Sun, June 14 — Healing & Trust

Virtue: Healing & Trust
Cigar: Balanced, resilient (Corojo)
Bourbon: Elijah Craig Small Batch — warm, steady
Reflection: Where does mercy restore me.

“This mysterious valley was filled with innumerable souls, which, tossed as by a furious tempest, threw themselves from one side to the other. When they could no longer endure the violence of the fire, they sought relief amidst the ice and snow; but finding only a new torture, they cast themselves again into the midst of the flames.”

Meditation:
Healing begins where panic ends.
Trust is the soul’s refusal to flee from the very fire that purifies it.
The souls in the valley rush from flame to frost because they cannot yet believe that mercy is found in the wound, not away from it.

Ask tonight:
Where do I still run from the heat that would heal me.
Where do I seek cold comforts instead of Christ’s steadying hand.
Where does mercy want to restore me — if I would only stay still long enough to receive it.

Night Smoke Question:
What pain do I keep escaping that Christ is trying to transform.

JUNE 14 Third Sunday after Pentecost

Flag Day-Donald Trump’s Birthday

1 Chronicles, Chapter 28, Verse 20-21

David said to his son Solomon: “Be strong and steadfast, and go to work; do not FEAR or be dismayed, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or abandon you before you have completed all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the service of the house of God; they will be with you in all the work with all those who are eager to show their skill in every kind of craftsmanship. Also the commanders and all the people will do everything that you command.”

We all long to hear this from our fathers but the ultimate truth is He tells us this every day in the quiet of our hearts. We merely reflect His grace when we pray. When we give Him all our strength, He makes us strong and steadfast; when we give Him our mind He breaks our fears and gives us a purposeful mind; when we give Him our heart He does not abandon us and when we give Him our soul, He gives us the vision to see the work He has laid before us.

Copilot’s Take

David’s charge to Solomon is the voice every son longs to hear — the voice that says, “You are not alone. You are capable. You are commissioned.” Yet the Catechism reminds us that this longing is ultimately fulfilled not in earthly fathers but in God Himself, whose fatherhood is the source of all courage (CCC 239). When David says, “My God is with you,” he is naming the truth the Church teaches: God’s fatherhood is the anchor that steadies a man when fear rises and the work ahead feels larger than his strength.

The CCC calls this filial trust — the strength that comes not from self-reliance but from surrender (CCC 2732–2734). When a man gives God his strength, God gives him steadfastness; when he gives God his mind, God breaks fear; when he gives God his heart, God refuses to abandon him. This is not sentiment. It is the spiritual physics of fatherhood. A man who stands under God’s gaze becomes a man who can stand against anything.

But the Catechism is blunt about the world we inhabit: humanity is caught in a dramatic struggle between good and evil (CCC 409). Evil is not an abstraction. It resists, it deceives, it intimidates. And yet the virtue of fortitude — the courage to remain steadfast in the good — is given precisely for this confrontation (CCC 1808). The Christian does not confront evil with bravado but with clarity: naming it, resisting it, and persevering until the work God has assigned is complete.

David’s words also reveal a truth the CCC emphasizes: God never sends a man alone. Solomon is surrounded by priests, Levites, craftsmen, commanders — each bringing gifts he does not possess. This is the communion of saints and the diversity of charisms (CCC 953, 1937, 2003). Evil isolates; God gathers. A lone warrior is vulnerable, but a man standing in the company of God’s people becomes a fortress.

In the end, the work God gives a man is always bigger than the man. That is intentional. The Catechism teaches that God entrusts missions that require grace, perseverance, community, and courage — missions that force a man to lean on God rather than on himself. David’s commissioning of Solomon is the same commissioning God whispers to every man who prays: Be strong. Be steadfast. Do not fear. I am with you until the work is done.

