A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
Yesterday there was a spontaneous tea party in our home at a much-anticipated reunion of friends after a year apart. They dressed for it, too, in quite a variety of creative costumes. There is nothing these kids like doing more than using their imaginations when it comes to "dress-up" and role playing, which is why I have endured the clutter of my decades-long costume collection and dragged it around from home to home, from country to country. Every piece of clothing or accessory carries a story with it, often a story that predates my own as a great deal of it was discovered in charity shops. It's always amusing to see objects from different stages of my life incorporated into the girls' elaborate, and often illogical, stories that they act out. It was certainly my favorite form of imaginative play when I was a child, and many of those costumes (or, rather, items salvaged from around the house) were worn by me when I was their age. If little Andrea had been given a glimpse into the future, she would have seen her future dress-up playmates, Valentina and Cordelia, wearing very familiar items but creating stories and worlds with their imaginations that far surpassed her own. That is, I suppose, what every parent wishes to provide for their children- roots from their past to provide nourishment and stability, and healthy branches for their future to provide growth.
Liturgical: Tuesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
"Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear."
Bishop Barron's Gospel reflection today.
Sanctoral: Opt Mem of St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church; Bl. Solanus Casey, Priest (USA). Today there is a movie about Bl. Solanus Casey, "The Violinist", available on formed.org.
Human: Birthday of Giorgio Vasari (artist) – 1511, Emily Brontë (novelist) – 1818, Henry Ford (industrialist) – 1863
101 BC – Roman legions, led by Gaius Marius and Quintus Lutacius Catulus, won the victory over the Germanic invaders (Cymbri) in the battle of Vercellae in Cisalpine Gaul. The battle was fought around noon, as a result of a sandstorm, they were fought in disarray. Better training, discipline and organization of Roman forces determined the victory. It can be assumed that the heavy heat in some way additionally helped the Romans, who were used – in contrast to the peoples of the north – to high temperatures. Chasing the remnants of the beaten Cymbri, Marius' soldiers entered the fortified camp of the barbarians, just as after the battle of Aquae Sextiae, where Cymbri women were committing suicide, having murdered their offspring earlier. The losses of the Roman army were negligible (about 1000 killed). The Cymbri, according to various sources, lost between 90 to 140 thousand. About 60 000 went to Rome in captivity. In Rome, Marius was welcomed in triumph. As the savior of the republic, he was proclaimed the Third Founder of Rome.
The Writer's Almanac today.
Natural: Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei was first to observe what we now know are Saturn’s rings– 1610
Italian: Incantevole (enchanting / charming)
Quote: Some memorable quotes from today's birthday boy, Henry Ford--
"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young."
"Faith without action is delusion. Faith does not wait for miracles but produces them."
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