A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
We are right now preparing a simplified Burns Night Supper (there are plenty of potatoes, but meatloaf is standing in for haggis!). It was this festive, cozy tradition of an evening set aside to honor the beloved Scottish poet Robbie Burns on January 25, the bard's birthday, that inspired Alan Cornett of the podcast Cultural Debris to declare my Dad's birthday, October 19th, Kirk Night! As with Burns Night traditions, Kirk Night also entails particular rituals to honor Michigan's greatest man of letters, such as eating a decadent dessert (preferably chocolate), raising a toast (preferably his Mecosta punch recipe), and reading a ghost story by the fireplace (preferably with spine-tingling special effects!).
If you fancy tying the two traditions together, you could read Tam o'Shanter aloud (with a thick Scottish accent, of course) by the fireside tonight, sipping your best Scottish whiskey. Here's an excerpt:
O Tam! hadst thou but been sae wise,
As ta’en thy ain wife Kate’s advice!
She taul thee weel thou was a skellum,
A blethering, blustering, drunken blellum;
That frae November till October,
Ae market-day thou was nae sober;
That ilka melder, wi’ the miller,
Thou sat as lang as thou had siller;
That every naig was ca’d a shoe on,
The smith and thee gat roaring fou on;
That at the L—d’s house, even on Sunday,
Thou drank wi’ Kirkton Jean till Monday.
She prophesied that late or soon,
Thou would be found deep drown’d in Doon;
Or catch’d wi’ warlocks in the mirk,
By Alloway’s auld haunted kirk.
Liturgical: Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle
Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me,
Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. He got up and was baptized, and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength.
Acts 9:1-22
Bishop Barron's Gospel reflections today.
Sanctoral: The Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul celebrates St. Paul turning away from persecution of Christians to promoting Christianity. St. Paul, named Saul at his circumcision, a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, was born at Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia. He was a Roman citizen. He was brought up as a strict Jew, and later became a violent persecutor of the Christians. While on his way to Damascus to make new arrests of Christians, he was suddenly converted by a miraculous apparition of Our Lord. From a fierce persecutor he became the great Apostle of the Gentiles. He made three missionary journeys which brought him to the great centers of Asia Minor and southern Europe, and made many converts. Fourteen of his Epistles are found in the New Testament. He was beheaded in Rome around 66 A.D., and his relics are in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls near the Ostian Way.
Human: Burns Night
The birthday of Scotland’s most famous poet, Robert Burns (1759-1796), has become an occasion for Scots all over the world to gather together in his honor. A Burns Night supper usually includes haggis, a traditional dish of the heart, lungs, and liver of a sheep or calf minced with suet, onions, oatmeal, and seasonings. Burns’s words, Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o’ the pudding-race!” greets the dish’s entry into the room. Men wear kilts and women their tartan sashes, and the evening’s celebration includes reading Burns’s poems and singing his songs, ending with one of his most famous, “Auld Lang Syne.” Most of us are familiar with the first verse, “Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind?"
The Writer's Almanac edition today.
Natural: Iraq opened outlet valves at Kuwait refinery to create the world’s largest oil spill (450 million gallons estimated) – 1991
You may have heard that there was going to be an unique planetary line-up tonight but, unfortunately, this is FAKE NEWS and here's why. The winter sky is still spectacularly starry, though.
Italian: 17 Ways to Say YES in Italian
Quote: "Some hae meat and canna eat, and some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit.”
Robert Burns’ Selkirk Grace is famous for being read on Burns’ night before the haggis is shared between friends.
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