A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
All roads lead to Remus... well, I guess the correct thing to say here is "Our roads will end in Remus." Here we are after Mass today at the family burial plot at our parish of St. Michael church in Remus. When good friends come to visit for the first time, we like to introduce them to the whole family, which includes my Dad, now gone for thirty years. We just noted today that this year also marks a halfway point for my mother, who was married for thirty years and now widowed for thirty years (though it truly seems only like yesterday). Today's first-time visitor is my friend Lidiia Batig, whom I met in Rome, where she now studies and works, but who was born and raised in Ukraine. This summer she is working in nearby Grand Rapids at the Acton Institute, so we whisked her away from the city for the weekend to show her the best of Michigan summers-- life at the lake. The girls enthusiastically gave her swimming lessons yesterday and are now attempting paddleboard lessons. This city mouse-country mouse lifestyle we lead is particularly enjoyable when the two worlds collide, and we get to entertain our international, urban friends in our down-home style in small town America.
Liturgical: Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon: "A Thorn in the Flesh". So helpful, this one!
Fr. Plant's Sunday Homily: "And they would not accept him." There are some really important quotes from Aquinas and Scruton at the end.
Today's Mass readings summary from catholicculture.org.
Sanctoral: Blessed Emmanuel Ruiz and Companions, martyrs. Spain and Syria. +1860
Human: July--Named to honor Roman dictator Julius Caesar (100-44B.C.). In 46 B.C., Julius Caesar, with the help of Sosigenes, developed the Julian calendar, the precursor to the Gregorian calendar we use today.
717 BC – the first king and founder of Rome, Romulus, was lost in the terrible storm that broke out during the joint deliberations of the people and the Senate in the Field of Mars. It was proclaimed that it was virtue and merit that took the king to heaven, where his father, the god Mars, was staying. There were also rumors that his enemies, using storm and darkness, murdered the ruler and removed his body. One of the senators then appeared and swore that in the morning Romulus himself appeared to him as the god Quirinus, announcing the power of Rome as the future capital of the world. In addition, Romulus demanded a temple for himself.
Cornerstone laid for first Catholic cathedral in the United States (Baltimore Basilica), in Baltimore, Maryland– 1806
Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini became the first American saint to be canonized– 1946
The Writer's Almanac today.
Natural: Dr. Chatterjee is singing my favorite seasonal song in his new podcast episode today! Here are his five tips for harnessing the light and energy that summer offers us: get up and out early in the morning to reset your circadian rhythm, exercise outside whenever possible, social media detox, immerse yourself in a natural, low-tech environment (i.e. camping), choose a daily mini-challenge for the summer to kickstart a new healthy habit. Bonus: read a different genre of books than your usual choices (i.e. fiction instead of non-fiction).
Italian of the Day: Fare il bastian contrario (to be contrary)
Quote: A warm heart requires a cool head.
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