Saturday, May 30, 2026 Joan of Arc/Ember Saturday
Summary & Reflection on Confronting Evil
1. Evil is real, personal, and resisted through Christ’s authority
The Catechism teaches that evil is not merely psychological or symbolic; it is a real, personal force acting through fallen angels (CCC 391–395). Christ’s victory over Satan is definitive, but not yet fully manifested, which means the Christian life is lived in combat (CCC 409).
This frames every spiritual exhortation—whether prayer, deliverance, or moral vigilance—as participation in Christ’s own authority.
2. The Christian confronts evil first by obedience of faith
The CCC roots spiritual warfare not in dramatic gestures but in obedience (CCC 144–149). Evil is confronted when a man submits his intellect and will to God’s revelation.
This is the opposite of the devil’s rebellion.
Where Satan says, “I will not serve,” the Christian says, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”
3. The ordinary means of grace are the primary weapons
The Church insists that the sacraments—especially Confession and the Eucharist—are the normal means by which evil is defeated in the soul (CCC 1426–1433; 1391–1395).
Any authentic spiritual teaching on resisting darkness must be anchored in these sacramental realities, not in techniques or emotional intensity.
4. Prayer is the Church’s continual act of resistance
The CCC describes prayer as a battle (CCC 2725).
The battle is against distraction, discouragement, and the subtle lies of the enemy.
The Church’s prayers—especially the Our Father (“deliver us from evil”)—are not optional; they are Christ’s own strategy placed in our hands.
5. Confronting evil requires moral clarity and renunciation of sin
The CCC is blunt: sin is a cooperation with evil (CCC 1853).
Therefore confronting evil begins with confronting our own compromises.
Renunciation—of occult practices, habitual sin, unforgiveness, and pride—is not theatrics; it is the interior demolition of the enemy’s footholds.
6. The Christian confronts evil with truth, not fear
The CCC teaches that Christ’s resurrection has already broken the power of the evil one (CCC 636–637).
Therefore the Christian confronts evil from a position of victory, not anxiety.
Fear is one of the enemy’s preferred weapons; truth is Christ’s.
✦ Integrated Conclusion
Even without the video transcript, the CCC gives a clear, disciplined framework:
- Evil is real.
- Christ has conquered it.
- The Christian participates in that victory through obedience, sacrament, prayer, and moral clarity.
- Spiritual warfare is not spectacle; it is fidelity.
Smoke in This Life and Not the Next
Cheap Night — The Pain of Imperfection
St. Catherine of Genoa says the sharpest pain of Purgatory is simple:
the soul finally sees what in it displeased God.
Not fire.
Not fear.
But the unbearable clarity of Love.
The soul would rather leap into a thousand hells
than stand before the Pure Light with one stain left unburned.
So burn the dross now —
in repentance, discipline, and truth —
not later, when the fire is love
but the pain is seeing yourself as God sees you.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord…
MAY 30 Saturday after Pentecost-Ember
Day
Joan
of Arc
On
those who waver, have mercy; save others by snatching them
out of the fire; on others have mercy with FEAR, abhorring even the outer
garment stained by the flesh.
Save others by snatching them out of
the fire. Jude is advising us to be prudent when you save others. There is
almost no way you can pull others from a fire without being burnt; unless you
are wearing protective garments.
You cannot save unbelievers by hanging out in the bar with them or partying with them.
Jude states the even the very
garments of the godless are to be abhorred because of their contagion or in
more simplistic terms we cannot have the same lifestyle as the godless. No we must be in the world but not of the
world. Christ in His Sermon on the Mount taught us how our lifestyle is to be.
1.
Be not afraid but be brave in the world loving
even the loveless.
2.
Do not become prideful and self-important but show humility;
reverence and respect to all: for they are created by the hand of God.
3.
Do not envy the wicked; but let your desire be
to be kind remembering they must account for themselves before God;
respect and be loyal to them.
4.
Let your anger be at injustice; showing patience,
compassion and forgiveness to the sinner.
5.
Be temperate and do all
things in moderation; do not greedily
take things to yourself but share your wealth with those in need. Remember to
show true charity by helping them with their troubles thus empowering
them to become greater; to pursue righteousness.
6.
Do not become slothful or failing to resist evil but
be diligent
to build the Kingdom of God; one day and one person at a time: begin with
yourself.
