A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
Quo vadis? We are here at the spot where St. Peter asked that question of Christ, who appeared to him as St. Peter was heading out of Rome during the persecution of Nero. Christ responded that he was going to Rome, to be crucified again. At that, Peter turned back to the city, accepting his fate- upside down crucifixion (because, he explained, he was not worthy to die the same way as his Lord). His death occurred on the spot we visited earlier the same day, at the Basilica of St. Peter. So, in one day we inadvertently traced the final footsteps of St. Peter, from the world's most famous church in the morning, to a very small, largely unknown roadside church on the Via Appia Antica in the evening. My niece, pictured here, led the way as she wanted to see the church because she is now reading the novel Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz, whose bust is behind her in the photo.
Liturgical: Fourth Sunday of Advent; O King of the Nations (O Rex Gentium)
Fr Plant's Homily today: Blessed is the Fruit of Your Womb
Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon: Why Mary Matters
Sanctoral: Blessed Jacopone da Todi, +1306. He wrote the famous Latin hymn, Stabat Mater.
Human: Birthday of Ralph Fiennes (actor) – 1962 (an actor who has been spotted around Rome recently)
Edward Johnson, an associate of Thomas Edison, created the first string of Christmas tree lights – 1882
It's the birthday of composer Giacomo Puccini, born in Lucca, Tuscany (1858). Puccini's four greatest operas all begin with a love story, focus on the female lead, and end tragically. They are La Bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), Madame Butterfly (1904), and Turandot, which was left incomplete at Puccini's death in 1924.
The Writer's Almanac edition today.
Natural: A walk along the Appian Way
Italian: Italian Proverb: Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi!
Quote: "One today is worth two tomorrows." —Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1757
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