Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Wednesday, October 21 — The Mercy That Burns Clean
Cigar: Smooth Sumatra
Pour: Eagle Rare
Reflection: Let mercy finish the work justice begins.
October 21 stands in that quiet stretch of Ordinary Time when the Church’s hidden currents run strongest. It is the season when the saints speak most plainly about the fire that follows death — not the fire of condemnation, but the fire of completion. Today’s meditation draws from the long witness of the Fathers and the mystics: purification is the last mercy God gives to a soul that desires Him fully.
St. John Chrysostom taught that the whole Church lifts its hands for the departed because love insists on finishing what weakness left undone. St. Augustine wrote that temporal punishments before the final judgment are not cruelty but kindness — the last polishing of the soul before it can bear the weight of glory. And the mystics, from St. Lidwina to St. Magdalen de Pazzi, saw that the souls who suffer most willingly are the ones closest to the threshold of Heaven.
Tonight’s Smooth Sumatra carries that same quiet truth — a smoke that moves gently, without haste, like a soul already half‑purified. Eagle Rare adds the solemn warmth of endurance, the reminder that God’s fire is not a threat but a promise: He will finish what He began.
The charge of this day is simple: Let mercy burn clean. Let the small obediences become your daily purgation. Let hidden charity shorten the fire that waits beyond sight.
Lift the smoke as a pledge to be purified now. Lift the pour as a vow to be ready then.
Smoke in this life, not the next.
OCTOBER 21 Wednesday Twenty-First Week Pentecost
Trafalgar
Day
Psalm 36, verse 2
Sin directs the heart of the wicked
man; his eyes are closed to the FEAR
of God.
An
inclination to sin is part of our nature, just as love and mercy are the nature
of God. “See, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation!” (2 Cor.
6:28) If you awoke today, you have another chance to begin again. Get thee to
confession! Fast; avoid evil, pray! You are responsible; yes, there may be
circumstances beyond your control that put impediments in your path, have faith
and find out how to get around the barriers to living a Holy life. Secret Hint:
Take it to Mary! She will guide us to salvation.
Fixing
the Wicked Heart[1]
The mechanic at the repair
shop explained to the frustrated vehicle owner that the wheels of his car were
out of alignment. The mechanic asked if the driver had recently driven
through a pothole or perhaps had hit a curb. He explained that this could be
sufficient to have forced the wheels out of alignment. All the driver knew was
that it took a lot of work to drive straight down the highway with the car
constantly pulling off center. Without constant attention and constant
adjustment of the steering wheel, the car tended to drift off the road. “One
big pothole can do that,” the mechanic informed the puzzled driver, “and after
that, it’s almost impossible to go straight without constant correction.”
What’s true for an
automobile is, in this sense, also true of the human soul.
Theologians have long
attempted to explain humanity’s tendency to veer off course: one big sin (that
of our first parents in the garden) and it’s almost impossible to go straight
without constant correction. Keeping in mind that the New Testament word for
sin is hamartia, a Greek word that literally means to miss the mark or to veer
off course, we might say that after original sin it’s nearly impossible to stay
on the “straight and narrow.” Theologians call this tendency to sin
“concupiscence.” The word concupiscence is defined as a strong desire, a
tendency or attraction, usually arising from lust or sensual desires. It is,
morally speaking, the tendency to go off course. Concupiscence is understood as
an effect of original sin that remains after baptism. The waters of baptism
cleanse us of original sin itself, but concupiscence remains as a lingering
effect. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “certain temporal
consequences of sin remain in the baptized, such as suffering, illness, death …
as well as an inclination to sin that Tradition calls concupiscence.”
1264 Yet certain
temporal consequences of sin remain in the baptized, such as suffering,
illness, death, and such frailties inherent in life as weaknesses of character,
and so on, as well as an inclination to sin that Tradition calls concupiscence, or metaphorically, "the
tinder for sin" (fomes
peccati); since concupiscence "is left
for us to wrestle with, it cannot harm those who do not consent but manfully
resist it by the grace of Jesus Christ." Indeed, "an athlete is not
crowned unless he competes according to the rules."
To use another analogy,
medical research cautions that a severe sunburn early in life will render a
person more susceptible to dangerous skin cancer throughout life. That early
sunburn may heal fairly quickly, but its effects last through life, increasing
vulnerability to cancer. Precautions must be taken to shield the skin from the
damaging effects of the sun’s radiation, since there is a greater
susceptibility to skin damage after that major sunburn.