7.
Do not be gluttonous;
avoid excess and exclusivity (the country club mentality) but be temperate
sacrifice, give up and surrender to the Spirit of God.
8.
Do not look on others as
objects to be used for lustful needs
but see them as created by the hand of God; your chase purpose is to help
them achieve God’s dream for them.
Copilot’s Take
Jude’s
command to “have mercy… save others by snatching them out of the fire… have
mercy with fear” is not a relic of the early Church. It is a diagnostic of the
modern world. Evil today is rarely theatrical; it is efficient, polite, and
disguised as convenience. The Catechism teaches that sin darkens the intellect
(CCC 1865), and our age is marked by a kind of moral dimming—an inability to
recognize danger because it arrives through screens, slogans, and social
pressure rather than swords. Jude’s urgency is therefore more relevant now than
ever: mercy must be courageous, and discernment must be sharp.
The CCC insists that the battle begins in the heart. “The heart is the seat of moral personality” (CCC 2517), and the modern heart is overstimulated, distracted, and spiritually unarmored. Jude’s first category—the wavering—describes millions today: souls caught between belief and the algorithm, between prayer and noise. These require mercy expressed through witness: lives that radiate clarity, peace, and ordered desire. The CCC calls this purity of intention (CCC 2520), the ability to choose the good without fragmentation. In a world of constant distraction, the Christian becomes a lighthouse simply by being interiorly whole.
Jude’s
second category—the burning—speaks to those consumed by modern fires:
addiction, despair, rage, ideological captivity, and the loneliness that
corrodes the soul. The CCC teaches that fortitude “ensures firmness in
difficulties” (CCC 1808), and this is the virtue required to rescue those
engulfed in these flames. But fortitude is not recklessness. You cannot pull
someone from the fire if you are spiritually flammable. The rescuer must be
sacramentally grounded, morally disciplined, and surrounded by community.
Modern evil is contagious precisely because it is subtle; therefore, the
Christian must be armored before entering the smoke.
Jude’s final
warning—“abhorring even the garment stained by the flesh”—is the CCC’s teaching
on scandal in action. Scandal is not merely causing sin; it is normalizing it
(CCC 2284). The modern world excels at this. It baptizes vice with therapeutic
language, markets impurity as empowerment, and disguises spiritual corrosion as
self-expression. Jude’s “fear” is not fear of the sinner but fear of
contamination—fear of losing clarity, fear of becoming desensitized. The CCC
calls this vigilance “custody of the heart” (CCC 2519). It is the discipline
that refuses to let the world’s garments cling to the soul.
Living this
reading today requires a posture of engaged separation—in the world but
not of it. The Christian must be present in the public square, but not seduced
by its idols; compassionate toward sinners, but not entangled in their
patterns; merciful toward the wounded, but not naïve about the wounds. The CCC
teaches that Christians must “permeate social realities with the spirit of the
Gospel” (CCC 2105), but this requires interior strength. You cannot permeate
what you secretly admire. You cannot evangelize what you imitate.
The modern
world’s greatest danger is not open persecution but quiet corrosion. Evil today
does not roar; it whispers. It does not demand worship; it demands distraction.
It does not burn cities; it burns attention, identity, and hope. Jude’s remedy
is the same as Christ’s: purity of heart, fortitude in action, mercy without
compromise, and boundaries that protect the soul. The Christian who lives this
way becomes a contradiction to the age—calm where others are frantic, clean
where others are compromised, courageous where others are compliant.
To live
Jude’s reading in the modern world is to adopt Joan of Arc’s posture: armored,
obedient, prayerful, and unafraid. She confronted evil not by blending in but
by standing out—radiantly, defiantly, and purely. The CCC calls this the
vocation of every baptized soul: to “shine like lights in the world” (CCC
1695). Jude tells us how. Joan shows us how. And the modern world needs this
witness more than it knows.
Saturday after Pentecost-Ember Day[1]
EPISTLE, Romans v. 1-5.
BRETHREN: Being justified therefore by faith, let us have peace with God,
through Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom also we have access through faith into
this grace, wherein we stand, and glory in the hope of the glory of the sons of
God. And not only so; but we glory also in tribulations, knowing that
tribulation worketh patience, and patience trial; and trial hope, and hope
confoundeth not: because the charity of God is poured forth in our hearts, by
the Holy Ghost Who is given to us.
