Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Smoke in this life and not the Next
El Cheapo Sweet Jane Cigarillos & Four Freedoms Bourbon
The cheap cigar bites.
The bourbon warms.
Together they teach the lesson Bellarmine knew well:
the body fears pain far more quickly
than the soul fears sin.
God rarely shows us the pain of loss —
we are too dull to feel it.
But the pain of sense — fire, cold, torment —
that we understand.
So He allows visions, warnings,
and the testimony of the man Bede records:
dead, returned, terrified,
his life of penance proving his words.
Holy fear is mercy.
It wakes the soul before judgment does.
Prompts
- Where has comfort made me careless.
- What pain is God using to rouse me.
- What sin do I fear less than I should.
Introduction to Chronicles 1
Déjà vu[1], that strange feeling we sometimes
get that we've read something before. What we're reading now has already been
read. In 1 Chronicles, the author decides to retell the entire
history of Israel from the first week of creation all
the way to the people's return from exile in Babylon in 538 BCE. After all, those
really long genealogies from Numbers were
so fun, who wouldn't want to hear them again? But seriously, why would anyone
want to retell stories from the Bible? Those tales about the prophet Samuel and King David were pretty darn awesome the
first time around. If the originals are not broken, don't fix it, right? Not
quite. See, the author of Chronicles lived about 500 years after the death of
King David. A whole lot of distressing stuff has happened since then. Israel
had a string of terrible kings, it fractured into two separate countries, and
it was nearly annihilated by the big boys from Assyria and Babylon. It was a
rough half-millennium.
1 Chronicles is written as
the people return to Jerusalem after spending nearly 70 years in exile in
Babylon. They're struggling to put their lives back together. Whether they're
reestablishing the city, rebuilding the Temple, or renewing their relationship
with God, these guys have got a lot on their plates. So, what better time than
now to retell a classic and inspiring story about Jerusalem's Golden Age? Think
about it. Some of our favorite books and movies are just rehashes of older
tales. Easy A is The Scarlet Letter. Ten Things I Hate
About You is The Taming of the Shrew. My Fair Lady is Pygmalion. Heck, even Twilight is loosely (very loosely)
based on Pride and Prejudice. By telling a story again in a new
and different way, you're saying that it's valuable, important, and still has
something to teach. Trust us, being timelessly wise is no easy feat. So take a
trip down memory lane as we examine the phenomena of déjà vu, that strange feeling we sometimes
get that we've read something before. What we're reading now has already been
read.
Why Should I Care?
We all need a hero.
It's totally true. People do need heroes. We need them to give us hope, show us the way, and to fight for everything that's good in this crazy world. And no one needed a hero more than the Chronicler and his friends in Jerusalem. They had really been through some stuff. Death. Destruction. War. Exile. But now they've come back to the city they once lost and they're looking to rebuild. Late at night they toss and they turn and they dream of what they need. They need a hero. That's why the Chronicler decides to write about King David. In his eyes, this ancient king is the ultimate hero. Not only is he unbelievably handsome, he's also incredibly loyal, faithful, humble, and strong. The guy is a kick-butt warrior. A just and fair king. A devoted servant of God. He's the total package. Seriously, the Chronicler loves David so much we're guessing he drew little hearts around his name every time he wrote it. Of course, this isn't the first time King David's heroic story has been told. But their portrayal of him is a little more, um, complicated. Do you remember the time David's own son tried to usurp his throne? Or that other time when he slept with a married woman, got her pregnant, and then had her husband killed so he could marry her? Well, none of that is in 1 Chronicles. It's not that the author is trying to hide all this stuff from us (he knows his readers already have all the dirt on David and Bathsheba). But he also knows his people need a story that will uplift them and give them hope for the hard work that's ahead. No one wants to read about an angry, brooding Superman who's struggling to find his place in this world. They need a handsome, confident Christopher Reeve-style Superman who fights for truth, justice, and the Yahweh way.
We all long for strong
leaders who'll protect us from our enemies, unify the country and really care
about us. Every four years, a few people try to convince us that they're
exactly what we're looking for and that God's on their side. We can read about
King David and think, "if only…" OTOH, we realize that, as much as
we'd like to worship our leaders, there's no perfect leader, that running a
country is way more complicated than invading foreign countries, citing
Scripture, and handing out free food. We can relate to the author of Chronicles
because we're willing to overlook a lot of moral failings and personal
shenanigans in a charismatic political leader who makes us feel good about our
country. Could the David of 1 Chronicles get elected today? We report. You
decide.
