Calendar Class of June 22, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

This morning at the 9 am Mass with Fra Agnello, there was a new soprano singing with the Vatican choir- Marie-Therese! She's the one in the cheerful pink floral number.

Liturgical: Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

The chronological history of today's feast.

St. Juliana of Belgium's role in the origin of the Feast of Corpus Christi. It's likely this joyful feast, with its wonderful traditions, would not have come about had it not been for the forty years of petitioning by this humble Norbertine nun.

The Miracle of Orvieto: The Dramatic Origin of Corpus Christi

Pope Leo's Sunday Angelus video today, and an article summary. The Pope's full text.

Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon: Join your life to Christ's Sacrifice

Fr. Plant's Homily-Scripture Lesson: This is my body

Four major kinds of desire that contribute to our happiness. This is another must-listen episode.

Sanctoral: Opt Mem of Sts John Fisher, Bishop, and Thomas More, Martyrs; Opt Mem of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop

Human: 1675 Royal Greenwich Observatory is established in England by King Charles II, the son of Charles I who lost his head the other day. This Charles subsequently fled England using disguises and hiding in an oak tree for a day, was restored to the throne in 1660, and converted to Catholicism on his deathbed at the age of 54.

1941 Operation Barbarossa: Nazi Germany and its allies invade the Soviet Union during World War II, the largest military operation in history

Today, 2025: The U.S. military strikes nuclear sites in Iran

Natural: Different types of sacrifices in the Jewish temple- some that were eaten and some that were not (this lesson is an extension of today's homily from Bishop Barron).

"For the most part, the practice of sacrifice stopped in the year 70 C.E., when the Roman army destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem, the place where sacrifices were offered. The practice was briefly resumed during the Jewish War of 132-135 C.E., but was ended permanently after that war was lost. There were also a few communities that continued sacrifices for a while after that time...

Zevach Sh'lamim: Peace Offering

A peace offering is an offering expressing thanks or gratitude to G-d for His bounties and mercies. The Hebrew term for this type of offering is zebach sh'lamim (or sometimes just sh'lamim), which is related to the word shalom, meaning "peace" or "whole." A representative portion of the offering is burnt on the altar, a portion is given to the kohanim, and the rest is eaten by the offerer and his family; thus, everyone gets a part of this offering. This category of offerings includes thanksgiving-offerings (in Hebrew, Todah, which was obligatory for survivors of life-threatening crises), free will-offerings, and offerings made after fulfillment of a vow."

Italian: Vestirsi a cipolla (to dress like an onion, in layers)

Word of the Day: anamnesis-- remembrance or recollection, reminiscence. From the Greek verb anamnēsis. The part of the Eucharist in which the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Christ are recalled.

Quote: "Saint Augustine spoke of the need to pass from amor sui – egotistic, myopic and destructive self-love – to amor Dei – a free and generous love, grounded in God and leading to the gift of self. That passage, he taught, is essential for the building of the civitas Dei, a society whose fundamental law is charity (cf. De Civitate Dei, XIV, 28).

In order to have a shared point of reference in political activity, and not exclude a priori any consideration of the transcendent in decision-making processes, it would be helpful to seek an element that unites everyone. To this end, an essential reference point is the natural law, written not by human hands, but acknowledged as valid in all times and places, and finding its most plausible and convincing argument in nature itself. In the words of Cicero, already an authoritative exponent of this law in antiquity, I quote from De Re Publica: “Natural law is right reason, in accordance with nature, universal, constant and eternal, which with its commands, invites us to do what is right and with its prohibitions deters us from evil... No change may be made to this law, nor may any part of it be removed, nor can it be abolished altogether; neither by the Senate nor by the people, can we free ourselves from it, nor is it necessary to seek its commentator or interpreter. And there shall be no law in Rome, none in Athens, none now, none later; but one eternal and unchanging law shall govern all peoples at all times” (III, 22).

Natural law, which is universally valid apart from and above other more debatable beliefs, constitutes the compass by which to take our bearings in legislating and acting, particularly on the delicate and pressing ethical issues that, today more than in the past, regard personal life and privacy...

During the Jubilee of the Year 2000, Saint John Paul II indicated Saint Thomas More as a witness for political leaders to revere and an intercessor under whose protection to place their work. Sir Thomas More was a man faithful to his civic responsibilities, a perfect servant of the state precisely because of his faith, which led him to view politics not as a profession but as a mission for the spread of truth and goodness. He “placed his public activity at the service of the person, especially the weak and poor; he handled social disputes with an exquisite sense of justice; he protected the family and defended it with strenuous commitment; and he promoted the integral education of youth” (Apostolic Letter E Sancti Thomae Mori, 31 October 2000, 4). The courage he showed by his readiness to sacrifice his life rather than betray the truth makes him, also for us today, a martyr for freedom and for the primacy of conscience. May his example be a source of inspiration and guidance for each of you!"

--ADDRESS OF POPE LEO XIV TO MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION on Saturday, 21 June 2025