Carpe Diem Snapshot:
In yet another example of "all roads lead to Rome" let me tell you about what happened today! First of all, my own mother is in Rome for Mother's Day, which is pretty special as we're not ordinarily in the same geographical location on this day. Secondly, it's the feast of St. Pancrazio, whose relics are in the basilica named in his honor just up the street from the villa, and Valentina ended up going to Mass there today. Third, we took my mom to the "Queen of the Roman Roads", Appia Antica, for lunch today and stopped by the tomb of Cecilia Metella, our backdrop for the photo above. In the photo, we are facing the dramatic ruins of the Cistercian Gothic church of St. Nicholas, which, we were surprised to discover, was first consecrated on this very day in 1303. It sits on land once owned by the noble Roman Caetani family. During his bachelor years of exploring the world, my father stayed with the Caetani descendants in their castle in the medieval garden village of Ninfa. Finally, we ended the evening with dinner at Villa Magnolia with several friends visiting Rome from Kentucky- two from the podcast/tour company Cultural Debris (whose name was inspired by this essay), and two who are accompanying students currently residing at the villa from the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. Rome is a magical meeting point, not only of friends both old and new, but also of generations past with the present.
Liturgical: Solemnity of the Ascension or the Seventh Sunday of Easter
World Communications Day 2024: Artificial Intelligence and the Wisdom of the Heart
“It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Sanctoral: Nereus and Achilleus; Pancras or Pancrazio; Bl. Imelda Lambertini (1322-1333)- Patron of First Communicants
Human: Mother's Day 2024! A message for mothers from Bishop Barron.
Natural: How becoming a mother transforms a woman's body and brain, and "Matrescence," or the study of a woman's transition to motherhood.
Quote: "Life doesn't come with a manual, it comes with a mother." --Anonymous
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