A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
Miniature art imitating large life: these palatial doll houses were created by a local craftsman as Christmas presents for two lucky little ladies (not my daughters but rather two toddlers). Their model was my own grandfather's dollhouse creation, which was inspired by Piety Hill. Piety Hill in turn was inspired by the Italianate style of architecture, though it is really a style unto itself, being an amalgamation of many found and gifted treasures, as well as architectural details picked by my parents during their travels in Scotland and elsewhere. Here is a lovely essay I stumbled upon by Barbara Eliot describing her visit to Piety Hill and the imaginative minds behind its unique design.
Liturgical: Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.
Bishop Barron's Gospel reflections today.
Sanctoral: St. Marcellus, Pope +309--Diocletian's terrible persecution had taken its toll. It was reported that within a period of thirty days, sixteen thousand Christians were martyred. The Church in Rome was left scattered and disorganized, and the Holy See remained vacant for over two years. It wasn't until the ascension of Emperor Maxentius and his policy of toleration that a pope could be chosen. Marcellus, a Roman priest during the reign of Marcellinus, was elected.
The new pope was confronted with enormous problems. His first challenge was to reorganize the badly shaken Church. He is said to have accomplished this by dividing Rome into twenty-five parishes, each with its own priest. The next task was more challenging. Once again a pope was faced with the problem of what to do with the many brethren who had compromised their faith during the reign of Diocletian. Marcellus upheld the doctrine of required penance before absolution. The apostates keenly desired readmission to communion, but they violently opposed the harshness of the penance demanded by the rigorist, Marcellus. Riots broke out throughout the city, and even bloodshed, to the point that Emperor Maxentius intervened. He believed that the pontiff was the root of the problem, and in the interest of peace, he banished Marcellus; the pope died a short time later. Apart from persecution, this was the first time that the secular government was known to have interfered with the Church. There is some confusion whether his body was brought back to Rome or whether he was allowed to return to the Holy See before his death. There is no doubt, however, that he was buried in the cemetery of Priscilla on the Via Salaria.
Human: The death of Edward Gibbon, 1794 (54 years old), author of Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. This link has a very funny summary, in my opinion, you've got to see it.
The Writer's Almanac edition today.
Natural: What Are the 12 Habits for a Healthy Mind and Body?
Italian: Freddura (pun / quip)
Quote: Mens sana in corpore sano: A healthy mind in a healthy body
The phrase comes from Satire X (c. 2nd century AD) of the Roman poet Juvenal (10.356). It is the first in a list of what is desirable in life:
You should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body.
Ask for a stout heart that has no fear of death,
and deems length of days the least of Nature's gifts
that can endure any kind of toil,
that knows neither wrath nor desire and thinks
the woes and hard labors of Hercules better than
the loves and banquets and downy cushions of Sardanapalus.
What I commend to you, you can give to yourself;
For assuredly, the only road to a life of peace is virtue.
EXTRA! EXTRA!: Here is the Psychology Takeaway interview I mentioned the other day on keeping New Year's resolutions and the Kalokagathia Guide that I wrote.
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