A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
Pre-dawn is the calm before the storm. Before even the birds begin their incessant chirping. Before the kids begin to stir. Before the brain is fully aware that it is awake. Technically, this is called nautical dawn, when the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon. Birds, and all creatures who live by natural instincts, take their cues from the sun, and only begin to make a racket when the sun reaches a certain point. This is called the "dawn chorus" and you can read more about this complex and beautiful (and loud!) phenomena here.
Liturgical: Readings for the Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church
"Naked I came forth from my mother's womb,
and naked shall I go back again.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
blessed be the name of the LORD!"
Bishop Barron's Gospel reflections today.
Sanctoral: Today is the Memorial of St. Jerome (345-420). Jerome was born in Dalmatia of a Christian, was baptized in Rome, while taking his classical courses. He then studied under the best masters in foreign cities. But the Church had need of this extraordinarily gifted man. Jerome heard and obeyed the divine call, made a vow of celibacy, and withdrew for four years to a hermitage in the Syrian desert. The Holy Father soon summoned Jerome to Rome and entrusted him with the enormous task of revising the Latin Bible. This work, which took 30 years to complete, is the Vulgate version of the Scriptures. He also wrote many other works, mostly commentaries on the books of the Bible.
The Roman Martyrology also commemorates St. Francis Borgia (1510-1572), a descendant of the notorious Alexander VI. He spent a part of his life in collecting titles and offices of importance. Certain reverses of fortune caused him to reflect on his life. He was already a Franciscan tertiary, but this was not enough for him; he became a Jesuit, at first secretly and then publicly in 1550 having made provision for his eight children. In 1565 he became General of the Society of Jesus. He was a man of wide experience, a clever diplomat and ranks as the second founder of his Order. He died in Rome on October 1, 1572.
Human: 1520 Suleiman the Magnificent succeeds his father, Selim I, as Ottoman Sultan and rules until 1566. What happened to the Ottoman empire?
1862 Minister-President of Prussia Otto von Bismarck delivers his famous "Blood and Iron" speech on the unification of German territories. What happened to Prussia?
The Writer's Almanac today.
Natural: 1846 Anesthetic ether is used for the first time by American dentist Dr. William Morton, who extracts a tooth
Italian: Pantofola (slipper)
Quote: "I think there's a kind of desperate hope built into poetry now that one really wants, hopelessly, to save the world. One is trying to say everything that can be said for the things that one loves while there's still time." --W.S. Merwin, former poet laureate of the United States
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