[1]http://www.shmoop.com/1-chronicles/
JUNE 9 Tuesday within the Octave of
Corpus Christi
CharlesDickens RIP 1870
1 Chronicles, Chapter 13, Verse 12
David
was AFRAID of God that day, and he
said, “How can I bring in the ark of God to me?”
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, to deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine.
David
was afraid because he had just witnessed Uzzah being struck dead because he
touched the Ark, the supreme object of Israelite liturgical worship as
prohibited in the Torah. (2 Sam. 6:7)
Stand in
Awe[1]
It is
obviously no surprise that liberal Catholics have traditionally placed a low
value on the quality of liturgical celebrations; I say not on liturgy itself,
because progressive Catholics think liturgy is extremely important - that is,
so long as it is an anthropocentric, horizontal affair. It is not liturgy per
se they disparage, but liturgy done well - that is, liturgy that is
transcendent and centered on the dignified worship of God. "Why be so
finicky about the liturgy?" they say. "There are more important
issues to get upset about! Issues like poverty, war, abortion and social
justice! Why get all worked up about liturgical reform? It is just a matter of
aesthetics anyhow!" Unfortunately, it is also common for more conservative
Catholics to hold a dismissive attitude towards the liturgy as well, adopting a
minimalist approach that the externals of liturgical action are
"mere" externals, that they can be discarded or changed without
consequence, that all that matters is having a valid Eucharist, etc. Similarly,
the charismatic movement tends to foster an attitude of undue familiarity and
casualness in the presence of the Lord. All of these are deficient approaches
to the Sacred Liturgy which do not fully respect the importance of this holy
action. Care of the poor is certainly important. Economic and social justice
are important. But while the aforementioned topics are certainly worthy of
attention, liturgy takes a special place because in the Divine Liturgy we
worship God Himself. Remember when Judas was indignant with Mary of Bethany for
anointing the feet of Jesus? "Why was this ointment not sold for three
hundred denarii and given to the poor?" Jesus said, "Let her
alone...the poor you have with you always, but you do not always have me"
(John 12:5,7). When we adore and worship Jesus, we are performing a supremely
important action; in fact, it is the action we were created to do. How
important is liturgy in the larger scheme of things? One way of telling how
important something is to God is seeing how many people He has struck dead over
it. We don't mean to be facetious; consider the following facts: God
did not strike Adam dead when he committed the first sin, nor did He smite Cain
for murder. He did not smite Noah for drunkenness, nor did He kill Joseph's
brothers for selling him into slavery. Aaron was not even smitten for making
the golden calf and David was not struck down for his adulterous and murderous
affair with Bathsheba. Even wicked Manasseh of Judah was not killed by God when
he sacrificed babies to Moloch in the Valley of Hinnom. Yet, Scripture is
replete with examples of persons who were struck dead in wrath for violating
the dignity surrounding the Hebrew liturgy and the ceremonial worship of God.
The
Bible furnishes us with the following examples of people who were smitten
by God in divine anger:
Nadab and Abihu,
the sons of Aaron, are consumed by divine flame for offering unholy fire before
the Lord, fire "such as the Lord had not commanded them" (Lev.
10:1-3).
A man is put to
death under God's Law for not honoring the day of rest by picking up sticks
(Num. 15:32-36). The day of rest was supposed to be the day on which God was
worshipped.
Korah, Dathan
Abiram and their party are consumed by fire and swallowed up into the earth
because they sought to usurp the priestly role of Aaron. Their heresy was that
they asserted that "all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and
the Lord is among them" (Num. 16:1-40).
Hophni and
Phineas, the two wicked sons of Eli the High Priest are marked out for death by
God because they partook of consecrated meat from the offerings made to the
Lord at the Tent of Meeting (1 Sam. 2:12-4:11).
King Saul offers
a sacrifice because the priest Samuel is late in arriving for the ceremony. As
a result, God rejects him from being King, he becomes tormented by evil spirits
and is slain on Mount Gilboa (1 Sam. 13:8-14).
Seventy men of
Beth-Shemesh were struck dead by God for looking into the Ark (1 Sam. 6:12). As
lay people and non-Levites, the touching of the sacred object of the Hebrew
liturgy and sign of God's presence was a profanation.
King Uzziah of
Judah is smitten with leprosy "to the day of his death" for trying to
offer incense in the Holy Temple in violation of the law permitting only
priests and levites from doing so (2 Chr. 26:16-21).