GOSPEL. Luke iv. 38-44.
At that time: Jesus rising up out of the synagogue, went into Simon’s
house. And Simon s wife’s mother was taken with a great fever, and they
besought Him for her. And standing over her, He commanded the fever, and it
left her. And immediately rising, she ministered to them. And when the sun was
down, all they that had any sick with divers’ diseases, brought them to Him.
But He laying His hands on every one of them, healed them. And devils went out
from many, crying out and saying: Thou art the Son of God. And rebuking them,
He suffered them not to speak, for they knew that He was Christ. And when it
was day, going out He went into a desert place, and the multitudes sought Him,
and came unto Him: and they detained Him that He should not depart from them. To
whom He said: To other cities also I must preach the kingdom of God: for
therefor am I sent. And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
Today is the
end of Paschaltide (after the office of None).
Ember Saturday Meditation on the Entombment[2]
And when evening was now come (because it was the Parasceve, that is, the day before the Sabbath), Joseph of Arimathea, a noble counsellor, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, came and went in boldly to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. But Pilate wondered that He should be already dead. And sending for the centurion, he asked him if He were already dead. And when he had understood it by the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And Joseph buying fine linen and taking Him down, wrapped Him up in the fine linen, and laid Him in a sepulcher which was hewed out of a rock. And he rolled a stone to the door of the sepulcher.
Liturgy of the Cloth: How the Early Church Incorporated the Shroud and Sudarium in the Mass[3]
New research suggests that the burial cloths of Jesus have
been central to the Roman liturgy for more than a millennium, and possibly from
the earliest days of the Church.
A German theologian and friend of Benedict XVI, drawing on
the writings of a ninth-century bishop, appears to have made a historic and
fascinating discovery, revealing how the Shroud of Turin and the sudarium (the
Veil of Veronica) were central to the Roman liturgy from as far back as the
Carolingian times, most probably before. The two relics and their inclusion in
those early liturgies also point to the Real Presence. The discovery has only
now come to light, after debate over the burial cloths has intensified over the
past 10 years and interest has developed regarding their authenticity. The
Register spoke recently with German journalist Paul Badde,
who has been following the discovery closely and is an authority on the Holy Face of Manoppello, which many believe to be the true
sudarium.
The discovery was made by Klaus Berger of Heidelberg, a German theologian, an old friend of Joseph Ratzinger and New Testament scholar, who is carrying out detailed research on the Apocalypse of St. John. During his studies, he came across one of the great commentators on the Apocalypse, Amalarius (775-850), a liturgical expert from the Carolingian times. Amalarius, who used to be bishop of Metz in France and archbishop of Trier in Germany, was a great liturgist of the Carolingian age, whom Pope Sergius II made a cardinal. Even in those times, he said the cloth of the altar resembled the shroud and the sudarium, found and discovered first by the apostles Peter and John in the empty holy sepulcher the first Easter morning. But we have an enormous gap in documented records from the first Easter morning in Jerusalem and the moment when they first appeared in public. We know that the sudarium appeared in 1208 in Rome in public, when Pope Innocent III put it on public view, and the shroud appeared in 1355 for the first time in the West in Lirey in the Champagne area of France. But we can be sure that the two cloths have always been part of the “memory of the liturgy,” even though their presence arrived later. Amalarius may have witnessed seeing them there [in Constantinople], and it’s important to note that their presence in the liturgy didn’t begin in Carolingian times, but [they] were probably used from the very beginning. …
Where were the cloths kept
before that time?
They
were stored for many years in the East, but they were always hidden. Showing
them to the public wasn’t
a big deal in the Orthodox world. In the West, we make historical records, but
in the East, they don’t
have it that [record keeping as] much. But even in the Dark Ages, in the first
millennium, there used to be a tradition in the Roman liturgy that the cloth on
the altar had to be linen, and the altar had to be rock to be understood as a
sepulcher.
What is the significance of
altar linen —
does it date back to these two priceless relics?
Yes,
from this we can understand why the altar linen, analogous to the shroud, until
1969, had to be “pure
linen” and why
the so-called corporal must always be folded in a particular way by way of
analogy with the sudarium. John says that, after Christ’s resurrection, it was found by
Peter and John in the empty tomb: “not
lying with the linen cloths but rolled up or folded (enteeligmenon in Greek) in
a separate place.”
