Calendar Class of June 9, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

Even days stuck at home sick in bed can provide a Carpe Diem moment, as I just discovered, when one is attentive to the hints of the Holy Spirit. It's these times of physical invalidity that provide an opportunity to make more progress with the stack of read-aloud books. My Dad, for example, was confined to bed rest for some of his younger years of childhood, during which time his devoted (and literary) mother Marjorie read aloud to him daily, setting him off on a life-long career as a thinker, writer, lecturer, and source of inspiration to generations of other writers. One such individual is the author of the book I am reading to the girls today, Dr. Gary Gregg. His latest book, The Stag and the Spear, is the prequel to The Remnant Chronicles, and a wonderfully clever page-turner set in WWII era Oxford. The adventure revolves around the story of St. Longinus, the Roman centurian who thrust his spear into the side of Christ at the crucifixion, and then subsequently declared Christ's divinity (an article is linked in todays quote section). Just as my Dad appeared as a character in the first book of The Remnant Chronicles, The Sporran, two inklings make an appearance in The Stag and the Spear, Jack (C.S. Lewis) and Tollers (J.R.R. Tolkien). And, as Providence would have it, today I discovered the classic novel The Spear on my bookshelf thanks to the recent acquisition of a friend's excellent homeschool library. As often happens in Calendar Class, today's Mass readings also coincide with the Snapshot subject, as you will see below.

Here is the link to Dr. Gregg's site.

Liturgical: Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out.

John 19:25-34

Sanctoral: Saint Ephrem the Syrian, c. 306 – June 9, 373

Poet, teacher, orator, and defender of the faith, Ephrem is the only Syriac Christian recognized as a doctor of the Church. He took upon himself the special task of opposing the many false doctrines rampant at his time, always remaining a true and forceful defender of the Catholic Church.

Born in Nisibis, Mesopotamia, he was baptized as a young man and became famous as a teacher in his native city. When the Christian emperor had to cede Nisibis to the Persians, Ephrem fled as a refugee to Edessa, along with many other Christians. He is credited with attracting great glory to the biblical school there. He was ordained a deacon but declined becoming a priest. Ephrem was said to have avoided presbyteral consecration by feigning madness!

He had a prolific pen, and his writings best illumine his holiness. Although he was not a man of great scholarship, his works reflect deep insight and knowledge of the

Scriptures. In writing about the mysteries of humanity’s redemption, Ephrem reveals a realistic and humanly sympathetic spirit and a great devotion to the humanity of Jesus. It is said that his poetic account of the Last Judgment inspired Dante.

It is surprising to read that he wrote hymns against the heretics of his day. He would take the popular songs of the heretical groups and using their melodies, compose beautiful hymns embodying orthodox doctrine. Ephrem became one of the first to introduce song into the Church’s public worship as a means of instruction for the faithful. His many hymns have earned him the title “Harp of the Holy Spirit.”

Ephrem preferred a simple, austere life, living in a small cave overlooking the city of Edessa. It was here that he died around 373.

Human: Birthday of Peter the Great (emperor of Russia) – 1672; Death day of Charles Dickens (author) – 1870

Roman history on this day:

19 BC – the aqueduct Aqua Virgo was built in Rome. It functions to this day, supplying the famous Trevi Fountain.

53 AD – Roman emperor Nero married his stepsister, Octavia (whom he later had murdered).

68 AD – Nero committed suicide. Nero believed that everyone was lying in wait for him, that is why so many people were murdered at his commands, including his mother Agrippina. The emperor’s behavior prompted senators and military commanders to get rid of him. When the Senate proclaimed him a public enemy, Nero left Rome and committed suicide. His last words were: What an artist dies in me!

193 AD – after gaining power over most of the Roman Empire, Septimius Severus led a triumphal procession in Rome.

Natural: Grilled Cantaloupe With Prosciutto-- a delicious and typical summertime Italian appetizer

Italian: Barlume (flicker / glimmer)

Quote: "Truly this man was the Son of God!" Matthew 27:54.2

The Story of Saint Longinus at the Cross

The statue of St. Longinus in St. Peter's Basilica by Bernini.

The very long and complicated history of the Holy Lance(s)

The birthplace of St. Longinus, Lanciano, where we have taken pilgrims and students.