bless us Oh
Lord, and these thy gifts,
which we
are about to receive,
from thy bounty, through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
Earth Day[6]
Earth Day seeks to highlight and promote efforts
dedicated to the protection of the environment. We face many
environmental crises, including global warming, deforestation, endangered
wildlife, shortages of potable water and
widespread pollution, all which negatively affect our planet’s resources and
can have adverse effects on our long-term lifestyle and health.
In 1970, a US Senator named Gaylord Nelson was inspired to bring about mass
public awareness of environment problems. He heavily promoted the day across
the nation in an effort to gather the largest amount of public support possible
and ultimately, in the hopes of elevating environmental protection onto the
national political agenda. This day in 1970 marked the creation of United
States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean
Water and Endangered Species Acts. Today, Earth Day is celebrated by
billions of people around the world and is observed in over 190 countries.
Worldwide, Earth Day celebrations utilize educational programs to inform people
of ways that can help protect the environment and its natural resources. It is
observed annually on April 22nd and is celebrated as International Earth Day.
Earth Day Facts & Quotes
· Energy
Star rated LED light bulbs use at least 75% less energy, and last 25 times
longer, than incandescent lighting. Switching entirely to LED lights over
the next two decades could save the U.S. $250 billion in energy costs, reduce
electricity consumption for lighting by nearly 50 percent and avoid 1,800
million metric tons of carbon emissions.
· In
the past 50 years, humans have consumed more resources than in all previous
history. - U.S. EPA, 2009. Sustainable Materials Management: The Road Ahead.
· We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. - Native American Proverb
Earth Day Top Events and Things to
Do
· Organize
a group of volunteers to help clean up and restore a green space. Some
suggestions include planting trees and adding waste receptacles.
· Try
to go the whole day without creating any garbage, • Try not to use your car for
the entire day. Instead, use public transit, walk or ride your bicycle.
· Change
your traditional incandescent light bulbs to energy saving LED or CFL light
bulbs.
· Watch
a documentary or movie that touches on an ecological issue. Our favorites are:
An Inconvenient Truth (2006), the Burning Season (1993, 2008), Elemental (2012)
and The Day after Tomorrow (2004).
· Read
one of many books that relate to environmental issues such as, The
World Without Us (Alan Weisman), Hell and High Water (Joseph
Romm) and Natural Capitalism (Hawken, Lovins and Lovins)
Care for Creation[7]
We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship
of creation. Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a
requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet,
living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. This environmental
challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored.
Scripture
· Genesis
1:1-31
God made the heavens and the earth and it was good.
· Genesis
2:15
Humans are commanded to care for God’s
creation.
· Leviticus
25:1-7
The land itself must be given a rest
and not abused.
· Deuteronomy
10:14
All of heaven and earth belong to the Lord.
· Psalm
24:1-2
All the earth is the Lord’s.
· Daniel
3:56-82
Creation proclaims the glory of God.
· Matthew
6:25-34
God loves and cares for all of creation.
· Romans
1:20
Creation reveals the nature of God.
· 1
Corinthians 10:26
Creation and all created things are
inherently good because they are of the Lord.
Tradition
The environment is God's gift to everyone, and in our
use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations
and towards humanity as a whole. . . Our duties towards the environment are
linked to our duties towards the human person, considered in himself and in
relation to others. It would be wrong to uphold one set of duties while
trampling on the other. (Pope Benedict XVI, Charity in Truth [Caritas
in Veritate], nos. 48, 51)
Changes in lifestyle based on traditional moral virtues can ease the way to a sustainable and equitable world economy in which sacrifice will no longer be an unpopular concept. For many of us, a life less focused on material gain may remind us that we are more than what we have. Rejecting the false promises of excessive or conspicuous consumption can even allow more time for family, friends, and civic responsibilities. A renewed sense of sacrifice and restraint could make an essential contribution to addressing global climate change. (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence and the Common Good)
Equally worrying is the ecological question which accompanies the problem of consumerism and which is closely connected to it. In his desire to have and to enjoy rather than to be and to grow, man consumes the resources of the earth and his own life in an excessive and disordered way. . .. Man, who discovers his capacity to transform and in a certain sense create the world through his own work, forgets that this is always based on God's prior and original gift of the things that are. Man thinks that he can make arbitrary use of the earth, subjecting it without restraint to his will, as though it did not have its own requisites and a prior God-given purpose, which man can indeed develop but must not betray. Instead of carrying out his role as a co-operator with God in the work of creation, man sets himself up in place of God and thus ends up provoking a rebellion on the part of nature, which is more tyrannized than governed by him. (St. John Paul II, On the Hundredth Year [Centesimus Annus], no. 37)
The dominion granted to man by the Creator is not an absolute power, nor can one speak of a freedom to "use and misuse," or to dispose of things as one pleases. The limitation imposed from the beginning by the Creator himself and expressed symbolically by the prohibition not to "eat of the fruit of the tree" (cf. Gen 2:16-17) shows clearly enough that, when it comes to the natural world, we are subject not only to biological laws but also to moral ones, which cannot be violated with impunity. A true concept of development cannot ignore the use of the elements of nature, the renewability of resources and the consequences of haphazard industrialization - three considerations which alert our consciences to the moral dimension of development.(St. John Paul II, On Social Concerns [Sollicitudo rei Socialis], no. 34) witness its grandeur up close.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Increase
of Vocations to the Holy Priesthood.
