Smoke in This Life Not the Next
Mon, Aug 31 — Fifteenth Monday after Pentecost Restitution & Terror
Tonight’s Maduro burns with a heavy, unyielding steadiness — the kind of smoke that refuses to flatter. It is the opposite of comfort: a reminder that purification often begins with clarity sharp enough to wound. Laphroaig 10 stands beside it with its medicinal peat, the taste of a wound being cleaned rather than ignored. Together they form a vigil, a summons to truth.
The vision of Blasio in Hell is not spectacle but revelation. He sees the torments of pride, avarice, impurity — not abstractions, but consequences. Among the damned he recognizes faces from life, men whose choices have ripened into judgment. Then he witnesses the arrival of two newly dead: Buccerelli and Frascha. Frascha’s damnation is exact. He kept ill‑gotten goods, clinging to what was not his, choosing possession over justice. The goods he hoarded have become the chains that bind him.
The revelation strikes Frascha’s son like lightning. He knows the truth of it. He knows the weight of what his father refused to surrender. And so he acts with decisive courage: full restitution, then the surrender of the rest to the poor, and finally the embrace of monastic life. Terror becomes conversion. Judgment becomes mercy. Restitution becomes freedom.
Tonight’s meditation is simple and severe: What I refuse to release will one day define me. What I cling to unjustly will cling to me eternally. What I restore becomes the doorway through which grace enters.
This smoke rises as a vow to surrender what binds and walk toward the God who purifies through truth.
AUGUST
31 Monday Fourteenth Week Pentecost
Love Litigating Lawyers Day
1 Maccabees, Chapter 10, Verse 8
They were struck with
FEAR when they heard that the king
had given him authority to gather an army.
The,
they, in this verse were the
Hellenized Jews who were losing their power, which came from supporting Greece
(King Demetrius). At once they were afraid for their lives, realizing that
their power over Jonathan was gone; they decided to leave Jerusalem. Along
comes Alexander Balas, who claims to be the son of Antiochus and the rightful
king; he has the backing of Rome. Jonathan plays these two opponents against
each other to make Jerusalem great again. Jonathan then accepts from Alexander
permission to become high priest, which he accepts. There is just one problem:
he is not a Levite; only Levites can be priests. Here is high-stakes
politicking.
Copilot’s Take
The Hellenized factions in
Jerusalem—the courtiers who flattered Demetrius, the apostate party that clung
to Greek patronage, the men of the citadel who preserved their influence
through sycophancy—embodied the ancient evil of those who secure their position
not through truth but through flattery. Their hopes were anchored in powers
that could not sustain, in alliances that offered borrowed legitimacy rather
than the steadying fidelity of the God who had once made Israel free. Authority
built on such foundations grows hollow; conscience bends; courage evaporates.
And when Jonathan rose—one who remembered the covenant and carried a clarity
those factions had long abandoned—the fragility of their compromised order was
revealed. Power built on flattery trembles before fidelity; influence built on
sycophancy fears the arrival of conviction. needs (CCC 1807; CCC 2478)
This ancient drama mirrors
the spiritual condition of any society that drifts from its founding
principles. When natural law is neglected (CCC 1954–1956), when virtue becomes
negotiable (CCC 1803–1804), when religion is treated as a private ornament rather
than a public foundation (CCC 2244–2246), the entire civic structure begins to
wobble. The Founders warned that freedom requires moral strength, and the
Catechism teaches that authority must be ordered toward the common good (CCC
1902–1903). When these pillars weaken, citizens and leaders alike begin to seek
validation from cultural winds, ideological patrons, or distant centers of
influence. Borrowed authority becomes the norm, and fear becomes the quiet
confession of a conscience that has forgotten God (CCC 2097).
In such a moment, the arrival
of someone who remembers—remembers God, remembers truth, remembers the nation’s
moral architecture—becomes unsettling to those accustomed to compromise. Not
because the remembering one is flawless, but because conviction exposes the
instability of any order that relies on external approval. The Maccabean
pattern is perennial: clarity disrupts confusion (CCC 2467), courage unsettles
timidity (CCC 1808), fidelity reveals the hollowness of borrowed power (CCC
1814). In every age, fragile authority fears the presence of anyone who stands
on something firmer than influence, firmer than favor, firmer than the shifting
winds of political convenience.
