Calendar Class of January 12, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

Today, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, marks the end of Christmastide and a return to Ordinary Time, which means that all the beautiful decorations in our church are coming down this week. So, at the end of Mass, we posed by the creche to recreate the photo taken in front of the same creche when my sisters and I were children. Obviously, my mother had more success with liturgically relevant outfits and poses than I had this morning!

Liturgical: Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. This feast brings to an end the season of Christmas. Ordinary Time lasts from the day after this feast to the Tuesday before Lent.

The Church recalls Our Lord's second manifestation or epiphany which occurred on the occasion of His baptism in the Jordan. Jesus descended into the River to sanctify its waters and to give them the power to beget sons of God. The event takes on the importance of a second creation in which the entire Trinity intervenes.

In the Eastern Church this feast is called Theophany because at the baptism of Christ in the River Jordan God appeared in three persons. The baptism of John was a sort of sacramental preparatory for the Baptism of Christ. It moved men to sentiments of repentance and induced them to confess their sins.

Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon: Why Was Jesus Baptized?

Fr. Plant's Homily: You are my son, the beloved.

Let's say goodbye to the creche for the liturgical year by reading this Apostolic Letter by Pope Francis, "Admirabile Signum," on the meaning and importance of the Nativity Scene.

Sanctoral: Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, France +1700

“God closes a door and then opens a window,” people sometimes say when dealing with their own disappointment or someone else’s. That was certainly true in Marguerite’s case. Children from European as well as Native American backgrounds in 17th-century Canada benefited from her great zeal and unshakable trust in God’s providence.

Human: Death of Agatha Christie (author) – 1976; Birth of John Singer Sargent (artist) – 1856; First public museum in America, Charleston Museum, organized in Charleston, South Carolina – 1773

Ancient Rome- 27 BC – time of Pax Romana. It was a term for the state of peace existing inside and outside  Rome. The term literally refers to the 1st and 2nd century BC, when the territorial range was the largest, and the Roman military expansion was limited to the minimum. No major unrests occurred, and the power was stable.

It's the birthday of the novelist Jack London, born in San Francisco (1876). He is best known as the author of over fifty books, including The Call of the Wild (1903) and White Fang (1906). His best known short story is "To Build a Fire."

The Writer's Almanac edition today.

Natural: All about "Snowflake Bentley"- the man who discovered the wonders of the snowflake-- a documentary and a children's book read-aloud.

Italian: Non ci piove! (No doubt about it!)

Quote: “The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances.”

― Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express