King Belshazzar
of Babylon arouses the wrath of God by using Israelite liturgical vessels for
profane uses (Dan. 5). He is slain and his kingdom is lost.
St. Paul warns
the Corinthians that improper reception of the Holy Eucharist is a profanation
of Christ's Body and can lead to death (I Cor. 11:27-33).
Judging by all of these examples, it would seem that God's wrath was more provoked by Korah and Dathan usurping the priestly role of Moses than by Manasseh slaughtering infants. We know from Scripture that Manasseh was taken into captivity, had time to repent, and indeed did repent of his wickedness. But we know that Uzzah, Dathan, Korah, Nadab and all the rest on this list were slain immediately without time for afterthought or repentance. All of the people on this list died because they violated Old Testament prescriptions regarding the proper worship of God in one way or another. In all of our good deeds, we serve God in our brothers and sisters, but in the liturgy, we come into contact with God Himself, which gives opportunity for greater blessing, but also increases the condemnation of those who participate in it unworthily or profane it.
Therefore,
let anybody who is tempted to think that the proper worship of God is not
important (supremely important!), that it does not matter whether we use
Gregorian Chant or guitars and bongos in Mass, that accurate liturgical
translations are not vital, that God is not outraged by Clown Masses, Guitar
Masses and all the rest of the abominations we hear about, that there is no
difference between the Traditional Latin Mass and the nonsense at your typical
liberal parish, let them remember St. Paul's admonition in the epistle to the
Hebrews: "A man who has violated the Law of Moses dies without mercy
at the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you
think will be deserved by the man who has spurned the Son of God and profaned
the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and outraged the Spirit of
Grace. For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay."
And again, "The Lord will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to
fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:28-31).
Copilot’s
Take
David’s
fear before the Ark is not cowardice but clarity. He has just watched Uzzah
fall dead for touching the sacred, and suddenly the king remembers what modern
man forgets: God is not manageable. God is not casual. God is not “one option
among many.” The Ark is not a symbol; it is the locus of the Holy. Scripture
says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom because it restores the
right order of things — God as God, man as creature. The Catechism teaches that
holy fear is a gift of the Spirit (CCC 1831), the antidote to the arrogance
that treats worship as a human performance rather than a divine encounter.
This
is why the biblical record is so stark. God does not strike Adam dead for the
first sin, nor Cain for murder, nor Manasseh for child sacrifice. But He does
strike Nadab and Abihu for offering strange fire, Korah for usurping the
priesthood, Uzzah for touching the Ark, and seventy men of Beth‑Shemesh for
looking inside it. The pattern is unmistakable: when the sacred is violated,
judgment is immediate. The Catechism explains why — in the liturgy, we come
into contact with God Himself (CCC 1070). The stakes are higher because the
Presence is real. The closer the fire, the greater the danger for the
irreverent.
This is precisely what our age has lost. Many treat the liturgy as a stage, a community gathering, a therapeutic circle, or a casual family meal. Others reduce it to bare validity, as if the externals — vesture, chant, reverence, posture, silence — were optional decorations rather than the language of worship. Still others approach the Eucharist with a familiarity that borders on presumption. But Scripture and the CCC warn that the sacred is not safe. St. Paul says that unworthy reception of the Eucharist brings sickness and death (1 Cor 11:27–30). Hebrews says it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb 10:31). The Church does not invent this seriousness; she inherits it.
And
this is where confronting evil today begins. Evil thrives where worship
collapses. When the liturgy becomes horizontal, man‑centered, or casual, the
spiritual immune system of the Church weakens. The CCC teaches that the liturgy
is the “summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed” and the
“font from which all her power flows” (CCC 1074). If the summit is flattened
and the font polluted, the whole body suffers. The modern world’s confusion,
fragmentation, and moral collapse are not unrelated to the collapse of
reverence. When God is treated lightly, everything else becomes negotiable.
Yet
the Octave of Corpus Christi stands as a corrective. The Eucharist is the Ark
restored, the Presence returned, the fire of Sinai placed on the altar. David
asked, “How can I bring the Ark of God to me?” The answer is given in every
Mass: God brings Himself to us. Not in terror, but in humility. Not in wrath,
but in mercy. But the humility of God does not cancel His holiness. It
intensifies our responsibility. The more God gives, the more we must receive
with fear, awe, and love.
So
the question becomes personal: Do we approach the liturgy as David did — with
trembling reverence — or as Uzzah did, with casual familiarity? Do we treat the
Eucharist as the burning center of the universe, or as a routine? In an age
that trivializes the sacred, the path to confronting evil begins at the altar.