And this is precisely why Our
National Principles must be remembered with reverence. The Declaration of
Independence in July and the Constitution in September form a single moral arc:
liberty rooted in self‑evident truth, and freedom secured by structural
restraint. These documents do not survive on sentiment; they survive on virtue.
As The Five-Thousand-Year Leap demonstrates, the Founders built the
Republic on natural law, unalienable rights, separation of powers, the
sovereignty of the people, and the conviction that only a moral and religious
citizenry can sustain a free nation. Their warnings echo the Catechism:
authority is just only when ordered toward the good (CCC 1903), freedom is
authentic only when directed toward truth (CCC 1731–1733), and society
flourishes only when justice and charity animate its institutions (CCC 1807;
CCC 1822–1825). To reflect on these principles is to rebuild the interior
temple of the nation. For a people who remember God and the truths that shaped
their founding, even the contentious vocations—principals, lawyers, leaders,
citizens—become instruments of renewal, and the civic order begins to heal from
the inside out. needs (CCC 1931; CCC 2015)
Love Litigating Lawyers
Day
No matter how unpopular we generally consider them to be…or how
unprincipled we believe them to be we are to love them for the sake of Christ. #LoveLitigatingLawyersDay
Our National Principles[1]
Declaration of Independence is in July, and the Constitution is in
September; let us once again reflect on the marvelous principles underlying
these two documents. The following is a review of these principles together
with a comment or a quote by the Founders. Documentation may be found in The Five
Thousand Year Leap.
Principle 1–
The only reliable basis for sound government
and just human relations is Natural Law.
Natural law is God’s law. There are certain laws which govern the entire
universe, and just as Thomas Jefferson said in the Declaration of Independence,
there are laws which govern in the affairs of men which are “the laws of nature
and of nature’s God.”
Principle 2–
“Only a virtuous people are capable of
freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of
masters.” – Benjamin Franklin
Principle 3–
The most promising method of securing a
virtuous people is to elect virtuous leaders.
“Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the
liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt. He
therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to
promote its virtue, and who … will not suffer a man to be chosen into any
office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man.” – Samuel Adams
Principle 4–
Without religion the government of a free
people cannot be maintained.
“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity,
religion and morality are indispensable supports…. And let us with caution
indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.” –
George Washington
Principle 5–
All things were created by God, therefore upon him all mankind are equally
dependent, and to him they are equally responsible.
The American Founding Fathers considered the existence of the Creator as
the most fundamental premise underlying all self-evident truth. They felt a
person who boasted he or she was an atheist had just simply failed to apply his
or her divine capacity for reason and observation.
Principle 6–
All mankind were created equal.
The Founders knew that in these three ways, all mankind are theoretically
treated as:
Equal before God.
Equal before the law.
Equal in their rights.
The Freedom to try.
The Freedom to buy.
The Freedom to sell.
The Freedom to fail.
Principle 7–
The proper role of government is to protect
equal rights, not provide equal things.
The Founders recognized that the people cannot delegate to their
government any power except that which they have the lawful right to exercise
themselves.
Principle 8 –
Mankind are endowed by God with certain
unalienable rights.
“Those rights, then, which God and nature have established, and are
therefore called natural rights, such as are life and liberty, need not the aid
of human laws to be more effectually invested in every man than they are;
neither do they receive any additional strength when declared by the municipal
[or state] laws to be inviolable. On the contrary, no human legislation has
power to abridge or destroy them, unless the owner [of the right] shall himself
commit some act that amounts to a forfeiture.” – William Blackstone
Principle 9 –
To protect human rights, God has revealed a code of
divine law.
“The doctrines thus delivered we call the revealed or divine law, and
they are to be found only in the Holy Scriptures. These precepts, when
revealed, are found by comparison to be really a part of the original law of
nature, as they tend in all their consequences to man’s felicity.” – William
Blackstone
Principle 10–
The God-given right to govern is vested in the
sovereign authority of the whole people.
