A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
The girls chose yesterday's Carpe Diem moment when they rushed over to see the grand finale of this year's fishing competition at the Onekama park. The fisherman who caught the heaviest large or small mouth bass was the winner, presumably of a large amount of money. The fancy motorboats of these serious fishermen woke me up around 5:30 in the morning yesterday as they lined up for the race down Portage Lake into the choppy waters of Lake Michigan. It was cold, wet, and dark at that hour and the men had about ten more hours ahead of them in the open waters before returning to land and a late lunch. They were pretty solemn-faced and stinky by the time we caught up with them for the weighing-in ceremony. Despite their hunger pains and fatigue, however, I did take note of how they spoke to one another is a surprisingly courteous way. It was pretty clear to me, an outsider to this sport, that this was a voluntary band of brothers, and the respect that they demonstrated to one another was born from an appreciation and understanding of the time, sacrifice, money, and honor that they had all invested in this one day of fisherman glory.
Liturgical: Monday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
"But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook,
and take the first fish that comes up.
Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax.
Give that to them for me and for you."
Bishop Barron's Gospel reflections today.
Sanctoral: Today is the Optional Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641). St. Jane was a married woman and a mother of seven children from Dijon, France. Her husband was killed in a hunting accident. In 1604, upon being deeply moved by the preaching of Francis de Sales, Jane asked him to become her spiritual director. She founded the Visitation nuns in 1610. Jane worked tirelessly helping the sick, and she convinced local political rulers to make special provisions for the sick and the bereaved. During the last years of her life, she experienced periods of spiritual aridity. She established eighty-five monasteries before her death in 1641.
Human: 30 BC – Cleopatra VII, the last queen of Egypt from the Ptolemy dynasty, committed suicide.
Marjorie Gestring, at age 13, won an Olympic gold medal for springboard diving– 1936.
It's the birthday of classics scholar Edith Hamilton, born in Dresden, Germany (1867). She worked as the head mistress of a prep school, and in her spare time, she read Greek philosophy and literature. It wasn't until after her retirement that she began to publish books about Greek civilization, like The Greek Way (1930). Academics hated the fact that she didn't use footnotes, but her books were incredibly popular. For many years, most American children first learned about Hercules and Medusa and Odysseus from her book Mythology (1942), which was an illustrated retelling of all the important Greek myths.
The Writer's Almanac today.
Natural: Fossil hunter Susan Hendrickson found Tyrannosaurus rex bones near Faith, South Dakota– 1990
Italian: Mezzogiorno (noon / midday)
English: warily
When you do things warily, you're cautious and concerned. Behaving warily is like treating the situation with kid gloves.
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