A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
I caught sight of these new additions to Valentina's wall today, her first "self portrait of an artist as a young woman"! I love how she is painting herself into her future self...
Liturgical: Wednesday of the 6th week of Ordinary Time
“I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.
As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night,
shall not cease.”
Genesis 8:6-13, 20-22
Bishop Barron's Gospel reflections today.
Sanctoral: The Roman Martyrology commemorates St. Conrad of Piacenza (1290-1351), a Franciscan tertiary hermit celebrated for piety and miraculous cures at Noto in Sicily and St. Barbatus (610-682), Bishop of Benevento, who converted the Lombards.
Human: This day in Roman history
97 AD – Roman emperor Septimius Severus defeated the usurper Clodius Albinus in the battle of Lugdunum (today’s Lyon). Severus had between 70,000 and 90,000 soldiers, when his opponent had 60,000. The battle was fierce and at first none of the parties had a clear advantage. When it seemed that Albinus would win the clash, unexpectedly, reinforcements arrived at the front, whose attack from the flank surprised Albinus’ army. Severus’ troops, reinforced unexpectedly by new forces, attacked again, forcing Albinus’s army to flee. Soon the chase after the fleeing enemy turned into a real slaughter. Severus’ men stormed into the city, plundered and burned. Albinus was decapitated, and then it was taken to Severus. According to another version, Albinus committed suicide. His body was thrown to the dogs to be devoured, and his head was sent to Rome. Albinus’ supporters were sentenced to death, confiscating their property. In June 197 AD Severus entered Rome triumphantly, and his dynasty lasted from 193 to 235 AD.
356 AD – Emperor Constantius II issued a decree closing all pagan temples in the Roman Empire.
Natural: Allergies laid me low today and I wasn't able to get out into the early morning light as I would like, and have resolved to do after listening to that great bite size podcast about syncing our circadian rhythm the other day. Fortunately, I did manage to listen to the entire podcast today to motivate myself to get out tomorrow, if the allergies let me sleep tonight. Here is the full version of the episode again, and here is the video version.
Italian: Mito (myth)
Etc.: My 17-year-old has an essay on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar coming up, which made me realize that I've never seen this play performed on stage, nor have I seen a film adaptation of it. YouTube to the rescue! Here's the Charleton Heston version, and here's a Ted-Ex video on the conspiracy against Caesar. The moral culpability of the assassins is still much in debate. Personally, I side with Cicero, while acknowledging the complications of it all.
Quote: "Men at some time are masters of their fates.
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars
But in ourselves, that we are underlings."
Julius Caesar, Cassius (Act 1 Scene 2)
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