“The fabric of the American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of
the consent of the people. The streams of national power ought to flow
immediately from that pure, original fountain of all legislative authority.” –
Alexander Hamilton
Principle 11–
The majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become
tyrannical.
“Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should
not be changed for light and transient causes … but when a long train of abuses
and usurpations … evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it
is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide
new guards for their future security.” – Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of
Independence
Principle 12–
The United States of America shall be a republic.
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to
the republic or which it stands….”
Principle 13–
A Constitution should protect the people from
the frailties of their rulers.
“If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on
government would be necessary…. [But lacking these] you must first enable the
government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control
itself.” – James Madison
Principle 14–
Life and liberty are secure only so long as
the rights of property are secure.
John Locke reasoned that God gave the earth and everything in it to the
whole human family as a gift. Therefore, the land, the sea, the acorns in the
forest, the deer feeding in the meadow belong to everyone “in common.” However,
the moment someone takes the trouble to change something from its original
state of nature, that person has added his ingenuity or labor to make that
change. Herein lies the secret to the origin of “property rights.”
Principle 15–
The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a
free-market economy and a minimum of government regulations.
Prosperity depends upon a climate of wholesome stimulation with four
basic freedoms (Speech-Worship-Want-Fear) in operation.
Principle 16–
The government should be separated into three branches.
“I call you to witness that I was the first member of the Congress who
ventured to come out in public, as I did in January 1776, in my Thoughts on
Government … in favor of a government with three branches and an independent
judiciary. This pamphlet, you know, was very unpopular. No man appeared in
public to support it but yourself.” – John Adams
Principle 17–
A system of checks and balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse
of power by the different branches of government.
“It will not be denied that power is of an encroaching nature and that it
ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it.” –
James Madison
Principle 18 –
The unalienable rights of the people are
most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a
written Constitution.
The structure of the American system is set forth in the Constitution of
the United States and the only weaknesses which have appeared are those which
were allowed to creep in despite the Constitution.
Principle 19–
Only limited and carefully defined powers
should be delegated to government, all others being retained by the people.
The Tenth Amendment is the most widely violated provision of the bill of
rights. If it had been respected and enforced America would be an amazingly
different country than it is today. This amendment provides:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to
the people.”
Principle 20–
Efficiency and dispatch require that the government
operate according to the will of the majority, but constitutional provisions
must be made to protect the rights of the minority.
“Every man, by consenting with others to make one body politic under one
government, puts himself under an obligation to every one of that society to
submit to the determination of the majority, and to be concluded [bound] by
it.” – John Locke
Principle 21–
Strong local self-government is the keystone
to preserving human freedom.
“The way to have good and safe government is not to trust it all to one,
but to divide it among the many, distributing to everyone exactly the functions
he is competent [to perform best]. – Thomas Jefferson
Principle 22–
A free people should be governed by law and
not by the whims of men.
“The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and
enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings, capable of laws,
where there is no law there is no freedom. For liberty is to be free from
restraint and violence of others, which cannot be where there is no law.” –
John Locke
Principle 23–
A free society cannot survive as a republic
without a broad program of general education.
“They made an early provision by law that every town consisting of so
many families should be always furnished with a grammar school. They made it a
crime for such a town to be destitute of a grammar schoolmaster for a few
months and subjected it to a heavy penalty. So that the education of all ranks
of people was made the care and expense of the public, in a manner that I
believe has been unknown to any other people, ancient or modern. The
consequences of these establishments we see and feel every day [written in
1765]. A native of America who cannot read and write is as rare … as a comet or
an earthquake.” John Adams
Principle 24–
A free people will not survive unless they stay strong.
“To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving
peace.” – George Washington
Principle 25-
Peace, commerce, and honest friendship
with all nations — entangling alliances with none.”-Thomas Jefferson, given
in his first inaugural address.
Principle 26 –
The core unit which determines the strength of any
society is the family; therefore, the government should foster and protect its
integrity.