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932)
Boris Karloff, Charles Laughton & Melvyn Douglas
A storm‑lashed, pre‑Code chamber horror where stranded travelers seek refuge in a decaying mansion ruled by a family of spiritual rot—grotesque, darkly comic, and lit with flashes of unexpected humanity.
Sources: imdb.com ar.inspiredpencil.com
1. Production & Historical Setting
Directed by James Whale in 1932, the film stands at the crossroads of early Universal horror and the sly, subversive tone Whale perfected in Frankenstein. It adapts J.B. Priestley’s novel Benighted, retaining its blend of satire, dread, and class commentary. ar.inspiredpencil.com
Boris Karloff, fresh from his breakout as the Monster, plays Morgan, the mute brute whose physicality dominates the film. Melvyn Douglas brings urbane steadiness, while Charles Laughton, in his first American role, adds warmth and grounded humanity. The house itself—rain‑battered, candlelit, and crumbling—becomes a character, a visual sermon on what happens when a family seals itself off from truth.
2. Story Summary
A violent storm forces a group of travelers—Philip and Margaret Waverton, their friend Penderel, and later the boisterous Sir William Porterhouse and his companion Gladys—into the Femm family mansion. Inside they encounter:
- Horace Femm, nervous, brittle, terrified of the house’s secrets.
- Rebecca Femm, a shrill moral tyrant whose piety masks cruelty.
- Morgan (Karloff), the drunken, dangerous servant whose presence suggests the house’s long decay.
- Saul, the mad, fire‑obsessed brother hidden upstairs, the true threat waiting in the dark.
As the night unfolds, the travelers confront the Femms’ madness, Morgan’s violence, and Saul’s deranged theology of destruction. Dawn arrives only after courage, restraint, and sacrifice hold the line against the house’s generational evil.
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. A House Without Light
The Femm mansion is a parable of what happens when a household rejects truth: fear becomes the ruling spirit, and every room hides a distortion of virtue.
B. Vice as Enslavement
Morgan’s drunken brutality is not monstrous in the supernatural sense—it is the flesh ungoverned, appetite without discipline, a warning about what happens when strength is severed from moral order.
C. The Courage of the Steady Man
Melvyn Douglas’s Penderel becomes the film’s moral center: calm under pressure, willing to confront danger, and able to protect the vulnerable without bravado. His steadiness is the antidote to the house’s chaos.
D. Dawn as Deliverance
The survivors step into the morning not triumphant but sobered. Evil has been restrained, not conquered. The film quietly affirms that sometimes spiritual victory is simply refusing to be swallowed by the darkness around you.
4. Hospitality Pairing
Storm‑Night Vigil Table
- Hot toddy with lemon and clove — warmth against the storm, a drink that steadies the nerves rather than inflames them.
- Dark rye bread with salted butter — simple, grounding, the opposite of the Femm family’s decayed excess.
- A single candle — not for mood but for symbolism: one flame held against a house full of shadows.
- A small stone or piece of wood on the table — a tactile reminder of solidity and endurance when the world feels unstable.
A setting for nights when you feel the wind rising and need to remember that courage is often quiet.
5. Reflection Prompts
- Where in my life have I allowed fear to become the governing spirit of a room, a relationship, or a habit?
- What appetites in me resemble Morgan—strong, mute, and dangerous when ungoverned?
- Which parts of my interior “house” have I locked away rather than brought into the light?
- How do I respond when confronted with another person’s chaos—with steadiness or with panic?
- What does dawn look like in my current season—what small act of courage would move me toward it?
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