Calendar Class of August 17, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

My little fishergirl has found her contemplative activity this summer-- fishing! She can sit in silence for a surprisingly long amount of time, definitely more than I could, just waiting for that one moment of excitement of the successful catch. Fishers attract other fishers to join them in silent waiting, such as the neighbor's grandson and our cat, Esme. Yesterday Mother Nature put on some glorious shows for us, first with a hurricane-like storm, blessedly brief, and then colorful heat lightening at night (video on IG).

Liturgical: Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

God speed the day, and let us each give him a helping hand in this work, when not only all Christians will be one but when our Jewish and Muslim fellowmen will also be with us, thanking Christ for all that he has done for us. That day may still be a long way off, but every step I take towards bringing it about, is bringing me a step nearer to heaven and making me dearer to God.

—Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.

Pope Leo's Sunday Mass in Albano and Angelus address today.

Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon: Christ Came to Cast Fire Upon the Earth

Fr. Plant's Homily-Scripture Lesson: I have cone to bring fire to the earth.

Sanctoral: Saint Joan of the Cross, France (June 18, 1666 – August 17, 1736) By the time of her death in 1736 she had founded 12 religious houses, hospices, and schools. Pope John Paul II canonized her in 1982.

Human: 260 BC – the temple of Janus was dedicated. Its construction was started by Duilius. Some remnants survive near the later constructed Theater of Marcellus.

2017-- Collision of 2 neutron stars about 130 million years ago created ripples in space-time that traveled to Earth and set off detectors in the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory.

Natural: Cat Nights Begin

Cat Nights begin on August 17. This term harks back to the days when people believed in witches. A rather obscure old Irish legend said that a witch could turn herself into a cat eight times, but on the ninth time (August 17), she couldn’t regain her human form. This bit of folklore also gives us the saying, “A cat has nine lives.”

Italian: Farsene una ragione (to come to terms with / to resign oneself)

Quote: "Every human story, even that of the Mother of God, is brief on this earth and comes to an end. Yet nothing is lost. When a life ends, its uniqueness shines even more clearly. The Magnificat, which the Gospel places on the lips of the young Mary, now radiates the light of all her days. One single day — the day she met her cousin Elizabeth — contains the seed of every other day, of every other season. And words are not enough; a song is needed, one that continues to be sung in the Church “from generation to generation” (Lk 1:50), at the close of every day."

From Pope Leo's homily on the Feast of the Assumption 2025