Original Sin
Original sin — passed down
through the generations of humanity — brought to our first parents the
alienation from paradise and with it all the effects of mortality: pain,
illness, suffering, aging, death, and decay. Original sin caused a rupture, or
break, in the harmony between body and soul that was part of God’s creation of
man. In the original innocence of our first parents, there was perfect harmony:
harmony with God, harmony with the surrounding world, harmony with oneself. The
decision to break away from God’s will also broke the original harmony in
creation, and there has been tension ever since. The first 11 chapters of the
Book of Genesis reveal the growth of tension and discord: starting with the
perfect harmony of the garden, through the first sin, then the sin of brother
against brother, and it ends with the tower of Babel — a point in human history
where no two persons could understand each other. In the original innocence of
our human nature, there was perfect harmony between body and soul. Since death
entered the world as a consequence of sin, the separation of the soul from the
body at death is a consequence of original sin. We profess our belief in the
resurrection of the body, at which time soul and body will be restored to the
perfect harmony that existed before original sin. Concupiscence is a symptom of
the disharmony between soul and body, since the body and its appetites, or
desires, wants to pull us a certain way, and the soul wants to cling to the
higher things of God and grace.
In heaven, the harmony
between body and soul will be restored, as will the harmony with God and the
world around us. Sin will be no more. The Sacrament of Baptism washes away
original sin, yet there remain the effects of original sin. One of them is an innate
tendency to be vulnerable to temptation, to be inclined to sin, to be
predisposed to desires that do not honor to the grace of God. The Council of
Trent (1545-1563) taught that concupiscence “comes from sin and induces to
sin.” Yet, concupiscence is not itself a sin. Concupiscence makes us vulnerable
to sin, but susceptibility to temptation is not sin. How we act in response to
temptation determines the rightness or wrongness — the sin. With constant
attention, or more accurately with the acceptance of God’s constant outpouring
of grace, the human person can be unaffected by this tendency to drift off
course. A driver who is attentive to the path ahead can constantly adjust for a
misalignment in the car’s front end, keeping the car moving toward the goal of
the driver. Indeed, the Council of Trent noted that concupiscence “cannot harm
those who do not consent but manfully resist it by the grace of Jesus Christ”
(Catechism, No. 1264). It is prevenient grace that precedes our thoughts and
actions, waiting for us when we are tempted by concupiscence to go off course.
By availing ourselves of that grace, we are enabled by God to resist the
tendency to sin and instead to stay on the morally proper course.
The story is told of the
priest who asked a man in the confessional, “My son, do you entertain evil
thoughts?” The penitent quickly responded, “Oh no, Father, they entertain me!”
It is concupiscence that makes our minds more vulnerable to thoughts that incline
us to sin and to sinful actions, but neither concupiscence nor those thoughts
are sinful in themselves. The morality is determined by what we do in response:
to beg God’s grace to turn away from thoughts of sin is meritorious, but to
offer no resistance and give in to immoral or disordered acts is the very
definition of sin itself. Concupiscence corrupts the will to the point that we
are tempted to conclude that something less than God will ultimately satisfy.
St. Thomas Aquinas taught
clearly that concupiscence is a consequence of original sin. Once human beings
made the decision to be unbound from the will of God, the harmony within human
nature also became unbound. Desires and appetites were no longer in harmony
with the intellect or reason, and the two — desire and reason — fought against
one another. St. Paul understood this and described it in his Letter to the
Romans: “I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind,
taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members” (7:23). As a
result, St. Paul could write, “I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I
do not want” (Rom 7:19). Even Jesus observed concupiscence in action when He
said, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt 26:41; see also Mk
14:38). The prophets of the Old Testament understood this interior tension.
Jeremiah asked the piercing question, “More tortuous than anything is the human
heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9). Jeremiah understood
human nature and spoke often of the stubbornness of their evil hearts (see 3:17
and many other passages), “evil thoughts” (4:14, RSV), and humanity’s “stubborn
and rebellious heart” (5:23, RSV). The psalms of David offer lament for sins
committed as well as penetrating insight into the lived dichotomy between
weakness and grace, the lusts of the flesh and the longing for holiness. “Sin
directs the heart of the wicked man; his eyes are closed to the fear of God”
(Ps 36:2). In a plaintive cry for God’s mercy, the psalmist acknowledges the
dueling desires within him, and acknowledges, “I have been mortally afflicted
since youth” (Ps 88:16).