That corporal is the starched cloth, which, in the old rite, after the priest
had come at the altar in contact with the bread and wine, could only be touched
by him reverently with his thumb and forefinger.
How is the altar significant in
this?
Since
the altar linens of the liturgy are called sindon and sudarium
and theologically are in connection with the Real Presence of Jesus in his body
and blood, Berger contends that their purpose is to point to the mystery of the
Eucharist on the altar stone. There, the inanimate matter of the bread and wine
— as the
tomb of Christ in the rock in Jerusalem, which had never been used — is always transformed into the “Bread of Life” and living blood of Christ. After
the [Second Vatican] Council, we had the discussion:
Is the altar about Communion?
Is it a table?
Or is it a sacrifice?
Until that time, it was clearly a sacrifice. The altar was understood as a sepulcher, where lifeless elements were turned into something living — flesh and blood. That was also the tradition in the eighth century. But whether the actual relics were seen at the altar or not, the shroud and the sudarium have been mentioned by St. John and the liturgical tradition, not only in public, but also been remembered as far back as the eighth and ninth centuries as something very special, very important in the story of the Resurrection. And this we have also to keep in mind. Very much can be said about the liturgy, and one thing is for sure: The liturgy can also be understood as the “inner hard drive” of the sacred memory of the Church. So, it’s quite clear that everything Amalarius reports about it in his time has not and cannot be invented and introduced in the liturgy in the Carolingian age. It must be much older and points right back to the beginning of the Church, just like the holy Eucharist itself.
Could you explain more about how
this points to the Real Presence?
The
depiction of the face of Jesus on these cloths could be understood similarly to
the so-called Mass of Pope Gregory (540-604). Gregory, I saw, appearing to him,
a bloodied Lord, directly in connection with the transformation of the
Eucharistic species. The shroud and the sudarium of Jesus would, therefore, be
understood as the direct expression and the personified Real Presence of Jesus
on the altar and would be directly related to the Eucharist as the center of
the holy Mass. In this way, they agree as biblically confirmed evidence of the
resurrection of Christ with the mystery of the Eucharistic transformation
(transubstantiation). You could, therefore, say: Instead of the vision of
Gregory, in Amalarius, there is the real, symbolic content of the altar cloths.
In both cases, it is an expression of the Real Presence of Christ. What is true
for Pope Gregory is the content of the vision, namely, the real, bodily
presence of Christ (particularly of the suffering Christ). According to
Amalarius, it would be expressed sensibly (sinnenfällig) in the liturgical altar linens. On the burial
cloths, showing the stigmata on the shroud and on the sudarium the face of
Jesus, there appeared a lasting imprint of what happened for an instant in
Gregory’s
vision.
What does this mean for Holy
Face of Manoppello?
To
me and to many, there’s
no doubt that Manoppello is the historic sudarium, also called the Veil of
Veronica. It was kept in Rome and often venerated until 1527. It is, in fact,
the very veil that had been laid on the face of the dead Lord when he was laid
to rest in the sepulcher. So, it contains the first breath of the resurrected
Christ. No wonder that nobody can explain how the image — without any colors! — got into the sacred veil. Now, the
Easterly sudarium of Christ is coming back into history, at the beginning of an
enormous “iconic
turn” caused
by the digital revolution —
not to the eyes of a chosen few anymore, but to the eyes of all men. And it
doesn’t come
back to tell the Gospel anew with more words, but to reveal the
Resurrection of the Lord from the dead with one true and unique image.
MEDITATIONS ON THE LITURGY FROM THE EXTRAORDINARY FORM
FOR EACH OF THE EMBER DAYS AFTER PENTECOST.
Written by Monsignor
Martin B. Hellriegel, originally published in the journal Orate Fratres Vol.
XVIII, May 14, 1944, No. 7, pp. 299-305, later reprinted in Vine and Branches,
Pio Decimo Press, 1948.
These
meditations are attached to the 1962 Extraordinary Form liturgy. The current
lectionary has different readings and prayers not specific to the Ember Days.
Prayer:
EMBER
SATURDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Station "With St. Peter
The
charity of God is poured forth in our hearts, alleluia (introit)
"At
the end of holy Mass Paschaltide comes to a close," so reads a little
rubric after today's post communion. Needless to say, this little note reminds
us not only of the fact that this blessed season is over but also of the duty
of gratitude for the inexpressibly precious gifts we have received during this
most sacred period of the Church's year.