ON KEEPING THE LORD'S DAY HOLY[1]

CHAPTER III

DIES ECCLESIAE

The Eucharistic Assembly:
Heart of Sunday

The day of hope

38. Viewed in this way, Sunday is not only the day of faith, but is also the day of Christian hope. To share in "the Lord's Supper" is to anticipate the eschatological feast of the "marriage of the Lamb" (Rev 19:9). Celebrating this memorial of Christ, risen and ascended into heaven, the Christian community waits "in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ". Renewed and nourished by this intense weekly rhythm, Christian hope becomes the leaven and the light of human hope. This is why the Prayer of the Faithful responds not only to the needs of the particular Christian community but also to those of all humanity; and the Church, coming together for the Eucharistic celebration, shows to the world that she makes her own "the joys and hopes, the sorrows and anxieties of people today, especially of the poor and all those who suffer". With the offering of the Sunday Eucharist, the Church crowns the witness which her children strive to offer every day of the week by proclaiming the Gospel and practicing charity in the world of work and in all the many tasks of life; thus she shows forth more plainly her identity "as a sacrament, or sign and instrument of intimate union with God and of the unity of the entire human race".

Third Sunday after Pentecost[2]

Because of God's mercy, the Holy Spirit works to build the kingdom of God even in sinful souls.

ON this Sunday, in the Introit of the Mass, the Church invites the sinner to call on the Lord with confidence and humility. “Look Thou upon me and have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am alone and poor. See my abjection and my labor, and forgive me all my sins, O my God. To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul; in Thee, O my God, I put my trust, let me not be ashamed” (Ps. xxiv.).

Prayer. O God, the protector of those who hope in Thee, without Whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy, multiply Thy mercy upon us, that under Thy rule and guidance we may so pass through the goods of time as not to forfeit those of eternity.

EPISTLE. I. Peter v. 6-11.

Dearly Beloved: Be you humbled under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in the time of visitation. Casting all your care upon Him, for He hath care of you. Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist ye, strong in faith, knowing that the same affliction befalleth your brethren who are in the world. But the God of all grace, Who hath called us unto His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little, will Himself perfect you, and confirm you, and establish you. To Him be glory and empire forever and ever. Amen.

GOSPEL. Luke xv. 1-10.

At that time the publicans and sinners drew near unto Jesus to hear Him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying: This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And He spoke to them this parable, saying “What man of you that hath an hundred sheep, and if he shall lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which was lost until he find it? And when he hath found it, lay it upon his shoulders rejoicing; and coming home call together his friends and neighbors, saying to them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost? I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance. Or what woman having ten groats*, if she lose one groat (small coin) doth not light a candle and sweep the house and seek diligently until she find it? And when she hath found it, call together her friends and neighbors, saying: Rejoice with me, because I have found the groat which I had lost. So, I say to you, there shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance.”

Why did the Pharisees murmur?

Because they thought themselves better than other men, and as they avoided the company of sinners themselves, they required others to do likewise. They did not know, or rather did not wish to know, that a truly just man always feels compassion for sinners, and that the saints always desired and endeavored to promote their conversion and eternal welfare. “True justice, says St. Gregory, has compassion for sinners, while false and hypocritical justice is angry with them. Love sinners, therefore, in imitation of Jesus, and pray earnestly for their conversion.”

What does the parable of the lost sheep teach us?

It teaches us the love of Jesus, Who seeks out sinners, brings them back to the Father, and reinstates them in the privileges of the children of God. We find in this parable an excuse for sinners. The sheep is a very simple animal which, while grazing in the field, does not notice that it has left the fold. It is lost, and when lost does not know the way back to the fold. It seems, therefore, when Christ compared the sinner to a sheep He intended to say that the sinner goes astray from the true path and from God through pure and natural ignorance; because being dazzled and delighted by the things of the world, he follows them; he separates himself from the just without knowing it, and, lost in the desert of this world, he does not know his misfortune and has not, humanly speaking, the means of returning again, if God in His infinite mercy does not go in search of him and rescue him.

What is meant by the words, “there shall be more joy over one sinner that does penance than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance?

Thereby it is not to be understood that the penitent sinner is more pleasing to God than ninety-nine just, but that, as men have a special joy in finding that which they supposed to be lost, so also God, the angels, and saints have an extraordinary joy over the conversion of one sinner; because, in the conversion of the sinner, they see the glory, love, and power of God exalted.

Aspiration.