Staying on Course
From the earliest
reflection on life lived in relationship to God — the Book of Genesis — to the
present day, the tension between good and evil is well-known. Whether
presented, as a life-or-death struggle in the psalms; or a comedic conversation
with an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other; it is innately
understood that we all experience concupiscence on a daily basis. Have you
noticed that the temptation to eat meat seems to be the strongest on a Friday
in Lent? That’s concupiscence at work, the body at war against the soul, each
pulling in a different direction. Whether we entertain evil thoughts, or they
entertain us, that’s also concupiscence at work: the desires of the flesh are
not in harmony with the desires of the soul. While we cannot vanquish
concupiscence in this life, we can open our lives to the grace of God that
provides the strength to resist the weakness of our fallen nature. Despite the
choice of our first parents to “throw off the yoke of God’s will,” as St.
Thomas Aquinas described it, we can today choose to take upon ourselves a yoke
that is easy and a burden that is light (see Mt 11:30). The grace of God that
goes before us and anticipates our weakness — prevenient grace — is ours if we but open ourselves to it when
concupiscence tempts us off course. Modern highways help drivers stay on course
with painted lines and with a rumble strip when they veer out of the lane. In
moral life, prevenient grace and our free will to do what is right perform for
us the same function, and if we veer off course, the rumble of conscience will
gently prod us back.
Copilot’s Take
Concupiscence, as the Catechism teaches, is the lingering
misalignment within human nature that remains even after baptism. It is “an
inclination to sin… the tinder for sin” (CCC 1264), a pull of desire that bends
the heart away from the fear of God and toward lesser goods. This interior
distortion is not itself sin, but it is the battlefield on which sin is chosen
or resisted. In every age, societies falter when individuals lose the capacity
to recognize this interior struggle. When the fear of God diminishes, the human
heart becomes self-directed, self-justifying, and vulnerable to the seductions
of appetite. The result is not merely personal disorder but cultural drift, a
collective veering off the moral highway.
The Catechism’s realism exposes the deeper roots of public
evil. Social decay does not begin in institutions but in the interior life of
citizens whose desires have become unmoored from reason and grace.
Concupiscence makes the lesser thing appear sufficient, the counterfeit good
seem desirable, and the disordered appetite masquerade as freedom. Yet the
Church insists that concupiscence “cannot harm those who do not consent but
manfully resist it by the grace of Jesus Christ” (CCC 1264). Grace is not a distant
abstraction but a present force—prevenient, anticipatory, already waiting at
the threshold of every temptation. It is the rumble strip God places along the
edge of the moral road, shaking the drifting soul back toward the center.
Thus any confrontation with evil in a nation must begin with
the confrontation of concupiscence in the human heart. Renewal does not arise
from political victories but from interior conversion, sacramental life,
fasting, prayer, and the rediscovery of the fear of God. A people who recover
the habit of grace recover the capacity for moral clarity. A nation that
remembers the reality of concupiscence remembers the necessity of holiness.
Only when desire is re-aligned with God can public life be re-aligned with justice.
Only when the heart is restored can the culture be healed.
Trafalgar Day[2]
A British commemoration of the victory of the Royal Navy over
the French and Spanish fleets, Trafalgar Day seeks to pay honor to this
important occasion that was a pivotal point in history. History buffs, navy
fans, and just average people can all find ways to learn more and enjoy marking
this momentous event!
Responsibility-Lord Horatio Nelson
Lord Nelson who was the personification of a person who displays the characteristic of RESPONSIBILITY. Nelson was a man who did not play small he took to heart the adage that to be responsible one must respond with their ability (response/ability). Sometimes he disobeyed orders when he knew there was a better and smarter way to defeat the enemy; he had all faith and all courage. McCain said of Lord Nelson that he was, “The bold and brave admiral who taught men how to fight and made the British Navy the most powerful in the world” Nelson was known for his creative disobedience that is the courage to disobey if the situation was warranted. Nelson never just ran head long into battle. No, if he disobeyed it was daring and would not have wasted the precious lives of his men. His men knew this, and they had the greatest trust and regard in him. Lord Nelson also had the greatest affectionate regard for those with which he served. His men loved him and followed him into battle willingly.
Bucket List: Vineyard World Tour:
Castilla y
León Vineyard, Spain-Itinerary centered around Abadía Retuerta. This itinerary
honors themes of clarity, restoration, and Eucharistic hospitality, with
embedded links and realistic pricing for pilgrimage planning and communal
sharing.
Weeklong
Castilla y León Vineyard Itinerary
Theme:
“Rooted in Mercy, Raised in Light”
Dates: October 21–28, 2025
Base: Sardón de Duero & Valladolid, Spain
I. Arrival
and Orientation (Day 1 – Valladolid to Sardón de Duero)
Arrive in
Valladolid via train or bus. Transfer to Sardón de Duero by taxi (approx. $28
USD). Lodging at Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine offers monastic elegance and
vineyard immersion (starting at $360 USD/night). Begin with a vineyard walk and
evening reflection in the cloister garden.
