Calendar Class of March 21, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

The Chesterton Schools Network is in Rome this week (200 of them!) and, after speed walking from the Janiculum hill to the Capitoline hill, I was blessed to catch the end of their concert, held in one of the most symbolically important churches in Rome, Santa Maria Ara Coeli. Every year, students, staff, and parents make the pilgrimage here for their Spring break and pass on the religious and cultural inheritance that is Rome to the rising generation. As is often the case, it is actually the wonder and enthusiasm of the pilgrims that evangelizes Rome by bringing the sacred sites to life. This group, from Chesterton Academy of the Holy Family in Lisle, Illinois, brought the beauty of their youthful, well-trained voices to the most ancient of sacred spaces in the Eternal City- the highest summit of the Capitoline hill where once stood the famous temple of Juno, with the temple of Jupiter next door. Since the prophecy of the Tiburtine sibyl to Augustus Caesar and his subsequent commission of the Altar to the Unknown God, this church has held deeply symbolic and continuous meaning for Rome's providential role in the history of the Church. It was here that Edward Gibbon first thought of writing his magnum opus, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. It was here, in imitation of Gibbon, that the Catholic historian Christopher Dawson also looked out over the same scene of the convergence of the ages of Rome and was inspired to write the history of culture (among his many important books is Dynamics of World History). And, last night, the students of the Chesterton Network of Schools followed in their footsteps, trekking up the 124 marble steps to the church, where they made a melodious contribution to the tapestry of Roman history and splendor.

Liturgical: Friday of the Second Week of Lent Mass readings and Gospel reflections by Bishop Barron

‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’?

Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

Sanctoral: John of Parma (1209–1289)- The seventh general minister of the Franciscan Order, John was known for his attempts to bring back the earlier spirit of the Order after the death of Saint Francis of Assisi.

The Roman Martyrology commemorates St. Nicholas of Flüe (1417-1487), patron saint of Switzerland. Nicholas was a holy man in Switzerland who at the death of his wife retired to a hermit‘s cell and passed the last twenty years of his life in solitude. He died March 21, 1487, at the age of seventy, and many miracles were wrought at his tomb.

Human: Death of Pocahontas (aka Rebecca Rolfe, funeral occurred on this date) – 1617

235 AD – in the military camp at Moguntiacum (today’s Mainz) soldiers murdered emperor Alexander Severus and his mother – Julia Mamma. Alexander’s death ended the Severan (Syrian) dynasty. He was replaced by Maximinus Thrax.

Here's a video on Septimius Severus in Rome and the Severan dynasty.

Natural: National Flower Day

The pollen and nectar from flowers feed our bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, and insects. All those fruiting vegetables—from tomatoes to zucchini—wouldn’t exist without flowers. So flowers also feed us!

In addition, flowers have surprising health benefits, including helping us sleep, calming our minds, and increasing positive feelings.

Flowers also help control pests in your vegetable garden! And, of course, flowers add color, scents, and texture to our gardens, stimulating our senses and adding artistic beauty to our lives!

Italian: Grandine (hail)

Quote: "Flowers . . . are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world. "

—Ralph Waldo Emerson, American writer (1803-82)

My favorite Italian childrens' song: "Ci vuole un fiore" (it takes a flower) by Sergio Endrigo

Le cose d'ogni giorno raccontano segreti

A chi le sa guardare ed ascoltare

Per fare un tavolo ci vuole il legno

Per fare il legno ci vuole l'albero

Per fare l'albero ci vuole il seme

Per fare il seme ci vuole il frutto

Per fare il frutto ci vuole il fiore

Ci vuole un fiore, ci vuole un fiore

Per fare un tavolo ci vuole un fiore

Per fare un tavolo ci vuole il legno

Per fare il legno ci vuole l'albero

Per fare l'albero ci vuole il seme

Per fare il seme ci vuole il frutto

Per fare il frutto ci vuole il fiore

Ci vuole un fiore, ci vuole un fiore

Per fare un tavolo ci vuole un fiore

Per fare un fiore ci vuole un ramo

Per fare il ramo ci vuole l'albero

Per fare l'albero ci vuole il bosco

Per fare il bosco ci vuole il monte

Per fare il monte ci vuol la terra

Per far la terra ci vuole un fiore

Per fare tutto ci vuole un fiore

Per fare un fiore ci vuole un ramo

Per fare il ramo ci vuole l'albero

Per fare l'albero ci vuole il bosco

Per fare il bosco ci vuole il monte

Per fare il monte ci vuol la terra

Per far la terra ci vuole un fiore

Per fare tutto ci vuole un fiore

Per fare un tavolo ci vuole il legno

Per fare il legno ci vuole l'albero

Per fare l'albero ci vuole il seme

Per fare il seme ci vuole il frutto

Per fare il frutto ci vuole il fiore

Ci vuole un fiore, ci vuole un fiore