A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
Every year on All Saints Day we choose the name of a saint written on a small piece of paper out of a bucket. As the year unfolds, we learn about the saint's life and virtues, and try to make a pilgrimage to the saint's relics or tomb. More often than not, the saint shows up unexpectantly, taking us by surprise. The other day, for example, whilst in the church of Santa Prassede for class, I happened upon the Venerable (pictured above) Enrichetta Beltrame Quattrocchi, the daughter of Tony's saints of the year, Blessed Luigi and Maria Quattrocchi, whose feast day is today (links below). The couple became the first married couple to be canonized together in 2001, by St. Pope John Paul II. They are buried in the Sanctuary of Divine Love, which was designated a major pilgrimage destination in 2000, also by St. Pope John Paul II. I first heard about this holy couple some years ago when I walked into the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria and happened to notice an ancient monk sitting alone in a corner. Inexplicably, I felt inspired to ask him to hear my confession. Before leaving, the priest gave me a prayer card, encouraging me to pray to this couple, adding that they were his parents. Only now today, in the course of my research for this blog post, did I learn his name-- Fr. Paolino, a Trappist monk.
La famiglia Quattrocchi, pregate per noi!
Jesus said to his Apostles:
"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body
but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Bishop Barron's Gospel reflections today.
Sanctoral: Today the Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria (d. 305). From time immemorial St. Catherine had been venerated at the monastery on Mount Sinai when, in the fifteenth century, the monks discovered her body. Legend has made of her a young Christian of Alexandria who rejected the advances of the Emperor Maximinus and routed a meeting of learned men gathered together to induce her to deny Christ. This feast was restored to the General Roman Calendar in 2002. St. Catherine is included in the list of Fourteen Holy Helpers.
Blessed Luigi and Maria Quattrocchi, Rome, Italy +1951 and +1965
Luigi and Maria were two married Italian Catholic laypeople who became the first couple to be beatified together in 2001. According to Pope John Paul II, they lived "an ordinary life in an extraordinary way". They are commemorated on 25 November—their wedding anniversary.
It's the birthday of American steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, born in Dunfermline, Scotland (1835), the son of a weaver and political radical. His father instilled in young Andrew the values of political and economic equality, but his family's poverty taught Carnegie a different lesson. At the age of 12, the boy worked as a milkhand for $1.20 per week. When the Carnegies immigrated to America in 1848, Carnegie was determined to find prosperity. One of the pioneers of industry of 19th-century America, Andrew Carnegie helped build the American steel industry, which turned him into one of the richest entrepreneurs of his age.
The Writer's Almanac edition today.
Natural: Albert Einstein formulated his general theory of relativity– 1915
Italian: Chiacchierone (chatterbox)
Quote: What the Heart Cannot Forget
Everything remembers something. The rock, its fiery bed,
cooling and fissuring into cracked pieces, the rub
of watery fingers along its edge.
The cloud remembers being elephant, camel, giraffe,
remembers being a veil over the face of the sun,
gathering itself together for the fall.
The turtle remembers the sea, sliding over and under
its belly, remembers legs like wings, escaping down
the sand under the beaks of savage birds.
The tree remembers the story of each ring, the years
of drought, the floods, the way things came
walking slowly towards it long ago.
And the skin remembers its scars, and the bone aches
where it was broken. The feet remember the dance,
and the arms remember lifting up the child.
The heart remembers everything it loved and gave away,
everything it lost and found again, and everyone
it loved, the heart cannot forget.
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