Thursday, June 25, 2026
Richard and Suzanne's Famous Spaghetti Sauce
June 25 — Day 2 of the Nine Days
The Desert as Purification
“The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation.”
John is not formed in comfort. He is formed in the silence, the heat, the stripping‑down of the desert. The desert is where God removes the noise, the illusions, the self‑importance — until only mission remains.
If Day 1 is the Voice,
Day 2 is the Furnace.
A nation approaching its 250th year needs this same purification: fewer slogans, more truth; fewer distractions, more repentance.
Prayer:
Holy Face of Jesus, burn away what is false in me and in my country. Make us strong in spirit, ready for Your manifestation.
SMOKE IN THIS LIFE, NOT THE NEXT
Virtue — Sobriety of Soul
Cigar — A thin, no‑name stick that burns fast and honest
Pour — Half a glass of rough red, the kind that tastes like iron and earth
Reflection
Bellarmine never wasted words. He knew the disease of the age — men who laugh at judgment, who shrug at eternity, who sneer, “Who has returned from the other world?” His answer was simple: witnesses have returned, and their testimony burns.
Christina the Astonishing is one of them. A woman who walked through fire and screamed like a soul being purified — not for spectacle, but because she had seen what waits for the careless. She is the kind of saint modern men pretend not to believe in because she makes comfort impossible.
Tonight’s cheap wine and cheap cigar fit the theme. Nothing fancy. Nothing numbing. Just enough to keep you awake to the truth: the fires of Purgatory are not metaphor. They are mercy at full heat. They are the last place a man learns what his sins really cost.
Bellarmine’s line hits hardest on a night like this:
The incredulous are inexcusable — but the believers who refuse penance are worse.
Christina stands beside that sentence like a torch.
Purgatory Line The fire you ignore now is the fire that will not ignore you later.
Reflection Question Where in my life am I still gambling that God’s mercy will cost me nothing?
JUNE 25 Thursday Fourth
Week of Pentecost
St. William of Monte Virgine, Abbot
2 Chronicles, Chapter 20, Verse 17
You
will not have to fight in this encounter. Take your places, stand firm, and see
the salvation of the LORD; he will be with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not FEAR or be dismayed. Tomorrow go out to
meet them, and the LORD will be with you.”
This encounter was a battle for the
hearts of men who were firm in the faith and hope of salvation. God was with
Israel. Those who do not fear the battle know that He is greater, and he
empowers his beloved. Let your heart ascend to Him!
Copilot’s Take
June 25 lands deep within a month the
world dedicates to celebrating what the Church cannot bless. The culture calls
it “Pride Month,” but the Christian must see the deeper reality: a public
exaltation of identities and behaviors the Church teaches are contrary to God’s
plan for the human person. This is not about condemning individuals — every
person is loved by God — but about recognizing that not every movement,
ideology, or celebration is holy.
The reading from 2 Chronicles speaks
directly into this moment. Israel faced armies; we face a cultural tide that
asks us to affirm what God has not affirmed. The Lord’s command is the same: “You
will not have to fight in this encounter. Take your places, stand firm, and see
the salvation of the Lord.” The Christian does not panic. He does not lash
out. He stands. He holds the line interiorly. He refuses to let the world
catechize his conscience.
The Catechism is clear: every person must be treated with dignity and compassion (CCC 2358). But it is equally clear that sexual acts outside God’s design are not morally acceptable (CCC 2357). The Church cannot celebrate a month built around the public approval of what she teaches is disordered. The evil here is not the people who participate — the evil is the ideology that asks the Christian to call good what God has called sin.
This is why the Chaste Heart of St.
Joseph is so powerful in June. Joseph is the antidote to the age: silent where
the world shouts, obedient where the world rebels, pure where the world
indulges. His heart is a fortress of humility in a month dedicated to pride.
His chastity is a rebuke not to persons, but to the confusion that surrounds
the human body, identity, and desire. Joseph stands as a father who protects
the order of creation.