Reverence is resistance. Worship is warfare. And holy fear is the beginning of
victory.
Apostolic Exhortation[2]
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 III
Loving and Adoring the Eucharistic Lord
IV.
Invite a friend to join you in adoration.
89.
The Apostle Andrew gives a direct, personal invitation to his brother Peter to
accompany him to see the Lord. He declares to his younger brother that “we have
found the Messiah” and then walks with him into the presence of Jesus (Jn
1:42). Are there not a host of persons who are one confident, loving invitation
away from engaging (or re-engaging) the Lord through His Eucharistic body? What
a blessing for so many of our closest loved ones and friends if we were to have
Andrew’s courage to say, “I’ve found a treasure in the Eucharistic presence of
Christ. Would you like to join me there?”.
90. Faith-filled intercession for others plays a key role, especially when neither testimony nor invitation is sufficient to draw a person into Christ’s presence.
A man was so incapacitated that he could not even walk to where Christ was. So, his friends picked him up and they “were trying to bring him in and set him in His [Jesus’] presence”. Unable to carry him into the crowded house, they lowered him on a stretcher through an opening in the roof. Jesus saw their faith, forgave and healed the man, who “went home glorifying God” (Lk 5:17-26). We should never despair when someone we love is unable or unwilling to accompany us to the Eucharist. With deep faith, we can still lower them on the stretcher of our intercessory prayer into the Lord’s presence.
91.
These three events remind us that Christ’s presence in the Eucharist is meant
to be shared. They also remind us that there is no single method of drawing
others into the Lord’s presence. Sometimes honest testimony is enough for those
to seek Him out on their own, as with the people of Samaria. For others like
Peter, it requires a direct, friendly invitation to come with us into Christ’s
presence. For still others who may be spiritually “paralyzed” and for whom
direct access to Eucharistic adoration is not yet a possibility, we can carry
them on the stretcher of our intercessory prayers, lowered before Christ in His
presence despite their immobilized condition.
Bible in a year Day 339 Priscilla
and Aquila
Fr. Mike reminds us that God uses crooked
lines to make a straight story, like Paul’s witness to Priscilla and Aquila as
they encounter the person of Christ and become missionaries. Just like Apollos
accepted correction, Fr. Mike invites us to courageously open ourselves up to
learning and growing. Today’s readings are Acts 18, 1 Corinthians 16, and
Proverbs 28:19-21.
June 9 — Litany of Trust
“From the fear that everything
depends on me, deliver me, Jesus.”
There
is a particular burden that settles on a man’s shoulders as he ages—the belief
that he must hold the world together by sheer force of will. It whispers that
if he loosens his grip, everything will fall apart. It tells him that
responsibility means self‑reliance, that strength means isolation, that
leadership means carrying every weight alone. This lie is persuasive because it
disguises itself as duty. It convinces a man that vigilance is virtue, that
exhaustion is faithfulness, that anxiety is simply the cost of being
dependable.
But
Scripture reveals a different pattern. Every man who walked with God—David,
Joshua, Nehemiah, Paul—was strengthened not by self‑dependence but by
surrender. Their greatness did not come from bearing every burden, but from
letting God bear them. The Lord never asked them to be the foundation; He asked
them to stand on the foundation He Himself provides. Christ does not command a
man to carry the world. He commands him to carry a cross—and even that He
carries first.
In my own life, Lord, I confess how often I act as though everything rests on my shoulders. I worry about outcomes I cannot control. I strain under responsibilities You never asked me to carry alone. I fear that if I stop striving, everything will collapse.
I imagine that trust is reckless, that surrender is irresponsible, that letting go is dangerous. But this is not Your way. You are not a distant overseer. You are the One who upholds all things by Your word. Deliver me from the fear that my strength is the hinge on which my life turns.
Jesus,
teach me the humility of dependence. Teach me to rest in Your sovereignty.
Teach me to release the illusion of control. Teach me to believe that You are
more committed to my good than I am. Teach me to see that true strength is not
white‑knuckled striving, but confident surrender to a faithful God.
From
the fear that everything depends on me, deliver me, Jesus.
From the lie that I must hold together what only You can sustain, deliver me,
Jesus.
From the belief that responsibility means isolation, deliver me, Jesus.
From the anxiety that rises when I try to control what is Yours, deliver me,
Jesus.