The
merciful Father so loved us as to give us His only-begotten Son. The obedient
Son died and rose that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. And the
charity of God is poured forth into our hearts by His Spirit dwelling in us,
alleluia! "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and let all that is within me
bless His holy name!" (em>introit). We are the Father's adopted
children; we are the Son's redeemed members; we are the living temples of the
Holy Spirit, bound to Christ our Head, and bound to one another by the charity
of God, which is the Paraclete Himself. Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro!
The
prophecy of Joel (first lesson), quoted by our station saint, Peter, on the day
of Pentecost, is fulfilled: God's Spirit is poured out upon us. Aided by the
quickening power of the Holy Spirit we call upon the name of the Lord and we
shall be saved. "Alleluia, it is the Spirit that quickened, but the flesh
profiteth nothing.
The
seven weeks, that is to say, the fifty days, have expired. The victorious Lord
led us into the land flowing with the milk and honey of His eucharistic
sweetness. Let us never forget the loving kindness of our Lord! Gladly shall we
offer Him the first fruits of our love and gratitude and shall leave them int
he sight of the Lord, adoring the Lord our God (second and third lessons).
And
now that the Lord has set up His tabernacle in the midst of us, we shall
faithfully walk in His precepts and keep His commandments, so that He
may remain our God and we His people (fourth lesson). May the divine
fire which our Lord Jesus Christ sent into our hearts never be extinguished but
burn mightily by the power of His Holy Spirit (collect).
Like
the three Babylonian youths we were wondrously saved from the fire of the
eternal furnace (fifth lesson); we are justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access through faith
into this grace wherein we (now) stand, possessing the hope that we are God's
glorious sons...because the charity of God is poured forth into our hearts by
the Holy Ghost, who is given to us (epistles).
We
celebrate this closing day "in the house of Peter: (station: St. Peter).
Jesus will enter this house this morning and will lay His healing hands upon
us. May He in His infinite love remove the last traces of our weakness and give
us full health. At the same time we will ask Him in all humility: Stay with us,
Lord, do not depart form us (gospel), and grant that "Thy holy
mysteries which we have celebrated (in this paschal season) may inspire us with
divine fervor, that we may delight not only in their celebration but also in
their fruits" (postcommunion).
And so we conclude this blessed paschal season, grateful to the most Holy Trinity for all that we have received but determined also to preserve in our souls the divine life of our victoriously reigning Lord to whom be thanksgiving and glory for everlasting ages. Amen. Alleluia.
Which are the fruits of the Holy Ghost? They are the twelve following:
1. Charity.
2.
Joy.
3. Peace.
4. Patience.
5. Benignity.
6. Goodness.
7. Longsuffering.
8. Mildness.
9. Faith.
10. Modesty.
11.
Continency.
12.
Chastity.
These fruits
should be visible in the Christian, for thereby men shall know that the Holy
Ghost dwells in him, as the tree is known by its fruit.
Notice I have placed the Fruits of the Holy Spirit in stairstep fashion so we may reflect on them seeing that by concentrating on each step of our growth in the spirit we may progress closer and closer to our heavenly Father. Today we will be focusing on the sixth step which is longsuffering.
Apostolic
Exhortation[4]
Veneremur Cernui
– Down in Adoration Falling
of
The Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix,
to Priests, Deacons, Religious and the Lay Faithful of the Diocese of Phoenix
on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
My beloved Brothers and
Sisters in Christ,
Part II
III. Worthy Reception of Holy Communion – Conforming our life with Christ.
55.
The beautiful and rich Liturgy of the Church, which has been passed down to us
from the first century, contains many expressions of devotion and faith in the
real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. For example, we call to mind that the
main reason our churches are decorated with beautiful and precious art is
because here in the Church building, Jesus is present in the tabernacle, always
accompanying us and interceding for us. We also celebrate our Masses with
beautiful music and vestments, incense, candles, and many other details that
allow us to express our faith and gratitude to Christ who has loved us so much
that He has decided to stay with us, really present in the Eucharist, until the
end of time. Many churches hold special hours of prayer and adoration of the
Eucharist, to honor and thank our Lord, and to bring all our needs before Him.