St. William of Monte Virgine adds another
layer. His monastic life was a living contradiction to the world’s passions. He
built a mountain of purity in an age of corruption. He reminds us that holiness
is not passive withdrawal but active resistance — a refusal to let the world
define what love, freedom, or identity mean. His witness pairs perfectly with
Joseph’s: purity is strength, not fragility.
And so June 25 becomes a day of clarity.
A day to remember that the Christian’s battle is not against people but against
the spiritual currents that distort the image of God. A day to remember that
humility, chastity, and obedience are not outdated virtues but weapons forged
by Heaven. A day to remember that the Lord Himself fights for those who stand
firm.
Let your heart ascend to Him. Stand firm.
And let the Chaste Heart of St. Joseph guard your clarity, your purity, and
your courage in a month when the world preaches a different gospel.
St. William of Monte Virgine, Abbot[1]
William was born in Vercelli, Italy, in
1085. His parents died when abecame a hermit. He worked a miracle, curing a
blind man, and found himself famous. William was too humble to be happy with
the people’s admiration. He really wanted to remain a hermit so that he could
concentrate on God. He went away to live alone on a high, wild mountain. No one
would bother him now. But even there he was not to remain alone. Men gathered
around the saint, and they built a monastery dedicated to the Blessed Virgin.
Because of William’s monastery, people gave the mountain a new name. They
called it the Mountain of the Virgin.
Things
to Do:
William's pilgrimage to the tomb of St. James
the Apostle in Spain was the turning point of his
life.
Is it not easily possible for you to make
a pilgrimage to some holy place in your neighborhood now during the summertime?
First of all, however, are you familiar with the relics in your own parish
church?
Remember that any visit to a church is a
pilgrimage to the grave of a saint!
Read more about the life of St. William here
and the monastery he founded, Monte Vergine.
Bible in a year Day 355 The Things of This World
Fr. Mike reminds us that, unlike Adam and Eve who gave
into "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life," we are called to surrender our hearts and minds to the Lord and
reject the things of this world. Today's readings are 1 John 1-3; 2
Thessalonians 1-3; Proverbs 30:20-23.
Around the Corner
I will not delude you
with prospects of peace and consolations; on the contrary, prepare for great
battles. Be vigilant.
Fairness
is giving animals their due too this is “Responsible
Animal Guardian Month”.
Bucket List Trip: National
Oceans Month: “The World” next port of call: Valletta, Malta
Spirit Hour: Wine from the Benedictine
descendants of St. William
Foodie-Anthony Bourdain’s
Favorite Sandwich
Recipe
do
a personal eucharistic stations of the cross.
Today is National
Seafarer Day
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[2] 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.
Grilled Chicken
Skewers With Toum (Shish Taouk)
Cabbage
Tabbouleh
Lebanese
Baklava
Best Places to Visit in June
Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
Visiting Newcomers
that came over by paying the Drug Cartels and possibly the Joe Biden Crime
Syndicate are not welcomed
Martha’s Vineyard is one of the best places to visit in
the USA in June with so many wonderful things to do and gorgeous sites to see.
It is one of the best day trips from Boston, and June is an excellent time to
visit before the summer tourists arrive in July and August.
While you are in Martha’s Vineyard, take a ride on
their oldest operating platform carousel called Flying Horses Carousel. It is a
historic landmark and a fun attraction for all ages.
Martha’s Vineyard is also home to lighthouses, museums,
and summer festivals. You can visit one of the five remaining lighthouses on
Martha’s Vineyard, such as Edgartown Lighthouse, or check out the island’s
first festival of the season called Vineyard Artisan Festival.
Make sure to visit either Detente or Martha’s Vineyard
Chowder Company for the island’s best chowder. If you visit during the first
week of June, you will be lucky enough to enjoy restaurant week at many of the
island’s top eateries and restaurants.
