Calendar Class of May 2, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

This morning Marie-Therese and I managed to persuade the girls to take a morning walk with us around the neighborhood before the unseasonably hot weather set in. It's always a delight to introduce my beloved Janiculum neighborhood to new residents of Rome, but it was Marie-Therese who delighted us by singing "Pie Jesu" when we visited San Pietro in Montorio. Here is the video she shared with me today of her original performance of this requiem piece in honor of her late mother. Please join us in praying for the repose of the soul of Simone Romanos. As we left the church, I pointed out a beloved tomb inscription just next to the door-- "Both life and death are sweet and good." St. Athanasius, whose feast is celebrated today, seems to agree with this sentiment in his quote from On the Incarnation that is featured below.

Liturgical: Friday of the Second Week of Easter

So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God!”

Acts 5:34-42

Sanctoral: Athanasius (c. 296 – May 2, 373), Doctor of the Church

Five times Athanasius was exiled for his defense of the doctrine of Christ’s divinity. During one period of his life, he enjoyed 10 years of relative peace—reading, writing, and promoting the Christian life along the lines of the monastic ideal to which he was greatly devoted. His dogmatic and historical writings are almost all polemic, directed against every aspect of Arianism.

Among his ascetical writings, his Life of St. Anthony achieved astonishing popularity and contributed greatly to the establishment of monastic life throughout the Western Christian world.

Human: 2018--New research shows plants "talk" to each other through their roots and the soil in a study on corn published in the journal "PLOS ONE"

Death of Leonardo da Vinci (1519), J. Edgar Hoover (1972), and Osama bin Laden (2011)

Natural: Vegetable Seedling Identification: Pictures and Descriptions

When plants are very young and just tiny seedlings, it can be difficult to tell vegetables apart from weeds. Here’s a guide to identifying some of the most common vegetable seedlings—with pictures!

Italian: Sfasato (out of phase / out of sorts)

Quote: “In ancient times before the divine sojourn of the Savior took place, even to the saints death was terrible; all wept for the dead as though they perished. But now that the Savior has raised his body, death is no longer terrible; for all who believe in Christ trample on it as it were nothing and choose rather to die than deny their faith in Christ. And that devil that once maliciously exulted in death, now that its pains were loosed, remained the only one truly dead.”

― St. Athanasius, On the Incarnation