O Lord, what profit hast Thou in the conversion of a sinner, that Thou art thereby so greatly pleased? The happiness of one of Thy poor creatures can add nothing to Thine own. But Thou lovest me, and therefore it is that Thou art pleased if I return to Thee. O my God, is it possible that I can know this Thy love, and remain any longer in sin?

Building up the Kingdom[3]

This Sunday focuses on God's mercy, the Holy Spirit works to build the kingdom of God even in sinful souls.

Scripture and the Church teach us that we have three divinely ordained purposes that give our lives meaning:

Salvation — seeking to save our eternal souls and help save the souls of others (that salvation, the Church teaches, is God's free gift but requires our cooperation through faith in God, obedience to his commandments, and repentance of our grave sins).

Service — using our God-given talents to build God's kingdom here on earth.

Sanctity — growing in holiness.

The third of these life goals, sanctity, is central to building Catholic character. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says something that is stunning: "Be thou made perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48). St. Gregory put it this way: "The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God." Scripture tells us, "God is love" (1 Jn 4:16). If we want to be like God, our vocation is to love. The essence of love is to sacrifice for the sake of another, as Jesus did. Love is self-gift. What, then, is our goal if we want to develop Catholic character in our children and ourselves? Look to the character of Christ: A life of self-giving.

Natural Virtues

The high goal of Christ-like character builds on a base of what the Church calls "natural virtues." Among the natural virtues that families and schools should nurture are the four advanced by the ancient Greeks, named in Scripture (Wis 8:7), and adopted by the Church as "the cardinal virtues": prudence, which enables us to judge what we should do; justice, which enables us to respect the rights of others and give them what they are due; fortitude, which enables us to do what is right in the face of difficulties; temperance, which enables us to control our desires and avoid abuse of even legitimate pleasures. These natural virtues are developed through effort and practice, aided by God's grace. To develop a Christ-like character, however, we need more than the natural virtues. We also need the three supernatural, or "theological," virtues:

Spiritual Virtues

Faith in God, which enables us to believe in God and the teachings of his church.

Hope in God, which leads us to view eternal life as our most important goal and to place total trust in God.

Love of God, which enables us to love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.

The three theological virtues are considered supernatural because they come from God and have as their purpose our participation in God's divine life. As the Catechism (1813) teaches, the theological virtues are not separate from the natural virtues; rather, they "are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its special character." The Catholic writer Peter Kreeft points out, "The Christian is prudent, just, courageous, and self-controlled out of faith in God, hope in God, and love of God." The supernatural virtues, like the natural virtues, grow stronger through our effort and practice, in cooperation with God's grace.

Epistle of Barnabas

CHAP. III. — THE FASTS OF THE JEWS ARE NOT TRUE FASTS, NOR ACCEPTABLE TO GOD.

He says then to them again concerning these things,

"Why do ye fast to Me as on this day, saith the Lord, that your voice should be heard with a cry?

I have not chosen this fast, saith the Lord, that a man should humble his soul. Nor, though ye bend your neck like a ring, and put upon you sackcloth and ashes, will ye call it an acceptable fast." To us He saith, "Behold, this is the fast that I have chosen, saith the Lord, not that a man should humble his soul, but that he should loose every band of iniquity, untie the fastenings of harsh agreements, restore to liberty them that are bruised, tear in pieces every unjust engagement, feed the hungry with thy bread, clothe the naked when thou seest him, bring the homeless into thy house, not despise the humble if thou behold him, and not [turn away] from the members of thine own family. Then shall thy dawn break forth, and thy healing shall quickly spring up, and righteousness shall go forth before thee, and the glory of God shall encompass thee; and then thou shalt call, and God shall hear thee; whilst thou art yet speaking, He shall say, Behold, I am with thee; if thou take away from thee the chain [binding others], and the stretching forth of the hands [to sweat falsely], and words of murmuring, and give cheerfully thy bread to the hungry, and show compassion to the soul that has been humbled." To this end, therefore, brethren, He is long-suffering, foreseeing how the people whom He has prepared shall with guilelessness believe in His Beloved. For He revealed all these things to us beforehand, that we should not rush forward as rash acceptors of their laws.