Symbolic Act: “Opening the Cloister”—bless the soil, name the mercy.
II. Abadía
Retuerta Immersion (Day 2 – Sardón de Duero)
Enjoy a
full-day visit and tasting at Abadía Retuerta, including
vineyard tour, barrel room, and chapel reflection (starting at $38 USD). Lunch
at Refectorio Restaurant (Michelin-starred; tasting menu
approx. $120 USD).
Symbolic Act: “Fruit of Mercy”—honor Eucharistic hospitality and vineyard
clarity.
III.
Monastic Rhythm & Vineyard Prayer (Day 3 – Sardón de Duero)
Begin with
morning prayer in the chapel. Optional spa ritual at LeDomaine’s Santuario
Wellness (starting at $65 USD). Afternoon vineyard journaling and symbolic
naming of varietals.
Symbolic
Act: “Sanctify the Rows”—walk, name, and bless each vine.
IV.
Valladolid & Civic Renewal (Day 4 – Valladolid)
Travel to
Valladolid (30 min). Visit the National
Sculpture Museum
and Cathedral. Lunch at La Parrilla de San Lorenzo ($28–42 USD). Lodging at Hotel
Boutique Gareus
($98 USD/night).
Symbolic Act: “Stone and Spirit”—reflect on civic beauty and sacred legacy.
V. Ribera
del Duero Vineyards (Day 5&6 – Peñafiel)
Day trip to
Peñafiel. Tour Bodegas Protos (tasting from $16 USD) and visit
the Wine Museum in Peñafiel Castle. Picnic among the vines.
Symbolic Act: “Legacy and Light”—honor vineyard saints and civic stewards.
Symbolic Act: “I believe and I adore”—pause in vineyard clarity.
o VII.
Departure and Optional Extension (Day 7 – Valladolid or Salamanca)
Depart via
Valladolid. Optional extension to Salamanca
for civic pilgrimage and university reflection. Lodging at Hospes Palacio de San Esteban ($112 USD/night).
Symbolic
Act: “Sending Forth”—carry vineyard mercy into civic vocation.
7-course meal inspired by your Castilla y
León Vineyard itinerary, each
course choreographed to reflect the themes of clarity, restoration, and
Eucharistic hospitality.
The dishes draw from traditional Castilian-Leonese cuisine and align with the
symbolic acts of each day, offering a culinary pilgrimage rooted in mercy and
raised in light.
🍷 Seven-Course Vineyard Supper: “Rooted in Mercy, Raised in Light”
Location: Sardón de Duero & Valladolid,
Spain
Dates: October 21–28,
2025
Theme: Eucharistic
clarity, monastic rhythm, civic renewal
🥂 1. Aperitif
– Vermouth de Toro with Marcona Almonds
Day 1 – Arrival & Orientation
A classic Castilian aperitif served with lightly salted almonds.
🔗
Spanish Vermouth Guide
🔗
Marcona Almonds
Symbolic Act: Opening
the Cloister—bless the soil, name the mercy.
🥓 2. Appetizer
– Torreznos de Soria (Crispy Pork Belly)
Day 2 – Abadía Retuerta Immersion
A beloved Castilian tapa—crispy, golden pork belly with smoky depth.
🔗
Torreznos Recipe
Symbolic Act: Fruit of
Mercy—honor Eucharistic hospitality.
🥣 3. Soup
– Sopa de Ajo (Garlic Soup with Poached Egg)
Day 3 – Monastic Rhythm
A humble, warming soup of garlic, paprika, and bread—monastic and restorative.
🔗
Sopa de Ajo Recipe
Symbolic Act: Sanctify
the Rows—walk, name, and bless each vine.
🥬 4. Salad
– Judiones de la Granja (White Bean Salad with Olive Oil & Herbs)
Day 4 – Valladolid & Civic Renewal
A hearty bean dish served chilled or warm, honoring civic simplicity.
🔗
Judiones Recipe
Symbolic Act: Stone
and Spirit—reflect on civic beauty.
🍖
5. Main Course – Lechazo
Asado (Roast Suckling Lamb)
Day 5 – Ribera del Duero Vineyards
The region’s iconic dish—tender lamb roasted in a wood-fired oven.
🔗
Lechazo Recipe
Symbolic Act: Legacy
and Light—I believe and I adore.
🧀 6. Cheese
Course – Queso de Burgos with Quince Paste
Day 6 – Vineyard Reflection
Fresh sheep’s milk cheese paired with sweet membrillo.
🔗
Queso & Membrillo Pairing
Symbolic Act: Vineyard
clarity and Eucharistic pause.
