A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
A Carpe Diem Snapshot: The other day, these two beauties came back into my life when they were returned to me by a dear friend who is writing a book on Italian cultural traditions through the year. Out of my entire (rather expansive) collection of books on themes related to the four cycles of life through the calendar year, I believe these two are the best expression of what inspired Four Season Schole. Discovered by chance (or Providence!) in an Italian rest stop shop a decade ago, they are an incredibly valuable collection of Italian agricultural (lavoro) and religious (festa) traditions month by month. It was a school project headed by a few visionary teachers, who had their students interview their elderly nonni (grandparents) about their lives in pre-industrial, rural Italy. It is entirely handwritten and illustrated by the students and their teachers, and contains proverbs, legends, poems, stories, recipes, and descriptions of the seasonal changes and how that influenced their work and holidays. The teachers wisely understood how important it was to preserve all these memories for their students and future generations. Hopefully it was for them, as it is now for us, not only a project of cultural preservation, but a project of cultural renewal- a reminder of how beautiful life can be when we practice the common and liberal arts in our daily lives through work and festivity.
Liturgical: Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr
"For the grace of God has appeared, saving all
and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires
and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,
as we await the blessed hope,
the appearance of the glory of the great God
and of our savior Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness
and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,
eager to do what is good."
Bishop Barron's Gospel reflections today.
Sanctoral: Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Josaphat (1580-1643), a Catholic of the Ruthenian rite. He was an apostle of the return of the Orthodox schismatics to the Church of Rome. Born in the then Polish region of Lithuania of Orthodox parents, he became a Catholic and a Ukrainian Basilian monk. Chosen bishop, he worked faithfully for the unity of the Church until he suffered martyrdom at the hands of an angry mob in Russia in 1623 at the age of forty-three. He is one of the patrons of Poland.
Human: 1880 Best-selling American novel "Ben-Hur: A Tale of The Christ" by soldier Lew Wallace is published.
The Writer's Almanac today.
Natural: 1990 The World Wide Web is first proposed by CERN computer scientists Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau. Here's how the internet actually works.
Italian: Birichino (mischievous)
Quote: "We don't have to know everything at once. We just do one thing at a time as it is given us to do." Madeleine L'Engle, A Wind in the Door
Comments