We dress respectfully for Mass knowing that we come to worship and receive our
Lord who comes to us at the altar and especially in our hearts. All these expressions
of devotion flow from a lively faith in Christ’s real presence in the
Eucharist.
56.
As the Eucharistic faith of the Church expresses itself in so many beautiful
ways, so also, our faith in the Real Presence should move us to desire and
strive with all our efforts to prepare and receive Jesus worthily in Holy
Communion.
57.
At the moment of Holy Communion, the priest holds up the consecrated Host and
says, “the Body of Christ”. When we reply “Amen” and then receive the Body of
Christ, we are expressing not only our faith in Jesus Christ but also our
desire and effort to live in friendship with Him. By receiving the Body of
Christ in Holy Communion we manifest our union with the Mystical Body of
Christ, the Church. Therefore, if with our “Amen,” we refuse to accept and live
by the whole teaching of Christ and His Church, we are not in communion with
Him but living a ‘fake’ union, one that overlooks truth and justice. In the
same way, when we commit a mortal sin and deliberately fail in a serious matter
of “rejection of communion with God… then we are seriously obliged to refrain
from receiving Holy Communion until we are reconciled with God and the Church”
through the Sacrament of Penance (USCCB “Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His
Supper”: On Preparing to Receive Christ Worthily in the Eucharist).
To
be continued…
Joan
of Arc-her defeat was her Victory[5]
Joan
of Arc acquitted herself with courage, answering all that was asked, displaying
a remarkable memory. It is said that Joan of Arc’s heart did not catch fire as
her body burned at the stake.[6]
John
McCain notes in his study of leadership that Saint Joan of Arc (feast day: May
30) was an example of leadership that was characterized by authenticity.
At the command of voices that only she could hear, she rode to battle and saved
her country. SHE COULD NOT READ OR WRITE, BUT SAINTS AND ANGELS SPOKE TO HER.
Michael the Archangel, and Catherine and Margaret, the patron saints of France,
commanded the thirteen-year-old peasant girl to pray vigilantly and attend Mass
regularly. She is remembered as very beautiful, a slight seventeen-year-old
girl with black hair who could ride for long hours in heavy armor without any
sign of discomfort. She kept silent for long periods but could be roused to
great anger at men swearing or behaving in some other sinful manner.
She prayed and fasted often and seemed most comfortable in the company of poor priests. Before they embarked, she had dictated to a priest a letter for the English commanders in Orléans, warning them to “go away back to England . . . or I will drive you out of France.” This is the first the English had ever heard of Joan of Arc. To the French, and their dauphin, who now placed their trust in her, she was becoming a saint. As they marched to Orléans, she saw to the spiritual needs of her soldiers, ordering them to abandon their vices, to refrain from looting and harming civilians, to confess their sins and attend Mass regularly, which they did. Men who had refused to serve Charles in what they believed was a losing cause now rushed to her standard and prepared for battle. A few days later, the rest of her army began to arrive with much needed supplies, just as word was received that another English army was marching to the aid of her enemies. She went to sleep that night happy in the knowledge that the moment was at hand when she would accomplish what her saints had commanded her to do. She awoke in the middle of the night and stirred her generals with the news that they must attack immediately. In fact, a battle had already begun at the nearest English fortification. Joan commanded her page to bring her horse, as she dressed in her armor, and then raced to join the fight carrying her banner. When she reached her soldiers, she saw that they were losing the battle, but her presence inspired them, and they rallied to take the fort. After the battle Joan wept for the fallen, French and English alike. On the next day they took another English fort, and the day after one more. But the fighting during the third battle had been ferocious. Joan was wounded by an arrow through her shoulder as she attempted to scale one of the fort’s walls and was carried to safety. Seeing her hurt and carried from the field, her troops lost courage, and the assault was suspended. Some witnesses say she removed the arrow herself. Others remembered her soldiers treating the wound. Whatever the case, legend has it that she responded to her soldiers’ fears by telling them to rally to her when they saw her banner strike the fort’s wall. And when they did see it, they recovered their courage and took the fort. The next day the English abandoned the siege. Orléans was saved. Both English and French generals gave the credit to Joan. She gave it to God. Then she rode to meet Charles. When they met, she bowed to him, and urged him to hasten to Reims, where his crown awaited him. But Charles hesitated. His will was weak, for he was not a man of great courage, and his advisors at court, some of whom resented Joan’s interference, cautioned him to proceed slowly, for there were still many powerful English armies in France that had to be destroyed. Joan, as always, rode in the front, carrying her banner, urging her soldiers to victory. Inspired by her courage, and by the obvious favor of God that protected her, they carried the day, routing the English and opening the road to Reims. The English and all the French, those loyal to the dauphin and those who fought for Henry, recognized that this strange young girl, now known as the Maid of Orléans, must be in the service of a sovereign more powerful than any earthly king. Joan in the end like the eternal King she served was abandoned by her earthly King and was captured by the Burundians. John of Luxembourg took her to his castle, where, she twice tried to escape, once by jumping from a castle tower into the moat below. Attempts to ransom her were refused, as were French attempts to liberate her by force. After several months, Luxembourg handed Joan over to the English, and she was taken to the city of Rouen, where a corrupt bishop, Pierre Cauchon, was instructed to put her on trial for heresy. The rules of war did not permit the English to condemn Joan for opposing them in battle. So, they sought her death by falsely accusing her of witchcraft. Cauchon tried for weeks to compel her to confess, but despite threats of torture and execution, she steadfastly refused to divulge her conversations with Charles or to concede that the saints who spoke to her were demons or merely inventions of her own blasphemy.
