A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
We have arrived! This morning we traveled from the top of the country to the bottom, from a chilly autumnal morning in Michigan to a subtropical afternoon in southern Florida. We stepped out of the car into what literally felt like a sauna when we pulled up to the Ave Maria Catholic Church at the university of the same name.
This is my first visit to the university, though we have driven through the nearby everglades and alligator alley many years ago and saw several of the paleolithic creatures slithering in the swamp right next to road. Speaking of paleolithic creatures, this morning we encountered a lot of wildlife on the road as we made our way to the airport at three in the morning. It's usual to stop for many deer, possum, racoon, and other woodlands wildlife in rural Michigan, but one creature we never would have expected to run into was a giant bison. Yes, we truly, and carefully, passed an enormous bison, who looks like a descendent of the wooly mammoth, standing on the side of the road in the dark. At first I mistook it for a bear, which are spotted in the area, but as we drove past I was amazed to see the huge horns on the head of a bison, apparently lost (there is a bison farm nearby) but unpeturbed. He seemed to be peacefully resigned to his predicament, and much less threatening than a roadside alligator. At least that's what I, as a Michigander, presume. Perhaps at the end of our three day visit here, I will be just as unfazed by roadside alligators as I am by roadside bison...
"Brothers and sisters: Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up. If anyone supposes he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if one loves God, one is known by him."
Bishop Barron's Gospel reflections today.
Sanctoral: On this day dedicated to the Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary let us repeat that wonderful prayer of Saint Bernard, responding to Pope Benedict XVI's invitation to “invite everyone to become a trusting child before Mary, even as the Son of God did. Saint Bernard says, and we say with him: 'Look to the star of the sea, call upon Mary … in danger, in distress, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. May her name never be far from your lips, or far from your heart … If you follow her, you will not stray; if you pray to her, you will not despair; if you turn your thoughts to her, you will not err. If she holds you, you will not fall; if she protects you, you need not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is gracious to you, you will surely reach your destination”' (Benedict XVI, address at Heiligenkreuz Abbey, September 9, 2007).
The Roman Martyrology also commemorates St. Guy (also Guido or Guidon) of Anderlecht, Belgium (950-1012). Born in poverty, he was trained in his faith by pious parents and lived happily with his humble work in poverty. He had a failed "get rich quick" scheme, and realized he needed to re-embrace his life of poverty. He made a pilgrimage on foot to Rome, Italy then to Jerusalem where he worked for a while as a guide to pilgrims, then back to Brussels. Though he never joined any order or house, he vowed to live a life of chastity, and devoted most of his time to prayer, and work as a sacristan. His cult grew after he died, due to many miracles attributed to him.
Human: 1940 Four teens follow their dog down a hole near Lascaux, France, and discover 17,000-year-old drawings now known as the Lascaux Cave Paintings
Natural: Moon Mania-- Luna 2 spacecraft launched by the Soviet Union– 1959, U.S. President Kennedy delivered Moon speech, Rice University, Houston, Texas– 1962, Astronauts Jan Davis and Mark Lee became the first married couple in space during a shuttle mission– 1992
Leó Szilárd, waiting for a red light on Southampton Row in Bloomsbury, conceives the idea of a nuclear chain reaction-- 1933
The Battle of Marathon, one of history's earliest recorded battles, took place on this date in the year 490 B.C.
The Writer's Almanac edition today.
Italian: Silenzioso (quiet)
Quote: “From Mary we learn to surrender to God’s Will in all things. From Mary we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary we learn to love Christ her Son and the Son of God!” –St. Alphonsus Liguori
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