🍮 7. Dessert
– Yemas de Santa Teresa (Egg Yolk Sweets)
Day 7 – Departure & Sending Forth
A traditional dessert from Ávila—rich, golden, and symbolic of light.
🔗
Yemas Recipe
Symbolic Act: Sending
Forth—carry vineyard mercy into civic vocation.
Around the Corner
Foodie: Treat yourself to some loaded nachos or create your own nacho masterpiece.
Snack on an apple or bake an apple pie to celebrate National Apple Day.
End your day by indulging in a slice of pumpkin cheesecake or bake your own for a sweet finish. Enjoy the medley of activities and embrace the unexpected fun these weird holidays bring
How to celebrate Oct 21st
Dive into the past with a Back to the Future movie marathon or read about Trafalgar Day online.
Challenge yourself to write something creative or pen a letter to a friend on Everyone Writes Day.
Take a moment to organize your meds and ensure everything is up to date.
This day in 1964 was the release date of the movie, “My Fair Lady.”
Spirit Hour: 10 Cocktails to Make with Maraschino Liqueur
Daily
Devotions
Unite
in the work of the Porters of St.
Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: For
the intercession of the angels and saints
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
22.🔥 St. Augustine — Aspiration as Restless Pursuit of Truth
St. Augustine (354–430), one of the most influential theologians in Christian history, lived a life marked by intense yearning, intellectual ambition, and spiritual transformation. His famous line from Confessions—“You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You”—is the anthem of holy aspiration.
SAINT AUGUSTINE — THE COST OF RESTLESSNESS
From Wandering to Wisdom Based on Restless Heart: The Confessions of Augustine (Ignatius Press)
A Man Cornered by His Own Desires
Before Augustine became a bishop, a theologian, and the mind that steadied Western civilization, he was a man trapped inside his own brilliance. His appetites were large, his ambitions larger, and his evasions larger still. This is drama as moral exposure. The danger is that desire becomes identity. The lesson is that brilliance without obedience corrodes the soul. The verdict is that a life built on self‑invention demands someone willing to stop running and start surrendering.
Film Card — Restless Heart: The Confessions of Augustine
Restless Heart 2010 • Historical Drama / Conversion Epic • 7.1/10 (Audience) • 2h 13m The story of a gifted young rhetorician whose pursuit of pleasure, fame, and philosophical novelty collapses under the weight of truth — and whose mother’s tears become the hinge of his salvation.
Themes: Desire & Disorder • Truth vs. Ambition • Conversion Under Pressure
Cast: Alessandro Preziosi, Monica Guerritore, Johannes Brandrup
Production: Lux Vide / Ignatius Press
Historical Frame: Late Roman Empire — a world collapsing under decadence, searching for meaning, and waiting for a saint who understood both.
Production & Cultural Setting
Rome’s Collapse: A civilization brilliant enough to build libraries but too exhausted to defend truth.
Monica’s Tears: A mother whose persistence becomes the film’s moral engine.
Ambrose’s Authority: A bishop whose intellect and gentleness break Augustine’s resistance.
Moral Undercurrent: A restless heart discovering that freedom without truth is captivity.
Story Summary
The Ascent: Augustine rises from student to imperial rhetorician.
The Illusion: Pleasure, applause, and philosophy promise meaning but deliver emptiness.
The Turning: Monica’s prayers and Ambrose’s preaching corner his conscience.
The Break: Augustine confronts his divided will — the moment of “Take and read.”
The Surrender: He chooses baptism over brilliance, truth over vanity.
he End: A man walking away from self‑invention toward the God who alone satisfies.
Moral & Psychological Resonances
A. Desire as Captivity: Restlessness becomes its own chain.
B. Ambition as Mirage: Fame reveals more wounds than virtues.
C. Truth as Rescue: Conversion dissolves the fear of exposure.
D. Love as Anchor: Monica’s tears become the hinge of grace.
E. Civilization as Mirror: Rome’s collapse reflects the soul’s collapse without God.
Hospitality Pairing — Drawn From Rome and Conversion
Food — Simple, Honest, Penitential: A bowl of lentil soup A loaf of rustic bread Olives and figs — the food of a man learning simplicity
Drink — Dark, Warm, Reflective: A pour of Eagle Rare Or a modest Chianti Water in a clay cup — the drink of a man who has stopped running
Atmosphere — A Room Where Restlessness Ends: A single candle A worn copy of Confessions A chair pulled close to a window A space built not for performance but for surrender
Reflection Prompts
Where have I mistaken desire for identity.
Where has ambition tempted me away from truth.
Which habits require surrender rather than strength.
Where must I let grace corner my will.
Can I allow God to quiet the restlessness I have carried for years.
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