A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
It's the eve of the eve of All Hallow's today, and so time for a costume rehearsal for our pint size pirate. It's my duty at tomorrow evening's festivities to explore the Roman roots of Halloween, as well as the Catholic perspective on today's trend more towards horror and less towards the ghostly. In the course of my research today I came across this relevant article from Word on Fire. Earlier this month, Valentina finally listened to the audio book of my favorite book on the holiday, The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. In this short tale, Bradbury takes costumed children on a global tour through history to discover the various traditions that have all contributed to our modern-day American celebration of the "Day of the Dead," as well as the deeper themes of life, death, sacrifice, immortality, and the “primeval contract” among the dead, living, and unborn (Burke) that lurks behind the jack-o-lantern.
Liturgical: Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Honor your father and mother.
This is the first commandment with a promise,
that it may go well with you
and that you may have a long life on earth.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger,
but bring them up with the training and instruction of the Lord.
Bishop Barron's Gospel reflections today.
Sanctoral: Blessed Fr. Oleksa Zarytsky (1912-1963), a Greek Catholic priest, was born in the village of Biche, in the Lviv Region, Ukraine. In 1931, he entered the seminary in Lviv. He received his ordination to the priesthood from Metropolitan Andrei Sheptyts’kyi in 1936. In 1948, he was imprisoned for ten years and deported to Karaganda. After his early release in 1957, he was named Apostolic Administrator of Kazakhstan and Siberia, but was shortly thereafter imprisoned again for a three-year term. He died as a martyr for the faith in 1963 in the Dolynka concentration camp near Karaganda. He was beatified on June 27, 2001 by Pope John Paul II in Ukraine.
Human: Birthday of John Adams (2nd U.S. president) – 1735
The Writer's Almanac edition today.
Roman history today:
39 BC – Julia the Elder was born, the daughter of Augustus, and wife of Tiberius. Known for her scandalous way of life, among her lovers were Antonius Julius, Tiberius Crispinus, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, Appius Claudius Pulcher and Cornelius Scipio and other representatives of the most famous Roman families. In the year 2 BC Augustus exiled her on the island Pandateria, where she lived in very harsh conditions. She was accompanied by her mother, Scribonia, who went there voluntarily. Later, Julia was allowed to move to Regium. After Tiberius’ ascension to the throne, her conditions became worse, leading to her death.
Natural: Update on my birthday health resolutions for accountability-- the morning walks are working, my sleep quality is improving, but I find it necessary to switch the keto omad plan to a "make the best choice from the options in front of you" plan, due to community meals! In the end, it's the new healthy habits that matter more than the specific plan.
Italian: Squisito (delicious, exquisite)
Quote: "Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There was never a democracy that did not commit suicide."
--President John Adams
Etc.: Somehow during my Stoicism book research, I failed to see this article on my Dad and Stoicism by Micael Warren Davis! Here it is, at last.
Comments