Apostolic Exhortation

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,

Conclusion

104. If God were to offer to do an amazing work to foster faith in the Church and in the world today, what would we ask? We may like to ask for signs and wonders, lightnings and fire, like the pillars of cloud and fire as in the Exodus with Moses. Or we may ask for Eucharistic miracles like bleeding or levitating hosts to deepen our faith in the Eucharist. Perhaps we would simply ask for cultural circumstances to be more favorable to religion.

105. None of this would do any good with respect to faith. Saint John Henry Newman in a sermon entitled “Miracles No Remedy for Unbelief” recalls the Lord’s words that the Israelites “refused to believe in me, despite all the signs I have performed among them” (Numbers 14:11); and that chief priests and pharisees called a council to put Christ to death because he “is performing many signs” (Jn 11:47). Newman’s sobering conclusion is that “nothing is gained by miracles, nothing comes of miracles, as regards our religious views, principles, and habits”. He knows that too often we find our ourselves having gone “year after year with the vain dream of turning to God some future day”.

What should we ask from God, then, to strengthen faith?

106. The answer is not in looking for outward miracles or improved circumstances. No, look elsewhere. Newman points to the way forward by saying, “instead of looking for outward events to change our course of life, be sure of this, that if our course of life is to be changed, if must be from within. God’s grace moves us from within, so does our own will”. His point is that if we do not love God, it is because we have not wanted to love Him, tried to love Him, or prayed to love Him.

To be continued…

Bible in a year Day 344 The Thorn in Paul's Side

Fr. Mike recaps Paul's trial before the chief priests and the plot to kill him in Acts 23. As we conclude 2 Corinthians today, Fr. Mike reflects on the thorn in Paul's side, a weakness that he struggled with and begged God to take away. Fr. Mike invites us to reflect on our own thorn that God doesn't seem to take away, and to remember that God's grace is sufficient for us. Today's readings are Acts 23, 2 Corinthians 12-13, and Proverbs 29:8-11.

Flag Day[4]

National Flag Day is when Americans celebrate the meaning of their nation's flag, honor the traditions associated with its care, and educate those around them to its significance. The Flag of the United States is to be honored and carries with it both history and tradition. On June 14, 1777, the Flag Resolution was signed,

making the current stars and stripes the National Flag of the United States of America. On May 30, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson called for the nation-wide observance of Flag Day. In 1949, President Harry S. Truman signed congress' decree, making June 14th of each year National Flag Day.

Flag Day Facts & Quotes

Worn out flags may be given to the American Legion or Boy/Girl Scouts of America where they will burn the flags in a formal ceremony on June 14th.

The Flag should never touch the ground when being taken down. It should be folded neatly and stored ceremoniously.

You should fly the American Flag only between sunrise and sunset. If left hanging around the clock, it must be illuminated during the dark hours.

The First Flag Act was signed by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777... Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.

Flag Day Top Events and Things to Do

Fly the American Flag.

Recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Visit a National Monument or National celebration.

Attend a Flag retirement ceremony.

Whose Flag are you under?

We are created in the image and likeness of God, and we have a choice: To do good or to do evil. Daily we must decide if we are for ourselves and pursue the things of the world or are we going to follow Christ by picking up our cross daily and freely live under the flag of Christ.

Father John Parks [5] states that the flag we choose to live under determines everything. He asks,

“Whose flag are you under? Do we consciously choose to serve, or do we just let it happen?

We have a choice here and indecision is a decision itself. Whose flag will you follow Christ’s or Satan’s. True freedom comes not from doing what you want but doing the things you were created to do. Father John recommends we follow the flag of Christ (poverty, chastity, obedience) and not that of Satan (greed, lust, pride) by having a battle plan.

1. Be in the state of grace at all times-Go to Mass if you fall get up go to confession.

2. Pray-we know who we are by knowing who’s we are. Remember Saint Joseph is known as the terror of demons.

3. Do your daily duty; there is great heroism in finishing the daily tasks.

4. Be Humble and obey. When you break a commandment, you do not break it as much as it breaks you.

5. Seek a community where there is strength in numbers “Iron sharpens iron”. Remember the Holy Spirit is what sets us free.

