Calendar Class of August 11, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

Carpe Castrum! This sand castle extravaganza appears annually once a summer thanks to a family who spends the day raising this fortress when they gather at the lake for their reunion. Sand is a great medium for practicing "Ephemeral Art," a genre that can be criticized as wasteful (except in the case of sand, perhaps!) but I've always appreciated its inherent message of the fleeting and fragile nature of beauty, and life in general. It is a Carpe Diem kind of art form! In fact, now that I think about it, isn't each and every day a form of Ephemeral Art?

Liturgical: Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin

When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?” He said, “Yes, he does.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?” When Peter said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the children are free. However, so that we do not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.”

Matthew 17:22-27

Sanctoral: The Memorial of St. Clare of Assisi (1194-1253) is celebrated today. Clare was the first woman to practice the life of entire poverty as taught by St. Francis. Placed by him at the head of a few companions in the small convent of San Damiano, she governed her community for forty-two years thus founding at the gates of Assisi the Order of Poor Clares. Their Rule included austerities hitherto unknown in monasteries of women. They went barefoot, slept on the ground, kept perpetual abstinence and made poverty the basis of their lives. St. Clare died on August 11, 1253, and was canonized two years after her death.

Human: 3114 BC 3114-08-11 BCE is traditionally considered the start date of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Maya.

117 AD – at the age of 41, after Trajan’s death, Hadrian became the new emperor. A day earlier, Trajan had died, probably as a result of a stroke in Selinuun, in Cilicia after having returned from the Parthian campaign. Before his death Trajan managed to hand over the command of the eastern army of Hadrian, son of one of his cousins. After the death of the ruler, he was immediately granted the imperial acclamation in Antioch, and the Senate ratified it. There was no official act of adoption, but Plotina, Trajan’s wife, stated that on his deathbed the emperor formally appointed Hadrian as his successor.

Natural: 2025 Perseid Meteor Shower: Best Time to See Shooting Stars!

What is a Shooting Star? (And, How to See One!)

Dog Days End

The phrase “Dog Days” refers to the hottest days of summer. The Old Farmer’s Almanac lists the traditional timing of the Dog Days: the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11, coinciding with the heliacal (at sunrise) rising of the Dog Star, Sirius. The rising of Sirius does not actually affect the weather (some of our hottest and most humid days occur after August 11), but for the ancient Egyptians, Sirius appeared just before the season of the Nile’s flooding so they used the star as a “watchdog” for that event. Since its rising also coincided with a time of extreme heat, the connection with hot, sultry weather was made for all time.

Italian: Vestaglia (dressing gown)

Quote: “May the excitements of the world, fleeing like a shadow, not disturb you.”

–St. Clare of Assisi