The ocean waves lapping up against the bluffs in
Marth's Vineyard
Where to
Stay: Harbor View Hotel
Nearest Major
Airport: Martha’s Vineyard Airport (MVY)
Average
Temperature: 73°F // 57°F
Contributed by Lenore from The Nitty Gritty Travel OT
Daily
Devotions
Unite
in the work of the Porters of St.
Joseph by joining them in fasting: The
sanctification of the Church Militant.
Litany
of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
Rosary
[2] Venerable Mary of Agreda. The Mystical City of God:
Complete Edition Containing all Four Volumes with Illustrations (p. 770).
Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition
THE MILLION POUND NOTE (1954)
Gregory Peck • Jane Griffiths • Ronald Squire
Directed by Ronald Neame
A British comedy dressed in charm and mischief,
The Million Pound Note is not merely a light amusement.
It is a study in how appearance becomes power,
how society bows before symbols it does not question,
and how a man’s character is revealed
when the world mistakes him for something greater than he is.
Peck steps away from his heroic gravitas
and wears instead the easy grace of an honest man
swept into a game he never asked to play.
His dignity becomes the counterweight
to a culture intoxicated by wealth’s illusion.
Beneath the humor lies a question every man must face:
What happens when the world honors you
for reasons that have nothing to do with virtue.
1. Production & Historical Setting
Post‑War Britain and the Comedy of Appearances
Released in 1954, the film arrives in a Britain rebuilding its confidence.
The economy is shifting, class lines are softening,
and the nation is learning to laugh again.
Twain’s premise — that wealth’s appearance can move mountains —
fits perfectly into a society negotiating old hierarchies
with new realities.
Gregory Peck: The American Stranger
Peck plays Henry Adams with quiet integrity.
He is the outsider whose honesty exposes the absurdity
of a culture that worships the symbol of money
more than the substance of character.
Jane Griffiths: The Grounding Presence
Her warmth and sincerity cut through the frenzy around Henry.
She sees the man, not the myth —
and her clarity becomes the film’s moral compass.
Ronald Squire & the Supporting Cast
The British ensemble embodies vanity, curiosity, and opportunism
with gentle satire —
a reminder that society often mistakes confidence for worth
and wealth for wisdom.
2. Story Summary
The Wager
Two wealthy brothers test a theory:
give a penniless man a million‑pound note
and watch the world treat him like royalty.
Henry Adams becomes their experiment.
The Ascent
Without spending a single shilling,
Henry is ushered into elite circles,
fed, clothed, celebrated, and exploited —
all because people fear offending a man
who might be powerful.
The Unmasking
As the illusion grows,
Henry must decide whether to ride the wave
or reclaim his integrity.
The comedy resolves not in humiliation
but in revelation —
that truth, once spoken, has more weight
than any banknote.
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. The Seduction of Appearances
People bow to symbols
long before they bow to truth.
B. Wealth Without Substance Is a Mirage
Possession is not the same as power.
Prestige built on illusion collapses under scrutiny.
C. Character Reveals Itself Under Favor
It is easy to be humble when ignored.
Harder when praised for the wrong reasons.
D. Society’s Blindness to True Worth
The film exposes how quickly people forget virtue
when dazzled by the possibility of advantage.
E. Freedom Through Honesty
Henry’s liberation comes not from the note
but from refusing to let it define him.
4. Hospitality Pairing — A Night of British Lightness
Drink: A pint of English bitter — modest, earthy, unpretentious.
Plate: A simple ploughman’s board — bread, cheese, and apple.
Atmosphere: A wooden table, a quiet lamp, a breeze through an open window.
Symbol: A crisp banknote on the table — untouched, unspent, unneeded.
5. Reflection Prompts
Where am I tempted to live off appearances.
Where do I rely on reputation instead of reality.
What illusions do others believe about me — and do I let them.
Where must I choose truth over advantage.
What part of my character needs to stand without borrowed glory.
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