“There is certainly no country in the world where the tie of marriage is
more respected than in America, or where conjugal happiness is more highly or
worthily appreciated.” Alexis de Tocqueville
Principle 27–
The burden of debt is as destructive to human
freedom as subjugation by conquest.
“We are bound to defray expenses [of the war] within our own time and are
unauthorized to burden posterity with them…. We shall all consider ourselves
morally bound to pay them ourselves and consequently within the life
[expectancy] of the majority.” – Thomas Jefferson
Principle 28–
The United States has a manifest destiny to eventually become a glorious example
of God’s law under a restored Constitution that will inspire the entire human
race.
The Founders sensed from the very beginning that they were on a divine
mission. Their great disappointment was that it didn’t all come to pass in
their day, but they knew that someday it would. John Adams wrote:
“I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder,
as the opening of a grand scene and design in Providence for the illumination
of the ignorant, and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over
the earth.”
30 DAY TRIBUTE TO MARY 17th
ROSE:
30 Days of Women and Herbs – Frauendreissiger
Mullein (Verbascum thapsiforme)
MEDICINAL PLANTS Day 17 DIGESTIVE SYSTEM-Revealed by Heaven
to Luz De María
ANGELICA Scientific name: Angelica archangelica L. Family: Apiaceae Known as:
Ghost Spirit Herb or Herb of the Angels (It receives its name due to a belief
that it was a gift of Saint Gabriel Archangel to a wise hermit so that he could
fight the plague that ravaged Europe during the Middle Ages). Promotes
digestion. Improves gastric juice secretion. Eliminates intestinal gases. To
treat heavy digestion and the lack of appetite. To treat diseases that attack the
digestive system.
Serious illnesses are approaching that attack the digestive system; use
the plant known as Angelica and use the whole plant properly, pregnant women
being cautious. Blessed Virgin Mary, 05.24.2017
Around the Corner
How to celebrate Aug 31st
Embrace your adventurous side by visiting a nearby zoo and learning about
the importance of wildlife conservation. Channel your inner Ironman by tackling
a challenging workout, whether it’s a long run, bike ride, or swim.
After working up a sweat, indulge in some matchmaking fun by setting up
your single friends or spending quality time with your partner. Spice things up
by cooking a romantic dinner at home or planning a surprise date night. Maybe
with a little ferment horse milk and a Mongolian BBQ. Express your appreciation
for franchises by enjoying a meal from your favorite fast-food joint or
treating yourself to some merchandise.
End your day on a high note by dining al fresco in your backyard or at a
local park for National Eat Outside Day. Bring along some tasty treats, good
company, and enjoy the beauty of nature. Let the fresh air and good food
rejuvenate your spirit, leaving you ready for whatever comes your way next.
Bucket List Trip: Around the World “Perfect Weather”
Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar
is a longish (and a tad bit bumpy) bus ride but it’s the best way to travel
south into Mongolia to the surprisingly populous capital city. Originally a
mobile monastic tent community that settled into this spot in 1778, it is now a
major hub for trade and culture.
·
Eat waffles and
Pray for the assistance of the Angels
·
Religion
in the Home for Preschool: August
·
Monday: Litany of Humility
·
Foodie: Mongolian BBQ
Spirit Hour: Mullen Tea
Fermented Horse Milk
Daily Devotions
Unite yourself in the work of the Porters
of St. Joseph by joining
them in fasting: Today's Fast: An End to Addictions
Religion in the Home for Preschool: August
Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus
Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus
Rosary
BRIDESHEAD REVISITED (1981)
Jeremy Irons • Anthony Andrews • Diana Quick • Laurence Olivier Directed by Charles Sturridge & Michael Lindsay-Hogg • Granada Television An Elegy of Memory, Faith, and the Slow Collapse of a Gilded World Where Beauty Beckons, Friendship Wounds, and Grace Stalks the Edges of Desire
Brideshead Revisited is not merely an adaptation; it is a pilgrimage through memory. Charles Ryder narrates the long arc of his youth — the friendships, the loves, the betrayals, the spiritual hauntings — all framed by his wartime return to Brideshead, now dimmed and hollow. The great house becomes a reliquary of longing: a place where beauty awakened desire, and where desire revealed its cost.