She was denied permission to attend Mass and receive
the sacraments.
She was often
kept in chains and became very ill. Yet she stayed true to herself, and to her
saints. She wore a dress when they brought her to a church cemetery to hear her
sentence read, condemning her to be burned at the stake. She asked that her
conviction be appealed to the pope. Her persecutors refused her. And then, Joan
of Arc, for the first and only time in her brief life, tried to be someone she
was not. Fearing the flames, she confessed to being a heretic and recanted her
claim to have heard and obeyed her saints, and begged her enemies for mercy.
Mercy they had little of but having taken from her what their armies could not,
they no longer thought her life such a great thing that it could not be spared.
She was now nothing more than a confessed imposter. They had wanted to destroy
her truth, that she was God’s messenger. Having done so, it mattered little
whether she died or suffered long imprisonment. Their work done, they left her
in her cell, to the taunts and abuses of the guards, and commanded her to dress
only in women’s clothes. When they next saw her, a few days later, she was
attired in the clothes of a boy. She had recovered her courage and her truth.
Her saints had reproached her for denying them, and she had begged their
forgiveness. She had become her true self again. She was the Maid of Orléans, a
pretty, pious nineteen-year-old girl who had left her father’s house and taken
up arms for more than a year, as heaven had commanded her. And with heaven’s
encouragement she had defeated France’s enemies in battle after battle, frightened
and awed the bravest English heart, rallied a nation to her banner, and made a
weak, defeated man a king. God’s messenger went bravely to her death, forgiving
her accusers and asking only that a priest hold high a crucifix for her to see
it above the flames. She raised her voice to heaven, calling out to her saints
and her Savior. Even her enemies wept at the sight. Her executioner was shaken
with remorse, and an anguished English soldier who witnessed the crime feared
for his soul. “God forgive us,” he cried, “we have burned a saint.”
Bible in a
year Day 329 The
Ethiopian Eunuch
Fr. Mike focuses on the story
of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch and how it demonstrates the importance of
having guidance when reading Scripture. Although God's Word is infallible, we
can easily misunderstand it without proper interpretation, which is why we have
the Magisterium of the Church. Lastly, Fr. Mike also touches on the role of
persecution in the life of the Church, and St. Paul's encouragement to abide by
the law of love. Today we read Acts 8, Romans 13-14, and Proverbs 27:15-17.
Around the Corner
“Give
thanks to the LORD for he is good,
his
mercy endures forever!
(Psalm
107:1)
· Be on the lookout for abandoned properties
o
Design house: A
beautifully converted monastery in southern France
§
At a long–neglected abbey Lorenzo and Mariarosa
Pellicioli have created a welcoming family home with zeal and passion
·
Dinner
Menu[7] French of course
- Joan of Arc Cocktail
- Bacon,
Cheddar, and Onion Quiche
- Hot
Niçoise Salad
- Braised
Baby Artichokes with Tomato Coulis
o
Crème Brûlée
·
St. Hubert's feast was originally November 3,
but the 2004 Roman Martyrology transferred it to May 30, which was the
anniversary of the translation of his relics. Why not celebrate twice?