From the instinct to carry alone what You have already offered to lift, deliver
me, Jesus.
Jesus,
I trust that You uphold what I cannot.
Jesus, I trust that Your strength is greater than my striving.
Jesus, I trust that surrender is not failure but freedom.
Jesus, I trust that You are the true foundation beneath my life.
Jesus, I trust that I am never meant to carry anything without You.
Around the Corner
Pray Day 2 of
the Novena for our Pope and Bishops
Bucket List trip[3]: USA 70-degree year trip: Cape
Cod
Spirit Hour: Cape Cod Cocktail
Foodie-Clam
bake
Daily
Devotions
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Purity
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
Rosary
[3] Schultz, Patricia. 1,000 Places to See Before You
Die: A Traveler's Life List Workman Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
I MARRIED A WITCH (1942)
Veronica Lake • Fredric March
Directed by René Clair
A supernatural comedy wrapped in moonlit mischief,
I Married a Witch is not merely a romance with spells.
It is a parable about desire without virtue,
power without wisdom,
and the strange mercy that comes
when a heart meant for trouble
discovers the possibility of love.
It is the tale of a centuries‑old witch
who returns to torment the descendant of the man
who once condemned her,
only to find herself undone
not by vengeance
but by affection she never intended to feel.
And then the reckoning comes —
not through sorcery,
but through the quiet transformation
of a woman who learns to love
and a man who learns to trust
what he cannot control.
1. Production & Historical Setting
A Wartime Audience Needing Enchantment
Released in 1942, with the world deep in conflict,
the film offered a brief escape —
a reminder that even in dark seasons
lightness, romance, and whimsy
could still break through the gloom.
Veronica Lake: The Spell That Reveals the Heart
Lake’s Jennifer is playful, dangerous, irresistible.
Her magic is not the point —
her awakening is.
She begins as a spirit of vengeance,
but discovers that love
is the one force she cannot command.
Her innocence grows
where her malice once lived.
Fredric March: The Man Who Cannot Outrun His Legacy
March’s Wallace Wooley is earnest,
burdened by a family curse he never chose.
He is a man shaped by duty,
public expectation,
and a political career built on restraint.
Jennifer’s arrival exposes the truth:
his life has been orderly,
but never truly alive.
2. Story Summary
A Curse, a Spark, and a Woman Out of Smoke
Jennifer and her sorcerous father
are released from centuries of imprisonment
and immediately seek revenge
on the Wooley bloodline.
But when Jennifer’s spell misfires,
she drinks her own love potion
and falls helplessly for Wallace.
A Man Torn Between Reputation and Desire
Wallace, engaged to a woman of status,
finds his world overturned
by a witch who loves recklessly
and lives without fear.
His carefully constructed life
begins to crumble
under the weight of unexpected affection.
Love Stronger Than Sorcery
Jennifer’s father schemes,
political rivals plot,
and chaos swirls —
yet the witch’s heart softens.
Her power cannot save her,
but her vulnerability can.
In the end,
love breaks the curse
that vengeance began.
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. Vengeance Cannot Produce Freedom
Jennifer’s initial mission
is to repay evil with evil.
But revenge only deepens the chains
she thought she had escaped.
B. Love Reforms What Power Cannot
Her magic bends the world,
but it cannot bend her own heart.
Only love reshapes her nature.
C. Legacy Is Not Destiny
Wallace inherits a curse,
but not a fate.
He discovers that a man
is more than the failures
of those who came before him.
D. Grace Interrupts Our Plans
Jennifer’s misfired spell
becomes the doorway
to her redemption.
Providence often works
through our unintended steps.
E. Joy as a Form of Healing
The film’s laughter
is not trivial.
It is the medicine
that softens pride,
breaks curses,
and restores the human heart.
4. Hospitality Pairing — A Witchlight Table
Drink: A chilled apple‑brandy cocktail — sweet, autumnal, with a hint of mischief.
Plate: Buttered popcorn with rosemary and sea salt — simple, aromatic, enchanted.
Atmosphere: Candle‑glow, a cool breeze through an open window,
the sense that something otherworldly
might slip into the room at any moment.
Symbol: A single matchstick —
the spark that begins the story,
the flame that transforms vengeance into love.
5. Reflection Prompts
- Where am I clinging to old grievances that no longer serve my soul.
- What part of my life has been built on duty rather than desire.
- Where has love softened me in ways I did not expect.
- What “curse” or legacy do I assume is unchangeable — and is it.
- Where is God turning my missteps into unexpected grace.
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