Sebastian Flyte enters the story like a visitation — whimsical, wounded, radiant. His charm is a veil over ache; his drinking a retreat from expectations he cannot bear. Their friendship is a season of grace, fragile and doomed.
Julia Flyte is the fulcrum of the drama: luminous, divided, torn between passion and the Catholic conscience that shapes her family. Her relationship with Charles is not romance but crucible — the collision of desire and duty.
The Flytes themselves form a spiritual constellation: Lady Marchmain’s sorrowful piety, Lord Marchmain’s rebellious exile, the children orbiting between faith and flight. Catholicism is not doctrine here; it is destiny.
This is drama without haste. The danger is illusion. The fire is grace. The verdict is surrender.
🎞️ Film Card — Brideshead Revisited (1981)
Brideshead Revisited 1981 • Drama • Literary Epic • 11 episodes • 659 minutes
Charles Ryder recalls his entanglement with the Flyte family — Sebastian’s fragile brilliance, Julia’s conflicted devotion, and the spiritual gravity of Brideshead itself. Drama • Literary Epic • Spiritual Conflict • Memory & Desire
Director Charles Sturridge, Michael Lindsay-Hogg Cinematography Ray Goode Stars Jeremy Irons, Anthony Andrews, Diana Quick, Laurence Olivier Studio Granada Television Notable Castle Howard as Brideshead; Irons’ iconic narration; one of the most faithful and spiritually resonant literary adaptations ever filmed.
1. Production & Cultural Setting
A Monument of British Television Granada’s resources and patience created a work of unprecedented scale and fidelity.
Postwar Memory The series reflects Britain’s lingering ache over a vanished aristocratic world.
Catholic Imagination Waugh’s spiritual architecture is preserved — grace, guilt, longing, and surrender.
Visual Devotion Castle Howard filmed like a cathedral: arches, fountains, corridors of light.
Elegy for an Age The decline of the Flytes mirrors the decline of the old order.
2. Story Summary
Charles Ryder An artist seeking beauty, finding entanglement, and confronting grace.
Sebastian Flyte A fragile soul fleeing expectations, clinging to innocence, drifting toward ruin.
Julia Flyte A woman torn between desire and the faith she cannot escape.
The Flyte Family A constellation of piety, rebellion, sorrow, and spiritual gravity.
The Return to Brideshead War brings Charles back to the house — now a shell of its former radiance.
3. Moral & Emotional Resonances
A. Beauty Awakens Desire But desire alone cannot sustain the soul.
B. Faith Haunts Even the Unbelieving Grace pursues Charles through the Flytes’ world.
C. Innocence Cannot Survive Evasion Sebastian’s charm collapses under the weight of avoidance.
D. Duty and Desire Collide Julia’s struggle becomes the series’ spiritual crucible.
E. Memory Is a Sacrament Charles’ narration becomes a confession of what beauty cost him.
4. Hospitality Pairing — Drawn From the Series’ Spirit
Food — Aristocratic, Quiet, Brideshead‑Liturgical Roast Partridge — Formal, delicate, fading grandeur. White Soup — Traditional, ceremonial, Lady Marchmain’s table. Strawberries — Sweetness tinged with melancholy.
Drink — Reflective, Memory‑Steeped Champagne — Sebastian’s early radiance. Claret — Charles’ contemplative maturity.
Atmosphere — The Chapel of Memory Lighting: Soft, golden, late‑afternoon. Sound: Distant bells, quiet footsteps on stone. Setting: A long table beneath ancestral portraits. Symbol: A small lamp burning before the chapel altar — grace waiting in the shadows.
5. Reflection Prompts
Where has beauty awakened longing in me.
Where do I flee expectations instead of facing them.
Where does duty confront my desire.
Where has grace pursued me through memory.
Where is Brideshead in my own life — the place I return to changed.
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