A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
Today we say farewell to one of the most beautiful months of the year- June. Each month I try to remember to make one of these posters for our Four Season Schole curriculum. Each "cycle of life" in the month has a particular focus, and each vocational activity has a particular guide. We also list special events and celebrations particular to each month to keep track of what we have been privileged to experience and what we want to accomplish. Yesterday, Valentina decided to add "Place Studies" to each month's agenda so this month it was Greece, in honor of the theme chosen for my Aunt Marie's 80th Birthday Party, to be held at Il Vascello (our home) later today. Happy Birthday, Aunt Marie, and “Χρόνια Πολλά!” Here's how to celebrate birthdays Greek-style.
Liturgical: Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
"God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.
For he fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are wholesome, and there is not a destructive drug among them nor any domain of the netherworld on earth, for justice is undying. For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who belong to his company experience it." --Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24
Sanctoral: First Martyrs of the Church of Rome. It's interesting that this commemoration in the sanctoral cycle directly follows the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, who brought the faith to the Caput Mundi. Venerating their relics is still one of the main motivations of pilgrimage to Rome by Christians today. This year I've been reading more about the historical context of the rise of Christianity in the city of Rome and how the example of the Christians' practice of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy swayed hearts and minds, culminating in their testimony to hope in eternal life through their supernaturally calm acceptance of death. It seems to fit with today's readings...
Human: Birthday of Harry Blackstone Jr. (magician) – 1934. I mention him because my parents met him at the "Magic Castle" in Hollywood in the 1960s and he presented my mother with a card with her name "Annette" on it that magically appeared. Later my Mom was able to use the card to prove her identity when attending an event at the White House in D.C., for lack of other identification (true story).
Death of Robert McCloskey (American author and illustrator) – 2003
The Writer's Almanac edition today.
Natural: A leap second was added to the world’s atomic clocks to keep up with the slowing rotation of the earth– 2012
The first photo of a confirmed baby planet (PDS 70b) was announced– 2018
Italian Idiom of the Day: Piove sul bagnato (When it rains, it pours)
Quote: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” (Tertullian, Apology, 50).
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