Have a toast of Jägermeister
in honor of St. Hubert.
o
Cough syrup not to your liking have a Mint Julep
·
Saturday Litany of the Hours Invoking the Aid of
Mother Mary
·
Catholic Activity: Religion in the
Home for Preschool: May
·
Bucket List trip: France of Course: Loire Valley
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: The
lonely and destitute
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[1] Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896
[2] Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896
[3]http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/liturgy-of-the-cloth-how-the-early-church-incorporated-the-shroud-and-sudar
[5] McCain, John and Salter, Mark. (2005)
Character is destiny. Random House, New York.
THE HURRICANE (1937)
Jon Hall • Dorothy Lamour • Raymond Massey
Directed by John Ford
A South Seas fable of injustice, endurance, and divine reckoning,
The Hurricane is not merely an adventure film.
It is a meditation on mercy denied, authority misused, and the terrible moment when nature itself becomes the judgment men refuse to render.
It is a story of a gentle man broken by a rigid system,
a woman who waits with unshaken loyalty,
and a governor whose devotion to law blinds him to justice.
And then the storm comes —
not as spectacle,
but as apocalypse.
1. Production & Historical Setting
Ford’s Pacific Parable
Released in 1937, The Hurricane was one of Hollywood’s great pre‑war epics —
a blend of Polynesian romanticism and Ford’s moral clarity.
Produced by Samuel Goldwyn, the film united:
- Ford’s eye for human dignity
- a massive, practical storm sequence
- a cast that embodied innocence, authority, and suffering
The film’s hurricane finale became legendary —
a technical triumph that mirrored Ford’s belief that nature exposes the truth men try to hide.
Jon Hall & Dorothy Lamour: Innocence Under Pressure
Jon Hall’s Terangi is not a rebel —
he is a good man crushed by an unbending system.
Dorothy Lamour’s Marama is the film’s heart —
loyal, luminous, and quietly heroic.
Their love is not melodrama.
It is steadfastness.
Raymond Massey: The Tyranny of Principle
As Governor de Laage, Massey embodies the danger of a man who worships law
but forgets mercy.
Ford paints him not as a villain,
but as a man whose virtue has calcified into cruelty.
2. Story Summary
A Blow Struck in Self‑Defense
Terangi, beloved sailor of Manukura, defends himself against a racist aggressor.
For this, he receives a harsh prison sentence —
a punishment that grows each time he tries to escape
to return to his wife and unborn child.
A Governor Who Cannot Bend
Governor de Laage refuses every plea for clemency.
His devotion to order becomes a cage for another man’s life.
A Man Broken, A Woman Waiting
Terangi’s suffering deepens.
Marama waits with a patience that becomes its own form of courage.
The Storm That Reveals Everything
When the hurricane strikes,
the island is torn apart —
and the moral order with it.
The storm becomes the justice the governor would not give,
the liberation Terangi could not win,
and the reckoning no man can escape.
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. Justice Without Mercy Becomes Injustice
Governor de Laage is not evil.
He is principled —
and that is the danger.
The film warns that virtue without compassion becomes tyranny.
B. Innocence Suffers Under Human Systems
Terangi’s imprisonment is a reminder that
the world’s structures often punish the good
and reward the powerful.
C. Nature as Divine Judgment
Ford’s hurricane is not random.
It is revelation —
a force that strips away pretense
and exposes the truth of every heart.
D. Fidelity as Strength
Marama’s loyalty is the film’s quiet theology:
love endures what injustice cannot break.
E. Humility Before the Uncontrollable
The storm humbles every character.
It is a reminder that God’s justice is not mocked,
and that human authority is always provisional.
4. Hospitality Pairing — A Night Before the Storm
Cigar: A rich Maduro — earthy, brooding, storm‑dark.
Drink: A dark rum with lime — tropical, sharp, elemental.
Plate: Grilled pineapple, salted pork, something simple and island‑honest.
Atmosphere: Low light, distant thunder, a sense of something gathering at the horizon.
5. Reflection Prompts
- Where have I confused rigidity with righteousness.
- Whom have I judged without understanding their suffering.
- What storms in my life have revealed truths I refused to face.
- Where is God calling me to mercy rather than control.
- What part of me still believes justice is mine to administer rather than His.
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