Around the Corner

Today in honor of the Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving your day to God. To honor God REST: no shopping after 6 pm Saturday till Monday. Don’t forget the internet.

Army Birthday-250

Bourbon Day

Gin Day

Rose Wine Day

Donald Trump’s Birthday-80

How many Catholics voted for Biden?

None of them

Foodie: I will have the strawberry shortcake

Spirit hour: buy a soldier a drink

Daily Devotions

Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Catholic Politian’s and Leaders

Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

Drops of Christ’s Blood

Universal Man Plan

Rosary

[1]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=419

[2] Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896

* medieval silver coin

[3]http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/education/catholic-contributions/building-catholic-character-5-things-parents-can-do.html

[4] http://www.wincalendar.com/Flag-day

[5]John Parks, Lecture at Catholic Men’s Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, 3/21/2015.

A DOUBLE LIFE (1947)

Ronald Colman • Signe Hasso • Edmond O’Brien
Directed by George Cukor

A fever‑dream noir of identity and obsession,
A Double Life is not merely a backstage thriller.
It is a meditation on the peril of becoming
the very darkness a man pretends to portray —
the collapse of the boundary between role and reality,
and the terror that rises when a man discovers
that the mask he wears has begun to wear him.

It is the tale of an actor swallowed by Othello,
a woman who loves the man behind the madness,
and a world where applause becomes the drumbeat
of a soul losing its center.

And then the reckoning comes —
not through revelation or repentance,
but through the slow, tragic realization
that a man can perform himself
straight into damnation.

1. Production & Historical Setting

A Postwar America Haunted by Its Own Shadows

Released in 1947, the film emerges from a nation wrestling with
the psychological fractures left by World War II.
Noir became the language of dislocation —
the sense that the enemy is no longer across the ocean
but inside the human heart.

Ronald Colman: The Man Who Becomes the Mask

Colman’s Oscar‑winning performance as Anthony John
is a study in controlled unraveling —
a man so gifted at becoming others
that he forgets how to remain himself.

Signe Hasso: The Anchor He Cannot Hold

As Brita, she is the steadying presence —
loyal, perceptive, wounded —
the one person who sees the fracture forming
long before the break.

Edmond O’Brien: The Friend Who Knows the Cost

As Bill Friend, he becomes the witness
to a man’s descent into the role that destroys him.

2. Story Summary

The Role That Devours the Man

Anthony John takes on Othello,
a part he knows is dangerous for him.
The jealousy, the rage, the tragic momentum —
they seep into his bloodstream.

The Stage and the Street Become One

Lines rehearsed under the lights
begin to echo in his private life.
The boundary between performance and reality
thins to a whisper.

A Murder Played Twice

In a delirious fusion of art and madness,
he kills his mistress with the same gesture
Othello uses on Desdemona —
a kiss that becomes a death sentence.

The Curtain Falls

The truth closes in,
not with sirens or chases,
but with the crushing weight
of a man who cannot escape the character
he willingly invited into his soul.

3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances

A. The Danger of Unexamined Roles

A man becomes what he rehearses.
Identity is shaped by repetition —
holy or destructive.

B. Jealousy as a Spiritual Poison

Othello’s flaw becomes Anthony’s downfall.
Jealousy is the sin that whispers,
“You are not enough.”

C. The Soul Cannot Live Divided

A double life always collapses.
The fracture widens
until the man falls through it.

D. Art Without Anchoring Becomes Idolatry

Anthony loses himself
because he has no center stronger
than the role he plays.

E. Love Cannot Save a Man Who Refuses to Return

Brita’s loyalty is real,
but even love cannot rescue
a man who has surrendered his will.

4. Hospitality Pairing — A Noir Nightcap

Drink: A deep, brooding Scotch — something with smoke and regret.
Plate: Dark chocolate and dried cherries — bitter, sweet, theatrical.
Atmosphere: A single lamp, a script on the table,
the faint echo of a stage cue in the back of your mind.
Symbol: A discarded mask — the reminder that a man must choose
which face is truly his.