A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
A few hours ago, my Mom surprised me with this Carpe Diem moment when I heard her calling my name on Michigan Avenue in Big Rapids, Michigan, the town in which she gave birth to me, in the same hospital where two of my daughters were delivered. She and my third sister Felicia had just caught a harmonica concert (!?) in the room next to the mosaic art workshop my girls are now attending at Artworks. Felicia snapped this photo before we parted. I love how the word "dance" appears above us, which reminds me of the book "The Mother-Daughter Dance," by cartoonist Cathy Guisewite, who, it turns out, is from Midland, Michigan, not too far from here up M-20.
Liturgical: Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
"You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?"
Bishop Barron's reflections today.
Sanctoral: Sts. Mark & Marcellianus, Martyrs; St. Gregory Barbarigo, Bishop; Venerable Matt Talbot, Ireland, +1923--patron saint of alcoholics, recovery from substance abuse and addictions
Human: Death of Tasha Tudor (children’s author & illustrator, and a beautiful, thoughtful soul) – 2008; The United States declared war on Great Britain– 1812; Napoleon’s troops were defeated at Waterloo (present-day Belgium)– 1815
Natural: 103-year-old Julia Hawkins won the 100-meter dash at the National Senior Games– 2019 (and went on to win more); A thunderstorm over Uruguay and northern Argentina produced a single flash of lightning that lasted 17.102 seconds, setting a world record for the longest duration of a single lightning bolt. – 2020 (personal anecdote-- a HUGE thunder-and-lightning storm over the lake woke us up in the middle of the night last night. I had never seen anything like it, with the driving rain pelting the house sideways. And yet the dawn broke over a peaceful, power-washed landscape this morning as if nothing had happened!)
Italian Word of the Day: Già (already)
In case you missed it: Yesterday Pope Francis became the first pope in history to address the leaders of the G7, which gave me the opportunity to explain to the girls what the G7 is, as well as the G20. In recent months Pope Francis has been speaking on the ethical use and dangers of Artificial Intelligence. It is obviously a topic on everyone's minds these days-- here is a recent article (in Italian) on more Catholic responses to the issues being raised by the omnipresence of AI (at least in developed countries who choose to spend money on such things). Speaking of which, I just happened to see that China has unveiled more remote-controlled "war hounds"...
Quote:
“Magic moments are something you see that you hadn’t seen often before. Like a sunrise that was especially pretty, or a sunset or a shooting star. Amazing things like that are worth watching for. You don’t have to be wealthy to get to see them. You just have to be observant and keep a watch what’s out there.”
“I try to do as many new things as I can. I never say no to an invitation. I like to go to plays and musicals and church and all kinds of places...When you get old you should have a lot of passions. Passions keep you going. They make you want to live and want to do. Get out there and make new friends and do something new every day.”
“If I can be an inspiration to people and keep them a little more healthy and active, I’m proud to do it.”
--Julia Hawkins, a 107-year-old gardener and competitive runner
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