Calendar Class of March 7, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

The liturgical devotion of the month of March is to St. Joseph, so it's appropriate that I was able to snag a photo with two of our favorite Fr. Joseph's last week- Fr. Joseph Hudson of St. Anselm's and Fr. Joseph Hamilton of the Domus Australia. I had the honor of introducing these two, appropriately enough on the Aventine Hill, which is the same spot where St. Francis and St. Dominic met in the 1216 (I shan't relate the jokes that followed that comparison). During Fr. Joseph's tour of St. Anselm's, one of my students (named Josephine!) asked about the lack of devotional images in the older churches in Rome. Fr. Joseph explained how the devotion to Jesus' foster father was a relatively new one, which is why most of the churches named in his honor in the city of Rome date from after the 1800s.

Liturgical: Friday after Ash Wednesday

And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Matthew 9:14-15

Sanctoral: The Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of Saints Perpetua and Felicity (d. 203). The account of their martyrdom forms one of the finest pages of the history of the first centuries of the Church. It shows us clearly the wonderful sentiments of these two women when they heard that they had been condemned to the wild beasts. Knowing their own weakness but relying on the strength of Christ, who was fighting with them, they went to their martyrdom as to a triumphant celebration, to which they were invited by Christ. They were exposed to the fury of wild beasts in the amphitheater at Carthage, A.D. 203, and finally killed by the sword. Their names are still mentioned together in the Roman Canon of the Mass.

Human: Roman history on this day

• 161 AD – Emperor Antoninus Pius ascended the throne, one of the so-called five good emperors. His reign was a time of prosperity for Rome. Antoninus Pius enjoyed a good reputation due to his approachability, kindness, love for peace and a highly moral way of life. He stayed most of the time in Rome and did not leave Italy, accepting delegations from all provinces. His place was taken by Marcus Aurelius.

• 189 AD – Emperor Geta was born. He was the younger son of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna, and the brother of Caracalla who co-ruled with him. He was a co-emperor with his brother and father in the years 209-211 AD and with his brother in 211-212 AD. He was assassinated by Caracalla in the beginning of 212 AD.

• 238 AD – in Roman Africa, there was a mutiny against the emperor Maximinus Thrax. Gordian I was proclaimed the new emperor.

• 321 AD – Roman emperor Constantine the Great issued an edict, in which he established Sunday (dies Solis) with a day off work in offices, crafts and trade, but did not prohibit work in agriculture. The ordinance shortened the length of the week (previously there was an 8-day week, the so-called nundinae) and sanctioned the Christian custom of celebrating on the first day of the week (Sunday).

Natural: Making pretzels on Fridays in Lent; Brilliant nationwide aurora borealis – 1918 (2024 and 2025 have also been extraordinary years for aurora borealis); Why Are Eggs (and Chicks) So Expensive Now?

Italian: Capolavoro (masterpiece)

Quote: “In human life, Joseph was Jesus’ teacher in their daily contact, full of refined affection, glad to deny himself to take better care of Jesus. Isn’t that reason enough for us to consider this just man, this holy patriarch, in whom the faith of the Old Covenant comes to full fruition, as a master of interior life? Interior life is nothing but continual and direct conversation with Christ, so as to become one with him. And Joseph can tell us many things about Jesus. Therefore, never neglect devotion to him—Ite ad Ioseph: “Go to Joseph”—as Christian tradition puts it in the words of the Old Testament (Gen 41:55)” --St. Josemaría Escriva